Chess knows no age.
This was proven by Ilonggo woodpusher Cesar Mariano as he was hailed Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the recently- concluded Professional Chess Association of the Philippines — Wesley So Cup edition.
Mariano, who was a National Master, steered Iloilo Kisela Knights to a dominating victory against San Juan Predators, capturing the title for the first time.
Mariano, plays Board Four or the Senior Board for the Kisela Knights and scored an impressive 16.5/24 in the playoffs and a 3.5/6 in the finals against the tough Predators.
To recall, Mariano who plays chess for decades now, gave IKK the much-deserved victory after a crucial draw against Juan’s IM Ricky de Guzman with two seconds left on his clock in the last game of the finals.
During the awarding ceremony, which was the start of the PCAP’s Third conference — the PCAP-SMC-Ayala Land Premier Cup, Vietnamese import WGM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung also won the Best Import Award
Nguyen, who was a late addition to the Isabela Knights, scored 78.5/90 points for a total of 87.22% in over 60 matches for Isabela.
The Vietnamese import was also a former Asian Junior Women’s Champion and a National Women’s Champion in her home country among her many distinctions.
In addition, Manila Indios Bravos’ International Master Cris Ramayrat was named tRiChess Masters Best Player of the Conference.
IM Ramayrat, who plays the senior board of the Indios Bravos, scored the best record in the history of PCAP with 92/102 points (90.2%) in over 68 games. He was the former San Francisco, USA Open Chess champion and is the original Blitz King of the Philippines.IMT Sports
