Pinoy chess master shines in California
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 14 Dec 2017
FORMER University of Manila standout and now US National Master Ruben Ondangan Jr. settled for overall second place in the just concluded 2017 Antelope Valley Masters 8th Christmas Classic Open chess tournament in Lancaster, California on Sunday, December 10, 2017.
The Concepcion, Marikina native nabbed the runner-up?s trophy in the Open division of the tournament with 3.0 points in four outings.
Ondangan, who is best remembered winning the 2004 Hawaii Open Chess Championship, currently serves as a senior pastor in Lancaster, California.
He is also the founder/CEO and Certified Chess Instructor at C.H.E.C.K.M.A.T.E. Chess Schools.
Craig Anderson, also a certified United States Chess Federation (USCF) master won the title with 3.5 points. Candidate Master (CM) Sergio "Jun" Marcelo, another Filipino Pastor from Batangas City tallied 2.5 points, tying at Expert John Vandenberg and CM Indra Lahiri for 3rd to 5th place.
Kevin Golchin, meantime tallied perfect 4.0 points to top the Under 1800 section. Alexander Kuzmenko finished second with 3.0 points followed by 3rd place Evan Han with 2.5 points.
In the under 1500 Section, Justin Choi had a total 4.0 points output for the crown. Collin Xiang, Roger Li, Chloe Wang and Douglas Stark scored 2.0 points each.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Sun, 14 Sep 2025