RP trio gears for World Chess

RP trio gears for World Chess

MANILA -- Filipino Grandmasters (GM) Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr., Wesley So, and Darwin Laylo are gearing up for the upcoming 2009 World Chess Cup slated on November 20 to December 15 in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.

Antonio will have reigning World Chess champion Gata Kamsky as his first opponent.

“[May] 30 percent [ang] chance manalo kay Kamsky, pero lalaban tayo,” said Antonio, who is fresh from an impressive outing in the recently concluded Asian Indoor Games blitz chess competition.

Antonio first met Kamsky in the 2005 HB Global Challenge in Minneapolis, USA. The game, where Antonio employed his pet line caro-kann defense, ended in a draw.

Should Antonio pull an upset this time against Kamsky, he will face the winner between GM Emil Sutovsky of Israel and GM Zhou Weiqi of China in the second round.

The Bacoor whiz kid So will be going up against GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan.

If So, the youngest Filipino GM, succeeds in his first-round match, he will face either GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine or GM Alexei Bezgodov of Russia in the second round.

Laylo, meanwhile, will test the mettle of GM David Navara of Czech Republic. “[May] 25 percent naman ang chance natin kay Navara,” said Laylo.

Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) chief, said he is confident that the three Pinoy pawn pushers will give a good performance.

“Umabot lamang sa fourth round magandang achievement na po ito,” said Pichay.

The 2009 World Chess Cup, an integral part of the World Championship Cycle 2009-2011, has a total prize fund of $1,600,000.

The tournament is a knockout event with 128 players, employing 6 rounds of matches comprising 2 games per round.

The winners will progress to the 7th round, which comprises 4 games. - By Marlon Bernardino

as of 11/12/2009 6:18 PM