So, Torre to lead PHL campaign in Asian chessfest

Grandmasters Wesley So and Eugene Torre will lead the country’s charge in the Asian Zone 3.3 chess championships, which opens on Tuesday at the Tagaytay Convention Center in Tagaytay City. The nine-round competition, which runs from May 24 to 30, offers two slots to the 2011 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia later this year. The tournament will be held simultaneously with the Asian Zone 3.3 women’s zonal, where the winner will earn a slot in the Women’s World Cup. So, who led the Philippines to a surprise silver-medal finish in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in China, is playing in his third major international tournament in two months. The 17-year-old Filipino champion was also part of the Philippine team that competed in the Asian Cities chess team championships in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 22-30 and the Asian Individual Championships in Mashhad, Iran on May 2-10. Torre, at 59, remains the country’s most popular player. He will play at a high-level tournament for the first time since the Guangzhou Asiad. GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr., Mark Paragua, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo, and International Masters Richard Bitoon, Oliver Barbosa, Ronald Dableo, Chito Garma, Barlo Nadera and Oliver Dimakiling are the other Filipino campaigners. The opening ceremony will start at 3 p.m. on May 24. Matches in the first round will follow immediately at 4 p.m. Tournament director is Casto "Toti" Abundo. A one-minute moment of silence will also be observed in honor of the late National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) executive director Willie Abalos, who died on May 8. – JVP, GMA News