NM Mallorca eyes strong finish in ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Rising Cebuano woodpusher and Lapu-Lapu City native National Master (NM) Marquis Angelo Mallorca is on course for a strong finish in the 24th ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess Championships 2026 in Singapore.

Mallorca moved into 11th place in the Under-14 Boys division after winning four of his first six matches, drawing one and losing one, for 4.5 points with one round remaining in the seven-round standard event.

The 13-year-old Cebuano scored his latest victory Wednesday, defeating fellow Filipino and Arena International Master (AIM) Aedan Gavin Chua in the sixth round. The win allowed Mallorca to bounce back from a fifth-round draw against Vietnam’s Le Huynh Tuan Khang.

Mallorca opened his campaign with a victory over Vietnam’s Arena FIDE Master (AFM) Ta Viet Phong before suffering his lone defeat against Singapore’s Nicholas Kuo Huazhen in the second round.

He quickly recovered, however, putting together back-to-back victories over Singapore’s Jia Li Declan Chow and Vietnam’s Hoang Kha Duc Lu in the third and fourth rounds.

Mallorca will close out his campaign against India’s Advik Singh Chauhan in the seventh and final round.

He is currently the highest-ranked Filipino in the Under-14 Boys standings, with Vietnamese players occupying the top three spots. Tung Quan Nguyen, Le Nguyen Nguyen and Luong Vu Nguyen lead the field as of the latest standings.

Fellow Filipinos King Xyan Beltran and John Curt Valencia are next to Mallorca in the standings, sitting 13th and 14th, respectively.

Mallorca earned his ticket to the prestigious regional tournament after winning the Under-14 Boys title at the 2026 National Age Group Chess Championship in Olongapo City from June 4 to 6. His national championship victory also earned him the National Master title and an all-expenses-paid trip to Singapore courtesy of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).

The Lapu-Lapu City standout is also continuing a growing Cebuano presence in the ASEAN+ Age-Group championships, following the breakthrough of fellow Cebuano chess talent Apple Rubin two years ago.

Rubin, a Toledo City native, made her mark at the 22nd ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess Championships in Vientiane, Laos, in 2024, where she scored 8.5 points out of nine and captured the gold medal in the blitz competition.

Now, Mallorca has an opportunity to add another chapter to Cebu’s growing chess story as he heads into the final round of his own ASEAN+ campaign.

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