Oberio, Enriquez rule Shell chess national finals

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle’s Aglipay Oberio saved his best for last while Karen Jean Enriquez of Adamson proved flawless from start to finish to crown themselves the new Shell National Youth Active Chess grand champions at SM Megamall last Sunday.

Oberio, seeded seventh in a field of 10, foiled erstwhile joint leaders No. 1 Erich Cajeras and No. 2 Sherwin Tiu in the seventh and eighth rounds, respectively, then capped his fightback with a final round romp over John Michael Silvederio to rule the boys’ juniors division with six points.

Tiu, who with Cajeras led the first six rounds of the nine-round robin tournament featuring the top finishers of the nationwide circuit sponsored by Pilipinas Shell, defeated McDominique Lagula in the final round to likewise finish with six points. But Oberio, runner-up in the Mindanao leg, took the 20-and-under crown, the top P30,000 prize and a Rudy Project watch with a superior tiebreak score.

Tiu settled for second worth P20,000 plus trophy while Erle Patrick Florendo upended Cajeras in the final round for five points then nipped the top-seeded bet from St. Benilde in the tiebreak to clinch third place honors and P15,000. Cajeras wound up fourth and took home P10,000.

GM Eugene Torre delivered an inspirational message during awards rites where he exhorted the young chessers to strive for excellence. Others who graced the event were Sebastian Quiñones, managing director of Shell Philippines Exploration and Production B.V., Ronald Suarez and Mylene Santos, Pilipinas Shell Sustainable Development manager and Downstream communications manager, respectively, and Dennis Javier, Pilipinas Shell general manager for Supply Thailand and Philippines.

But while the boys’ title duel went down-to-the-wire, Enriquez won the girls’ crown in dominating fashion, sweeping the double-round tournament among six players for a record 10-point output.