Sinulog Open chessfest, world record try in 2012

CEBU, Philippines - Chess enthusiasts will have something to look forward to early next year with the Sinulog Open Chess Tournament and Cebu’s fulfillment of its attempt to set a new mark in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Sinulog Open Chess Tournament is slated on January 7-8, which will be followed by the exciting Cebu’s attempt to break another Guinness World Record in the sport of chess on January 21-22 at the Cebu City Sports Center.

 The Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) headed by its chairman Edward Hayco along with the Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu City already gathered more than 40,000 participants in their ambitious project of breaking the record for the “World’s Largest Chess Tournament” (Board Game) set by Russia.

These student players were involved in the school eliminations of more than 70 schools, mostly around Cebu City, which started last October.  Organizers are expecting around 3,000 players who will be playing in the bleachers of CCSC during the finals.

After successfully setting a record for the World’s Largest Dance Class, the Queen City of the South might once again be placed in the world map through this new record-breaking attempt.

The current record is held by 1,214 participants in the central city park in Krasnoyarsk, Russia in an event organized by Eugenie Kuznitsov on June 2, 2007.

CCSC executive director, Ildebrando Velasquez said that they already broke the record unofficially with the huge number of participants they already gathered.

“We already broke the record unofficially and by next year over a hundred schools already confirmed their participation in the historic event, expecting that the number of participants will rise even more for the world record attempt,” said Velasquez.

Meanwhile, after dominating the Cebu City Chess Classic, International Master Kim Steven Yap is hoping that he will have a good start next year with the upcoming tournament.

The Sinulog Open Chess Tournament is organized by the Cebu Chess Association in coordination with the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and supported by the Cebu City Government. (FREEMAN)