At A Glance
- Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna downed teenage sensation Ruelle Canino in the ninth round to stay in title hunt in the Philippine National Chess Championships dubbed "The Battle of Women's Masters" at the City Hall of Malolos, Bulacan.
Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna downed teenage sensation Ruelle Canino in the ninth round to stay in title hunt in the Philippine National Chess Championships dubbed “The Battle of Women’s Masters” at the City Hall of Malolos, Bulacan.

It was the fourth win in a row by Frayna that propelled her to solo third place with six points, or just a full point behind co-leaders Canino and 2019 winner Woman International Master Jan Jodilyn Fronda with seven points apiece.
Fronda split the point with Woman FIDE Master Shania Mae Mendoza to catch up on the 15-year-old Canino, who was leading alone and a full point ahead of the pack before the round.
Frayna’s resurgence put her in prime position to claim a spot to the Asian Indoor Martial Games in Bangkok, Thailand this November, one of the three slots to the FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary this September and the top purse worth P85,000 courtesy of host Malolos City Mayor Atty. Christian Natividad.
Frayna was hoping to close in on Canino and Fronda as she was tackling April Joy Ramos in the 10th and penultimate round at press time in this event organized by the NCFP and backed by the PSC and POC.
For Canino and Fronda, they were playing WFM Chery Ann Mejia and Mhage Sebastian, respectively.