Batangas hosts Shell Active Chess

MANILA, Philippines - Batangas City will host the third leg of the 2009 Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship slated July 18-19 at SM City Batangas for the Southern Luzon leg.

Registration is ongoing. The field is limited to the first 500 entries on a first-come, first-served basis. Fee is pegged at P50.

Competition is expected to be tight in the 14-and-under and 20-and-under age group categories with the top three finishers in both divisions advancing to the national finals slated in October 2009 in Manila.This year’s event, the nation’s longest running, grassroots-based chess tournament, will be a seven-leg series, played under the seven-round Swiss system format, and slated over key cities in the country.

Naga City will stage the other Southern Luzon qualifier on Aug. 1-2 at SM City Naga event’s center.

 The fifth leg will be held in Cebu on Aug. 15-16 for the Central Visayas elims, while Iloilo will hold the Western Visayas elims Aug. 29-30. The talent-search circuit winds up Sept. 19-20 for the Mindanao leg in Davao.

 Meanwhile, the Davao regional leg will offer four berths in both the Kiddies and Juniors divisions owing to the big number of participants joining the event each year.

The event is backed by Shell Fuels, Shellane, Shell Helix, and McDonald’s, in partnership with SM Supermalls and Paseo Reale- Cagayan.

 To join, log on to www.shell.com.ph. You may also register at selected schools, chess clubs and municipal/provincial government offices and at various Shellane Showrooms nationwide. For more details, contact leg coordinators Joselito Castro at (043) 723-2568 and (043) 723-4246, or Alex Dinoy at 0922-8288510 and 0916-6882682.