AFTER being absent from the 2017 Asia Zonal 3.3, Eugene Torre, Asia’s first chess grandmaster, banners a crack Philippine Team to the HDBank Cup International Chess Open from March 11-18 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The 65 years old Torre, who placed 8th in 2015, will be joined by eight other Filipino wood pushers namely GM John Paul Gomez, GM Antonio Rogelio Jr., GM Darwin Laylo, International Master Garcia Jan Emmanuel, IM Oliver Dimakiling, Nouri Hamed, FM Reyes Narquingden and Gatus Edmundo.
The HDBank Cup attracted 28 GMs, 26 IMs, 10 FMs, 10 WGMs, six WIMs, 2 WFMs and a lone AGM. It stakes a total of $45,000 in prize money.
A Filipino is yet to win the tournament since its creation in 2011. A victory here will also appease the Filipinos’ wounded pride after losing in the recent Asia Zonal 3.3 held in Tagaytay City. Vietnamese GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Malaysian Yeoh Li Tian of Malaysia won the event.
One of the biggest in Asia, the HD Bank Cup has been dominated by players from mainland Asia and this year five of the top 10 seeds are from China, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Argentina and Russia.
The 9-round Swiss System individual tournament is open to all chess players whose Elo ratings were based on the March 2017 FIDE list.