Rizal Center Chess Tournament

What’s exciting about a Chess Tournament?

On March 22, Rizal Center launched its first-ever Chess Club by holding a tournament for children and adults. Eighteen players played five rounds in 5.5 hours. Two emerged as champions, plus the addition of one very exciting Chess Upset Game that merited a special prize! 

What is a chess upset, you ask?

From left to right: Ube Leopoldo Mascareñas (Chess Upset Prize), Edmar Villafuerte (Open Chess Champion, and Anthony Manuele (Scholastic Chess Champion).

A Chess Upset is a game won by a lower ranked/unranked player against a higher-ranked player.

An unranked player winning a game against a 1900+ level chess player is not something that happens all the time, but when it does, it definitely ups the level of competition. 

Playing regularly and playing with different people can produce a kind of proficiency that only happens with repetition. This is the reason why we want to establish a Chess Club so players can build on their skills every week, and compete every month. Thankfully, we are in good hands. Our Open Chess Champion, Edmar Villafuerte, will also be our Chess Club teacher!

Edmar teaches chess for the Chicago Public Schools, and would like to develop “the first Filipino-American Chess Club in the United States, with a mission to foster community engagement, intellectual growth and cultural pride through the game of chess.” 

Program Offerings may include:

• Saturday Chess Tutorials (Free): *Target: Kids and Beginners
  • Focus: Fundamental tactics, opening principles, and sportsmanship
• Club Tournaments: *Internal ladders and casual blitz events to build camaraderie among members.
• Monthly USCF Rated Tournaments:*Official United States Chess Federation (USCF) sanctioned events
  • Allows players to earn and improve their national rankings”

We will finalize the details of our Chess Club after the Chess Tournament on May 17. Please stay tuned for updates, and remember to Save the Dates for our tournament calendar – 

May 17

June 28

July 26

August 30

September 27

October 25

November 29

December 27

Register for the May 17 Tournament here: https://forms.gle/LF6BPFpv3NSdw6hn7