GMs So, Torre match set next year

MANILA, Philippines – The battle between the legend of Philippine chess and the future of the sport is set next year when Filipino grandmasters Eugene Torre clashes with Wesley So in a special tournament. Their 12-game face-off begins on February 10, 2009 at the Sulu Hotel in Quezon City. The So-Torre match-up will also have stops in Davao and Iloilo before returning to Quezon City if the duel is tied at 6-6 for a knockout game. Atty. Sammy Estimo, the event’s project director, revealed Friday that the camps of Torre and So agreed to the one-one-one duel following a meeting on Thursday at the Sulu Hotel. Estimo said that during the meeting, attended by So’s father William and businessman Reginald Tee and Torre that Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor agreed to put-up the P1 million cash prize. The winner receives P600,000 and the loser P400,000. Winners of each provincial leg will also get P100,000 and the loser P50,000. So, the world's youngest GM and Torre, Asia's first GM, drew their last three encounters. Torre almost defeated So in a recent game in Jakarta but was forced to a draw. International arbiter Gene Policar will take care of the officiating as agreed by both camps. – GMANews.TV