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Friday, August 18, 2006
Campomanes backs format
By Jaime A. Frias II
Sun.Star Correspondent
Fide Honorary Chairman Florencio Campoma-nes strongly supported the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP)’s move to change the elimination and the selection formats of the RP Chess Team.
This came to light as NCFP president Prospero Pichay, Jr. strongly declared to the participants and Philippine masters during the inauguration rites of the recently concluded Cantillan Open Chess Tournament in Cantillan, Surigao del Sur.
“I strongly support Pichay’s move. The principle of open championships with or without seeding is as valid as any other format. Pichay’s annunciated policy will receive enthusiastic response from the bulk of Filipino Chess players,” Campomanes told SunStar Cebu yesterday.
Equal chances
The policy will give non-titled woodpushers in the country equal chances in vie to represent the country’s colors in the international tournament including the RP Team-bound delegation such as the Olympiad, Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games.
The old format provides the country’s grandmasters, which last year’s selection gave outright seeding to GMs Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Mark Paragua, to have an outright seeding to the finals while the rest of the country’s wood-pushers have to undergone hard labor in vying fight for the remaining slots in the RP Team.
Though Campomanes denied saying that cowardice was behind the GMs’ no-show in Cantillan, Cam-pomanes asserted that the country’s GMs and Fide-rated chess players should always reconfirm their ratings against newcomers in the Philippines chess.
Newcomers
They include Cebu City’s Kim Steven Yap, who nearly upset newly minted International Master Darwin Laylo in Cantillan but was held to a draw, and Cagayan de Oro City’s 15-year-old Antonio Chavez, who upset National Master Ernesto Absin and drew IM Oliver Dimakiling.
Campomanes made it clear that (Joey) Antonio did not make it to Cantillan because he was hospitalized for a gall bladder problem while two others have some personal excuses.
But a diplomatic Eugene Torre, Asia’s First GM, told SunStar Cebu that he was protecting his 2500 barrier rating from being dragged down.
With regard to that, Campomanes said a player must always reconfirm, validate and defend his rating.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 18, 2006 issue)
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