Cebuano chessers lead elite PH team to Malaysian meet

Cebuano chess players Grandmaster Joseph Sanchez, International Masters Richard Bitoon and Kim Steven Yap lead a high-powered Philippine contingent to the 2011 Raja Nazrin Shah International Championship on Sept. 1-9 at the Swiss Garden Hotel and Residences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sanchez, Bitoon and Yap will be joined by GM Darwin Laylo of Marikina City, IM Rolando Nolte of Quezon City, IM Oliver Dimakiling of Davao City, NM Nelson Villanueva of Bacolod City, NM Edgar Reggie Olay of Davao City and NM Rustom Tolentino of Cagayan de Oro City.

“I will do my very best for flag and country,” said Bitoon of Medellin, Cebu. Bitoon is seeking his third and final GM result/ norm in the tough tournament. He earned his first norm during the 2008 Singapore International Open and his second during the recent National Championships: 4th Battle of the Grandmasters at the National Press Club in Intramuros, Manila.

The championship offers a total purse of RM10,000.

The 4th KL International Open Chess Championship for the Raja Nazrin Shah Challenge Trophy is sponsored by the Masterskill Education Group Berhad and organized by Polgar Chess Asia for the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association (KLCA) under the auspices of the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) and is registered and recognized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) as an international title and rated tournament.

The country’s topranked woodpusher GM Wesley So and GM Mark Paragua will skip the tournament to see action in the 2011 World Cup formerly known as the FIDE World Chess Championships on Aug. 26 to Sept. 21 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Meanwhile, IM Oliver Barbosa of Taytay, Rizal was invited to play in the Raja Nazrin Sha Invitational Masters Championships (round-robin tournament) at the same venue.

Barbosa took his first GM result in 10th Asian Continental Individual Chess Championships in Mashhad, Iran last May and claimed his second GM result in the 4th Battle of the Grandmasters.