INQUIRER Sports

Mark Paragua, the first Filipino to reach super grandmaster status, aims to put the Philippines in the world chess map once again as he tries to break the Guinness simultaneous chess world record on Dec. 27 to 28, 2009.

The two-day event will be held at the historic Ninoy Aquino Stadium or San Andres Gymnasium in Manila.

?The ultimate test for mind and body endurance dubbed as ?1 vs. 600: Beat the MARK? will pit the young grandmaster against 600 players at the same time. There will also be 400 reserves for a total of 1,000 opposing players present during the event,? said journalist Noli Sangil Cruz.

The current record is held by Iranian GM Morteza Mahjoob, who faced 500 opponents simultaneously last August 13, 2009 at the Engelab Sports Complex in Tehran, Iran.

The Guinness World Record for the largest number of simultaneous games played in a single session was initially set in 1996 by Swedish GM Ulf Anderson, who took on 310 opponents. This mark was broken in 2004 by British IM Andrew Martin, author of many openings and training DVDs, who played against 321 opponents, scoring 294 wins, 26 draws and only 1 loss for a winning percentage of 95.64%.

In August 2005 GM Susan Polgar played against 350 players simultaneously at the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and finally, in February this year, Bulgarian GM Kiril Georgiev played a simultaneous exhibition against 360 opponents.

Paragua?s second/ trainer will be Asia?s First GM Eugene Torre and World Chess Cup bound GM Rogelio ?Joey? Antonio Jr. For inquiries, call or text mobile no. 0919 849 3648.