By Marlon Bernardino
Darry Bernardo, Menandro Redor, Henry Roger Lopez, Arman Subaste and Israel Peligro got off to a blazing start by posting victories in the opening round of the 3rd Asian Chess Championship 2025 for players with disabilities which started 2nd December 2025 in Tagaytay City, Philippines.
Number one seed Bernardo toppled Francis Ching, Redor outclassed Bobur Dustmurodov of Uzbekistan, Lopez waylaid Shreesh Kulkarni of India, Subaste crushed Anthony Abogado while Peligro subdued Altheo Nazareno.
Number two seed Alimzhan Ayapov of Kazakhstan defeated Van Viet Le of Vietnam, spearheading foreign counterparts and setting his sights on another chess title before the yearend.
Other notable winners were
Axadxon Kimsanboyev of Uzbekistan who beat Rodolfo Sarmiento, FM Sirojiddin Zaynidinov of Uzbekistan, winner over Cecilio Bilog while Erlan Nurhayev of Kazakhstan who edged John Franz De Asis.
The event is organized by the Tagaytay Chess Club in cooperation with the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and Philippine Para Chess Association under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE.
At stake are Direct FIDE Titles and trophies for champions and medals for the top three in each category, including visually, physically, and hearing impaired divisions.
“So far, so good,” said Bernardo, former varsity chess player of Far Eastern University.
In the women’s play, top seed Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza , Cheryl Angot, Ma. Katrina Mangawang and Kyla Jane Langue won their first round assignments.
Mendoza nipped Natalya Gorokhova of Kazakhstan, Angot trounced Maria Teresa Bilog, Mangawang beat Corazon Luzero and Langue dealt Charmaine Tonic a loss.
Meanwhile , Thi Huong Pham, Ngoc Loan Tran and Thi Hoang Nguyen of Vietnam, Siripimon Sakchai of Thailand and Aiganym Kambarova of Kazakhstan toppled their respective opponents.-Marlon Bernardino-