June proved to be a merry month for chesser Jayson Gonzales after the Quezon City-native finally snatched his long-cherished grandmaster crown.

This developed after Gonzales finished with nine points on six wins and six draws in the recent Philippines vs Myanmar Dual Chess Championships, enough for his Elo rating of 2490 to jump to 2520. His current rating breached the 2500 benchmark for a grandmaster title, making Gonzales the country's 9th grandmaster.

Gonzales powered the country to 46.5 points against visiting Myanmar's 25.5 points over the weekend in the first RP-Myanmar duel at the Lake Garden Hotel in Tagaytay City.

However, Gonzales will have to wait until July 1, 2008 FIDE ratings list to formally claim his GM title.