Cordova to host major chess tournament in August

Ariel Potot, the founder of RiChessMasters, speaks to the participants of the first Metro Cebu Camaraderie Chess tournament held last April at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel. | Photo from RiChessMasters Facebook page

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The municipality of Cordova will become a virtual chess battleground featuring the country’s best woodpushers.

This as the town in Mactan island is set to host the first Cordova Philippines National Open: 500 Years of Legacy to be held on August 20 to 25, 2021, at the Solea Hotels and Resorts. 

This major chess tournament is organized by the RiChessMasters, a Cordova-based chess group. 

READ: On a mission: Chess group aims to produce first FIDE master from Cordova town

RiChessMasters was supposed to host a twin major chess tournament, but the other was canceled due to the restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

RiChessMasters, headed by its founder Ariel Potot, was forced to cancel the 2nd Cordova Philippine International Open, which was supposed to be held from August 12-20 at the same venue. 

“Before, there were two tournaments, the international and Filipino Challenger. Now, there is only the National Open. The international open was cancelled due to Covid protocols,” said Potot, who is also the playing team owner of the Cordova Dutchess Dagami Warriors. 

Before the international open was canceled, 80 foreign players had already confirmed their participation. Twenty-six of them were Grand Masters (GM), 18 were International Masters, and 12 were FIDE Masters from ten different countries, according to Potot. 

“After they learned that they had to be quarantined for seven to 14 days, they decided to withdraw. So, we decided to only have the national open, which is still a very big tournament,” Potot said.

Currently there are around 55 players who confirmed their participation while registration continues. 

Potot said that one of their main objectives of the upcoming national tournament is to transform Cordova into a major hub for national and international chess events. 

“With this opportunity we can give chance to our local players in Cebu, specifically the local players from Mactan, which includes Lapu-Lapu City, to play with Fide masters, international masters and grandmasters.  Furthermore, RiChessMasters aims to open the doors for quality and international ambience tournaments,” Potot said. 

RiChessMasters was founded in July 2020. The group has held chess tournaments in plush resorts and hotels to provide participants a relaxing and more presentable ambiance. 

Just last April, they successfully organized Cebu City’s first over-the-board chess tournament billed as the “Metro Cebu Camaraderie Chess Tournament” at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel. 

Meanwhile, the upcoming tournament will follow a nine-round Swiss System format under FIDE laws. 

The champion woodpusher will take home a whopping P50,000 while the first-runner up will pocket P25,000 and  second runner-up gets P15,000.

Registration fee is pegged at P3,000 per player and P2,000 for players aged 16 years and below. 

For more information about the tournament, visit the RiChessMasters’ official Facebook page.

/bmjo