Ruben Ondangan is the 2013 AV Chess Player of The Year!

By Daa Anne Mahowald of AV Chess House & Say Yes to Chess

LANCASTER – For the second year in a row, United States Chess Federation (USCF) “National Chess Master” Ruben Ondangan Jr. has won the Antelope Valley Chess Player of the Year championship!

Ondangan, 40, is a pastor at Lancaster Christian Ministries Church and is a resident of Lancaster. A native of the Philippines, he was born in Quezon City and graduated from the University of Manila.

He learned to play chess at age 14 and now, out of 2627 active USCF chess players in California, Ondangan ranks 75th.

USCF “Candidate Chess Master” Craig Anderson of Palmdale won 2^nd place in the Player of the Year competition. And Christian Mercado of Palmdale placed third in the competition.

The AV Chess House sponsored the 2nd Annual Antelope Valley Chess Player of the Year championship, which ran from January 1 through December 31, 2013.

How Player of the Year (POY) points are earned

• Every USCF-rated game played in the Antelope Valley counts.
• Every USCF-rated game won gives the winner 1 POY point.
• Every USCF-rated game drawn gives each player .5 POY point.
• Every USCF-rated game lost gives the loser .25 POY point.
• The person with the highest number of POY points by December 31 wins 1^st Place and earns the right to take possession of the Traveling Trophy until unseated by the next year’s POY Champion.
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners each receive a certificate declaring their POY status.