By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Janelle Mae Frayna escaped with a 29-move draw against fellow Woman Grandmaster Alserkal Rouda Essa of a Sicilian Defense to remain outside of the top 10 after six rounds of the Asian Individual Chess Championships in Al Ain, UAE Monday, May 12.
The 28-year-old enlisted Army personnel from Bicol was stranded in a 13-player logjam at 12th spot with four points, or 1.5 points behind solo leader WGM Seshadri Srija of India.
With three rounds remaining, the country’s first and only WGM to date would need to rack up victories the rest of the way for her to have a chance at snatching one of the two slots to the FIDE World Cup slated July 5 to 29 in Batumi, Georgia.
It would start against Uzbekistan’s Madinabonu Khalilova in the seventh round Tuesday, May 13.
A full point behind Frayna was countryman Marie Antoinette San Diego while Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Bernadette Galas each had 2.5 points.
It’s the same sad story in the men’s side where Filipinos Pau Bersamina, Jem Garcia and Daniel Quizon were battling for survival with 3.5, three and 2.5 points, respectively.
