Aklan hosts national inter-province chess fest,
world class woodpushers vying in April tourney
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan - The province of Aklan is hosting for the second time the National Inter-Province Chess Championship on April.

Provincial Sports Coordinator Wilfredo Neri said world class woodpushers will join the five-day annual inter-province chessfest from April 1 to 5 at the Gov. Corazon L. Cabagnot Tourism and Training Center in Barangay Old Buswang, this town.

Neri said the annual competition is organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and supported by the provincial government of Aklan under the leadership of Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez.

The grand team winner will receive P100,000 and trophy while the first runner-up will also pocket P70,000 and the third placer will receive P50,000, respectively.

The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth placers will receive P30,000, P20,000, P10,000, P9,000 and P8,000 respectively.Also getting cash prizes are the ninth placer with P7,000 and the 10th placer will be given P6,000.

Each team is allowed four regular players or one alternate for a maximum of five players. However only one titled player (GM, IM, FM or NM) is allowed per team.
Neri said Filipino Grandmasters Wesley So, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo will be seeing action against titled and untitled chess players across the country.

NCFP, headed by president/chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay, is the governing body of chess in the country.

Last year, the province also hosted the weeklong National Inter-Provincial Chess Championship in the capital town of Kalibo. More than 30 teams bannered by highly rated players saw action in the prestigious inter province team championship.

Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)-A captured the 2010 national inter province chess title while four teams – Rizal, Tagaytay, Makati and Boracay-A shared second to fifth places.

Meanwhile, Neri also announced the staging of the annual Governor's Cup Inter Municipal Basketball from March 18 to April 13 and the Inter Department Sportfest on April 5 to 15.

Aklan is celebrating its 55th anniversary as an independent province by virtue of Republic Act No. 1414 signed by President Ramon Magsaysay on April 25, 1956.