TOP seed Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna split the point with third seed Jan Jodilyn Fronda in 40 moves of a Queen’s Pawn opening to cling to the lead after the 10th and penultimate round of the 2021 National Women’s Chess Championship at the PACE building in Quezon City yesterday.
Frayna, 24, has 7.5 points, half-a-point ahead of Shania Mae Mendoza and Kylen Joy Mordido, who downed their respective opponents to stay in the title race.
Mendoza destroyed 13-year-old Ruelle Canino’s Pirc Defense in 44 moves while Mordido, who is close to becoming the country’s second Woman GM, used the Sicilian Defense to beat Francois Marie Magpily in 36 moves.
Frayna was battling Mendoza at presstime yesterday while Mordido was tackling an unpredictable Mariel Calimbo, who lost to Lexie Hernandez in the 10th round but caught a big fish in No. 4 Marie Antoinette San Diego the round before, also in the last round.
Frayna is seeking her third national crown and Mendoza her second in the event staking P50,000 to the champion and a berth to the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games in May next year.
