GRANDMASTER Rogelio “Joey” Antonio ruled the 2017 Mayor Celso Regencia Dyandi Festival Iligan Open Chess Tournament on Sunday, September 24, at Lai-Lai Garden, Pala-o, Iligan City.
The 57-year-old Antonio, a many time RP-Olympiad member, sealed the title after a gentleman’s draw with the equally strong National Master Rommel Ganzon in the 9th and final round of the Swiss System tourney.
Antonio finished with eight points on seven wins and two draws including one from Cagayan de Oro City’s Nazario Ubanan in the fifth round.
The 32-year-old Ganzon, a native of Iloilo and now a Cebu-based player, scored 7.5 points in a tie with Jayson Salubre of Davao del Norte. But Ganzon copped the second place trophy with his superior tiebreak points.
Just among the few players who managed to hold GM Antonio to a draw, Ubanan could secure a top-3 finish but he lost steam against Salubre in the final round.
Both of them were in panic time situation with more than a minute left to play on the clock when Ubanan froze and let his time expired, thus sending him to sixth spot with seven points.
“Sayang kaayo ang akong momentum, tabla lang ang gikinahanglan. Pero ok lang gihapon ko kay natablahan nako si Joey,” said Ubanan after the tournament.
Antonio went home P20,000 richer, while Ganzon and Salubre bagged P10,000 and P5,000, respectively.
Another Oro chesser Bryan Jose almost whipped the upset axe against Antonio in the seventh round but missed a stunning knight maneuver in the 20th move.