Young Bicolano grabs championship in Thailand chess tournament

A 9-year-old boy from Albay province in the Bicol region has been declared champion of the 6th Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championship held in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.

Chess prodigy Bince Rafael Operiano from Brgy Busac, Municipality of Oas, Albay province represented the Philippines in the international competition which was scheduled from November 4 to 12. .

Operiano’s early chess skills were discovered when he was just 6-years during the National Age Chess Group Kiddie category held at the Albay Astrodome before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Before the scheduled tournament, Bince’s parents sought the help of various sponsors for his Thailand chess competition as they cannot afford to buy their son plane tickets as well as the young chess prodigy’s other expenses.