6th Stay at Home chess tourney draws strong field of contenders

CEBU, Philippines —  A formidable lineup of Filipino chess stars led by Grandmasters Mark Paragua, Joey Antonio and Darwin Laylo will be taking part in the sixth installment of the monthly Stay at Home Chess Challenge scheduled this Saturday, September 5.

Billed as "The National", the two-hout tilt will be played on lichess.org under the Arena/No Berserk format starting at 5 pm.

Out to give the top GMs a run for their money are GM-elect Ronald Dableo, International Master Oliver Dimakiling, FIDE Masters Ivan Gil Biag, and Deniel Causo and a bunch of National Masters all over the country.

Event organizer IM Kim Steven Yap said over P30,000 in cash prize will be given away to the top finishers of the tournament backed up by Chess Infinitum, Inc. headed by its president Benjamin "Boojie" Lim.

The open division champion will pocket P5,000 while the second to fifth will take home P4,000, P3,000, P2,000, and P1,000, respectively. Those who will make it to the top 10 will receive P500 each while the 11th to 20th will get a consolation of P300.

The top five in both female and kiddie (14-under) categories will earn P1,000, P500, P400 and P300. The top five Cebuano  placers will claim an additional P300 bonus as well as the top seniors (60-above).

Yap said the viewers will also have a chance to win cash prizes by watching the event that will be streamed live on the Facebook page of the Cebu School of Chess.

Entry fee is pegged at P100 for those who will register on or before September 3. Late registrants will be assessed with P200.

For further details, interested parties may contact IM Kim Yap at 0977-6864660 or m.me/kimsteven.yap. One may also visit the Cebu School of Chess FB page. — EBV