Vicencio, Canafe shine in Vegas chess

MANILA, Philippines - Milo Checkmate kids Maria Roselle Vicencio of Parañaque City and Al Matthew Canafe of Tayhi, Tabaco City dished off impressive performances in the Las Vegas International Chess Festival, finishing third in their respective divisions at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas recently.

The 16-year-old Vicencio scored four points on four wins and one loss in the Susan Polgar World Open 19-under (Girls division). For her feat, she received a trophy and a four-year college scholarship at the Texas Tech University in Texas.

Canafe, 11, also wound up third while Richmond Obogne, 13, of Quezon City, finished sixth in the Unrated section with both receiving cash prizes.

Other Milo Checkmate kids who saw action were Jonathan Abo and Judino Tadeo Macayan, Stephen Kyle Cinco and Paul Adrian Manila. The 12-year old Abo finished 16th in the Susan Polgar Boys 14-under and his tandem with Macayan netted fourth place in the team competition. Both received medals from former woman world champion Susan Polgar.

Backers of the Checkmate kids were Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro, Parañaque Councilor Rufino Allanique, Tabaco City Vice-Mayor Rey Bragais, Dante Bueno, Darius Rebancos, Noel Carilo, Las Vegas-based Rozita Lee of Polynesian Entertainment, Victor Baula and Robert Macabagdal of Asian Journal, NCFP and PSC.