Battle of GMs pit So, Torre, Antonio, Gomez

MANILA, Philippines - Wesley So, Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and John Paul Gomez clash in a rare gathering of the country’s top grandmasters in the Phoenix Petroleum and Dapitan City Battle of Grandmasters beginning March 24 in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.

Fresh from his stint in the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, Russia where he was named the top junior player in the world, So goes all out to humble his veteran counterparts and prove he’s the best player in the country today.

“This is the second edition and we expect a tougher, more exciting tournament this time,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Jr. in yesterday’s press conference at the Linden Hotel in Pasig City.

Phoenix Petroleum official Jay Delloso and Dapitan City Vice-Mayor Patri Chan, who came on behalf of host Mayor Dominador Jalosjos Jr., also graced the event’s launch.

Also vying for the top P200,000 purse are GMs Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo, Bong Villamayor and Jayson Gonzales while International Masters Richard Bitoon, Julio Catalino Sadorra, Rolando Nolte and Ronald Dableo complete the 12-player roster.

Woman IM Beverly Mendoza and Woman National Master Christy Lamiel Bernales, meanwhile, head the cast in the distaff side which stakes P60,000 to the winner.

The event will introduce a new point system wherein a win would be equivalent to four points, a draw two points and a loss none.

If the game ends up in a stalemate, the player who forces the draw gets three points while the other settles for one point.

“It’s a new innovation to prevent players from being contended with quick and easy draws,” said Torre, the proponent of the new point system.