| Janelle Mae Frayna | |
|---|---|
 Frayna in 2017 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Born | May 19, 1996 Legazpi, Albay |
| Title | Woman Grandmaster (2016) |
| Peak rating | 2325 (February 2017) |
Janelle Mae Frayna (born May 19, 1996) is a Filipina chess player. She was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster by FIDE in 2017, becoming the first from the Philippines to achieve this. She is a 3-time and the current Philippine Women's Chess Champion. [1]
Frayna was born on May 19, 1996, in Legazpi, Albay [2] to George and Sonia Frayna. She is the only daughter of her parents, who work as engineers, and she has two brothers. She attended the Divine Word College of Legazpi, where she took her elementary and high school studies and was a consistent honor student. [3]
Frayna entered the Far Eastern University under a scholarship which she earned on her third year in high school. [3] In 2017, Frayna graduated with a degree of Psychology [4] with cum laude honors and as valedictorian. [3] [5] [6]
Frayna started playing chess at age 11 joining the Magayon Chess Club. She started showing interest to the sport when she was still an elementary school student. During her first two years in high school, she joined chess tournaments during City Meets as well as the Palarong Bicol and the Palarong Pambansa. [3]
At the Philippine women's national championship, Frayna became the champion in two editions. She also finished first runner up twice in other editions of the same tournament. She also became champion for multiple times at the ASEAN Age-Group Chess Championships. After going through a six to eight months of extensive training, she enrolled at the Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence in 2010. In 2011, she won the Philippine National Juniors and became one of the youngest winners of that particular tournament. [3]
Frayna gained the title of Woman FIDE Master in 2013 and a year later she became a Woman International Master.
The Filipina is part of the FEU Diliman Juniors Chess team. She first won over a grandmaster and an international master, both men, at the Battle of the Grandmasters tournament in July 2014, becoming the first woman to do so. She also became the first woman to qualify for the men's division of the said tournament by becoming one of six top players of the 2014 competition. [7]
Frayna was named co-recipient of the UAAP Season 77 Athlete of the Year award after leading her university's team at the UAAP Championship, [7] along with table tennis player Ian Lariba. [8]
At the 42nd Chess Olympiad held in September 2016, Frayna achieved her final norm to become eligible for the title of Woman Grandmaster. After the feat, she was dubbed by the media as the Philippines' first woman grandmaster. [9] [10] This title was later confirmed by the Presidential Board by written resolution in early 2017. [11]
Frayna was nominated by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines to play in the 2021 FIDE Women's World Cup in Sochi, Russia after the Philippines was given one of the 39 wild card slots for the tournament. [12]
She took part in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam where she won two bronze medals; one for the women's rapid chess event and the second for the women's individual blitz. [13] Since traditional chess was not part of the 2023 edition of the regional meet in Cambodia, Frayna took part in ouk chaktrang. [14] [15]
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), National University (NU), University of the East (UE), University of the Philippines Diliman (UP), and the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
The Philippine Chess Championship is organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
UAAP Season 77 is the 2014–15 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The season host is the University of the East with Carmelita Mateo as president. Eight universities are competing in fifteen sports to vie for the general championship. Each sporting event is hosted by a school.
The following is a list of notable events that are related to Philippine sports in 2014.
Victonara "Ara" Salas Galang is a multi-awarded, Filipina volleyball player. She was UAAP Rookie of the Year and Best Server during the Season 74 and UAAP Most Valuable Player in the Season 75. She is the former team captain (2014–2015) of the De La Salle University Lady Spikers.
Dennise Michelle "Denden" Garcia Lazaro-Revilla is a Filipina professional volleyball player. Lazaro is a member of the Philippines women's national volleyball team. She is known as the libero and Ateneo Lady Eagles' Iron Eagle.
Medina Warda Aulia is an Indonesian chess player. She has held the title of International Master since 2020, and Woman Grandmaster since 2013.
The following is a list of notable events and developments that are related to Philippine sports in 2015.
Kim Alano Fajardo is a Filipino volleyball athlete. She was the team captain of the De La Salle University women's volleyball team for Season 78 and 79.
May Luna is a Filipino volleyball athlete. She played with the De La Salle University collegiate women's varsity volleyball in the Season 78 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. She has also played in the Philippine Volleyball Federation National Inter-Collegiate Volleyball Tournament (InterCol), Philippine National Games, Philippine University Games, Palarong Pambansa and Shakey's G-League.
Marnelli "Let" Salvador Dimzon is a Filipina football coach and former player. She is currently the head coach of the women's teams of Kaya-Iloilo and Far Eastern University and also assistant coach of Guam women's national team.
Ian "Yan" Nietes Lariba was a Filipino table tennis player. She represented the Philippines in international tournaments and competed in the women's singles event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Queeny T. Sabobo is a Filipina softball player. Born and raised in Negros Occidental, Sabodo was part of the Adamson University Falcons women's softball team who swept 5 championships and a 73-game winning run in the UAAP softball tournament.
Cherry Ann Quipanes Rondina, popularly known as Sisi Rondina, is a Filipino indoor and beach volleyball player. She is currently playing for the Choco Mucho Flying Titans at the Premier Volleyball League.
Desirée Wynea Cheng is a Filipino volleyball athlete. She played with De La Salle University collegiate women's varsity volleyball team.
Diana Mae "Tots" Carlos is a Filipino volleyball player who currently plays for the Creamline Cool Smashers. She was playing with UP Lady Fighting Maroons of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, and a member of both the indoor and beach volleyball collegiate varsity teams of the university. She bagged the back-to-back Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite Spiker in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference and 2022 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference. She is also part of the Philippines women's national volleyball team that competed in the 2022 Asian Women's Volleyball Cup.
Anicka Chabeli Arrieta Castañeda is a Filipina footballer who plays as a midfielder for Mount Druitt Town Rangers and the Philippines women's national team.
Alisha Claire Mendoza del Campo is a Filipina footballer who plays as a forward for the Philippines women's national team.
Eline Roebers is a Dutch chess player who holds the title of International Master. She is the reigning Dutch Women's Champion and was the 2022 Dutch Youth Champion in the open division. Roebers was the 2020 online World Youth Champion in the under-14 girls' division, and was the first Dutch player to win a World Youth Championship in any category. Roebers began playing chess at age seven and she has been coached by Dutch International Master Robert Ris. Her father Jan is a FIDE Master (FM). She won an individual bronze medal on the second board at the European Women's Team Championship in 2021.
Jan Jodilyn Fronda is a Filipina chess player who won the women's Philippine Chess Championship in 2015 and 2019.
