UE captures UAAP junior chess crown

University of the East poured it all in the final two rounds to runaway with its second straight juniors chess crown in season 66 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

Nelson Mariano III headed UE’s charge which resulted to a 4-0 shutout of University of Santo Tomas Saturday and a 3-1 rout of Ateneo Sunday and with 26.0 points clinched its second championship in a row.

National University, which led in most parts of the tournament participated in by five of the UAAP member schools, was relegated to a runner-up finish with 24.5 points, capping its campaign at the UE Briefing Room Saturday with a 4-0 shutout of La Salle Zobel.

Ateneo wound up third overall with 19.0 points, followed by UST with 9.0 and L Salle Zobel with 1.5 points.

De La Salle, behind John Paul Gomez’s sterling performance at the top board, is unreachable in the men’s contest and would wrap up the crown anew next weekend. The Green Archers are toting 40.0 points, way beyond the reach of second-running UP (30.5).

University of the Philippines (UP) paced the women’s contest with 35.5 points and needs only a draw in one of its four matches against University of the East (UE) in Saturday’s final round. UP leads the women’s contest with 35.5 points while De La Salle is four points behind at 31.5.