Julio Catalino Sadorra, a 37-year-old Filipino Grandmaster in the United States, will lead the Philippines team at the 2024 World Chess Olympiad this September in Hungary, Budapest.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) appointed Sadorra to lead the team, which includes reigning national champion International Master Daniel Quizon, Grandmaster John Paul Gomez, and IMs Paolo Bersamina and Jan Emmanuel Garcia. The head coach is GM Eugene Torre.
“We’re thrilled to have him (Sadorra) back,” said NCFP chief executive officer GM Jayson Gonzales.
Sadorra is anticipated to play the top board once more, a role he fulfilled in his first three Olympiads: Tromso, Norway (2014); Baku, Azerbaijan (2016); and Batumi, Georgia (2018).
He missed the Chennai, India tournament in 2022 and the online editions in 2020 and 2021 due to family commitments and his role as the chess team coach at the University of Texas at Dallas.
On the other hand, the women’s team representing the country includes WGM Janelle Frayna, WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, and reigning national women’s champion, Woman FIDE Master Ruelle Canino. Shania Mae Mendoza, Kylen Joy Mordido, Bernadette Galas, Marie Antoinette San Diego, Allaney Jia Doroy, and Cherry Ann Mejia are competing for the final two spots in the ongoing double-round robin tournament at PACE on Mindanao Ave, Quezon City.
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