BY KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Life goes on for Filipino chess players while most sporting events were froze by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Credit goes to the leadership of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) for holding online chess tournaments since the government imposed Enhanced Community Quarantine three weeks ago.
The aim is to give the players an alternative to keep them sharp since on-the-board tournaments are postponed or cancelled due to the global health crisis.
The NCFP has organized the first Philippine National Bullet Chess Championship being done at the lichess.org online chess application where more than P200,000 total cash prize are at stake in the 10-leg tournament.
The tournament is held every Saturday, with last weekend’s third leg drawing more than 447 titled and untitled players including those based abroad.
Among those titled players who have been competing are Grandmasters Mark Paragua, Joey Antonio, Banjo Barcenilla, Darwin Laylo; International Masters Daniel Quizon, Paulo Bersamina, Jan Emmanuel Garcia; FIDE Masters Sander Severino and Alekhine Nouri, Woman Grandmaster Janelle Frayna and WIM Bernadette Galas to name a few.
Different chess organizations around the country are following suit by holding their own tournaments, including women’s tournaments.
Now, there are at least two to three online chess tournaments that Filipino players can participate every day, ranging from bullet, blitz to Fischer-Random events.
Most tournaments are being held on bullet events where players are challenged at fast time control to prevent computer assistance while teaching pattern recognition, which is important in the sport.
Seeing the large response from the chess community, NCFP executive director Cliburn Orbe said they will do their best to keep the online program going even after the lockdown is lifted.
