NM Jerish John Velarde (rightmost) poses with the organizers of the 2025 Asian Junior Chess Championships. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — National Master (NM) Jerish John Velarde of Lapu-Lapu City clinched the bronze medal in the 2025 Asian Junior Chess Championships held recently in Sri Lanka.
Representing the Philippines, the 18-year-old Velarde—one of Cebu’s top chess prodigies—delivered an impressive performance in the rapid event. He shared the podium with fellow Filipino FIDE Master (FM) Alekhine Nouri, who captured the gold.
NM Jerish Velarde finished the seven-round rapid competition undefeated with 6.0 points.
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He opened his campaign with back-to-back wins over Sri Lanka’s Thihansith Perera and Arena Candidate Master (ACM) Sithum Nevanjith Siriwardene. In Round 3, he drew with Jeewantha Aloka Hettiarchi, then bounced back with a win against Chenitha Sihas Karunasena in Round 4.
Velarde settled for another draw in Round 5 against Minura Sathsindu, before winning his last two matches. In Round 6, he beat Thisarindu Induwara, and in the final round, he pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset—defeating top-seeded Indian International Master S. Aswath.
Despite also scoring 6.0 points, Aswath settled for fourth place due to tie-break scores, giving Velarde the edge for bronze.
In the blitz event, Velarde finished in 18th place with 4.5 points.
NM Jerish Velarde Velarde and Nouri were the only Filipino players in the division.
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