An Igorot chess player triumphantly swept the championship trophy in the Individual Category of 1st Filipino Expats Rapid Chess Tournament in Doha, Qatar on April 1.
Fighting under JWM Masketirs team, Marlon Adiwang Tallayo, a native of Besao, Mt. Province, survived the rigorous battle after raking 5.5 score out of six games to be undefeated in the individual category with 10 minutes plus five seconds increment.
On the other hand, their team accumulated four points out of five with 15-minute time control without increment in the team tournament.
Team JWM Masketirs, composed of Tallayo and his fellow expats from Nueva Ecija and Bulacan provinces, bagged the championship trophy after nailing an impressive record and left the first and second runner ups to the teams Mr. Pogi and The One respectively.
"Though there's no other Igorot chess players, I was able to dominate chess events here in Qatar," said Tallayo, who had participated in the FIDE World Amateur Championships 2021 in Greece in October last year.
Said tournament for Filipino expats was organized by Filipino Chess Player League-Qatar.
Meanwhile, Tallayo impressively ranked sixth in the QFSA Chess Open 2022 in Qatar on March 19.
"I am taking chess games as my pastime. I didn't know it would bring good results," explains Tallayo, who was proclaimed champion in the 3rd Highland Online Chess Tournament which was organized by Benguet State Univerity in July 2021.
He added, "I want to encourage my fellow Igorots, especially here in abroad, to engage in chess because I believe we can excel in this event aside from combative sports."
Tallayo works with the Qatar government as a dental technologist.
✍️Tin Dao-anis
