Mirano bags gold in girls under-14 ASEAN blitz chess tourney
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan – Mira Mirano of Aklan bagged the gold in the girls under-14 category of the 12th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships 2011 blitz tournament at Tarakan, Indonesia.

Mirano, ranked No. 17, tallied 7.5 points in the nine-round Swiss system chess competition held at Indoor Telaga Kramat Stadium.

Mirano scored victories at the expense of Doan Thi Hong Nhung (Fide rating 1783) of Malaysia, 2nd-ranked Women Fide Master (WFM) Vu Thi Dieu Ai (Fide rating 1832) of Vietnam, Bui Thuy Vy of Vietnam, Filipino compatriots Ella Grace Moulic and Shania Mae Mendoza, Women Chess Master (WCM) Vu Hoang Lan (Fide rating 1810) of Vietnam and Angela Natasha Renggalis of Indonesia.

She halved the point with Arlisa Sepvita Cahyazafira of Indonesia and suffered her lone defeat at the hands of top-ranked Nur Nabila Azman Hisham (Fide rating 1902) of Malaysia in the blitz tourney.

Mirano also powered her Philippine team to a gold medal victory in the girls 14-under team event along with Mendoza and Moulic, who scored six points each.

In rapid chess, Mirano climbed to second place with 2.5 points after three rounds. She was at the distant 11th place in the standard event with five points.

Another Aklanon chess player Mary Sol Quitong finished eighth place in the girls under-8 standard chess event with five points and took the 11th spot with four points in the blitz event.

Meanwhile, National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP)-sponsored chess team garnered eight golds, seven silver and nine bronzes in the blitz competition hosted by ASEAN Chess Confederation and the Indonesia Chess Association held from June 12 to 21.