ONE of the oldest chess clubs in Cebu is adopting the new normal as the Cebu Executives Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) brings its first online tournament in the club’s 30-year history.
The open blitz tournament dubbed as Cepca President’s Cup will be held on the birthday of club president Jerry Maratas on May 23, 2020. It will be played on lichess.org starting at 5:30 p.m.
The chess tournament is open to all Cepca members in the country. Non-members can also join, but players must be from Cebu.
The registration is free as a treat of Maratas to the Cebuano chess community.
Cepca’s first online champion will win P2,000, while the second to fourth placers will receive P1,500, P1,000 and P700, respectively. The fifth to 10th placers will get a consolation prize of P500 each. Special cash prizes will be given to top three Cepca members; the top player will receive P1,000, while the next two players will get P700 and P500, respectively. The top female player and the best player in the 14-Under will each get P500.
Some 100 participants have signed up but organizers are expecting the numbers to rise in the next days.
Organizers remind the participants that the use of chess engine, account piloting and match-fixing are strictly prohibited. Those caught cheating will be banned from future Cepca tournaments.
The online competition is Cepca’s modest offering to all Cebuanos with the aim to uplift their spirits amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) that has infected over four million people around the world.
Chess is one of the sports that is thriving—thanks to technology—despite the border shutdowns, community quarantines and strict restrictions that are imposed to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Cepca official Jun Olis said online chess will be the new outlet for chess players until things will go back to normal. (RSC)