ALICIA: International Master (IM) Paulo Bersamina achieved a remarkable victory over Grandmaster (GM) Daniel Quizon in the Philippine National Open Chess Championship Grand Finals at Alicia Community Center in Isabela, creating a four-way tie for the lead. The win, accomplished in 23 moves of a Center-Counter duel, positions Bersamina alongside IM Ricky de Guzman and qualifiers Alexis Emil Maribao and Samson Chiu Chin Lim as frontrunners in the competition, which offers a slot in the Philippine team for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to Philippines News Agency, De Guzman triumphed over Phil Martin Casiguran in 62 moves of a London System, while Maribao defeated Vince Angelo Medina in 47 moves of a Pirc Defense. Lim overcame FIDE Master Mark Jay Bacojo’s English Opening in 45 moves. In other matches, GMs John Paul Gomez and Joey Antonio agreed to a draw in 14 moves of a Ruy Lopez, while IMs Jan Emmanuel Garcia and Joel Banawa also split the point after 30 moves of a Gruenfe
ld Defense.
The tournament features 11 rounds and is organized by the National Chess Federation, offering a total of PHP388,000 in cash prizes. The champion will secure PHP120,000, with second and third places receiving PHP90,000 and PHP60,000, respectively. Concurrently, the National Youth and School Chess Championships for various age categories and the Philippine National Children Chess Championships for U8 and U10 are underway. NCFP chief executive officer GM Jayson Gonzales announced that category winners would advance to the Asian Schools Chess Championships in Bangkok from December 1 to 11.