10th Search for the Next Chess Master 2025 (FIDE Rated RR Standard)
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 26 Jul 2025 to 27 Jul 2025 in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines. Top 10 Elo average was 1618, and top seed was Noel Jr Bernil (🇵🇠PHI, 1762).
Markley Partosa (🇵🇠PHI, 1700) won with 8.0/9, ahead of Arleah Cassandra Sapuan (7.0) and Noel Jr Bernil (7.0). Partosa won solo starting round 2.
The biggest upset came in round 2: Faith Jove Bernil (1578) beat Mikhail Gabriel Alcala (1720), a +142-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsMarkley Partosa led from R2 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.
Markley Partosa never relinquished the lead after R2; final gap +1.0 over the runner-up.
Markley Partosa drew with Arleah Cassandra Sapuan (Black).
Markley Partosa posted 3 in a row (R1–R3) and 4 in a row (R6–R9) — total 7 wins.
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇵ðŸ‡Partosa, Markley | 1700 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 | 30.00 | 37.0 | +96.4 | 1959 |
| 2 | 🇵ðŸ‡Sapuan, Arleah Cassandra | 1666 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 7.0 | 27.00 | 38.0 | +74.8 | 1832 |
| 3 | 🇵ðŸ‡Bernil, Noel Jr | 1762 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | 25.50 | 38.0 | +27.6 | 1822 |
| 4 | 🇵ðŸ‡Barinan, Casey Josh | 1599 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 18.50 | 39.5 | +49.6 | 1700 |
| 5 | 🇵ðŸ‡Francisco, Tyler | 1517 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 15.75 | 40.5 | +52.0 | 1629 |
| 6 | 🇵ðŸ‡Bernil, Faith Jove | 1578 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 3.5 | 9.25 | 41.5 | -18.4 | 1542 |
| 8 | 🇵ðŸ‡Alcala, Mikhail Gabriel | 1720 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | 0 | ½ | 1 | 3.0 | 9.75 | 42.0 | -113.6 | 1481 |
| 7 | 🇵ðŸ‡Marana, Von Isiah | 1641 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | * | 0 | 1 | 3.0 | 8.50 | 42.0 | -72.8 | 1490 |
| 9 | 🇵ðŸ‡Gonzales, Yael | 1520 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | * | 0 | 2.0 | 6.25 | 43.0 | -48.4 | 1408 |
| 10 | 🇵ðŸ‡Amores, Amir | 1476 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | * | 1.5 | 5.50 | 43.5 | -47.2 | 1360 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Partosa, MarkleyPHI+96.48.0 pts · #1
- 2Sapuan, Arleah CassandraPHI+74.87.0 pts · #2
- 3Francisco, TylerPHI+52.04.5 pts · #5
- 1Alcala, Mikhail GabrielPHI-113.63.0 pts · #8
- 2Marana, Von IsiahPHI-72.83.0 pts · #7
- 3Gonzales, YaelPHI-48.42.0 pts · #9
- R2+142 Elo gap
- R3+121 Elo gap