So seeks ‘three-peat’ in Battle of GMs tilt
02/24/2010 01:24 PM
Fresh from bagging the Aeroflot Open’s top junior player plum, GM Wesley So seeks an unprecedented third straight title when the 2010 “Battle of GMs” chess championships come off the wraps on March 15-22 in Dapitan City.
Wesley So So, who dominated the first two editions, will set out as the prohibitive favorite anew in this prestigious tournament featuring the country’s brightest woodpushers.
The 16-year-old Filipino champion, who was voted as the “Chess Player of the Year” by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA), arrived only last Feb. 21 from Moscow, Russia after competing in the Aeroflot Open.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Prospero Pichay said So is expected to put up another strong performance in the Battle of GMs but the rest of the participants are tipped to give the highly-rated player a run for his money.
Out to foil So’s “three-peat” are GMs Rogelio Antonio, Jr., who finished runner-up last year, Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre and reigning Asian Zone 3.3 champion GM Darwin Laylo.
Like So, Antonio and Laylo also saw action in the recent World Chess Cup held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia last December.
Also vying for honors in the men’s division are GMs John Paul Gomez, Mark Paragua, Jayson Gonzales and Bong Villamayor, IMs Ronald Dableo, Richard Bitoon and Rolando Nolte, and FM Haridas Pascua.
In the women’s division, WFM Shercila Cua defends her crown against an equally-tough field which includes her younger sister WFM Sherily Cua as well as Cheradee Chardine Camacho and WIM Beverly Mendoza.
The other participants in the female division are WFMs Catherine Perena and Cherry Ann Mejia, WNMs Daisy Rivera, Christy Lamiel Bernales, Jedara Docena, Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Loreshyl Quizon and Akiko Charmaine Suede.
A guaranteed cash prize of P800,000 will be at stake in the tournament with the champion in the men’s division bringing home the top prize of P200,000 and the winner in the women’s category pocketing P60,000.
– GMANews.TV
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv
So will win.
“Wesley So So, who dominated the first two editions, will set out as the prohibitive favorite anew in this prestigious tournament featuring the country’s brightest woodpushers.”
Yikes – Wesley So So ?!?!
Another ‘Battle of the GMs’? Quite a good spectacle for the elite… But please, give the players some respect once the event finishes…
GIVE THE PRIZE MONEY ON TIME! NOT AFTER 6 WEEKS…
THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GMs PRIZE MONEY TOOK ALMOST 2 MONTHS AND THE PLAYERS TOOK PAINS IN COLLECTING IT…IMAGINE HAVING BIG SPONSORS…
THE SAME WAY AS WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST 2009 PRESIDENT ARROYO CUP AND 2009 PICHAY CUP.
THE PRIZES FOR THE VISITING FOREIGN GMs WERE GIVEN FIRST, WHILE THE PRIZES FOR THE LOCAL PLAYERS (INCLUDING GMs) WERE DELAYED FOR MORE THAN 2 MONTHS AND TOO MUCH GOING BACK AND FORTH TO NCFP’s PRESIDENT PICHAY’S OFFICE WHICH IS TOO FAR…
I CAN’T IMAGINE SOMETHING LIKE THIS CAN HAPPEN IN THE U.S., HOPE IT DOES NOT.
I PITY THE PHILIPPINE PLAYERS WHO ARE VERY TALENTED, AND BEING EXPLOITED IN THIS WAY WILL MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO COMPETE.
HOPE THEY IMPROVE THEIR ORGANIZATION…