So, other GMs vie in Luneta Open chess tiff

MANILA, Philippines - The 2012 Luneta Open Chess Championships kicks off April 28 at the Luneta Lapu-Lapu Statue (formerly skating rink) in historic Rizal Park in Manila where some of the best chess players in the country, including grandmasters Wesley So, Oliver Barbosa, Mark Paragua and Darwin Laylo, are set to compete.

The seven-round Swiss system is sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) headed by it’s chairman-president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. and open to all players in the country, regardless age or sex.

“The Luneta Open Chess Championships is a good preparation tournament for Wesley (So), Oliver (Barbosa), Mark (Paragua) and Darwin (Laylo)  for 11th Asian Continental Chess Championships (qualifying tournament for the World Chess Cup) on May 4-14 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,” said NCFP chairman/president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., guest of honor when the seventh Inter-Youth Scholastic Chess Tournament gets underway today at the Makati Youth Center in Guadalupe Viejo, Makati.

Tournament organizers – many-time Olympian member IM Chito Garma and candidate master Peter Lim – said that aside from So, Barbosa, Paragua and Laylo, other participants include IMs Ronald Dableo, Rolando Nolte and Emmanuel Senador.

Prizes at stake are P15,000 for first, P8,000 for second, P5,000 for third, P4,000 for fourth, P3,000 for fifth and P1,000 each for sixth to 10th place.

Details: IM Chito Garma, 0926 170 4962 or Peter Lim, 0906 473 8993.