7 Filipinos to join Singapore Masters

Seven Filipinos have registered to participate in the 5th Singapore Masters International Open Tournament 2008 which will kick off on December 9 up to December 15.

The seven Filipino participants (as of December 5):

SNo.8 GM Mark Paragua (2526)
SNo.18 IM Richard Bitoon (2439)
SNo.19 IM Julio Catalino Sadorra (2431)
SNo.23 Dino Ballecer (2410)
SNo.29 Kim Steven Yap (2386)
SNo.30 IM Chiong Luis (2361)
SNo.42 Levi Mercado (2257)

The tournament is a 53-man strong field which, notably, is dominated by Vietnamese players numbering to as many as 11.

GM Kuzubov Yuriy (2622) of Ukraine is the No.1 seed.