INTERNATIONAL Master (IM) and Lady Woodpushers head coach Ronald Dableo will have the opportunity to earn his Grand Master (GM) title at the Asian Zonal Championships in Vietnam this month.
“I make sure to give my best in every game and for that, the GM title is possible,” Dableo told the Varsitarian.
The 27-year-old Dableo earned his slot in the Philippines’ seven-man roster at the Asian Zonal after finishing second with seven points in the 2nd Rep. Prospero Pichay Cup National Open and Chess Challenge (Pichay Cup) last Dec. 18-24.
Dableo, who was part of the RP Chess Team that finished eighth place in the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, split points with 13-year-old IM Wesley So and GM Mark Paragua in the eighth and final rounds, respectively.
“I was not discouraged when I lost to So because he was a worthy opponent and I was able to achieve my goal to qualify for the Zonal anyway,” he said.
Dableo secured his IM title and first GM norm after winning the Asian Chess Zonal title in 2003. He earned his second GM norm in last year’s Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Chess Cup.
Joining Dableo and So in the Asian Zonal are Paragua, GM Nelson Mariano II, IM Darwin Laylo, IM Oliver Dimakiling, and Leo Daylo.
Meanwhile, UST Lady Woodpushers team captain and National player Sherily Cua was qualified for the Philippines’ Zonal delegates after she finished fourth in the Pichay Cup with 4.5 points.
Education sophomore Cua went right on track in the first four rounds but lost steam toward the end of the nine-round tournament for 4.5 points. Maria Jesamine D.G. Palarca
