{"id":48067,"date":"2014-01-22T13:23:15","date_gmt":"2014-01-22T21:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=48067"},"modified":"2015-02-14T22:56:07","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T06:56:07","slug":"ruben-ondangan-is-the-2013-av-chess-player-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2014\/01\/22\/ruben-ondangan-is-the-2013-av-chess-player-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruben Ondangan is the 2013 AV Chess Player of The Year!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lancaster<\/a>
Lancaster resident Ruben Ondangan ranks 75th out of 2,627 active USCF chess players in California. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Daa Anne Mahowald of AV Chess House & Say Yes to Chess<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 For the second year in a row, United States Chess Federation (USCF) \u201cNational Chess Master\u201d Ruben Ondangan Jr<\/strong>. has won the Antelope Valley Chess Player of the Year championship!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The 40-year-old local pastor learned to play chess at 14. (Contributed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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

USCF \u201cCandidate Chess Master\u201d Craig Anderson<\/strong> of Palmdale won 2nd<\/sup> place in the Player of the Year competition. And Christian Mercado<\/strong> of Palmdale placed third in the competition.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

How Player of the Year (POY) points are earned<\/strong><\/h3>\n