Cebu Chess Asia Sinulog Fiesta Cup attracts 129 woodpushers

Sports

OVER 100 chess players battled in the recent Insular Square Chess Tour Sinulog Fiesta Cup at Insular Square Mall in Barangay Tabok, Mandaue City.

Organized by the Cebu Chess Asia (CCA), the tournament that featured a seven-round Swiss system was participated by 129 woodpushers with ratings of not more than 2,050.

Each participant played seven gruelling rounds, and when the smoke cleared, it was Tsedekhaor Codilla who hoisted the championship trophy.

Codilla advanced to the championship round opposite Eric Abanco. The two finalists both had six points heading into the title match.

The championship match ended in a draw that gave the two finalists 6.5 points apiece. Codilla went on to win the championship owing to a superior tiebreak.

Codilla pocketed the P5,000 top purse while Abanco received P2,500.

Amado Olea Jr. got P2,000 for finishing third while Arjayl Martel and Crisanto Tan Jr. took P1,000 and P500 after landing at fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

The sixth to 10th placers got P300 each. Medals were also given to the top 10 finishers.

The tournament also handed out special awards. Winners of special awards each worth P300 and a medal were Tan (age-group 560), Kyle Zephyr Abalo (age-group U10), Triton Blue Ares Garcia (age-group U12), Sean Kenneth Cogonon (age-group U18), Abanco (group PWD), and Cliffaine Ashey Ypon (best female).

CCA has been holding monthly tournaments and the Fiesta Cup held last January 25 was the first of the year-round competition, said CCA founder and tournament director Randy Cabuncal.

Cabuncal said CCA aims to provide chess enthusiasts an avenue to regularly showcase their skills.

Cabuncal recalled that during his time as a varsity chess player at the University of San Carlos, tournaments came few and far between.

“Our goal now is to really promote chess and make sure that our chess players have the opportunity to regularly compete. We invite players not just from Cebu but also those from other provinces,” said Cabuncal.

CCA has already staged tournaments in other malls in Mandaue, Cebu, and Lapu-Lapu.

What started as a mere social media page posting updates about chess has become a leading organization promoting the sport.

The group scored a major breakthrough last year when it started holding tournaments.

“Since then, we have been organizing monthly tournaments. The goal is to have three to four tournaments a month to really give our chess players enough exposure,” Cabuncal said.(CCM)