by Rey Bancod
With most of its top players abroad, the Philippines faces a daunting task in the 17th Asian Continental Chess Championships which get under way today at the Tiara Hotel in Makati.
The $50,000 event, also billed as the second Manny Pacquiao Cup, drew 100 participants from 14 countries, including 29 grandmasters.
In the absence of the country’s top ranked player GM Julio Catalino Sadorra who is in the United States, GM John Paul Gomez takes his place as the country’s top bet.
Gomez, however, is only seeded 35th in the 60-man Open section. He has an ELO rating of 2450.
There are only two other Filipino GMs in the cast: Darwin Laylo (2438) and many-time national champion Joey Antonio (2431).
International Masters Paulo Bersamina, Haridas Pascua and Jan Emmanuel Garcia and FIDE Master Mari Joseph Turqueza, who played in the last Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, are also entered as well as reigning national seniors titlist IM Chito Garma.
The pair of Chinese GMs in Wang Hao (2730) and Wei Yi (2728) is seeded No. 1 and 2, respectively while GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam (2714) is ranked third.
Next to the host country’s 19, China has the most entries with 11.
India is represented by eight players, led by fourth seed Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2701).
The winner of the nine-round Swiss System tournament will receive the top purse of $10,000. The top five finishers in the Open section will also earn berths to the World Cup slated Nov. 4-30 next year in Tromso, Norway.
Meanwhile, 40 players will see action in the women’s section, led by top seed WIM Zhu Jiner of China who has an ELO of 2409.
WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, ranked No. 16 (2228) will be the country’s top entry.
To coincide with the twin events, a Challengers tournament will be held for players ranked below 2250, according to tournament director GM Jayson Gonzales.
