Wednesday, June 11, 2008 Retanal tops Kabasan chess tourney
NATIONAL Master Elwin Retanal topped the Kabasan Chess Open held last May 28 at the Babak Gym in the Island Garden City of Samal.
Retanal finished with 5.0 points in the Open division along with Clement Valledor, Johnnel Balquin, and Jenny Mayor, but won via the tiebreak. The victory was worth P5,000 for Retanal.
Jay Bulicatin and Austin Literatus also shared top honors after ruling the Junior and Kiddies divisions, respectively.
The Kabasan Chess Open was one of the highlights of the city's Kabasan Festival and hosted by Boy Tan, president of the Igacos Chess Club that is an affiliate of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
The winners received cash prizes from Anthony G. Del Rosario, Davao del Norte provincial sport coordinator, Igacos Vice Mayor Orly Amit, and Jaime Pichon, chairperson of the Kabasan Festival.
The chess tournament was supported by local government of Igacos, Enrico Vanta of Chadric Builders, and barangay captain Cecilia Camilotes.
Also present during the event were NCFP executive director Willie Abalos, chair of NCFP Mindanao grassroots program Allan Diez, Jack Romero, and Joelyn Garbo.
Igacos Mayor Mayor Aniano Antalan, meanwhile, pledged P100,000 in future Igacos Chess Club tournaments. Igacos is also bidding to host next year's National Inter-province Chess Team Championship. (CRAM)
