Chess at the 2nd SEA Deaf Games - Jakarta 2025

 

 

Women's Standard

• Gold - Ainnur Asyikin Binti Jupinen (Malaysia)

 

Men's Standard 

• Gold - Loo Pin Xie (Malaysia)

 

 

Budhidarma, One of Indonesia Chess Players for SEA Games 2025

Photo: istimewa

 

Nayaka Budhidarma of Indonesia is set to represent the country in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this coming December. Nayaka recently won in the rapid chess tournament open category at the Ramadhan Cup 2025 held at Wisma Kemenpora, Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Nayaka accumulated a score of 8.5 points, defeating Dzithauly Ramadhan and IM Gilbert Elroy. He also successfully defeated GM Susanto Megaranto in the eighth round.

The event was participated by 452 chess wizards from 22 provinces of Indonesia.

 

 

 

♞ Chess | 2022 FIDE World Blitz Women’s Chess Championships

 

Three of our Southeast Asian chess players competed at the recently concluded 2022 FIDE World Blitz Women’s Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The FIDE Women's World Blitz Championship is a 17-round Swiss tournament taking place from 29–30 December 2022 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The prize fund is $150,000, with a $40,000 top prize.

Philippines' Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna finished 24th out of 99 competitors with 10 points while Singapore's WGM Gong Qianyun finished in 29th place with 9.5 points. Meanwhile, WIM Foudzi Siti Zulaikha of Malaysia ended 89th place with 6 points.

 

Assaubayeva Bibisara of Kazakhstan won the event with 13 points. 

PH tops Asian Juniors Chess Tourney

Host Philippines topped the medal tally of the recently concluded Asian Juniors & Girls Chess Championship 2022. 

The 2022 Asian Juniors & Girls Chess Championship took place in Tagaytay City, Philippines from November 17 to 26 with 52 players from 11 countries.

 

The Philippines won 6 gold medals followed by Kazakhstan with 4 gold medals. India came 3rd overall with 3 gold medals while Vietnam settled 4th overall with 2 gold medals. Iran and Kyrgyzstan each captured one gold medal at the end of the tournament.

Other Southeast Asian countries who competed in the event were Malaysia, and Indonesia who captured one bronze medal in the rapid junior event.

Below are the winners of Asian Juniors & Girls Chess Championship 2022. Click photo to view the photos clearly. (Results Source: Asian Chess Federation)

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SEA Nations at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad2022

The Philippines finished 32nd overall out of 188 teams/countries in the open division of the 44th Chess Olympiad held in India. They also top among the SEA nations in the competition.

Uzbekistan took the gold, silver medal went to Armenia and bronze to host India team-2. Below are the ranking of our SEA nations in the competition. Meanwhile, no Vietnam team competed in the open division.

• 32nd - Philippines
• 34th - Indonesia
• 65th - Singapore
• 72nd - Malaysia
• 95th - Myanmar
• 103rd - Thailand
• 169th - Timor Leste
• 171st - Brunei
• 181st - Laos

 

Chess at the 20th ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2022

HOME

 

 

Chess - Medal Tally

 

Malaysia swept all the four gold medals at stake in chess. Below are the medalists in chess at the 20th ASEAN University Games.

Results

 

Men's Division

 

 

Women's Division

#SEAGames2021 News 010 | Philippine Chess Tryouts Slated

 

On a Facebook page posted by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) dated January 31, a calendar of chess events and tournaments for the month of February are scheduled for chess wizards which includes the tryouts for SEA Games to be held in Vietnam.

The NCFP will hold a qualifying tournament starting today, February 10, as part of its selection process for the national team that will compete in rapid and blitz events.

The four-day meet is being held at the PACE building on Mindanao Avenue, Quezon City where the winners in the blitz and rapid events will earn berths to represent the Philippines in Hanoi.

 

A total of 16 men and 16 women are expected to compete in the qualifying meet where in fact some of the participants already book their slots for SEA Games.

 

This includes International Master Daniel Quizon and Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna who booked their slots after topping the national championship held last December. 

 

The Philippines won one gold medal in chess at the 2019 SEA Games they hosted. It was Jan Emmanuel Garcia who took the gold medal in an "online chess" event which is a demonstration sport and not counted as one of the five medal events in chess.

In the upcoming 31st SEA Games in Vietnam this May, chess is said to feature 10 events.

 

 

20th ASEAN+ Age Groups Chess Championships 2019

 

20th ASEAN+ Age Groups Chess Championships 2019 was held in Mandalay, Myanmar from June 9 to June 16.

 

Vietnam and Philippines dominated the event with 12 gold medals and 5 gold medals respectively. While host Myanmar won 2 gold medals! 

 

The event was also participated by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and India and Mongolia.

Below are the top 5 finishers of each categories.

Chess at the 19th ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2018

HOME - 19th ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2018

MEN

WOMEN

9th Asian Senior Chess Championships 2018

The 9th Asian Seniors Chess Championships was held at Tagaytay International Convention Center in Tagaytay City, Philippines from November 4 to 11.

Participating Southeast Asian countries were Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and host Philippines.

Aside from ASEAN chess wizards, Australia, Iran, Kazakhstan, New Zealand and Palestine were among the competitors of the event.

In the event, International Master Chito Garma of the Philippines ruled the 50-and-over division crown while fellow Grandmaster Eugene Torre cops the 65-and-over title. 

After 9 rounds, Garma collected 8 points while Torre got 7 accumulated  points. Another Filipino IM Petronio Roco placed on top with 6.5 points among 34 competitors.

Final standings of our Southeast Asian woodpushers.

• GARMA Chito    (PHI)    8 Points
• TORRE Eugenio    (PHI)    7 Points
• ROCA Petronio    (PHI)    6.5 Points
• CATURLA Cesar    (PHI)    6 Points
• YOUNG Angelo    (PHI)    6 Points
• LORENA Carlo    (PHI)    5.5 Points
• BANDAL Rosendo Jr.    (PHI)  5.5 Points
• PACIS Adrian    (PHI)    5 Points
• KHIN Than    (MYA)    5 Points
• ROULLO Rolzon    (PHI)    5 Points
• MAHMUD Syarif   ( INA)    5 Points
• MANAOG Stewart    (PHI)    4.5 Points
• ISMAIL Ahmad    (MAS)   4.5 Points
• CABALLERO Edwin    (PHI)    4.5 Points
• SIREGAR Muhammad Novian    INA  4 Points
• PADUA Cecil    (PHI)    4 Points
• SINURAYA Dirwan    INA    4 Points
• LIM Kian Hwa    (MAS)    4 Points
• OLIVARES Ferdinand    (PHI)    4  Points
• JAMAL Hendry    (INA)    3.5 Points
• BAGAMASBAD Efren    (PHI)   3  Points
• EMPERADO Milagros    (PHI)    1  Point
• MILLARE Daniel    (PHI)    1 Point

43rd Chess Olympiad 2018

Location: Batumi, Georgia
Date: 26th September to 6th October 2018

(Open) Men's Result

Round 1

• Brunei 0-4 Macedonia
• Indonesia 4-0 Aruba
• Malaysia 0.5-3.5 Belarus
• Myanmar 4-0 Bahamas
• Philippines 4-0 San Marino
• Singapore 4-0 Sao Tome & Principe
• Thailand 0-4 Sweden 
• Timor Leste 0-4 Mexico
• Vietnam 4-0 Chinese Taipei 

Round 2

• Brunei 4-0 Central African Republic
• Indonesia 0-4 Poland
• Malaysia 2-2 Afghanistan
• Myanmar 0.5-3.5 Germany
• Philippines 2.5-1.5 Slovakia
• Singapore 0.5-3.5 Romania
• Thailand 4-0 Gabon
• Timor Leste 0-4 Nicaragua
• Vietnam 2.5-1.5 Iraq

Round 3

• Brunei 0.5-3.5 Austria
• Indonesia 4-0 Ivory Coast
• Malaysia 3-1 Kuwait
• Myanmar 2.5-1.5 Trinidad & Tobago
• Philippines 1-3 Croatia
• Singapore 3.5-0.5 Nepal
• Thailand 1-3 Tajikistan
• Timor Leste 2-2 Eritrea
• Vietnam 3.5 -0.5 Bangladesh

Round 4

• Brunei 4-0 Lesotho
• Indonesia 3-1 Turkmenistan
• Malaysia 1-3 Madagascar
• Myanmar 2-2 Denmark
• Philippines 1.5-2.5 Estonia
• Singapore 0.5-3.5 Turkey
• Thailand 3-1 Tanzania
• Timor Leste 0-4 Papua New Guinea
• Vietnam 1.5-2.5 France

Round 5

• Brunei 1.5-2.5 Kenya
• Indonesia 0.5-3.5 Norway
• Malaysia 4-0 Saudi Arabia
• Myanmar 1-3 Venezuela
• Philippines 1.5-2.5 Lebanon
• Singapore 3-1 Honduras
• Thailand 0.5-3.5 Iraq
• Timor Leste 2-2 Seychelles
• Vietnam 2-2 Chile

Round 6

• Brunei 2-2 Libya
• Indonesia 0-4 Argentina
• Malaysia 1-3 Mongolia
• Myanmar 3-1 Costa Rica
• Philippines 4-0 Jersey (JCI)
• Singapore 2-2 Portugal
• Thailand 2.5-1.5 Korea
• Timor Leste 1-3 Bermuda
• Vietnam 2-2 Georgia-2

Round 7

• Brunei 2-2 Wales
• Indonesia 3.5-0.5 El Salvador
• Malaysia 3.5-0.5 Libya
• Myanmar 0.5-3.5 Australia
• Philippines 2.5-1.5 Albania
• Singapore 1-3 Slovenia
• Thailand 4-0 Trinidad & Tobago
• Timor Leste 0.5-3.5 Nauru
• Vietnam 4-0 Canada

Round 8

• Brunei
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Timor Leste
• Vietnam

Round 9

• Brunei
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Timor Leste
• Vietnam

Round 10

• Brunei
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Timor Leste
• Vietnam

Women's Event

Round 1

• Indonesia 4-0 Ethiopia
• Malaysia 4-0 Djibuoti
• Philippines 4-0 Mozambique
• Singapore 0.5-3.5 kazakhstan
• Thailand 0-4 Croatia
• Vietnam 4-0 Honduras

Round 2

• Indonesia 3.5-0.5 Chile
• Malaysia 0-4 Turkey
• Philippines 1.5-2.5 Slovenia
• Singapore 4-0 Mozambique
• Thailand 1-3 Kyrgyzstan
• Vietnam 4-0 ICCD

Round  3

• Indonesia 1-3 Uzbekistan
• Malaysia 0-4 Russia
• Philippines 3-1 Venezuela
• Singapore 3.5-0.5 Paraguay
• Thailand 3-1 Ethiopia
• Vietnam 3.5-0.5 Lithuania

Round 4

• Indonesia 4-0 Bolivia
• Malaysia 3-1 Iraq
• Philippines 2.5-1.5 Slovakia
• Singapore 0-4 Czech Republic
• Thailand 1-3 ICCD
• Vietnam 1-3 Georgia

Round 5

• Indonesia 1.5-2.5 Luxembourg
• Malaysia 4-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Philippines 2-2 England
• Singapore 1-3 Singapore
• Thailand 2-2 Hong Kong
• Vietnam 1.5-2.5 Iran

Round 6

• Indonesia 4-0 South Africa
• Malaysia 2-2 Ecuador
• Philippines 3-1 Spain
• Singapore 2.5-1.5 Netherlands Antilles
• Thailand 3-1 Malawi
• Vietnam 4-0 Wales

Round 7

• Indonesia 0.5-3.5 Mongolia
• Malaysia 3.5-0.5 Finland
• Philippines 1-3 Georgia-2
• Singapore 3-1 Japan
• Thailand 2.5-1.5 IBCA
• Vietnam 3-1 Jordan

Round 8

• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam 

Round 9

• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam 

Round 10

• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam

Southeast Asian - Team Lists

Brunei

• Men: Pg, Mohd Omar Ak Hira; Pg, Md Omar Ak Hafizon; Hj, Azahari Md Aliuddin and Sharikhan, Shawal

Indonesia

• Men: Priasmoro, Novendra; Cuhendi, Sean Winshand; Setyaki, Azarya Jodi and Kurniawan, Muhamad Agus

• Women: Sihite Chelsie Monica; Fisabilillah Ummi; Nur Abidah Shanti; Anisa Aay Aisyah and Edithso Samantha

Malaysia

• Men: Lim, Zhuo Ren, Lye, Lik Zang, Zulkipli, Zaidan and Fong, Yit San

• Women: Tan Li Ting, Bakri Alia Anin Azwa, Azman Hisham Nur Nabila, Azhar Puteri Munajjah; Az-Zahraa and Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan

Myanmar

• Men: Wynn, Zaw Htun; Nay Oo Kyaw, Tun; Khin, Than and Win, Tun

Philippines

• Men: Sadorra, Julio Catalino; Gomez, John Paul; Garcia, Jan Emmanuel and Pascua, Haridas

• Women: Frayna Janelle Mae; Secopito Catherine; Mendoza Shania Mae; San Diego Marie Antoinette and Galas Bernadette

Singapore

•  Men: Paciencia, Enrique; Gong, Qianyun; Lee, Qing Aun and Lee, Jun Wei

• Women: Liu Yang Hazel, Hng Mei-En Emmanuelle; Siew Kai Xin and Hng Mei-Xian Eunice

Thailand

• Men: Teerapabpaisit, Wisuwat; Kulpruethanon, Thanadon; Saeheng, Boonsueb and Prasitsoonthorn, Teerachoti

• Women: Atikankhotchasee Manunthon, Chuemsakul Sarocha; Prommuang Araya; Buhagiar Melita Sunan and Singsomroj Sornsawan

Timor Leste

• Men: Guterres, Luis; Fernandes, Tomas; dos Reis, Tito and Fatima, Jose

Vietnam

• Men: Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Elo 2620), Tran Tuan Minh (Elo 2491), Nguyen Anh Khoi (2463), and Dao Thien Hai (Elo 2477)

• Women: Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (Elo 2161), Vo Thi Kim Phung, Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Elo 2323); Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Elo 2244)

♣ 19th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships 2018

The 19th ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess Championships 2018 was held at the Royal Mandaya hotel in Davao City, Philippines from June 19 to 27.

The event attracted 566 players from 12 countries including perennial ASEAN chess powerhouse Vietnam and host Philippines.

Other Southeast Asian competitors were from Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Singapore. Other participating countries were Denmark, India, Korea and Switzerland.

Below are the winners (standard events only) of the mentioned chess tournament.

STANDARD

• Open - Under 8: Nguyen Vuong Tung Lam (Vietnam)
• Open - Under 10: Pham Tran Gia Phuc (Vietnam)
• Open - Under 12: Nguyen Quoc Hy (Vietnam)
• Open - Under 14: Nguyen Lam Thien (Vietnam)
• Open - Under 16: Canino Ronald (Philippines)
• Open - Under 18: Bernardo Dale (Philippines)
• Open - Under 20: Bersamina Paulo (Philippines)
• Girls - Under 8: Dang Le Xuan Hien (Vietnam)
• Girls - Under 10: Regidor Kaye Lalaine (Philippines)
• Girls - Under 12: Racasa Antonella Berthe (Philippines)
• Girls - Under 14:  Vuong Quynh Anh (Vietnam)
• Girls - Under 16: Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (Vietnam)
• Girls - Under 18: Kieu Bich Thuy (Vietnam)
• Girls - Under 20: Mendoza Shania Mae (Philippines)
• Seniors - 50 & 65: Lupian Alexander (Philippines)

RAPID

In Rapid events, Vietnam collected 10 gold, 8 silver & 9 bronze medals while host Philippines won 4 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals. While Indonesia got a lone bronze medal.

BLITZ

In similar way, Vietnam topped the blitz events with 10 gold medals, 8 silver and 8 bronze medals. Philippines came second with 4 golds, 6 silver and 6 bronze medals. While Indonesia got another lone bronze medal.

Below is the overall medal tally and final ranking. Only four countries made it to the medal board.

♣ Asian Universities Chess Championships 2018

The Asian Universities Chess Championships 2018 was held in Tagaytay City, Philippines from May 26 to June 2.

Eight countries including our Southeast Asian countries participated at this continental championships.These countries were Japan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and host Philippines.

Four categories were being contested at the 6-day tournament. These were Men’s Individual Event, Women’s Individual Event, Men’s Team Event  and Women’s Team Event.

Indonesia's FM Yoseph Theolifus Taher emerged as champion in the men's event collecting 7 points after 9 rounds.

He was followed by China's IM Yi Xu with 6.5 points to place second while another Indonesian IM Muhammad Lutfi Ali also got similar points to land 3rd overall.

Philippine bet Istraelito Rilloraza just placed 5th with 6 points over 42 competitors in the men's event.

In men's team event, it was an Indonesian team from Gunadarma University who clinched the title outclassing the Shanghai University of Finance & Economics (China) who placed second. While Far Eastern University (Philippines) finished 3rd overall.

Team Philippines placed 4th while Team Malaysia finished 5th place.

In the women's event, it was 1-2-3 finished for China while the best finisher for Southeast Asia was Bernadette Galas of the Philippines with 6 points.

China (Shanghai University of Finance & Economics) also took the first place and second place (Capital Univ of PE & Sports) of the women's team event while Team Philippines took the 3rd spot. 

Team Malaysia on the other hand placed 5th overall.

For complete results, visit: http://chess-results.com

♣ The JAPFA International Grandmaster 2018

Unlike in the women counter part of this tournament (The JAPFA International Women Grandmaster 2018), our Southeast Asian chess players from the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and host Indonesia did not finished in the top 3 positions.

After 11 rounds of competition, the highest placement made by a Southeast Asian chess player was 4th place. 

It was Indonesia's FM Novendra Priasmoro and Singapore's IM Goh Wei Ming Kevin who both collected 6 points each who placed 4th and 5th respectively.

Vietnam's GM Nguyen Anh Dung finished 9th place with 5 points while Philippines' GM Jason Gonzales placed 10th with 3 points. 

Other Indonesian chess wizards were FM Yoseph Theolifus Taher (5.5 points), IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi and GM Megaranto Susanto (5 points), Ali Muhammad Lutfi (3.5 points) and Aulia Medina Warda (2.5 points)

The tournament was held from April 25 to May 1 at the Hotel Paragon in Indonesia.

♣ The JAPFA International Women Grandmaster 2018

The JAPFA International Women Grandmaster 2018 was held at the Paragon Hotel, Solo in Indonesia. 

The chess tournament was participated by 12 chess grandmasters and IM from 6 countries. 

Indonesia competed with 6 chess players while the Philippines sent a lone representative. 

They faced and battled other representatives from Serbia, France, Georgia and Romania. 

(You might also like to read: The JAPFA International Grandmaster 2018)

At the end of the competition, Keti Tsatsalashvili of Georgia snatched the championship collecting 8.5 points besting other 11 competitors. 

Our Southeast Asian wood pushers did not just competed at this event but placed in the top 3 of this tournament. 

Janelle Mae Frayna of the Philippines came as runner up earning 7.5 points after 11 rounds while Indonesia's Chelsie Monica Ignesias Sihite placed 3rd who tied with Mila Zarkovic of Serbia with 6.5 points.

It was indeed good exposure for other Indonesian chess wizards despite not getting into the top rank. 

The chess tournament which was held from April 25 to May 1 was organized by PB PERCASI. 

♣ 45th Selangor Open Chess Tournament 2018

The oldest chess tournament in Malaysia was in its 45th edition - the Selangor Open Chess Tournament. It was held at the Grand Ballroom, Cititel Mid Valley Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from April 27 to May 1.

The event was divided into 2 Categories - Open division and the Challenger division.

Philippines IM Haridas Pascua and IM Oliver Dimakiling shared the top spot with Spain's Vega Marcos Llaneza with 7 points after 9 rounds (Swiss system).

Host Malaysia put up a strong performance with Chan Kim Yew in 9th position followed by Lye Lik Zang in 10th place both with 6.5 points. 

Pitra Andyka of Indonesia placed 11th overall with 6 points while Singapore's GM Buenaventura Villamayor took the 12th spot also with 6 points. 

Brunei's Pg Md Omar Ak Hafizon collected 5 points and ended 29th placers while Thailand's Wiwatanadate Poompong placed 36th.

Open division attracted 87 chess players from more than 10 participating countries including our SEA nations.

In the Challenger Category, Puteri Munajjah Az Zahraa Azhar of Malaysia emerged champion with  0.5 point ahead of Indonesia's WFM Putri Regita Desyari who scored 8 points.

The 3rd place  was awarded to Malaysia's Mukhriez Shah Mahmood Shah who collected 7 points after 9 rounds.

♣ Asian Youth Chess Championships 2018

Asian Youth Chess Championships 2018 is being held in Chiangmai, Thailand from the 31st of March to 10th of April.

Southeast Asian teams competing in this tournament are Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Below are the successful chess players from our region.

Indonesia

• Gold - Samantha Edithso (Rapid Girl's U10)

Philippines

• Bronze - Jerish John Velarde (Rapid U12)

Vietnam 

• Gold - Tran Minh Thang (Rapid U18)

• Silver - Quoc Hy Nguyen (Rapid U12)

• Silver - Hong Anh Nguyen (Rapid Girl's U18)

• Bronze - My Linh Vu (Rapid Girl's U10)

• Bronze - Thien Ngan Nguyen (Rapid Girl's U14)

• Bronze - Nguyen Hong Ngoc Nguyen (Rapid Girl's U18)

♣ HDBank International Open Chess Tournament 2018

The HDBank International Open Chess Tournament was successfully held at the Army Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam from March 10 to 15.

The tournament featured two categories, the Open or Masters division and the Challenger division (players rated below 2100 or unrated)

Sandro Mereco of Argentina won the Open Division of tournament with 7.5 points while the highest rank chess player was Le Tuan Minh of Vietnam who shared 7 points with two other chess players from India and Argentina.

The highest rank from the Philippines is Harida Pascua who placed 23rd with 5.5 points while Taher Yoseph Theolifus of Indonesia placed 48th with 5 points. 

In the Challenger Category, it was Michael Ocido of the Philippines who won the title.

A cash prize of US$15,000 was given to the top male player while the best female player received US$5,000.

Southeast Asian countries who competed in this tournament were Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and host Vietnam.

This chess event attracted over 270 players from 21 countries and territories

♣ Laos International Open Chess Championship 2018

The Laos International Open Chess Championship 2018 was held at the  Don Chan Palace Hotel & Convention in Vientiane, Lao PDR from the 2nd to 8th of January 2018.

The event was organized by Laos Chess Federation and was participated by our Southeast Asian chess enthusiasts from Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and host Laos.

Also participating in this chess tournament are woodpushers from Armenia, South Korea, USA, India, Spain, Switzerland, Australia and Germany. 

But the the competition ended with Karen Gregoryan of Armenia taking the open title with 7.5 total points while Le Tuan Minh of Vietnam placed runner up with 7 points.

Duong The Anh and Bui Vinh of Vietnam came third and fourth place respectively with 6.5 points. While Philippines' Deniel Causo ranked 5th who also got 6.5 points after the ninth round.

Highest finisher of Singapore is Chan Peng Kong (12th place) with 6 points, Tupfah Khumnorkaew of Thailand (18th place) with 5.5 points, Joseph Toh of Malaysia (28th) with 5 points and Insesuphun Nattaky of Laos (48th) with 4 points.

♣ King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2017

The King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships was held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from December 25 to 30.

The tournament took place at the Apex Convention Centre where some of our Southeast Asian chess players from Indonesia and Vietnam participated.

The competition ended with Magnus Carlsen of Norway winning the Open Blitz event while Anand Viswanathan of India took the title of the Open Rapid event.

In the women's division, Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia victoriously took the title of Blitz event while China's Ju Wenjun won the women's rapid event.

Below are the final ranking of our Southeast Asian woodpushers at this tournament.

Open Blitz

• 16th - Le Quang Liem (Vietnam)
• 70th - Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam)

Women's Blitz

• 26th - Pham Le Thao Nguyen (Vietnam)
• 38th - Vo Thi Kim Phung (Vietnam)
• 52nd - Sukandar Irine Kharisma (Indonesia)
• 55th - Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Vietnam)
• 80th - Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Vietnam)

Women's Rapid

• 5th - Pham Le Thao Nguyen (Vietnam)
• 46th - Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Vietnam)
• 58th - Vo Thi Kim Phung (Vietnam)
• 81st - Sukandar Irine Kharisma (Indonesia)
• 83rd - Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Vietnam)

Open Rapid

• 30th - Le Quang Liem (Vietnam)
• 43rd - Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam)