Twenty-six-year-old Shania Mae Mendoza of Santa Rosa City, Laguna recently made waves at the 45th Chess Olympiad of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Budapest, Hungary.
Mendoza was part of the four-member women’s delegation of the Philippines who finished 24th overall at the Chess Olympiad after defeating Brazil 4-0 last Sunday, September 22.
The group also took the gold medal in Group B, giving the Philippines its first medal since the team of Sheerie Joey Lomibao, Catherine Pereña, Sherily Cua and Beverly Mendoza won in Group C at the 2006 Turin edition.
Mendoza, a FIDE Master, also secured 5.5 out of 10 with 36.2 rating points as top board player.
This was her fourth stint at the Chess Olympiad after seeing action in Baku, Azerbaijan (2016), Batumi, Georgia (2018) and Chennai, India last year.
"Actually, I did not expect to win in other games. I just did my best," was how she described her performance during the games.
India ruled the men's and women's divisions during the 45th Chess Olympiad, earning them the Gaprindashvili Cup for having the highest combined scores of both teams.
(OpinYon News Team/With report from PNA)
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