Gatlabayan Marikina chessfest rules | The Manila Times | So Good News

MARK Kevin Gatlabayan defeated Tristan Jared Cervero in the third round and scored two points in the next two rounds to win the Class A crown at the Tatay Domeng Santos Invitational Rapid Chess Tournament on Sunday, November 6 at the Marikina Riverside Gazebo.

Gatlabayan, who shared the early lead with Cervero by defeating Johnny Mooring and Adrian Esteva in the first two rounds, outwitted Cervero in the decider.

Gatlabayan then defeated Joey Villar in the fourth round and Mark Louis Velasco in the fifth round to win the Class A expert division with a score of 5.0.

John Luis Rivera has also won five straight to rule the under-14 category. He won decisively against favorites Zeus Kyle Del Mundo and Rey Albert Cruz en route to a 5.0 score in the tournament honoring Marikina’s oldest active chess player, 94-year-old Domeng Santos.

The other winners of this one-day, 10-minute plus 3-second overtime format are Joel Cruz and Publico Bonifacio in Class B and Ramon dela Cruz in the C-Novice category.

Asia’s first grandmaster and world chess hall of famer Eugene Torre gave an inspirational speech to the young participants and performed the grand opening ceremony with the organizer of the tournament, Marikina Chess Federation President Johnny “Joel” Gaudia.

Also in attendance were International Master Chito Garma, National Master Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr. and American Chess Champion Jesse Villasin.

The main referee was FIDE referee Rudy Ibanez, assisted by Rusfranco Salcedo and Rogelio Bacay.