CEBU CITY ? Chess enthusiasts are in for a real treat this October. The Cebu Chess Festival, a three day event which includes the Cebu Chess Marathon and the Cebu School of Chess National Cup, aims to gather both casual and serious chess players to promote the sixty-four square board game to a new generation of young Filipinos.
The event will take place on October 24 to 26. The Cebu Chess Marathon is a 34 game Swiss system tournament that is set to last for 15 hours on October 24. The participants will be divided according to their ratings with the elimination round set for 23 games.
The Cebu Chess Cup will be a nine game Swiss system tournament set for October 25-26. Filipino grandmasters John Paul Gomez, Oliver Barbosa, Darwin Laylo and Richard Bitoon among those invited to attend.
Robinson?s Cybergate will be the venue of the festival.
International Master Kim Steven Yap and April May Ramos and Armie Garde of Phideo Cebu informed this writer of this first of its kind project. IM Yap runs the Cebu School of Chess and also formalized an agreement with the Marie Ernestine School Philippine Robotics Academy will include chess into its K-12 curriculum starting next school calendar.
Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Susan Polgar are among those who have long promoted the benefits of chess in the school curriculum.
This festival aspires not just to bring in new fans to the sport but also to develop new chess masters by inspiring our youth and teaching them to play the right way.
