Mariano backs out of chess finals

Saying there is no reason to play in a tournament without a level playing field, Grandmaster Nelson Mariano II yesterday backed out of the National Chess Championships, leaving one talented player out of the national team competing in next month’s Chess Olympiad.

"I have decided not to join the National Championships because of unjust and unfair policies," Mariano told The STAR, three days before the start of the Olympiad qualifier in Tagaytay. "There is no use of playing when there is no level playing field."

Mariano, the former Asian Junior champion who became the country’s fifth GM last June, decried the controversial NCFP (National Chess Federation of the Philippines) decision giving International Master Mark Paragua an outright berth in the Olympiad-bound squad, saying it smacks of favoritism and unfair to other players.

In fact, GM Joey Antonio also threatened to boycott the national finals although he and GM Eugene Torre had hoped that they too would be given outright berths after complying with newly-installed NCFP president Go Teng Kok’s directive for them to submit their credentials for the NCFP board to evaluate.

In a bid to appease the disgruntled GMs over his decision to seed Paragua, Go met with Torre, Antonio and Mariano the other day and told them to put in writing their request to be given outright berths. The meeting ended in a stalemate.

However, Torre and Antonio, the spearheads of the RP squad to the Olympiad for years, agreed to only submit the list of their achievements, which they hoped would merit the nod of the NCFP board for possible seeding to the team.

"As per your request, I present my achievements for the past eight consecutive Chess Olympiads. I didn’t mention the major events that I have brought honor to the country like the Asian Zonals, Asian Team Championship and World Championship but I have included my most recent achievements for this year," said Antonio, a six-time national champion, in his letter to Go.

Torre, eyeing an 18th straight stint in the Olympiad since 1970, submitted the same yesterday although he told The STAR that, like Antonio, he has mixed emotions whether to still compete in the finals or not.