Cebu’s Bitoon powers tandag to inter-cities chess title

TANAUAN City — Tandag City, led by newly-minted Cebuano grandmaster Richard Bitoon, defeated Bacolod Negros/NICA, 3-1, in the finals late Monday to emerge overall champion of the 2011 National Inter-Cities and Municipalities Chess Team Championship at the Tanauan Event Center, here.

The win was worth P150,000 for Tandag City which made the finals berth by scraping past tough Davao City, 2.5-1.5 in the crossover semifinals.

The Ilonggos, who dispatched elimination round topnotcher Mandaluyong City, 3-1, in the other semifinal, settled for second overall and went home richer by P90,000.

Bitoon, who officially became the country’s newest GM alongside Oliver Barbosa two weeks ago, Fide Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia and Narquingen Reyes secured the crucial wins in the “Armageddon” playoff after the Ilonggos, backstopped by Fide Master Hamed Nouri, forged a 2-2 draw.

In the “Armageddon,” the player handling white is given a 6-5 advantage in time but the player with the black pieces needs only a draw to win.

Bitoon, armed with the advantageous white pieces, crushed Nouri, Garcia outwitted Sander Severino while Reyes downed Raymund dela Pena. Joel Pimentel secured the only win for Bacolod after defeating Sherwin Tiu on board three.

In the battle for third, Davao City routed Mandaluyong City, 3-1, to win P75,000. Mandaluyong, which topped the elimination round with 13 match points only to lose steam in the semis, settled for fourth worth P60,000.

Local officials led by Tanauan City Vice Mayor Julius Caesar Platon and Tanuan Economic Council president Feliciano Torres, executive director Atty. Ruel Canobas and National Chess Federation of the Philippines officials handed the awards to the winners of the week-long event. /Correspondent Marlon Bernardino