D’Plaza Chess tilt in December
THE first Bicol international chess tournament is being organized by D’Plaza Chess Association of the Philippines on December 7-13, 2018 in scenic Albay province where Mayon Volcano, the eighth wonder of the world, is magnificently situated.
Albay is also the home province of WGM Janelle Mae Frayna the Philippines’ first woman chess grandmaster
This announcement was made by Ricardo Martin, managing director of D’Plaza and confirmed by US-based directors Arcade Sampang and Carmelito Mejia. The tourney will be open to unrated and titled or rated players of FIDE, the world’s governing body of chess.
The time control will be 90 minutes, 30 seconds increment and will be played in 9 rounds Swiss format. A rapid side event, 15 mins, 10 secs increment, will be immediately played after the standard event.
A guaranteed prize fund of US$2,200 (Php110,000)
based on 150 participants is being put up by the organizers, broken down as follows: 1st-US$600, 2nd-400,3rd-300,4th-200,5th-160,6th-120,7th-80,8th-60,9th-40,10th-40. Special prizes of US$40 will be awarded to the best U18, U16, U12, best girl and best veteran.
Arcade Sampang, who is in Manila for a short vacation said that he will personally invite Asia’s first grandmaster Eugene Torre and arch-rival GM Joey Antonio to grace the event and provide tough local opposition against foreign entries from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, China, and other countries.
