Sagay City rated chess player Amalio Bayot was the overall champion in the Negros Open Chess Championship held at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City this weekend.
Bayot and two other woodpushers from Escalante and Silay earned four points each at the end of the tournament but the former got the highest Buchholz points against Romeo Sadia III and Marvin Ting, who eventually placed second and third, respectively, in the open category.
Placing fourth and fifth were Carlito Lavega of Cadiz City, and Eric Abanco of Murcia, both with 3.5 points.
Twenty chess players representing the different local government units joined the competition as part of the sports development program of the province during this pandemic.
Eleven participants are national rated players while nine are unrated.
Benito Cumla Jr. of La Castellana and Dexter Tongson of Cauayn emerged as top unrated players in the competition.
For the 25 years old and under category, Joshua Panes of Pontevedra was the champion after he earned 4.5 points and bested 19 other players in this division.
Aeron Keife Sinining and Cristy Cabungcag, both of Escalante City, were second and third placers, respectively.
Aera Kerl Charm Sinining, also of Escalante, was fourth with 3.5 points. The fifth to 10th place winners all got three points each.
Special awards were also given to female participants.
Risha Mae Arzaga of La Castellana and May Grace Pineda of Ilog were awarded in the open category and Manilyn Cabunag of Escalante and Kristelle Herrera of Cadiz in the 25 years old category.
Sports executive assistant Tony Agustin led the distribution of awards to the top players. He said that Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson appreciated the efforts of LGUs to send participants to the competition, and committed to continue the sports development program of the province even amid the health crisis. — MML
