Behold! Janelle Frayna, Philippines’ 1st female chess grandmaster.
Another triumphant day for the Philippines in the field of sports. For the first time in history, a female chess grandmaster in the name of Janelle Frayna! MANILA –Janelle Frayna became the Philippines’ first female chess grandmaster after achieving her third and final norm during Round 9 of the World Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday night. The 20-year-old distaff woodpusher drew with Mongolian foe Davaademberel Nomin-Erdene after 33 moves using the French Winawer Defense Poisoned Pawn Variation, giving her six points after nine matches, which was enough to hand her the norm. Nomin-Erdene, already a women’s GM, entered the tournament with a 2422 ELO rating, virtually making her a men’s IM. Apart from Nomin-Erdene, Frayna took on three other opponents with very high ELO ratings–even making the cut for the men’s GM–while also battling two WIM’s. After nine rounds, Frayna amassed six points on four wins and four draws, which was enough to give h...