Paulo ‘Pau’ Sales Bersamina
Former La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) top gunner and now an incoming Far Eastern University freshman Paulo Bersamina, fondly called "Pau" in the local circuit is currently the RP 12 and under champion, scored another milestone by winning the 2010 National Juniors for Boys and Girls Chess Championship at the Gaisano Grand Citimall in Davao City on Monday.
The Pasay City whiz kid, who celebrated his 12th birthday last Feb. 1, and also a prodigy of Meralco Chess Club, finished with seven points to earn him the distinction of being the youngest-ever RP Junior champion at the age of 12, the same output of UST bet Joey Albert Florendo of Zamboanga City, but won the title with a better tie break to grab the championship supported by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr.
Bersamina settled a truce with another UST mainstay Patrick Erle Florendo of Zamboanga City in the ninth and final round. Prospero Pichay Jr. hailed Bersamina whom he labeled as the future of Philippine chess. “He would probably attain his grandmaster status at the age of 15. We just need to support him,” said Pichay. Grandmaster Wesley So won the national junior title at the age of 13.
