CEBU, Philippines - NM Merben Roque hurdled his final round assignment against Glenn Pardillo to win the title of the 3rd Marcelo "Loloy" Ruelan Memorial Open Chess Tournament over the weekend at the Deep Blue Chess Club in SM City-Cebu.
Roque subdued Pardillo after 43 moves of a Sicilian Dragon to rule the 7-round Swiss system competition with 6.5 points.
Brothers Rommel and Ronald Ganzon ended the two-day tilt with similar 6.0 points, but Rommel took the second place honors by virtue of a higher tie-break output.
Roque pocketed P5,000 for his efforts, while Rommel and Ronald got P3,000 and P1,000, respectively.
Anthony Makinano was at solo fourth place with 5.5 points, while Edsel Montoya, Andrew Casiano, Felix Shawn Balbona, Glenn Pardillo, NM Rogelio Enriquez, and NM Arnold Cadiz rounded up the top 10 finishers.
Held in association with the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (CEPCA), the annual tournament was made possible through the support of Ethi Dominguito, Atty. Jose Mariano Tan, Dr. Darcy Tabotabo, Atty. Gaudioso “ Jongjong†Melendez, Atty. Ben Harayo, ABC President Wilfredo M. Diamante, Andrew Aznar, and Cepcans Jun Olis and Boy Pestaño. — EBV (FREEMAN)