SMALL but terrible Johnny Wellem Carzano, who always dreams of having an immortal piece in his life, has convincingly won the annual 2024 Diyandi Festival Rapid Chess Tournament held, over the weekend, at the Robinson’s Mall, Level 3 in Iligan City.
And how amazing his performance was over a strong field that drew who’s who in Northern Mindanao chess that he played through undefeated in eight rounds, winning seven against a lone draw to bag the P15,000 purse plus trophy.
“Yes, it was a strong field. Kusog tanan nako na kontra na swertihan lang,” the Ozamiz City pride Carzano told Gold Star Daily.
“But once you start seeing results the grind becomes so addictive,” added Carzano, who after placing 6th in the September 2 TambaNipa Festival Open Chess Tournament in Barangay Bonbon, Cagayan de Oro City, went on to nail the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Fide-Rated Standard chess title in Quezon City, then most recently in the Metro Iligan Chess Club-organized tourney en route to an impressive back-to-back championship feat.
Bryan Jose of Talakag, Bukidnon; Jones Maghuyop of Pagadian City and FIDE Master Victor Bruce Lluch of Iligan City were tied at 7 points to occupy second to fourth place after the Bucholz tiebreaker, while the Cagayan de Oro-based Rodney Opada claimed the fifth spot with 6.5 points to show.
A big bunch of 6-pointers include Geronimo Romarate, Cosain Magarang, Abdul Halil Abdullah, Jaybee Velez, Abdul Hafids Sarangani, Jezreel Lopez, Romeo Madrid, Jonard Labadan, Johnnel Balquin, Randolph Christopher Dalauta and Mardonio Fuentes.