FIDE head to open Campo Chess Cup

MANILA, Philippines - World Chess Federation (FIDE) president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and several other foreign dignitaries are scheduled to arrive in the country in time for the formal opening of the first FIDE president Florencio Campomanes Memorial chess championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium tomorrow.

Ilyumzhinov, a close personal friend of the late great Filipino chess leader, is flying in from Moscow to personally attend the opening ceremony of the prestigious, nine-round competition with a guaranteed cash prize of $100,000.

The multi-millionaire from the Republic of Kalmykia, who succeeded Campomanes as FIDE president in 1995, is expected to make the ceremonial moves along with National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay during the 3:30 p.m. opening ceremony.

Also invited to attend the formal opening ceremony are FIDE general-secretary Ignatius Leung, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia, NCFP secretary-general Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino.

Veteran sports editors and writers who have covered Campomanes beginning from his rise as FIDE president in 1982 up to his retirement in 1995, will also be present during the ceremonies.    

“This will be another milestone in local chess history,” said Pichay, who is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the success of the tournament regarded as one of the biggest in the world today.

“The Campomanes Cup offers the biggest-ever cash prizes in history, perhaps even higher than the prestigious Aeroflot Open,” added Pichay.

Heading the early list of foreign players seeing action are GMs Ni Hua, Li Chao and Zhao Jun, all of China; Aleksei Aleksandrov of Belarus, Murtas Kazhgalayev of Kazakhstan, Anton Fillipov and Jurabek Khamrakulov of Uzbekistan, Tamaz Gelashvili and Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran, Humpy Koneru and Chanda Sandipan of India, Tigran Kotanian of Armenia, Zhang Zhong and Wong Mengkong of Singapore, Eduardo Iturrizaga of Venezuela, Mikhail Ivanov of Russia, and Sebastian Maze of France.

In the women’s division, the early registrants are Zhao Xue, Wang Yu, Zhang Jillin, Chen Yang and Gu Xiaobing of China, Anna Zozulia of Belarus, Katarien Matseyko of Ukraine, and Atousa Pourkashiyan and Shayesteh Ghaderpour of Iran.

The local challenge will be led by GM Wesley So, who cut short his European campaign to be back to participate in the Campomanes Cup.

Joining So are fellow World Chess Olympiad-bound GMs Darwin Laylo, John Paul Gomez and Eugene Torre as well as GM Jayson Gonzales, Ims Richard Bitoon, Rolando Nolte, Chito Garma and Balro Nadera.

The champion in the Campomanes Cup will bring home the lion’s share of $10,000.

The runner-up and the third placer will pocket $9,000 and $8,000, respectively.

Cash prizes will also be given to the fourth placer ($7,000), fifth placer ($6,000), sixth placer ($5,000), seventh placer ($4,000), eighth placer ($3,000), ninth placer ($2,000) and 10th placer ($1,500).

The 11th up to the 35th placers will also get consolation cash prizes.

Two side tournaments - Women and Challengers - will be held simultaneously with the Campomanes Cup.

The total cash prizes in the women’s division is $20,000, while the challenger’s section will offer $10,000.

The champion in the women’s division will receive $5,000, the runner-up $4,000 and the third placer $3,000. The fourth up to the 15th placers will also receive cash prizes.

In the Challenger’s section, the winner will pocket $3,000, the runner-up $2,000 and the third placer $1,000. The fourth up to 11th placers will also receive consolation cash prizes.

Asian Chess Federation official Casto “Toti” Abundo will serve as the supervising arbiter, while NCFP executive director Willie Abalos will be the tournament director.

Admission is free to the public. Lucky chess fans also have the chance to win Olympic digital chess clocks during the raffle.