La Salle, FEU claim UAAP chess titles

Final standings: Men - La Salle 40.5, Adamson 37.5, UST 33.5, FEU 30.5, NU 30.5, Ateneo 23.5, UP 17, UE 11.5.
Women - FEU 44, La Salle 43, UP 31.5, NU 27.5, UST 23, Adamson 21, UE 17, Ateneo 17.

La Salle finally ended its drought in men's chess, claiming the championship with a 3-1 victory over Adamson last Sunday at the Henry Sy, Sr. Building inside its Taft campus.

The Falcons had a chance to end a 25-year drought, but Rookie of the Year and MVP NM Jerad Docena and Franz Grafil ensured that the Green Woodpushers' decade-long drought will end instead with a 40.5-point total.

Adamson will have to settle for back-to-back runner-up finishes with 37 points, followed by UST at 33.5. Deposed champions FEU ended up in fourth place with 30.5.

On the women's side, FEU bucked a 2.5-1.5 loss to defending champions La Salle, managing to hold on to the championship by a solitary point, 44 to 43. A Board 2 win by Shania Mae Mendoza over fellow WFM Cherry Mae Mejia proved to be enough to clinch the title for the Recto-based pawn-pushers, given that the highly anticipated match-up between WIMs Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Janelle Mae Frayna ended in a stalemate.

Mendoza was rewarded with the Rookie of the Year plum, while Frayna took home the MVP.

In the Juniors division, NU's 37.5 points was enough to claim the title over FEU-Diliman (33) and Adamson (32). The Bullpups' Ryan Magtabog was named as the MVP, with UE's Lee Roi Palma was awarded the Rookie of the Year.

The collegiate gold medalists for each board are the following:

Board 1: IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia (Ateneo) / Frayna (FEU)
Board 2: Docena (La Salle) / Mejia (La Salle)
Board 3: Kevin Labog (Adamson) / WIM Bernadette Galas (La Salle)
Board 4: Christian Flores (UST) / Venice Vicente (FEU)
Board 5: Nigel Galan (La Salle) / Nikki Yngayo (FEU)
Board 6: Justin Corpin (UP) / Cyamie Villanueva (FEU)

UAAP chess updates

La Salle is at the cusp of snatching its first UAAP men's chess title in over a decade.

The Green Woodpushers defeated defending champions Far Eastern University, 2.5-1.5 in the penultimate round of the competition, moving them closer to snatching the trophy they last won in 2004.

With 37.5 points, all La Salle needs to do is defeat Adamson this weekend to assure themselves of the title.

The Falcons, fresh from a 4-0 annihilation of UE, trail the leaders by 1.5 points. Overcoming that deficit means they end their 25-year title drought.

UST remained in third place after beating Ateneo, 2.5-1.5, raising the Tiger Woodpushers' total to 31.5, while NU defeated UP with the same score to remain in fourth place with 28.5 points.

On the women's side, it is FEU currently on top with 42.5 points after their 3.5-0.5 win over UST. Four-time defending champions La Salle are just two points back after their 3-1 win over UE. The two schools will meet this weekend to decide the championship.

The other results show UP assuring themselves of a third place finish with a 2.5-1.5 win over Ateneo, while NU and Adamson played to a 2-2 draw.

In the juniors, NU has virtually wrapped up the title after FEU's 1.5-2.5 loss to Adamson. The Bullpups defeated UE 3.5-0.5 to raise their total to 33.5 points.