CHESS: Southeast Asian Games to be held from November 30 to December 11 in the Philippines.
Myanmar Chess Federation will select six players for Southeast Asian Games to be held from November 30 to December 11 in the Philippines.
The federation has decided to compete with six chess players for SEA Games which will resume the event for the first time after 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.
The MCF is planning to compete in two categories- international and ASEAN events in the coming Southeast Asian Games.
‘’We will select players for SEA Games in a few months.
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We have planned to select six players from which four will be for international and two for ASEAN chess competitions.
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We are hoping to win gold medal from ASEAN chess tournament,” U Myo Zaw Min, secretary of Myanmar Chess Federation told The Myanmar Times.
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The federation will begin the selection for ASEAN chess Event from 9 to 13 July at Aung San Stadium in Yangon. Ten players are competing in this selection process and four will be chosen initially.
ASEAN Chess is a traditional chess of ASEAN which is a combination Thailand Traditional Chess, Myanmar Traditional Chess and Cambodia Traditional chess.
Chess has been selected by Philippine Olympic Committee to be included in the 2019 SEA Games for the first time in the past six years.
Myanmar got four gold, one silver and three bronze medals in the 2013 SEA Games held in Myanmar.
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Differently abled bet makes Philippine SEA Games chess pool
Joey Villar / The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines — Sander Severino isn’t letting his disability stop him from achieving his dream of winning a Southeast Asian Games gold medal someday.
Severino, the 33-year-old face of Philippine para chess, defeated Dale Bernardo and Jojo Aquino in the blitz division to make it to the core team that will train and play each other for two slots to the Philippine squad seeing action in the SEAG late this year.
Severino joins a group of fellow qualifiers fellow FIDE Masters Narquinden Reyes and Jose Mari Turqueza and International Masters Ronald Bancod and Angelo Young in the final phase of the SEAG selection process where the likes of Grandmasters John Paul Gomez, Darwin Laylo, Joey Antonio and IMs Paulo Bersamina and Jan Emmanuel Garcia await.
If the Silay City, Negros Occidental native makes it to the national pool, he will be the first differently abled athlete to make it that far.
“Winning a gold medal in the SEA Games is one of my dreams,” said Severino, confined to a wheelchair because of a muscular dystrophy.
“But I’m already happy and blessed to be given the opportunity to train with and compete against some of the country’s top players and I’m sure this will also help me in my training and preparation for the ASEAN Para Games,” he added.
Severino, who is ranked 21st in the country with a FIDE rating of 2363 and is in the top 10 in blitz with 2464, is also the country’s best hope for another strong performance in the ASEAN Para Games the country will host in January next year.
