The 2013 Guam International Open Chess Tournament opening ceremony was held last night at the Guam Plaza Hotel. Evelyn-Blas Castaneda, left, Guam Echecs member and emcee for the night, sits with chess players representing Palau: Joy Flores Whipps, Ksau Anthony Whipps and Jeffrey Balbalosa.
(Photo by Virgilio Valencia/For Pacific Daily News)
CHESS TOURNAMENT OPENS TODAY
(By Phillip H. Blas)
Pacific Daily News
phblas@guampdn.com
THE GUAM Echecs organization held the opening ceremony for the 2013 Guam International Open Chess Tournament last night at the Guam Plaza Hotel Kahida Ballroom.
Oceania Chess Confederation President Brian Jones said Guam has a lot of potential for a strong chess following.
"Guam offers a perfect platform for players to get exposure to higher levels of competiton before sending a team to world chess team events," Jones said.
The five-day tournament is scheduled to begin at 1 pm today at the Bayview Hotel in Tumon and end Wednesday when there will be a closing ceremony to award the players. A total of 30 players will compete in the tournament.
The participants include 15 international players from Australia, Taiwan, Korea, England, Poland and Palau, and 15 players representing Guam.
Last year, the Guam Echecs held three major chess tournaments at Micronesia Mall and Agana Shopping Center, according to a press release.
During that time, the Guam Echecs organization was accepted as an affiliate member by the Federation Internationale des Echecs, which is the world's governing body for chess, according to Leon Ryan, president of Guam Echecs.
"The ultimate goal is to build mental strength in our youth and adult population through chess," Ryan said.
Ryan said the organization wants to provide the local community the opportunity to engage in chess as a competitive mental sport.
Jones said that last year Palau managed to form a team that competed in the World Chess Olympiad and he believes that if Palau can do it, then so can Guam.
"I particularly look forward to seeing Guam players compete in the Oceania Championship in Fiji later on this year," Jones said.
"I also look forward to seeing Guam compete in the 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway," Jones added.
Source:
Pacific Daily News
Page 28 Sports
Saturday
February 16, 2013
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