GM Joey Antonio wins opener at World Seniors

FILIPINO Grandmaster (GM) Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. (Elo 2397) outplayed Igor Tsyn (Elo 2014) of Israel to jumpstart his campaign in the 30th FIDE World Senior Individual Chess Championship at the Hotel Cenacolo in Assisi, Umbria, Italy on Tuesday night.

It was a good start for the 60-yearold Antonio, who is fresh from topping the RSM Tun Mustapha Championship Tawau held on September 17 to 18 in Sabah, Malaysia, his first international over-the-board tournament since the pandemic.

Playing white, the 13-time Philippine Open champion Antonio defeated Tsyn in 54 moves of the French defense in the 50-and-above division.

Antonio will slug it out with Slovakia’s FIDE Master Milan Kolesar (Elo 2136) in the second round Wednesday night.

Kolesar subdued Dr. Andreas Gerlach (Elo 1632) of Germany in the opening round.

Antonio, the top player of the Iloilo Kisela Knights in the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines, will try to surpass his runner-up finish in the same category at the 27th World Senior Chess Championship in 2017 in Italy.

Meanwhile, FIDE Master Jose Efren Bagamasbad (Elo 2051) outplayed Fosco Cavatorta (Elo 1725) of Italy but International Master Angelo Abundo Young (Elo 2309) bowed to Manuel Ruiz Bellon (Elo 1968) of Spain in the first round.