PNU Chess Team

Congratulations to the members of the PNU Manila Chess Team and PNU Torchbearers Varsity Club for achieving a 4/4 100% passing rate in the March 2026 Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET)! ♟️🎉

Your dedication, discipline, and perseverance have brought pride and honor to the PNU community. May your success inspire more future educators and student-athletes to pursue excellence both in academics and in competition.

We are proud of all of you and your outstanding achievement!

To God be the glory!

🖼️ & ✍🏻: Daniel C. Ortañez

The PNU Chess Team - Manila was invited to the 𝐅𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬' 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 on April 17, 2026 9 A.M. - 4 P.M.; Competing against other participating universities:

1. MAPUA
2. Rizal Technological University
3. Technological University of the Philippines
4. Polytechnic University of the Philippines
5. De La Salle University – Dasmariñas
6. University of Perpetual Help System

The PNU Chess Team was represented by the Men's Team: Capt. Mel, Steve, Jannrick, and Gio in a fixed-board format of (7) Seven Rounds. With Capt. Mel leading the team at Board 1 winning (2) Boards, Steve at Board 2 with (4) four boards, Gio at board 3, and Jann at the strategic Board 5. The tournament
The tournament went through exchanges, draws, and even resigns as pieces flew through each side of all the squares. The team ended the tournament with success for experience and their developmental journey on chess.

"𝐓𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞."
- 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘌𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦

The Philippine Normal University Chess Team welcomed once more The Valenzuela National Highschool Team for a 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝘀 Mini Seminar and 𝗠𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝟭𝟬+𝟱 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. The Chess Clinic Mini workshop prepared by Mr. 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼 𝗔. 𝗕𝗶ñ𝗮𝘀—a National Arbiter and the Head Coach of ValNat Chess Club, helped improve not only the 'In's', but also 'Out's' of chess. It highlighted the roles and duties of not only a Chess Arbiter, but as a chess player as a whole; mentioning the laws, jurisdictions, and protocols that will help the members with judgement in facilitating chess tournaments in the future.

The Application of the educational workshop was applied immediately on the followed 𝗠𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝟭𝟬+𝟱 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 of 5 rounds—spearheaded by Team Captain Stephanie Collinette D. Ampaña (Ley), as trial head arbiter. The rotation of arbiters depended on the availability of the players, thus players on BYE were able to exercise Arbiter duties. 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼 of the VNHS team won undefeated through all 5 rounds, this being his 2nd undefeated streak since the 131 Tournament last January 31, 2026. On the other hand, 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗭𝘂𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘁𝗮 (Steve) continues his reign as Top PNU player for this tournament. The day concluded with farewells and a Simul game with PNUCT Coach Mark Christian Evangelista against (6) six PNUCT members. The game finished with (2) wins and (2) draws, leading into a total of 3 points won by the PNUCT Members.

Congratulations everyone!

🌟𝐏𝐍𝐔𝐂𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔🌟
(Real na to pramis! 'di na mamamandela effect)

Get a glimpse of all legends and new. Meet the champions, the rising stars, and the next generation of PNUCT's heart.

♟♞♜♝♛ ♚♟ '𝟏 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝟑 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝟏 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥' ♙♖♘ ♕♔♗♘

The Philippine Normal University Chess Team held the 𝟏𝟑𝟏 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, a tune-up tournament with two prestigious schools: STI Pasay-EDSA & Valenzuela National High School on January 31, 2026 at Room 307, Main Building. This collaborative tune-up between the three schools builds a threshold through every trap, pin, and 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚!

The 𝗦𝗧𝗜 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝗮𝘆-𝗘𝗗𝗦𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟴 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀, each showcasing a rich storm of strategies. Facilitated and guided by 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢ñ𝐚, the performance of each and player represented a theme of strength and camaraderie. The interaction of the following schools was even more highlighted at every clock's count down, matching energies in all 8 rounds of 7-minute time control Rapid Matches. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐏𝐍𝐔 took it home with 30.5, with top PNU Player and Overall Player, 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙕𝙪𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙩𝙖; against Team STI with 25, with top STI Pasay-EDSA player 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝘿. 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙖.

The (𝗩𝗡𝗛𝗦) 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘇𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 arrived with an hour to spare to play casual games with Team STI before their departure. The interaction between the 8 players between these two schools fostered an irreplaceable collaboration. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐕𝐍𝐇𝐒 with 8 participating players, facilitated and guided by 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐬, fought 8 rounds of 7-minute time control Rapid Matches with a vigor drowning the board into a spiral of champions. Pieces were flying from few seconds, and few seconds becoming crucial pieces of the board by the endgame. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐕𝐍𝐇𝐒 consisted of players raging from Beginners up until 2000 ratings, with aspiring to participate in divisional levels. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐏𝐍𝐔 as the winning team with the total wins of 22-18. On the other hand, 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐕𝐍𝐇𝐒'𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 remained undefeated with 5 wins out of the 5 rounds, making him the 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 of the second half of January 31's 𝟏𝟑𝟏 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭!

Today's event was another journey that pieces our lives into a complete story. Within one board, among three teams, we achieve 1 goal.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞! 🎉

‼️𝘼 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨!‼️
After the festive lights on the eve of 25th, The team strived in a 10+5 Rapid Online Tournament against the NATIONAL UNIVERSITY MOA Chess Team on December 26, 2025 at 7:58 P.M. Team PNU had 9 players against 8 players from NU MOA through the 2 hour and 30 Minute Tournament. 𝗣𝗡𝗨 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 being the overall Individual Champion with an outstanding total of 𝟯𝟮 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀, followed by 𝗡𝗨 𝗠𝗢𝗔 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 with 𝟮𝟲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀, and 𝗡𝗨 𝗠𝗢𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗴𝗼𝗼𝘀 at overall individual third place with 𝟮𝟱 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀. NU MOA Team is the overall winner for tonight's carol with a total team score of 113 and PNUCT with 70. The players performed with holiday cheers and joyous spirit as we close this year with another glimpse of shining history for the team!
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲! 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀!🎉🎉🥂

🥈𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙄𝙇𝙑𝙀𝙍 𝙀𝙈𝘽𝙀𝙍𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝘼 𝙏𝙊𝙍𝘾𝙃!

The Philippine Normal University Chess Team at the 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁'𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹 on December 20, 2025 placed 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 out of the 7 other participating teams:

Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF).
E-Claro Academy.
Elite BCP Chess Team (Bestlink College of the Philippines)
Batasan High School
Judge Feliciano High School
Praying Servants of God Chess Team
San Francisco High School

The team arrived more than an hour early at the venue and had pre-games at a nearby coffeeshop before arriving at the Ministry Hall. The team was greeted with fresh new face and minds, as strategies of all kinds landed on squares and pieces flying on each side to conquer. The game format was 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 with a time control of 20 minutes, where survival became both the ally and enemy of all 8 teams. PNUCT fought against
Judge Feliciano High School in the first round and pierced through enough to stay in the pool. Second contender of the team was E-claro Academy ending at a tie. The tie resolved with a rematch of Blitz of 5+2 won by PNUCT, reaching the finals against Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF) Chess Team televised on the big screen and online at the official Youtube channel of CCF Commonwealth that can be rewatched here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RsLfo3bys4s

In the finals; Team CCF won with a score of 8 wins and 1 draw, while Team PNUCT had 1 win and 1 draw—a landslide earning the 2nd place in the CCF Sports Ministry Chess Tournament.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!🎉

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 + 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
📍St. Mary's Academy Pasay

The Philippine Normal University Chess Team went against the brains of St. Mary's Academy with a Twist on November 25, 2025! The tune-up against player of St. Mary's Academy included lessons or thorough analysis for every game! Each game ridden in tactics and memorable words as fuel for the students at St. Mary's, through their chess journey! facilitated and invited by PNU Alumni Janna Ivory Tabigne Quistadio on this successful collaboration!

‼️🎉Playing now!♟️‼️
𝟏𝟎+𝟓 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐍𝐔 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐕𝐒 𝐍𝐔 𝐌𝐎𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦