THE Philippine team returning today from its solid efforts in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary will bring home something bigger than the gold medal it captured in Category B of the women’s section–a hope that the future is bright.
Two youngsters emerged from the ashes from the battles waged at the BOK Sports Hall in the Hungarian capital–Daniel Quizon and Ruelle Canino.
Quizon, 19, and Canino, 16, held their own against stronger, more experienced opponents, with the former claiming the Grandmaster title and the latter gaining 102 whopping points that should propel her from 2004 to 2260 counting the points she earned in a couple of events in Europe the month before.
The Cagayan de Oro lass was so impressive that she scored six points out of the possible eight, including big victories over Women GMs Claudia Amura of Argentina and Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky of Romí¢nia.
Canino was even winning against former United States champion International Master Anna Zatonskih before inexperience caught up with her and faltered in the end.
Girme Fontanilla, a member of the team that finished 22nd in the 1988 edition in Thessaloniki, Greece–the highest finish by the country’s women’s team in the Olympiad–was one those were impressed by Canino’s debut.
‘She’s a great talent,” said Fontanilla.
Quizon scored 5.5 points out of nine at board two, including several draws against formidable super GMs.
“Given more experience and international exposure, those two should go places. We’re also seeing two promising young players who could be fixtures of our national teams for a very long time,” said national women’s coach and NCFP chief executive officer GM Jayson Gonzales.
The team was sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission and backed by NCFP chief Butch Pichay, delegation head Atty. Ruel Canobas, women’s team manager Atty. Nikki de Vega and Far Eastern U chair Gigi Montinola.
