Tough Battle of GMs unfolds tomorrow

FOR the first time in Philippine chess history, a national championship breached the 2500-barrier in average Elo ratings as the Battle of the Grandmasters unfolds tomorrow at the National Press Club (NPC) in Intramuros, Manila.

Grandmaster Wesley So (Elo 2658) will be gunning for his fourth straight victory in the prestigious event organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and sponsored by Pilipinas Shell, Manila Pavilion Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), NPC, Remate and Hataw.

But So will have his hands full this time with eight other GMs and a mix of established and upcoming stars expected to gang up on him in the Category 11 tournament which has an average rating of 2508.

The five international masters competing this year need to score 8.5 points to get a GM norm. A Closed tournament with no foreign participant should be a national championship in nature to have GM norms up for grabs.

“This is a huge step forward in our bid to produce more grandmasters,” said NCFP chairman/president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Jr.

There are currently 13 active Filipino GMs including eight conferred during Pichay’s time as head of the local chess governing body.

Six of the GMs produced under Pichay’s leadership will see action in the tournament that concludes on July 23 including So, Darwin Laylo (Elo 2528), John Paul Gomez (Elo 2529), Cebuano Joseph Sanchez (Elo 2534), Roland Salvador (Elo 2527) and Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla (Elo 2518).

While the young guns are dominating the headlines lately, it’s hard to count out the three biggest stars of the pre-Pichay era.

Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre (Elo 2491) and 12-time national champion GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio (2565) are out to prove they still have enough gas in the tank to fuel their drive for another title while GM Mark Paragua (Elo 2545) is aching to get back to the ranks of super GMs.

“Anything can happen in a round robin competition,” said Torre, the most successful local player in Closed tournaments.

IMs Oliver Barbosa (Elo 2514), Cebuano Richard Bitoon (Elo 2491), Rolando Nolte (Elo 2433), Jan Emmanuel Garcia (Elo 2404) and Yves Ranola (Elo 2377) are also expected to contend for more than just a GM norm.

In the distaff side, former Far Eastern University standout Woman National Master Rulp Ylem Jose will try to defend her title against a strong field that includes two WIMs in Catherine Perena and Beverly Mendoza.