Asuncion, Yngayo early favorites in Shell chess
GINO Asuncion and veteran internationalist Irish Yngayo are the early favorites in the 2017 Shell National Youth Active Chess Championships (SNYACC) Southern Mindanao leg that opens at 10 a.m. today at The Annex Events Center at SM City Davao.
A total of 400 woodpushers from all over the region and other parts of the country are vying for honors and slots to the grand finals slated October 7 and 8.
They will compete in kiddies (seven to 12 years old), juniors (13 to 16 years old) and seniors (17 to 20) divisions.
The top female player of each category will also advance to the grand finals at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Organizers, in a statement, said 29 players have so far earned seats in past three legs of the circuit sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.
From Davao City, next stop will be in Cebu City for the Visayas qualifier set on September 16 and 17.
"The milestone 25th staging of the circuit is held to discover fresh talents, especially in the countryside, and develop them to become members of future national teams. It has produced top grandmasters, the foremost of which is current world No. 2 super GM Wesley So," the statement said.
Shell V-Power, Shell Advance, Shell Rimula, Shell Helix, Shell Fuel Save, and Shell Card are sponsors of the chessfest with SM Supermalls as partners.