GM ANTONIO BANNERS PICHAY AND DAVIS CHESS CUP

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

TWELVE-TIME NATIONAL OPEN champion Grandmaster Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. heads the list of cast when the Pichay and Davis Cup chess festival gets underway on March 28 at the Blue Wave Mall along Macapagal Avenue near Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

“I hope to do well in this event,” said the Philippine Army mainstay Antonio, the 2009 Vietnam Asian Indoor Games blitz chess champion who scored a total 8.5 points in nine games.

The one-day tournament, organized and sponsored by Davis de Leon and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) chairman and president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., offers a total pot prize of P100,000 in the four categories event according to tournament director Alex Dinoy.

Joining Antonio in the all Master Invitational Group A division knockout system format are fellow grandmasters (GMs) Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Mark Paragua and Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, who is fresh from winning the 2010 PSC Expo Rapid chess championships.

The Group B will be an Open category, Group C will be an under-20 tournament while Group D will be for players 12 years old and below. Deadline for list up is on March 25.

No entry fee will be charged for Group A participants while fees for Groups B and C are pegged at P300 each and Group D P250. Please email Alex Dinoy at alexandinoy@yahoo.com for complete details.