GMs banner field in rare random chess

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmasters Darwin Laylo, Richard Bitoon, Jayson Gonzales and Joey Antonio veer from theories to novel moves as they headline the cast in the P1.5 million second Manny Pacquiao random chess tournament unfolding Saturday at the SM Mall in Gen. Santos City.

The nine-round Swiss System tournament, sponsored by boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao and organized by the MP Chess Organization headed by chess legend Eugene Torre, also drew the likes of International Masters Emmanuel Senador, Rolando Nolte, Jan Emmanuel Garcia, Barlo Nadera, Ronald Dableo, Joel Pimentel, Kim Steven Yap and Yves Ranola.

Antonio and company, according to Torre, are entered in both the individual and team events.  

Team play is a two-day affair set Dec. 14-15 while the individual competition will be played on Dec. 16.    

Teams are only allowed one GM or one IM to backstop their respective rosters. An average Elo 2100 rating is required for a team to participate to make the event competitive. 

The tournament stakes P400,000 to the winning team with the second and third placers receiving P220,000 and P130,000, respectively.  

The individual champion, on the other hand, will pocket P50,000 with the second and third placers to get P30,000 and P20,000, respectively.