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Chess wiz Nika Juris Nicolas reigns supreme in Taiwan

Sports

Chess wiz Nika Juris Nicolas reigns supreme in Taiwan

By Mark Rey Montejo

At A Glance

National Master Nika Juris Nicolas made waves after winning the Chinese Taipei Chess Association International Open Tournament and Open Blitz Championships in Taoyuan, Taiwan over the weekend.

National Master Nika Juris Nicolas made waves after winning the Chinese Taipei Chess Association International Open Tournament and Open Blitz Championships in Taoyuan, Taiwan over the weekend.

National Master Nika Juris Nicolas

Displaying her exceptional brilliance, the 11-year-old Nicolas ruled the U13 Standard Open and finished third overall after merging the results from U13, U15, G13, G15 categories which was built on six wins, two draws and a loss.

The Victory Christian International School ace dismantled Canada’s Enzo Wang and Chinese Taipei woodpushers Min-Hao Lin, Shao-Yen Hung, Hao-Xuan Huang, Yu-En Yen and Yu Chen Cheng.

She agreed to split points with Chinese Taipe’s AFM Hao Chen Yung and Yu-Chi Xavier Wang while she succumbed to Rainen Yi-Fan Simpson, a hometown bet as well.

“Again I would like to dedicate my victory to my countrymen. It’s an honor to represent our country,” said Nicolas.

"We're very proud of what she has accomplished and I think she's representative of the quality of the younger generation," her proud mother lawyer Nikki de Vega added.

Meanwhile, Nicolas copped her second gold in Open blitz where she finished with seven wins against two losses.

In that competition, the pride of Pasig toppled the crowd favorites but she fell short against International Masters in Chinese Taipei’s Adelard Bai and Canada’s Raymond Kaufman.

It can be recalled that Nicolas received the NM status – which is usually given to male players – from the National Chess Federation of the Philippines last year, making her the first and only female to be given the award.

Despite being the only female in the tournament, Nicolas topped the 2023 Under-11 boys division of the National Youth Chess and Schools Championships Grand Finals.

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