Mendoza tops Asian Youth 14-U chess

MANILA, Philippines - Shania Mae Mendoza scored six points to beat India’s Ashwini U for the gold medal in the girls’ Under-14 division of the Asian Youth Chess Championships in Sri Lanka last Monday.

Mendoza’s victory in the rapid event capped the Philippines one-gold, two-silver, two-bronze medal haul in the annual event featuring the region’s future stars.

Stephen Rome Pangilinan finished tied for first with Nguyen Anh Khoi at 5.5 points in boys’ Under-10 (rapid) but the Vietnamese clinched the title with a superior tiebreak score.

Mc Dominique Lagula likewise settled for silver in the Under-14 Open class (blitz), finishing with 5.5 points behind Chinese Zhao Zhouqiao, who topped the event with six points.

Austin Jacob Literatus copped the bronze medal in the Under-16 Open (blitz) with five points while Justin Mordido also wound up third in the boys’ Under-8 (rapid) with five points.