"There were only three rounds to go and the dream of a first-ever Filipina World Junior Champion seemed tantalizingly close. No Filipina has ever placed in the top 20 in this event, let alone be the leader this late in the tournament.

However, Janelle was completely winded by this time and try as she might she dropped off with 2 losses and a draw to finish in 5th place.

Be that as it may, WIM Janelle Mae Frayna has always been a surprise package. In 2014, just 17 years old she became the first female to qualify for the Grand Finals of the Open Division (meaning men and women can participate) Philippine National Championship. We thought that she would be horribly massacred in the so-called Battle of the GMs, being the lowest-rated player there and all, but the 2015 UAAP Athlete of the Year responded by defeating GMs Rogelio Antonio and Richard Bitoon to finish in a very creditable 4th place, which is actually good enough to qualify her for the Men’s team to the 2014 Tromso Olympiad.

Some people called it a fluke, but now with her brilliant performance in Bhubaneswar she has proven herself to be no flash-in-the-pan. At the age of 19 Janelle is clearly the strongest female chessplayer that the Philippines has produced -- I don’t want to hear anybody saying that the accolade belongs to WIM Arianne Caoili -- I was Arianne’s team captain in the 2000 Istanbul Olympiad and can say without reservation that Janelle Mae Frayna is stronger.

We should all support Janelle Mae -- she is worth it."

WIMs Frayna and Secopito can hold the top boards, then maybe WIM Fronda and WNM Bernales could be the scorers. It is now Christy's 2nd Olympiad and hope she's over the jitters. Frayna and Secopito could also score. It would be up to GM Jay how to manage the fielding of WFM Shania.

But if this time is the maturing time of our Womens team, then 30th and above is very possible.

Bo. 4 Georgia (GEO) Rtg-46 Philippines (PHI)Rtg 0 : 0

5.1 GM Dzagnidze, Nana2522 - WIM Frayna, Janelle Mae 2281

5.2 GM Khotenashvili, Bela 2463 - WIM Fronda, Jan Jodilyn2128

5.3 IM Batsiashvili, Nino 2474 -Bernales, Christy Lamiel 2065

Philippines stunned Georgia, one of the main contenders for the gold medal. WIMs Fronda and Secopito were victorious and WIM Frayna held a draw on the top board.

India defeated Brazil 3-1, but WIM Terao shocked the Grand Prix winner Harika Dronavalli."

That was #4 Georgia 2486 going down to 46th Philippines 2148. Next is #5 India 2433. My Coach-friend shared his insight last night that it seems for Women ranks, the title / ELO does not matter much? On any given day, the lower rated can beat the higher rated, another example is Grand Prix champ's Danika's loss yesterday.

On bord 1 Frayna had to meet with the black pieces one of the best women players in the world. At the Tromso Olympiad 2014 Nana Dzagnidze was the best individual female player, ahead of Hou Yifan.

Dzagnidze's intention was to play a slow game hoping to outplay her less experienced opponent without taking any risks. She chose Exchange Slav, a quiet system in which White is happy to maintain a slight pressure without any risk of losing the game, while being ready to punish any opposing inaccuracies. Frayna early abandoned symmetry which led to a more complicated battle. In complications both players missed a win.

At the end the following position was reached:

click for larger view

Black to play

Objectively, this position is won for Black after 39...Re3!

Frayna decided to force a draw (by repetition) by playing 39...Be6. That was correct decision. The position is extremely unbalanced. The complications would have been very difficult to calculate over the board and playing on would be too risky against such a strong and experienced opponent. She learned her lesson from the last rounds of the World Junior Championship.

Pictures have to contain the story within the frame:

Bo. 46 Philippines (PHI) Rtg - 5 India (IND) Rtg 0 : 0 15.1 WIM Frayna, Janelle Mae 2281 - GM Harika, Dronavalli 2542

15.2 WIM Fronda, Jan Jodilyn2128 - IM Padmini,Rout 2408

15.3 Bernales, Christy Lamiel 2065 - IM Tania, Sachdev 2402

"The day’s giant killing happened in the Women’s Section, though, where, as Jan mentioned in his video, 46th seeds the Philippines scored a 2.5:1.5 victory over one of the Big 4 teams – Georgia:

The shocking thing was that it could have been an even more convincing win. On top board Janelle Mae Frayna took a draw in a better position against women’s Top 10 player Nana Dzagdnidze. On Board no. 2 Bela Khotenashvili went completely astray in what started as a better ending for her. 31…Ke6? was ruthlessly punished by Jan Jodilyn Fronda:

32.b4!! and Black couldn’t stop both the a-pawn and the f-pawn.

The job was completed by Catherine Secopito, who seemed to be tempting fate by pushing pawns in front of her king, but in the endgame she perfectly marshalled her pawns to victory while her teammates cheered her on from the sidelines. "