2011 Kidapawan Open Chess Championship

(Photos courtesy of NM Reggie Olay)

Again, this tournament proved that chess talents - many of them unknown, unrecognized and therefore unsupported - abound in the countryside.

Reynaldo Gempero, Jr.almost swept the 2011 Kidapawan Open Chess Championship over the weekend in Kidapawan City Convention Center, topping the event with a 6.5/7 performance!

Reynaldo Gempero who? His Elo rating stands at 1991 and seeded No.22 in the tournament. But he finished ahead of a number of titled, veteran, and known Filipino campaigners like FM Christopher Castellano, NM Olay Reggie, and NM Rustum Tolentino.

I believe that the likes of Reynaldo, many of them playing in the shadow of anonymity, can upset a seasoned GM on a given day.

Top 15 finishers (out of 94 players)

Rk.		Name	FED		Pts.
1		GEMPERO Reynaldo Jr.	Dav		6,5
2	FM	LLUCH Victor Bruce	Ili		6,0
3		PARRENAS Michael John	kid		6,0
4	NM	MACALA Macacana	Dav		6,0
5	NM	FILIPINAS Roel	N.		6,0
6		SALUBRE Jayson	Dav		5,5
7		UBANAN Nazario	Dav		5,0
8	FM	CASTELLANO Christopher	Man		5,0
9		SOMBILON Lyndon	Dav		5,0
10		MAAMO Harrison	Dav		5,0
11	NM	OLAY Reggie	kid		5,0
12		LAPUT Lito	dig		5,0
13		DANO Jimmy	dig		5,0
14	NM	TOLENTINO Rustum	Man		5,0
15		GARCIMO Raffy	S.		5,0

Complete results HERE