MANILA, Philippines - Mindanao, long considered as the country’s hotbed for chess talents, takes its turn to host the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship with no less than two tournaments on tap, beginning with the Northern Mindanao leg on Aug. 2-3 at SM City in Cagayan de Oro City.
The CDO elims will debut on Shell Active Chess’ 22nd year to accommodate the large number of entries in the region. SM City in Davao City will host the Southern Mindanao leg on Aug. 30-31.
The tournament expansion coincides with the centennial anniversary of the energy and gas technology leader in the Philippines, further enhancing its social investment projects in youth development through sports and the arts in addition to its many other initiatives in the aspects of road safety, fuel efficiency, environmental management.
The country’s biggest and longest-running chess circuit is open to children and young adults who are non-titled chess players. Events on tap are the kiddies (aged 7 to 14) and juniors (aged 15 to 20). Registration for both tournaments is ongoing with organizers expecting the maximum field of 300 to be filled up early.
Meanwhile, the sixth and final leg of the elims of the circuit will be held on Sept. 13-14 at the University of St. Louis in Tuguegarao for the Northern Luzon leg.
The top two finishers and the top female player in each leg will advance to the grand finals on Oct. 11-12 at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. Also, for the first time, female players can advance to the national finals as Shell recognizes the hard work of these individuals who can hold their own against any counterpart.
Vic Glysen Derotas of the University of San Carlos proved it can be done as she not only topped the kiddies section but also took the top female honors in the recent Visayas leg of the circuit.
For listup and inquiries, contact Allan Cantonjos at (0927)203-4725 for the Northern Mindanao leg and Ronnie Tabudlong at (0943)249-0821 for Southern Mindanao, or Alex Dinoy at (0922) 828-8510 for both events.
The Shell Active Chess tournament is backed by Shell FuelSave Unleaded and Diesel, Shell Fuel Oils, Shell V Power Nitro and Shell Rimula, as well as by Unilever and SM Supermalls. The competition is sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.