Forty finalists culled from some 4,000 participants in a five-month series of regional contests were entered in the 13-round Swiss format tournament co-sponsored by ABS-CBN 23 and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
Going into the record books as the youngest Shell active chess champion, Biag took the P10,000 top purse in the kiddie division while Salvador earned P20,000.
Struck down with influenza in the 1999 Shell finals, Biag then dropped out as early as the fourth round. The willowy-looking lad, who is also into taekwondo, kicked up a storm in the standings this time, winning four straight games and capping another a four-game run beginning round 9 after a fighting 32-move draw in King’s Indian duel with Holy Angel University’s Joel Valdez.
Kiddie top seed Froilan Bolico III placed second, took the silver and P7,500 with his 8.5 points and 98.5 tiebreak output from seven wins, three losses and three draws. He capped his performance with a 40-move win in a Caro-Kann duel with Naga champion Noli Delloro.