NM Rommel Ganzon shaking the hands of Guadalupe Sevillano Harris during the awarding ceremony of the Harvey Duke Harris III Annual Chess Tournament. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — National Master (NM) Rommel Ganzon lorded the Harvey Duke Harris III Annual Chess Tournament held over the weekend.
NM Ganzon pocketed the P5,000 champion’s purse after finishing his campaign with 8.0 points in the nine-round Swiss system competition.
He needed to rely on his total accumulated tie-break points to edge eventual second and third-placers Anthony Makinano and Arje Villarin who both scored 8.0 points as well.
Makinano and Villarin didn’t go home empty-handed as they also earned P3,000 and P2,000, respectively for placing second and third places in the tournament held at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu, that drew a total of 211 woodpushers from around the province.
NM Ganzon who started as the sixth seed had a stellar outing in the tournament after winning six consecutive matches. He defeated Kurt Jaden Igot, Maria Kristine Lavandero, Aaron James Resma, Joel Pacuribot, and Carl Nino Capul.
He went on to upset No. 2 seed Allan Pason in the sixth round but snapped his winning streak in the seventh round when he lost to seventh seed Venancio Loyola Jr.
NM Ganzon bounced back strong by beating Arena International Master (AIIM) Rogel Nino Panilagao and Chris Aldritz Pondoyo.
The rest of the top 10 players in the tournament were Ariel Joseph Abellana (7.5 points), Pondoyo (7.5), Ronald Ganzon (7.5), Loyola Jr. (7.0), NM Merben Roque (7.0), Diego Abraham Caparino (7.0), and Lemuel Montero (7.0). They also received cash prizes based on their final rank.
The annual chess tournament was co-organized by the Cebu School of Chess and Guadalupe Sevillano Harris to honor the late Harvey Duke Harris III who passed away in 2016 at 17.
Harris III was the son of Sevillano Harris, who is the sister of Cebuano Grandmaster (GM) Enrico Sevillano. The tournament has been happening in Cebu since 2017 and has been one of the sought-after chess tournaments here.
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