FM John Merill E. Jacutina

Hi! I’m FIDE Master John Merill Jacutina, with a peak FIDE rating of 2336 and over 10 years of competitive chess experience. Today, I focus on nurturing young talents, sharing my knowledge with children and helping them grow in the game.

I have won numerous local tournaments in the Philippines, including the annual National Age Group Championships. I’ve also competed successfully in international events such as the ASEAN+ Age Group Championships from 2013 to 2020. However, my most memorable achievement was winning the World Schools Chess Championship in 2015, held in Thailand, where I emerged as the champion.

I’ve been coaching talented kids in the city of Caloocan, where I serve as the head coach. I’ve been training and guiding them as a team to compete in local tournaments. I am also part of the Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence as a coach. For the past five years, I have been focused on nurturing young talents both locally and internationally.

as I continue to walk on the path of coaching, I have been annotating games of Strong players.

I am well-known for my positional style of play and exceptional skill in handling knights. I am also well-versed in endgames.

I usually begin by giving a problem or question related to the topic, then I proceed with the discussion. After that, I present another problem, which often helps the student recognize any lapses or misunderstandings from the earlier part of the session. Alternatively, I may ask the student to play a practice game to apply what they’ve learned during the lesson. I also give homework every session.