Ferriol, Mejia, Samantila rule Leviste chess

MANILA, Philippines - Gerald Ferriol, Giovanni Mejia, and Daryl Samantila edged their rivals in the tiebreak to rule their respective divisions in the seventh Dr. Jose Leviste Sr. Inter-School Chess Festival at the Ateneo Grade School Cafeteria over the weekend.

Ferriol actually finished tied for first with four others with five points but the UST bet took the college division title with a superior tiebreak score. Joseph Cayanan of Trinity University of Asia settled for second while Narquingden Reyes of St. Benilde placed third followed by Chester Brian Guerrero of Letran and Jerome Baretto of UP.

They, however, shared the total purse of P11,000.

Mejia, playing out of La Salle Greenhills, topped the high school division with 5.5 points, nipping MC Lagula of FEU in the tiebreak.

Bryan Barcelon of UE placed third followed by Kimuel Lorenzo of Malabon High School, Kristian Cristobal of San Sebastian College, and Renato Cruz of Taytay High School, who scored five points each.

Samantila of Adamson drew with Rhenzi Sevillano of University of San Carlos in the final round to finish with 5.5 points and beat Romulo Curioso of Cabanatuan High School in the tiebreak to claim his third elementary level crown.

Haince De Leon of Marist School placed third while Dennis Gutierrez Jr. of Stella Maris School, and Julius Gonzales of Parang Elementary School ended up fourth and fifth, respectively.

The six-round tournament was organized by the Ateneo De Manila chess teams under GM-Candidate and Ateneo program head for chess Idelfonso Datu with support of Jose Leviste Jr., chair of the Ateneo alumni chess teams, Richard Palou, University Athletics director of Ateneo.

The event was held in honor of the late Ateneo alumnus Jose Leviste Sr. (HS ‘33, AA ‘35), the father of Jose Leviste Jr. (GS ‘57, HS ‘61, AB ‘65) and the grandfather of Jose Leviste III (AB 2001).