Kim Steven Yap
{{short description|Filipino chess player (born 1988)}}
{{Infobox chess player
| name = Kim Steven Yap
| image = Kim Steven Yap Dubai Open Chess Tournament 2013 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Yap at Dubai Open Chess Tournament 2013
| country = Philippines
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1988|05|21}}
| birth_place = Cebu City, Philippines
| title = {{nowrap|International Master (2009)}}
| peakrating = 2442 (July 2014)
| FideID = 5202809
}}
Kim Steven Ruelan Yap (born May 21, 1988) is a Filipino chess player. He holds the FIDE title of International Master (IM).
Early life
Yap was recognised as a prodigy from Cebu.{{cite web|url=https://www.philstar.com/cebu-sports/2006/04/11/331229/cebus-kim-yap-shocks-gm-candidate-gonzales|title=Cebu's Kim Yap shocks GM candidate Gonzales|website=Philstar|publisher=The Philippine Star|accessdate=15 September 2018}} He is a grandson of Marcelo "Loloy" Ruelan, Cebu's first National Master who was Philippine Open champion in 1959. His father, Lincoln, is an International Arbiter.{{Cite web|url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/153072/cebus-rom-tops-kasparov-rapid-open|title=Cebu's Rom tops Kasparov Rapid Open|website=cebudailynews.inquirer.net|language=en|access-date=2018-09-19}} Lincoln was a varsity player of the University of the Visayas who is now based in Singapore as an instructor at Intchess Asia. His mother, Mona, played for the University of San Carlos. He is the nephew of IM Rico Mascariñas and FIDE Arbiter Marvin Ruelan.{{cite web|url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/375854|title=Yap: changing Cebuanos' mindset about chess|website=Sunstar|publisher=SunStar Philippines|accessdate=15 September 2018}}
Career
Yap tied for second and third place behind champion Wesley So in the 2007 National Junior Chess Championship.{{cite web|url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/sports/content/42026/so-bags-07-junior-chess-championship-crown/story/|title=So bags '07 junior chess championship crown|website=gmanetwork|publisher=GMA News Online|accessdate=15 September 2018}} So, who now plays for the United States{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/sport/anand-draws-with-wesley-so-joint-sixth/643014.html|title=Anand draws with Wesley So, joint sixth|last=|first=|date=August 26, 2018|website=The Tribune|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=September 19, 2018}} and reached as high as number two in the world rankings,{{Cite news|url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/22/18/chess-wesley-so-among-the-early-leaders-in-elite-paris-tournament|title=Chess: Wesley So among the early leaders in elite Paris tournament|last=Luarca|first=Roy|work=ABS-CBN News|access-date=2018-09-19|language=en-US}} has been unsuccessful against Yap, losing their three personal encounters.{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/filipino/en/audiotrack/grand-master-campaign-kim-yap|title=Grand Master Campaign for Kim Yap|website=SBS|publisher=SBS|accessdate=15 September 2018}}
His IM title was confirmed during the FIDE Presidential Board meeting in Istanbul, Turkey in March 2009.{{cite web|url=https://ratings.fide.com/title_applications.phtml?pb=22|title=Title Applications|website=FIDE|publisher=FIDE|accessdate=15 September 2018}}
Yap won an individual gold medal as the top Board 2 player in the 2014 Asian Club Team Chess League in Al Ain, UAE.{{cite web |title=2014 Asian Club Chess Champions League |url=https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/8121-2014-asian-club-chess-champions-league.html |website=FIDE |accessdate=15 September 2018}} His performance helped Tagaytay Chess Club capture the silver medal. He defeated three grandmasters in the tournament, Krishnan Sasikiran (rated 2669), Reefat Bin-Sattar (2449) and Petr Kostenko (2484),{{cite web |title=Kim Steven Yap |url=http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Sports&title=kim-steven-yap&id=90713 |website=Bworldonline |publisher=Business World Online |accessdate=15 September 2018}} for a 2679 performance rating.
Yap is coach and trainer of the University of Cebu chess team and was a trainer at the Asean Chess Academy in Singapore.{{cite web |title=UC taps IM Yap as coach |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/16792 |website=sunstar |publisher=SunStar Philippines |accessdate=15 September 2018}} He founded the Cebu School of Chess in 2014.{{cite web |title=IM Yap realizes dream, opens chess school in Cebu |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/336517 |website=sunstar |publisher=SunStar Philippines |accessdate=15 September 2018}} Yap signed a memorandum of agreement on May 29, 2015, with Dr. Marie Ernestine Fajatin, the school founder, and Therese dela Torre of Cebu Chess Masters for Marie Ernestine School Philippine Robotics Academy to be the first private school in the Philippines to include chess into its K-12 curriculum.{{cite web |title="Chess in Schools" program marks historical breakthrough |url=http://philboxing.com/news/story-109857.html |website=Philboxing |publisher=Philboxing.com |accessdate=15 September 2018}}
Yap earned his first chess grandmaster norm after placing second in the Berkeley Chess School 2018 Summer IM/GM Norm Tournament in Berkeley, California.{{cite web |title=Kim Yap, Cebuano chess master, obtains GM norm |url=https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-sports/2018/08/23/1844962/kim-yap-cebuano-chess-master-obtains-gm-norm |website=Philstar |publisher=The Freeman |accessdate=15 September 2018}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{FIDE|5202809}}
- {{365Chess.com player|Kim_Steven_Yap}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yap, Kim Steven}}
Category:Filipino chess players