Concio, Arca, Mendoza lead Pinoys challenge in Asian Juniors

TAGAYTAY – World Cup campaigner IM Michael Concio Jr.  and FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca will carry the fight for the Philippines in the Asian Juniors Chess Championship scheduled Oct. 11-20 at the Knights Templar Hotel  here.

Concio, the country’s highest ranked junior player with an ELO of 2368, and Arca lead seven other Filipino players in the prestigious tournament organized by the Asian Chess Federation and hosted by the Tagaytay City government  thru the father and daughter tandem of Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and now Cavite Governor Athena Tolentino.

The 18-year-old Concio is best remembered for representing the country in the 2021 World Cup in Sochi, Russia where he was defeated 2-0 by Aravindh Chithambaram of India in the first round.

An information systems student  at Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Dasmariñas in Cavite, Concio topped the first Marinduque National Chess Championship last March and the 64th San Carlos Charter Day Open rapid chess tournament in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental last June.

Arca, on the other hand, is coming off a successful campaign in a grandmaster tournament in Quang Ninh in Vietnam last May. 

The 15-year-old Arca finished undefeated by scoring six points in nine rounds on three victories and six fighting draws in claiming the crown in the second of the two-bracket tournament.

Arca is currently ranked No. 4 among local junior players with an ELO of 2199.

Other Filipino campaigners in the nine-round event being held in this popular  resort city overlooking the world-famous Taal Volcano are Andrei Ainsley Dolorosa, Davin Sean Romualdez, Phil Martin Casiguran, Andrew James Toledo, Danry Seth Romualdez, Zeyus Kyle Del Mundo and Marius Constante.

World Age Group Championship-bound Jemaicah Yap Mendoza of Sta. Rosa City,  Laguna leads Filipinas in the girls division, together with Apple Rubin and Arleah Cassandra Sapuan.

Mendoza is set to represent the country in the Under-14 category in World Age Group Championship in Florianópolis, San Carlos, Brazil on Oct.28-Nov. 10.

The 12-year-old Mendoza will gun for her WIM title and first WGM norm.

The Grade 7 student at the Leon C. Arcillas National High School earned her WFM title during the Eastern Asia Youth Championship in Bangkok, Thailand  in November 2022.

More than 50  players, led by top seed GM Aleksey Grebnev of Russia and WIM G. Tejaswini of India, will banner the cast.

Leading the Indian charge are second seed IM Krishna Rohith, who boasts of an ELO of 2474 and third seed IM Aswath S., who is rated 2473.

Other Indian players in the boys division are sixth seed CM Yas Bharadia (ELO 2415),  No. 8 FM Arjun Adireddy (ELO 2342) and No. 9 IM Anto Cristiano Manish (ELO 2323).

Completing the cast of Indian boys are CM Ragavesh Velavaa (ELO 2060) and AFM Sureka Akshat (ELO 2008).

Aside from Tejaswini, the other players to watch in the girls division are No. 2 WIM Anna Shukhmann of Russia, No. 3 WIM Zeinep Sultanbek of Kazakhstan, No. 4 WFM Devindya Oshini Gunwardhana of India, No. 5 WFM Kristina Popandopulo of Kazakhstan, No. 6 Halder Sneha of India, No. 7 WFM Gupta Shubhi of India, No. 8 WFM V. RIndhiya of India, No. 9 Mukherjee Bristy of India and No. 10 Hoang Tu Kin Kuong of Vietnam.

Also entered is WFM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana of Sri Lanka, winner of the Under-12 category in the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championship last year in Egypt.

The 12-year-old Oshini is among the top female chess players in Sri Lanka.

The event is hosted by  Mayor Tolentino, also the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and his daughter, Gov. Tolentino, who took her oath last Oct. 8

Gov. Tolentino won the vice gubernatorial race during the 2022 general elections and assumed office on June 30 of the same year.

The 26-year-old Tolentino became the first female governor of Cavite when President Marcos appointed Gov. Jonvic Remulla as the new secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Tolentino also served as councilor of Tagaytay from 2019 to 2022.

She is also the niece of Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino.