REIGNING national women’s champion Ruelle Canino will embark on a European tour with an eye on becoming the country’s next Woman Grandmaster and as part of her preparations for the FIDE World Chess Olympiad this September.
The 16-year-old Woman FIDE Master made history by becoming the youngest in recent times to rule the Philippine National Women’s Chess Championships in Malolos, Bulacan last March.
That earned the Far Eastern University standout the honor of representing the country in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Thailand this October and the Olympiad set from Sept. 10 to 23 in Budapest, Hungary.
Canino is scheduled to compete in the HZ University of Applied Sciences Chess Tournament slated Aug. 3 to 10 in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, the Dortmund Open set Aug. 10 to 18 in Germany, and the Open Internacional d’escacs Santis-Ciutat de Barcelona scheduled Aug. 23 to Sept. 1 in Spain.
There, Canino, along with National Chess Federation of the Philippines chief executive officer and national women’s coach Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales, will rendezvous with teammates WGM Janelle Mae Frayna and WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, who have already flown to Switzerland to compete in a tournament.
“This is in preparation for the AIMAG in November and the Olympiad in September as well as for her to become a WGM,” said Gonzales of the bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission and backed by the NCFP and Philippine Olympic Committee.
Canino and the group will return to the country on Sept. 3 before leaving with the rest of the Philippine team, including the men’s squad, a few days later for the biennial meet in Budapest where the cream of the crop will converge.
