160 players vie in nat’l chess tilt

A TOTAL of 122 players in the Men’s division and 38 in the Women’s class are currently seeing action in the 2013 National Chess Championship which opened yesterday at the Philippine Sports Commission office in Vito Cruz, Manila.

National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Executive Director Grandmaster (GM) Jayson Gonzales said during the opening program that the tournament is held “to discover new talents.”

The top 30 players from the Men’s division will advance to the semifinal round together with the seeded titled players (International Masters, FIDE Masters, National Masters) and players with NCFP ratings of 2200 and above as of April 1, 2013.

The top 20 women on the other hand, will also book semis slots together with the seeded titled players and those with NCFP ratings of 2000 and above as of April 1, 2013.

The Men’s Division winner will get P7,000 while the second placer will receive P4,000. Cash prizes will also go to the rest of the top 15 placers.

The Women’s Division champion will take home P5,000 with the runner-up getting P3,000. The rest of the women’s top 10 will also receive cash.  /Correspondent Marlon Bernardino