THE 2019 National Age-Group Chess Championships Visayas Leg will hit Cebu on Jan. 3 to 5 to further the development of young kids and uprising woodpushers in the country.
Around 300 to 500 chess wizards aged 20 years old and below will compete in 14 different divisions at the SM City Seaside Cebu. The youngest category for the competition will be for kids 8-Under, while the oldest is the 20-Under division.
“The goal of the event is to help our young chess players here in Cebu in particular, and also in the Philippines in general. We want them to become globally competitive not just in this sport but also in their daily lives,” said Cebu International Chess Society president Eduard de La Torre.
The top three players in every division will clinch a slot to the event’s Grand Finals which will be played in Luzon. The chess competition is sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
De la Torre is expecting the top players in this region and out-of-town players to come and compete in the qualifying round. The players from Luzon and Mindanao are allowed to join.
“This event will surely promote Cebu and also its chess prodigies in various categories,” said De La Torre, who was appointed by the NCFP as the tournament organizer for the Visayas Leg.
Cebu once hosted the 2019 National Age-Group Chess Championships Grand Finals, but it’s the first that a qualifying leg will be held here. (RSC)