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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Mercado shines in Europe
By Lynde Salgados
CAGAYAN de Oro's very own National Master Levi Mercado started like a house on fire in his first ever-international campaign in Europe.
Wielding the white pieces, Mercado shocked International Master Zivojin Ljubisavljevic of Russia in the seventh round to share the lead with another Russian favorite Serjey Fokin in the cash-rich 2005 Calvia Chess Festival at the Municipal Sports Arena in Mallorca, Spain.
"I was so nervous before our encounter especially that Russian players are widely-known to be very good at chess. But Ljubi is a very nice and friendly guy and he can also speak English," said Mercado, who never minded spending precious time on long distance call just to relay the good news to Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
The only Filipino contending in the 109-man field and amusingly among the few players listed in the "Torneo Internacional Calvia de Aficionados" without the Fide ratings, Mercado had a better Bucholz tiebreak over fellow 6.5-pointer Fokin at 33.0 to 28.5.
They are set for an inevitable meeting in the penultimate eight round wherein the winner has a great chance of bagging the 4,500 euros equivalent to over P200,000 in Philippine money.
Mercado's trip to Spain was also made possible through the support of the city government.
"I believe that talented Filipino chess players have a fair chance to excel abroad. So, we gave a certification and provide a little financial help to his international campaign," City Mayor Vicente Y. Emano said of Mercado.
(November 8, 2005 issue)
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