Players competing in the Chess Infinitum Battlegrounds. | Photo from Cebu School of Chess.
CEBU CITY, Philippines—National Master (NM) Rommel Ganzon and Ian Villareal clinched their spots in the grand finals of the Chess Infinitum Battlegrounds after emerging as the top two finishers in last Sunday’s final qualifying tournament held at Robinsons Galleria Cebu.
The pair outplayed 78 other woodpushers in the unique chess event organized by National Arbiter (NA) Kevin Yap and International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap.
Their success in this sixth and final qualifying round secured their places on the January 26 grand finals at the same venue, where they will face the other qualified players.
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Ganzon and Villareal both tallied 5.5 points at the end of the six-round Swiss-system tournament.
However, Ganzon accumulated higher tie-break points, to edge out Villareal. Villareal’s second-place finish marked a significant achievement, given his initial 12th-seed ranking.
Chris Aldritz Pondoyo, the tournament’s second seed, also scored 5.5 points but settled for third place due to a lower tiebreak score. Rounding out the top five were Charlie Lapus and Arena FIDE Master (AFM) Jesse Camangon, who both finished with five points.
The rest of the top 10 included Sean Kenneth Cogonon, John Emmanuel Montemayor, Allan Salientes, Arena International Master (AIM) Rogel Panilagao, and Francis Dreamsil Sasam.
NM Ganzon took home the champion’s prize of ₱10,000, along with a trophy and certificate. Villareal received ₱7,000 for his runner-up finish, while Pondoyo earned ₱5,000. Cash prizes were also awarded to players who placed fourth through twelfth.