Battle of Asian Grandmasters 2010

An announcement was made yesterday signaling the start of many tournaments scheduled for the months of May and June. If everything goes smoothly as planned and no last minute cancellation took place as what happens with the Battle of GMs last March, we will see two major and interesting chess event before June ends. First stop, we will have the local version of "Linares" chess tournament, the Battle of Grandmasters, 25 May - 2 June in Tagaytay City. And the first ever of it's kind to be staged in the country, the Battle of Asian Grandmasters in San Pablo, Zambales where P1 million is at stake. The Battle of Grandmasters was originally scheduled last March 23 in Ermita, Manila but problem with venue consequently put off the event. There is no immediate report on who will be the foreign participant in the Battle of Asian Grandmasters but let the hype begin. Full report from Manilatimes.net and Philboxing.com

Culminating the five-prong program, accordring to NCFP executive director Willie Abalos, is the P1 million Asian Battle of Grandmasters that will feature the 12 finest woodpushers from China, India, Iran, Vietnam Uzbekistan Kazakhstan and the Philippines.


Abalos announced during yesterday’s SCOOP Sa Kamayan weekly session at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura that Chess Olympiad-bound Grandmasters Wesley So, Joey Antonio, Darwin Laylo, John Paul Gomez and Eugene Torre have been seeded to represent the country in the series to be held June 20-30 at the Punta de Uiyan Resort in San Antonio, Zambales.
Two more local GMs will join Torre and company in the Asian Battle of GMs , which Abalos added, will be part of the RP team’s preparedness program for the Chess Olympiad later this year in Austria.

Preceding this prestigious series is the Battle of Filipino GMs set May 25 to June 2 in Tagaytay City where all world-rated local chess players will see action.

...All these tournaments will be dedicated to the memory of lifetime FIDE Honorary President Florencio Campomanes,” Abalos said in reference to the four-time Filipino International Chess Federation president, who joined his Creator two weeks ago in Baguio City.

“Campo, you see, told us members of the NCFP board shortly before his death to continue our program of developing more Filipino GMs to sustain what he had started while still the head of the former National Chess Federation and FIDE,” Abalos said.