BY VIRTUE of his international standing and his having topped the recent 1st Antonio Ivan S. Aguirre open individual chess tournament, US Master Rodrigo Atotubo is considered as the tournament top seed in the forthcoming 1st George S. Aguirre/Atty. Eugenio Villasor Villanueva Jr. Memorial open individual chess tournament.

The tournament is slated on September 6 to 27, 2009, at the lobby of the Top’s Millennium Plaza Bowling Lanes, 10th/Hilado Sts., Capitol Shopping Center, Bacolod City.

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The activity, organized by the Game Royale Aficionados of Negros Inc. headed by Dr. Alfonso Teorima, is a seven-round-Swiss System (1-hour-20-moves + 1-hour-to-finish-the-game) event that is open to both male and female chess players from Negros island, as well as guest players from neighboring provinces who must know how to record chess games either through the Descriptive English Notation (P-K4 – P-QB4 or Algebraic Notation (e4 – c5) and must be able to bring their own tournament size chess sets and chess clocks.

Entry fee per participant is P200 which must be settled upon registration. Registration deadline is on September 4, 2009, 6 p.m.

Prizes awaiting the top finishers are: for the champion, P5,000 plus a 42-inch, four-legged “King” trophy; for the 1st runner-up, P4,000 plus a 36-inch, four-legged “Queen” trophy; for the 2nd runner-up, P3,000 plus a 30-inch, four-legged “Rook” trophy; for the 3rd runner-up, P2,000 plus a 27-inch, four-legged “Bishop” trophy; for the 4th runner-up, P1,000 plus a 24-inch, four-legged “Knight” trophy; while the 6th to 20th placed finishers will each receive eureka chess sets with chess mats and bags.

On top of the major prizes, the top three scorers in the female category will receive P700, P500 and P300, respectively, plus gold, silver and bronze chess medals; while the top 3 finishers in the kiddies division will likewise get P500, P300 and P200, respectively plus gold, silver and bronze chess medals.

For more information, interested participants may contact tournament director and chief arbiter Dodz Felisilda through telephone number (034) 707-0421 or mobile numbers 0919-658-1254 and 0917-607-8373. (HCV)