
Janelle Mae Frayna crashed out of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2021 in Sochi, Russia after losing to Hoang Tranh Trang of Hungary Tuesday night.
The 24-year-old Frayna, the country’s first and only Woman Grandmaster, forced a 1-1 tie in the first playoff tiebreaker before losing the second, 1.5-0.5, that sent her packing.
Despite the loss, the Army woman from Bicol made a good account of herself as she pulled the rug twice from under the higher-ranked Hoang—the first in the last of their two-game classical match and the other in the second of their first two-round playoff duel.
But Frayna couldn’t muster the same fighting form in the second two-game playoff showdown where she lost the first in 53 moves of a Dutch Defense and drew the other one in 63 moves of a Queen’s Pawn game.
“I lost in the tiebreaks. I really thought I could convert my advantage in my second rapid game but I couldn’t spot the outright best moves,” said Frayna on her Facebook page.
“No excuses. Pero sayang, kulang pa talaga. Looking forward to my next tournaments.”
The result completed a shutout for the four-member Philippine team after International Masters Paulo Bersamina, Daniel Quizon and Michael Concio, Jr. were all eliminated Monday.