RP chessers brace for Turin Olympiad

Under a new president, Philippine chess is hoping to reach new heights.

Members of the national chess team, in fact, have never had it so good as they prepare for the 37th World Chess Olympiad, which takes place May 21 to June 5 in Turin, Italy.

Thanks to Surigao Rep. Prospero "Butch" Pichay, the new president of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, the Olympiad-bound Filipinos are "armed to the teeth."

Led by Grandmasters Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Mark Paragua, the members of the RP team are fresh from a three-week training and team-building exercise in Tagaytay City.

The other members of the men’s team to the Olympiad are National Master Darwin Laylo, FIDE Master Oliver Dimakiling and 12-year-old sensation Wesley So, another FM.

In the women’s side are WIM-elect Sheerie Joy Lomibao, WIM Beverly Mendoza, and WNMs Catherine Perena and Sherily Cua. Alternates are NMs Rolando Nolte and Roderick Nava, and WNM Kimberly Jane Cunanan.

The team members are now billeted at the Manila Pavilion courtesy of Pichay. They will all stay in the five-star hotel until they leave for Italy on Monday.

To top it all, each player was given a personal laptop equipped with the latest software in chess. Each laptop contains a million chess games of the world’s greatest players.

Each player will also receive an allowance of $1,000 for the Olympiad. In all, Pichay said the NCFP will spend close to $2,500 for each player, not counting the laptops.

"This is good. Iba si Congressman Pichay," said Antonio during yesterday’s SCOOP Forum.

"Everything that they could use as a reason for not doing well, we’ve taken care of," said Pichay of the RP team, which has an average ELO rating of 2538.

"Still, I’m not very optimistic because one month as NCFP president is not enough for me. But with the enthusiasm our players are showing, we might pull off some surprises,"said the congressman.

In the last Olympiad held in Mallorca, Spain, the Philippines finished tied for 12th to 21st in a field of 135 countries. Hopefully this time, the Filipinos will do better.