Sander De Erit Severino (June 30, 1985) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

player holding the title of

FIDE Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

. He participated at the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2022 Asian Para Games ) , Host city = Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China , Nations participating = , Athletes participating = 4,000 (Expected) , Events = 616 in 22 sports (in 24 disciplines) , Opening ceremony = 22 October 2023 , Closing cere ...

Career

Born on June 30, 1985, Sander De Erit Severino is a native of

Silay Silay, officially the City of Silay ( hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Silay; ceb, Dakbayan sa Silay; fil, Lungsod ng Silay), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a pop ...

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...

. Severino was diagnosed with

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

(ALS) when he was eight years old after a bicycle accident. Reliant on a wheelchair, both of his legs are paralyzed due to this condition. The Silay native started playing chess competitively at age seven and has become a regional champion at age 9 and the National Kiddies Champion at age 11. Severino along with Henry Roger Lopez and Jasper Rom participated at the 2000 Millennium Grand Prix chess tournament sponsored by the Philippine Chess Society. Executive Vice President of the

Social Security System Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

Horacio Templo has sponsored the participation of disabled athletes in the chess tournament including the trio who did well in the competition. In late December 2000, Severino won the Asian Continental Under-16 Championship in

Bagac Bagac, officially the Municipality of Bagac ( tl, Bayan ng Bagac), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 31,365 people. With an area of , Bagac is the largest mun ...

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the ...

, with his participation sponsored again by the SSS Thanks to this victory, he earned the title of

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

awarded him the title in 2015. Sander Severino has participated in seven editions of the

ASEAN Para Games The ASEAN Para Games is a biennial multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games involving disabled athletes from the current 11 Southeast Asia countries. Participating athletes have a variety of disabilities ranging from spastic, ...

. In the 2017 edition held in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

he won a gold medal. At the

2018 Asian Para Games The 2018 Asian Para Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Difabel Asia 2018, ''Asian Para Games 2018''), officially known as the 3rd Asian Para Games and also known as Indonesia 2018, was a pan-Asian multi-sport event that held from 6 to 13 October 2018 i ...

in Jakarta, the chess team which Severino is a part of won most of the ten gold medals won by the whole Philippine contingent. Severino himself won the individual standard P1 and individual rapid P1 events and the team standard P1 and team rapid B1 events along with Lopez and Rom. In 2020, Severino clinched the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) World Online Chess Rapid Championship title becoming the first player representing the Philippines to do so. He was undefeated winning the finals against Igor Yarmonov of Ukraine garnering 8.5 points through 8 victories and a draw.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Severino, Sander 1985 births Living people Filipino chess players Chess FIDE Masters People with paraplegia Filipino people with disabilities People from Silay ASEAN ParaGames competitors Place of birth missing (living people) Medalists at the 2018 Asian Para Games Medalists at the 2022 Asian Para Games