by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—National Master (NM) Ivan Travis Cu topped the National Master Ronald Llavanes Arena competition (Individual Tournament) organized by Bicol Online Chess Players Team on Tuesday (August 24, 2021) held at lichess.org Platform.
Ivan, a Grade 7 student of Xavier School, San Juan City, finished with 22 points in the 1 hour and 40 minutes Arena competition applying the 3 minutes plus 2 seconds increment time control format.
Amatonding Sohaile Jr. and National Master (NM) Glennen Artuz both scored 20 points, but were ranked second and third, respectively, based on their total tie break points.
Ephraim Hechanova closely followed them at fourth place with 19 points.
Rommel Valdez (18 pts.), Karlo Enrico (17 pts.), Rene del Castillo (16 pts.), Marvid Zuniega (16 pts.), Renato Candidato Jr. (15 pts.) and Clutch King (15 pts.) place fifth to tenth, respectively.
It shall be recalled that last August 15 the 12 years old Ivan finished 7th out of 59 players (youngest player in the Top 10) in the Isaiah Daniel Datu Cup. He tallied 10 out of 16 (10 wins, 6 losses). Battling against majority higher ranked players and under time pressure, Ivan was able to maintain his concentration and focus, thus landing him a strong finish.