Pacquiao random chess stakes P2M

A WHOPPING P2 million will be up for grabs in the Bobby D. Pacquiao Random Chess Festival slated Feb. 20 to 26 at SM Mall in General Santos City.

The bulk of the total purse will be dangled in the team event, with the champion team getting P500,000 of the P1.6 million at stake.

Asia’s first Grandmaster Eugene Torre, chief organizer of the event, said GMs Darwin Laylo, Richard Bitoon and Jayson Gonzales, also the executive director of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, have signified their intention to join.

Each team will be made up of four players, three non-titled, with either a GM or International Master each or with two Fide Masters or two National Master each.

A rapid individual event on Feb. 24 and 25 and a blitz contest on Feb. 26 will reward the champions with P60,000 and P20,000, respectively. Roy Luarca