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Ex-world chess chief: 'Seeding players outdated'


MANILA, Philippines - A former top-ranking official of the world-governing body of chess said the depth of Filipino talent in chess has negated the purpose of giving players automatic slots into the national team. GMs Eugene Torre and Joey Antonio refused to participate in the qualifying tournament for the World Chess Olympiad, saying they deserved to be seeded. Florencio Campomanes said granting Torre and Antonio seeds will send the wrong signal to other players. “We are not providing equal opportunity to everyone if we seed even one [player] to the team," the former International Chess Federation president said on Tuesday during the Philippine Sportswriters Forum at the Shakey’s UN Avenue. Torre cited his desire to make personal history if he could reach a landmark 20th Chess Olympiad appearance, while Antonio reportedly did not want to participate in a tournament that is longer than nine rounds. Campomanes added that seeding players is already outdated. “When Eugene became a grandmaster in 1974, it was okay to seed him on the team because he was the only Filipino grandmaster, but currently we have more grandmasters," Campomanes explained. The list of Filipino grandmasters include: Mark Paragua, Bong Villamayor, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales and Wesley So. All of them are competing in the Olympic qualifiers. - GMANews.TV
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