Veterans shine in chess opener

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino players, led by veteran campaigners Efren Bagamasbad, Edmundo Gatus and ageless Cesar Caturla and youth standouts Mari Joseph Turqueza and Haridas Pascua provided the biggest surprises after the first two rounds in the sixth Prospero PIchay Cup international chess championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Bagamasbad, a familiar fixture in local chess competitions, pulled the rug from under eighth seed GM Kivanc Haznedaroglu of Turkey in the biggest upset in the first round of this prestigious, six-day competition organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission, PCSO and Pagcor.

Gatus held World Chess Olympiad-bound GM Darwin Laylo to a draw, while Caturla, a star from the 60s, split the point with No. 10 seed IM Yu Lie of China in other first-round surprises that kept Filipino pride alive.

Turqueza, a standout of the famed V. Luna Chess Club, provided the biggest sensation in the second round early Sunday.

The 18-year-old legal management student of De la Salle university upset NM Emmanuel Senador in the first round and drew with fifth seed GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran in the second round to lead the Filipinos’ bid in this nine-round competition which offers a total prize of $30,000.

The rest of the seeded players, led by top seed GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazakhstan and GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan, hurdled their respective opponents with relative ease.

Kazhgaleyev, the highest-rated player here with an Elo rating of 2619, outwitted IM Chito Garma in 49 moves of a Bogo-Indian in the first round and IM Yves Ranola in 46 moves of the Sicilian Dragon.

Filippov, seeded second with an Elo of 2609, outclassed WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan of Iran in the first round and IM Oliver Dimakiling in the following round.

Fourth seed Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia trounced Rhobel Legaspi and FM Julius de Ramos while sixth seed GM John Paul Gomez crushed Reggie Olay and Bagamasbad to join the march of the favorites.

Equally impressive was GM Jayson Gonzales , who crushed Alex Milagrosa and rising star Paulo Bersamina and IM BarloNadera, who outplayed Rakesh Kulkarni of India and Ferdinand Leysa to join five other players with perfect scores of two points.

GM-candidat eRonald Dableo drew with Ritchie Evangelista and won over Leonardo Alidani to jon Turqueza and seven other players with 1.5 points.

Garma bounced back from a first-round loss to subdue   Vibod Bhagwat of India   and lead a big group of players withone point.

The tournament formally opened late Saturday with Pichay and Kazhgaleyev making the ceremonial moves.

Also present during the brief but colorful opening ceremony were FIDE representative Casto “Toti” Abudno, NCFP exuctive director Willie Abalos and NCFP officials Red Dumuk, Val Rosabal and Atty. Edmundo Legaspi.

Abundo is the supervising arbiter, while Abalos is the tournament director.

The rest of the seeded players, led by top seed GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazakhstan and GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan, hurdled their respective opponents with relative ease.

Kazhgaleyev, the highest-rated player here with an Elo rating of 2619, outwitted IM Chito Garma in 49 moves of a Bogo-Indian in the first round and IM Yves Ranola in 46 moves of the Sicilian Dragon.

Filippov, seeded second with an Elo of 2609, outclassed WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan of Iran in the first round and IM Oliver Dimakiling in the following round.

Fourth seed Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia trounced Rhobel Legaspi and FM Julius de Ramos while sixth seed GM John Paul Gomez crushed Reggie Olay and Bagamasbad to join the march of the favorites.

Equally impressive was GM Jayson Gonzales , who crushed Alex Milagrosa and rising star Paulo Bersamina and IM BarloNadera, who outplayed Rakesh Kulkarni of India and Ferdinand Leysa to join five other players with perfect scores of two points.

GM-candidat eRonald Dableo drew with Ritchie Evangelista and won over Leonardo Alidani to jon Turqueza and seven other players with 1.5 points.

Garma bounced back from a first-round loss to subdue   Vibod Bhagwat of India   and lead a big group of players withone point.

The tournament formally opened late Saturday with Pichay and Kazhgaleyev making the ceremonial moves.

Also present during the brief but colorful opening ceremony were FIDE representative Casto “Toti” Abudno, NCFP exuctive director Willie Abalos and NCFP officials Red Dumuk, Val Rosabal and Atty. Edmundo Legaspi.

Abundo is the supervising arbiter, while Abalos is the tournament director.