Skip to main content

Frayna's European quest gets STAR backing

MANILA, Philippines – Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna's bid to compete in the European chess circuit got a much needed boost after The Philippine STAR President and CEO Miguel Belmonte and board member Edward Go donated money that should help fund her campaign.

No less than Belmonte himself presented the check worth P134,000, including P50,000 from Go to Frayna and her coach GM Jayson Gonzales Wednesday at TheSTAR's office in Port Area, Manila.

Gonzales said some of it will go to purchasing a brand new laptop that can handle the latest chess programs in the world that should help the 21-year-old Far Eastern University standout prepare when she leaves for Europe starting June 12.

GM Janelle Frayna © Philstar.com GM Janelle Frayna

"We need these programs before we leave because we want to go to Europe prepared," said Gonzales.

Frayna, who is doing simultaneous matches and clinics on the side to generate funds, is eyeing a total of six tournaments starting with the XIX Obert Internacional Sant Marti slated July 13-21 and 43 Open Internacional de Sitges from July 22-30 in Barcelona, Spain.

She will then fly to Germany for the International Women's Open from July 31-August 4 return to Spain for the II Torneo Internacional Jugando con las Estrellas from August 12-18 and then to Italy fopr the Scaccobratto-XXXVII International Chess Festival Conca Della Presonala (Master) from August 19-27.

From Europe, Frayna will proceed to Malaysia for the 14th IGB Dato Arthur Tan Malaysian Open from August 28-September 4.

And Frayna hopes she'll receive more funding.

"Hopefully, they would continue to support me because my goal is to be top 10 women's players in the world," said Frayna, currently the country's highest ranked chesser with a rating of 2287.

Frayna owns the distinction as the country's first ever WGM after a strong performance in last year's Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan and could be also be a men's International Master if she could reach the 2400-rating plateau.

Popular posts from this blog

Apple named ‘most innovative’ company by a magazine

© Provided by IBT US Apple has just been named as the “Most Innovative” company of 2018 by a business magazine. The reasons cited why the Cupertino giant emerged triumphant on the list included the company’s ability to design processors that are optimized for its latest hardware and software.  Fast Company published Tuesday its list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies 2018 in the consumer electronics sector and Tim Cook’s company was the one that snagged the top spot. The publication indicated in the list that the main reason why Apple ranked the highest was because it produced the “phone of the future” for today’s market.  The magazine also published a lengthy explanation on why Apple is worth the “most innovative” title this year. According to Fast Company, the Cupertino giant had a notable 2017 due to the stellar performances of the wireless AirPods and the Apple Watch Series 3 and the launch of its own AR platform, ARKit, as well as the release of the outst...

You can pay at a restaurant by smiling at a camera

© Provided by Engadget As easy as it is to make purchases in the era of tap-to-pay services , it's about to get easier still. Alipay (which handles purchases for Chinese shopping giant Alibaba) has launched what it says is the first payment system that uses facial recognition to complete the sale. If you visit one of KFC's KPRO restaurants in Hangzhou, China, you can pay for your panini or salad by smiling at a camera-equipped kiosk -- you need to verify the purchase on your phone, but you don't have to punch in digits or bring your phone up to an NFC reader. The system (Smile to Pay) is purportedly resistant to spoofing with photos and other tricks. It relies on both depth-sensing cameras and a "likeness detection algorithm" to make sure it's really you. Reportedly, the technology is good enough that it can accurately identify people even when they're disguising themselves through makeup or wigs. You shouldn't have to worry about someone buying ...

DOF opposes tiered approach to tax on sugary drinks

© Provided by Mediamerge Corporation MONEY- Tax thumbnail The Department of Finance (DOF) is not amenable to Senator Juan Edgardo Angara's suggestion to implement the proposed levy on sugar sweetened beverages via a three-tier system. "We oppose the tiered approach. Meaning 'yung first seven grams will be tax free and then after that would be taxable," Finance Undersecretary Karl Chua said during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) Economic Forum in Manila on Friday. Chua note the tiered approach may compel manufacturers to come up with smaller packaging. "So you can drink three of them with no taxes," the Finance official said. It will defeat the purpose of imposing excise tax on sugary drinks as a health measure, he added. During deliberations on the comprehensive tax reform bill, Angara floated the idea of implementing the excise tax on sugar sweetened beverages under a three-tier system to incentivize those who manufactu...