Thursday, December 25, 2008 1st Antonio Ivan S. Aguirre open chessfest slated April By Henry c. Villalva
THE 1st Antonio Ivan S. Aguirre Open Individual Chess Tournament, sponsored by US-based chess guru, author and certified fraud examiner Antonio Ivan Aguirre, will be staged on April 19, 2009 in Bacolod City.
It will be organized and officiated by the Game Royale Aficionados of Negros Inc., in cooperation with Top's Millennium Plaza bowling Lanes Inc.
The seven-round, Swiss system (1-hour 20 moves+ 1-hour-to-finish-the-game) competition from April 19 to 25, 2009 will be held at the Lobby of Top's Millennium Plaza Bowling Lanes, the official tournament venue located at 10th-Hilado Sts., Capitol Shopping Center, Bacolod City.
Entry fee is P200 per participant and deadline for registration is 6 p.m. of April 16, 2009, with no extension, said tournament director and chief arbiter Dodz Felisilda.
The tournament is open to all Negrense chess players (male and female). The participants required to know how to record chess games either in the Descriptive English Notation (P-K4 - P-QB4) or Algebraic Notation (e4 - c5). Participants are also required to provide their own tournament size chess sets and chess clocks.
Only duly registered participants will be included in the 1st round pairings at the opening day of the tournament, said Felisilda.
The official Fide Laws of Chess will govern the competition.
Prizes awaiting the top finishers are: for the champion, a P5,000 gift certificate plus a 42-inch, four-legged 'king' trophy; for the 1st runner-up, a P4,000 gift certificate plus a 36-inch, four-legged 'queen' trophy; for the 2nd runner-up, a P3,000 gift certificate plus a 30-inch, four-legged 'rook' trophy; for the 3rd runner-up, a P 2,000 gift certificate plus a 28-inch, four-legged 'bishop' trophy; for the 4th runner-up, a P1,000 gift certificate plus a 26-inch, four-legged 'knight' trophy; while the 6th to 20th placers will receive one 'eureka' chess set each.
Aguirre is a CPA, certified fraud examiner (CFE), certified system investigator (CSI), and holds an MBA degree. He previously worked with Metrobank as head of special audit and is now connected with the United Nations (UN) as chief resident auditor.
Aguirre has a book scheduled for release in January 2009 by Wiley Publishing USA entitled "Casebook on Computer Fraud" where he is a co-author. His chess contemporaries call him "Tukmanov," likening him to the famous Russian Grandmaster due to his maneuvering skills on the chessboard.
The youngest in the family, his close chess friends call him "Betsokoy" for his wit and chess wizardry.
The tournament is timed with Aguirre's scheduled six-week vacation in the Philippines where he grew up.
"The tournament is intended to help young talents hone their skills. We need to help Philippine Chess in whatever way we can. This tournament, which is a long overdue contribution to Bacolod chess can hopefully be a good start," Aguirre told tournament director Felisilda in an e-mailed letter where he detailed his intentions regarding the tournament.
