The finest Filipino chess masters, including members of the Philippine team that took part in the recent FIDE Chess Olympiad held in Russia, will see action in the two-day Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence (PACE) Festival today and tomorrow at the Paseo Reale Shopping Mall in Tuguegarao City.
Close to 300 players, headed by Grandmasters Eugene Torre,
Wesley So, Darwin Laylo and John Paul Gomez, who all carried the country?s colors in the Russian Olympiad will vie for the total purse of P100,000 at stake in the Open and Kiddies categories.
As of yesterday, according to GM Jayson Gonzales, the PACE founding president who was guest in yesterday?s SCOOP Sa Kamayan weekly session, more than a hundred woodpushers have confirmed their participation in the Open section. An equal number of participants have also been entered in the Kiddies level.
?Counting those expected to take part in two separate simultaneous exhibition series featuring GM Torre and International Master Yves Ranola, the number of participants could swell to more than 300,? Gonzales told SCOOP members in the forum, sponsored by Mang Inasal, Smart Sports, FILA and TV5.
The Festival, one of the biggest chess event held this year and sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, was made possible with the sponsorship of Compuserve Surveying Co. of Engineer Abraham Cuaresma and A-Beez?s Express Travel and Tours of Ma. Theresa Cuaresma.
The Cuaresma couple?s seven-year-old son Abel Isaac, who is studying at the PACE School in Quezon City, is one of the participants in the Kiddies division.
The total purse will be broken down to 20 places in each section with the Open winner bringing home P20,000 and the Kiddies champ P5,000.
?We are happy to have Compuserve and A-Bezz?s Express Travel and Tours as partners in our mission to promote chess sin the grassroot level,? Gonzales said.
The event, which is also supported by the DOT-Philippine Tourism Authority, DepEd Region 2 director Benito Tumamao, DENR Region 2 executive director Red Benjamin Tumaliuan and the Aparri local government unit headed by Gov. Alvaro Antonio, will use rapid format with a control time of 25 minutes per player. It will be a nine-round Swiss System play.
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Eddie Alinea.