Playing without a single loss, National Master Ric Portugalera emerged as the champion of the KCA Summer Chess Open FIDE Rated Blitz chess tournament held last Sunday, July 26, 2026 in Hongkong.
The General Santos City native Portugalera finished the 7-round Swiss System competition with 6.5 points on account six wins and a draw to clinch the title and the $1,000 Hongkong Dollar.
The Thailand based Portugalera scored six straight wins against Pan Hei of Hongkong, Chi Ngo Chan of Hongkong, AFM Aiden Zhu of Canada, Jin Yang of China, Yuetong Wu of China, and WFM Shanshan Wang of China before drawing his final match against AIM Ruhao Liu of China to secure the title.
Ruhao, Yishu Li of Hongkong, and Anpeng Hu of Hongkong settled for second to 4th placers with 5.5 points each.
"I dedicate this victory to all those who get up everyday to fight against the hardships of Life, to be better than the day before. To my family and my country," said Portugalera, one of the top players of the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) chess team during his College days in the 90s.
Portugalera is one of the famous chess instructors in Thailand at the Jirapak Chess Academy. (Marlon Bernardino)
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