Tandag rides on Richard Bitoon to clinch crown

TANAUAN CITY—Tandag City, led by newly minted grandmaster Richard Bitoon, bested Bacolod Negros/NICA, 3-1, in the finals in a down-the-wire battle to emerge champion in the 2011 National Inter-Cities and Municipalities Chess Team Championship Tuesday at the Tanauan Event Center.

The win was worth P150,000 for the Tandag City bets, who secured a berth in the finals after scraping past Davao City, 2.5.1.5, in the crossover semifinals.

The Ilonggos, who dispatched elimination topnotcher Mandaluyong City, 3-1, in the other semifinal pairing, settled for second overall and went home richer by P90,000.

Bitoon Fide Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia and Narquingen Reyes secured the crucial wins in the “Armageddon” playoff after the Ilonggos, backstopped by Fide Master Hamed Nouri, forged a 2-2 draw.

In the “Armageddon,” the player handling the white pieces is given a 6-5 advantage in time but the player handling black needs only a draw to win.

Bitoon, playing white, crushed Nouri; Garcia outwitted Sander Severino while Reyes downed Raymund dela Pena. Joel Pimentel averted a shutout for Bacolod when he bested Sherwin Tiu on board three.