PGMA Cup int'l chess tournament opens Nov 22

The biggest chess competition in the Philippines this year - the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) Cup International Open chess championship - gets underway Thursday (November 22) at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall in Parañaque City. This was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday by Prospero Pichay Jr., president of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP). "As in the previous international chess tournaments that we have already hosted, such as the first PGMA Cup, the Subic International Open and the Asian Individual Chess Championship, we expect this year's competition to be just as successful," Pichay said. More than 20 foreign players from Asian powerhouse China, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and Iraq will participate in the nine-round PGMA Cup. Thirteen of those players come from Asian champion China, lead by grandmasters Ni Hua and Li Chao. Ni is ranked fifth in China with an ELO of 2641, and Li is rated ninth with an ELO of 2548. Defending champion GM Zhang Pengxiang, however, begged off from competition this year. Vietnam is sending two of its finest players – GMs Nguyen Anh Dung, the highest-rated player with an ELO of 2537, and GM Dao Thien Hai, ranked third with an ELO of 2530. Also joining is GM Zhang Zhong, a top-notch Chinese player who now represents Singapore in international competitions. Zhang, now the highest-rated player of Singapore with an ELO of 2634, will be joined by three talented female campaigners – WGM Li Ruofan (ELO 2417), WFM Liu Yang (ELO 2056), and WFM Victoria Chan Wei-Yi (ELO 1879). Indonesia will be represented by six players, while Iraq will be bannered by three mainstays. Leading Indonesia's charge are Tirto, Taufik Malay, Nathaniel Situru, Surya Wayudu, Farid Firman Syah and WIM Irine Kharisma Sukandar. Iraq will field IM Saad Abdullah Sarsam, FM Noah Ali Hseein and Dilshad Emadal-din Muhammad. Host Philippines will be represented by GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr., Eugene Torre, and Mark Paragua and GM-candidates Wesley So, Oliver Dimakiling, Jayson Gonzales and Ronald Dableo. Antonio is the country's highest-rated player with an ELO of 2540, while Torre is tied for second with So with an ELO of 2531. Notably absent is the country's seventh GM Darwin Laylo. Laylo, who became the the country's first-ever GM since Pichay took over the NCFP presidency in 2006, is the Philippines' lone representative to the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. Other notable Filipino entries are Oliver Barbosa, Richard Bitoon, Chito Garma, Ronald Bancod, Mirabeau Maga and Emmanuel Senador in the Open; and Merben Roque, David Elorta, Rainier Labay, Ivan Gil Biag, Stewart Manaog, Ibaryu Adante, Ricson Yeo, and Jerson Bitoon. Willie Abalos is the tournament director. The PGMA Cup offers the following prizes: • $6,000 for the champion • $5,000 for the runner-up • $4,000 for the third placer • $3,000 for fourth placer • $2,000 for the fifth placer • $1,500 for the the sixth placer The seventh to 32nd placer will get consolation prizes. The PGMA Cup is the first of two major international tournaments that the Philippines is hosting in the next three weeks. After the PGMA Cup comes the Pichay Cup International Open, a nine-round tournament that runs from December 1 to 8. In the Pichay Cup, the cash prizes are broken down as follows: • $5,000 for the champion • $4,000 for the runner-up • $3,000 for the third placer • $2,000 for the fourth placer • $1, 500 for the and fifth placer

- GMANews.TV