Bacoleño Ted Ian Montoyo accumulated 6 match points Saturday to claim the title of the Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia Cup chess tournament at the Bacolod Pavilion Resort and Restaurant in Bacolod City.

Montoyo, who received P7,000 and a trophy for his win, posted 34 points in the tiebreak to beat Warlito Dymosco of Talisay City and Trinie Olmedo of Bacolod, who registered 30 and 28.5 markers, respectively. Both Dymosco and Olmedo also scored six match points each.

Montoyo, Dymosco and Olmedo also qualified for the semifinals of the 2006 National Chess Championships as well as national, FIDE and international masters.

Also gaining slots in the semifinals of the national tournament were Bacoleños Raymund Dela Peña, Ernie Abanco, Marvin Ting and Xavier Verdun, Iloilo woodpushers Rommel Ganzon and Horizon Villanueva, and Horizon Villanueva of Bago City.

Dela Peña placed fourth Saturday after ending up with 34 points in the tiebreak to beat Abanco, a student of West Negros College, and Ganzon, who finished with 31 and 29.5 markers, respectively. Dela Peña, Abanco and Ganzon tallied 5.5 match points each.

Ting and Verdun shared the seventh and eighth places by collecting 5 match points and 30.5 tiebreak markers each in the tournament that drew 68 players from Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Dumaguete City.

Villanueva finished ninth by edging Atilaga in the tiebreak, 29.5-27.5, with both chessers registering 5 match points. Joemarie Tribaco also had 5 match points, but failed to make it to the top ten as he only accumulated 26 markers in the tiebreak.

The top nine chessers in the semifinals will advance to the finals of the 2006 NCC that will be held in Manila and the top six winners in the national championships will banner the Philippines in the 37th World Chess Olympiad from May 19 to June 5 in Turin, Italy. The Bacolod City local government and the Negros Chess Federation of the Philippines spearheaded the organization of the tournament that was also supported by the Bacolod Office of the Youth and Sports Development, NCFP board of director Willy Abalos, Moises Dela Cruz and national master Wilfredo Neri who is the NCFP Region VI coordinator. *CIT

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