Grandmaster So, 5 other Pinoys make bid in Asian Individual chessfest

Grandmaster Wesley So faces another major test when he opens his bid in the 10 th Asian Individual chess championships at the Hotel Pardisan in Masshad, Iran, on May 2-10. So, the country’s highest-rated player in history with an ELO of 2667, will be one of six Filipino players seeing action in the prestigious competition being held to determine the region’s four representatives to the 2011 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia later this year. The 16-year-old Filipino champion is seeded fourth in the men’s tournament behind GMs Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan (ELO 2687), Krishnan Sasikiran of India (ELO 2682) and Bu Xiangzhi of China (ELO 2677). The other Filipino players vying for the title and the US$6,000 prize are GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr. (ELO 2589), Mark Paragua (ELO 2547), John Paul Gomez (ELO 2538), and Darwin Laylo (ELO 2516), and International Master Oliver Barbosa (ELO 2506). Except for Paragua and Barbosa, the four other Filipino players are fresh from competing in the Asian Cities chess championship in Jakarta, Indonesia where they finished in a tie for fourth place. National Chess Federation secretary-general and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham Tolenitno urged the Filipinos to continue to play well and bring honors to the country in this annual competition being held in Mashhad, the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. A total of 57 players are seeing action in the men’s division, while 32 players are entered in the women’s division . Thee champion will bring home the lion’s share of US$6,000. The women’s champion will earn US$3,000. - RCJ, GMA News