The Philippine International Chess Championship reels off today at the Subic Bay Peninsular Hotel, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo City, Zambales.
The nine-round Swiss System tournament has drawn the participation of 10 foreign grandmasters led by Wang Hao (2678) of China.
The other prominent foreigners entered in the event are GM Anton Demchenko (2629) of Russia, GM Boris Savchenko (2613) of Russia, GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili (2611) of Georgia, GM Levan Pantsulaia (2607) of Georgia, GM Kovalev Vladislav (2603) of Belarus, GM Merab Gagunashvili (2588) of Georgia, GM Kirill Stupak (2562) of Belarus, GM Tigran Kotanjyan (2473) of Armenia, GM Sriram Jha (2416) of India, International Master Tran Tuan Minh (2478) of Vietnam, IM Abhimanyu Puranik (2476) of India, FIDE Master Tran Minh Thang (2399) of Vietnam, Harshit Harnish Raja (2399) of India and FM Lee Qing Aun (2227) of Singapore.
Also seeing action are Woman Grandmaster Lei Tingjie of China, WGM S.Vijayalakshmi of India and WIM Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan.
Grandmaster Eugene Torre leads the local contingent which includes GM Mark Paragua, GM John Paul Gomez, GM Joey Antonio, GM Darwin Laylo, IM Paulo Bersamina, IM Oliver Dimakiling, IM Haridas Pascua, IM Jerad Docena, IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia and International Master Ricardo De Guzman and WGM Janelle Mae Frayna.
The opening ceremony will be graced by Rep. Prospero “Butch” A. Pichay, Jr., chairman and president of National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), secretary-general Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, vice-president Ruel V. Canobas and former Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares.
Another international event, also supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), is set Dec. 12-19 at the same venue.