MANILA, Philippines - Former champion Tagaytay will be one of the teams to watch when the 17th Asian Cities chess team championship comes off the wraps on Good Friday, April 22, at the Kartika Chandra Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Led by GMs Wesley So and Rogelio Antonio Jr., the Filipinos will seek the prestigious title and the coveted Dubai Cup, which they first won during the 14th edition held in Manila in 2002.
Joining the multi-ttiled Tagaytay team supported by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay and Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino are GMs John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo.
So, Antonio, Gomez and Laylo formed the Philippine team, which bagged the silver medal in the last Asian games in Guangzhou, China behind only host China and ahead of such powerhouse Asian teams as India, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Uzbekistan.
“This is our strongest team right now and I’m confident our players will perform well and bring more honors to the country,” said Pichay on the eve of the team’s departure to the Indonesian capital via Cebu Pacific last Wednesday
“As our top player, Wesley (So) will also get a lot of attention against the other leading Asian players,” added Pichay, also the chairman of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
The NCFP is supposed to send a second team composed of GM Mark Paragua, and IMs Richard Bitoon, Oliver Barbosa and Ronald Dableo, but backed out due to problems with the players’ travel documents.
In Jakarta, Tagaytay expects to figure prominently against defending champion Tehran, three-time winner Pavlodar and two-time titlist and host Jakarta.
Tehran, which will be bannered by Iran’s top GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami, bagged the title in the 16th edition held in Beirut two years ago.
Pavlodar, which is gunning for its fourth title in 11 years, ruled the event in Beirut in 2000, Aden in 2002 and Tehran in 2007.
Host Jakarta won the title in 1992 and 1994.
Three other Indonesian teams seeing action are Tarakan, Palembang and Pekanbaru.
The event is organized by Asian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Indonesia Youth and Sports Ministry, headed by Minister Andi Mallarangeng and Indonesia Chess Federation, led by president Hashim Djojohadikusumo.