Marigondon Tournament 2017

First three players on the left side in respective order: Allan Pason, Zalde Baring, and Richard Gohetia Sr (wearing red cap)
First two players on the right side in respective order: Kraig Quinain (gray shirt) and Albert Rivera (white shirt)

Last March 30, a small but strong tournament took place at the northern-end of Lapu-Lapu, namely the Marigondon Tournament 2017. The top seeds were wiz kid Allan Pason, Albert Rivera, the classical Kraig Quinain, and veteran Richard Gohetia Sr. The 2-day and 8-rounds event saw Kraig Quinain of Lapu-Lapu chess club, leading valiantly in the first day and chalking up 3.5 points (+3 -0 =1). Quinain beat strong players like Richard Gohetia Sr and wildcard Zalde Baring on the first day. But things  became very different on the second day as Quinain's game suddenly collapsed against a virtually unknown but talented Roy Looc in the 6th round. Quinain was in a completely winning position when Looc who was in despair, prudently steered the game towards complications which eventually let Quinain drift away in the game. Quinain's loss enabled Allan Pason to catch up and even winning the tournament but only via tiebreaks (Pason's 10.5 tiebreak points against Quinain's 8). Notably, Pason won the tournament without a single loss: 5 wins, 0 losses, 3 draws in 8 games. The surprise of the tournament however, was the wildcard Zalde Baring who is now well unto his years, heroically racked up 5 points towards the final round. He was fifth place. Completing the top five spots were Albert Rivera (3rd place), and Richard Gohetia Sr. (4th place).

Chess players at work, serious work.

Richard Gohetia Jr. (left) facing an unknown but well-versed rival.

On unfortunate side of events, Richard Gohetia Jr, son of  the ingenious Richard Gohetia Sr, didn't fare well in the event as he only managed to score 2 points in the 8 rounds. It's well-known that Gohetia Jr got the bronze medal just recently in the CVIRAA Elementary Meet. Perhaps this was just a fluke though, hopefully.
Elora Supermarket and Cafe Elora graciously sponsored the event. Players from Lapu-Lapu are truly grateful for Elora Supermarket and Cafe Elora to organize such event. Total prize fund was around 11,000 pesos.Special thanks to Denver Siva Torres for officiating the tournament, and Marvin Ruelan who allowed management to rent-out his chess sets and game clocks.

FINAL STANDINGS (TOP 10)