PH chess, sentro sa ASEAN tilt

MULING susulong ang aksiyon sa galing at talino ng pinakmahuhusay na chess players sa rehiyon sa 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)+ Age Group Chess Championships simula sa Martes sa Royal Madaya Hotel sa Davao City.

Ito ang unang pagkakataon matapos ang walong taon na host ang bansa sa prestishiysong torneo na inaasahang lalahukan ng 300 players mula sa powerhouse Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar at Thailand, kasama rin ang India, South Korea, Denmark at Switzerland para sa mga players na may edad 20 pababa.

“We warmly welcome the return of the ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships to the Phl after eight years,” pahayag ni Butch Pichay, chairman and president ng National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

“Our annual participation in this event which reached a high point last year when our boys and girls finally snared the overall honors is part and parcel of the grassroots program of the NCFP in strong partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission,” aniya.

Sasandigana ng bansa nina International Masters Paulo Bersamina at John Marvin Miciano, Daniel Quizon at Jeth Romy Morado, na pawang kumpiyansa na susungkit ng gintong medalya sa individual at team standard, rapid and blitz events sa torneo na inorganisa ng Chess Events International.

Kabilang sina Grandmasters Wesley So, na ngayon ay nakabase na US, at Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna sa mga kabataang Pinoy na umani ng tagumpay sa torneo.

“We have produced from this program many GMs that include but not limited to Wesley So, Julio Catalino Sadorra, John Paul Gomez, Oliver Barbosa, Mark Paragua and our first WGM, Janelle Mae Frayna,” sambit ni Pichay.

“This help us discover talents that will enable us to achieve our dream of becoming a world power in chess,” aniya.