IT will be a busy next few months for Philippine chess as it holds a slew of tournaments starting with the National Age Group Championships and the Battle of the Grandmasters (GMs) this month.
The youth tilt is unfolding on Thursday and ending on Sunday in Olongapo City with winners of the boys and girls’ Under-14, U16, U18 and U20 earning spots to the 24th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships set Aug. 7 to 17 in Singapore.
There would also be divisions for U8, U10 and U12 boys and girls in three different events — standard, rapid and blitz.
The Battle of the Grandmasters, for its part, is set June 23 to July 1 at the PACE in Mindanao Ave., Quezon City with a total of three slots to this September’s World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan being staked.
GMs Daniel Quizon, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo, International Masters (IMs) Paulo Bersamina and Jem Garcia, and WGM Janelle Mae Frayna and WIM Ruelle Canino are among the notable chessers wading into battle there.
From there, the country will host an Invitational and International tournaments a month later, a Philippine Children’s Championship on Aug. 28 at PACE and Philippine Women’s and Juniors Championships in Alicia, Isabela on Sept. 4.
“Philippine chess will be alive in the next few months and we hope to sustain it by the end of the year,” said NCFP Chief Executive Officer GM Jayson Gonzales. — Joey Villar
