by Marlon Bernardino
Final Standings
Manila---International Master (M) Daniel Quizon of the Philippines finished in first place at the Eastern Asia Juniors and Girls Chess Championship 2023 - Open division.
Quizon had seven wins, one draw and one loss at the end of the week-long tournament that ended on Friday, December 8 at the Sabah Oriental Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

(Open Division)
7.5 points---IM Daniel Quizon (Philippines), FM Munkhdalai Amilal (Mongolia)
7.0 points---IM Aditya Bagus Arfan (Indonesia)
6.5 points---CM Fabian Glen Mariano (Indonesia)
6.0 points---IM Michael Concio Jr. (Philippines), NM Jan Clifford Labog (Philippines), Kavin Mohan (Malaysia)
5.5 points---FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca (Philippines), Jai Adithya Gnanasekar (Singapore)
5.0 points---NM Ivan Travis Cu (Philippines), Wee Yin Lin (Malaysia), Nirish Kumar Siva Kumar (Malaysia), Muhd Faqih Aminuddin (Malaysia), Jing Yung Hiew (Malaysia), Danry Seth Romualdez (Philippines), Muhd. Danish Zaqwan Muhd. Hadi (Brunei)

He and second placer Mongolian FM Munkhdalai Amilal had identical scores but the former (Quizon) had a better quotient.
More importantly, the 19-year-old Quizon earned his Grandmaster Master (GM) norm.
It shall be recalled that Quizon topped the Eastern Asia Juniors in South Korea in 2018 to achieve an outright International Master (IM) title and his first Grandmaster Master (GM) norm.
The Dasmariñas City, Cavite-based Quizon defeated Brayden Carl Linus of Malaysia in the first round, Jan Clifford Labog of the Philippines in the second round, CM Fabian Glen Mariano of Indonesia in the third round, FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca of the Philippines in the fifth round, Nirish Kumar Siva Kumar of India in the sixth round, IM Michael Concio Jr.of the Philippines in the eight round and Muhd Faqih Aminuddin of Malaysia in the ninth and final round.
He split the points with FM Munkhdalai Amilal of Malaysia in the fourth round.
He lost to IM Aditya Bagus Arfan of Indonesia in the seventh round.
"I am happy to have won the Eastern Asia Juniors and Girls Chess Championship 2023 - Open division in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. I wish that my luck would remain the same in my next tournament (Kamatyas Invitational GM Tourney 11th edition)," said the 19-year-old Quizon, who is supported by Dasmarinas Mayor Jenny Barzaga, Rep. Elpidio "Pidi" Barzaga Jr. and national coach FM Roel Abelgas.
Quizon is on the way to becoming the Philippines’ newest grandmaster when he compete in the Kamatyas Invitational GM Tourney 11th edition to be held on December 9 to 17 at the Pande Amerikana, Grandmaster Eugene Torre Museum in General Ordóñez Street, Concepcion Dos, Marikina City.
Quizon, the former national open champion, is hunting to become the 18th Filipino GM in line with other well-known Pinoy GM in the country like Eugene Torre, Mark Paragua, and Wesley So.
In Sabah, Malaysia, Quizon won the gold, Amilal settled for silver while IM Aditya Bagus Arfan of Indonesia took the bronze.
Rounding up to the top 10 (ten) are CM Fabian Glen Mariano of Indonesia, IM Michael Concio Jr. of the Philippines, NM Jan Clifford Labog of the Philippines, Kavin Mohan of Malaysia, FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca of the Philippines, Jai Adithya Gnanasekar of Singapore and NM Ivan Travis Cu of the Philippines.
In the Girls Division, Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Diajeng Theresa Singgih of Indonesia defeated Woman National Master (WNM) Ma. Elayza Villa of the Philippines scored 7.5 points in nine outings and won the gold medal.
Woman Fide Master (WFM)  Boldbaatar Altantuya of Mongolia and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Cecilia Natalie Liuviann of Indonesia went home the silver and bronze medal, respectively who totes 6.5 points each.
Woman National Master (WNM) Ruelle Canino of the Philippines beat Woman Fide Master (WFM) Samantha Edithso of Indonesia to score 6.0 points and settle for solo fourth place.
Villa, on the other hand was stuck at 4.5 points and landed at 10th place.-Marlon Bernardino-