Despite being the underdogs, a Cordilleran and two fellow OFWs shocked international chess aficionados.
In awe of the trio were World Chess Federation (FIDE) officials and international players after dislodging some of their powerful opponents in the U1700 category of the FIDE World Amateur Championships 2021 held in Greece October 16-26, 2021.
A native of Besao, Mtn. Province, Marlon Tallayo, a dental technologist in Qatar, admitted that most of their opponents couldn’t believe they were Filipinos especially when they tallied wins on the early days of the event.
He narrated that he outsmarted two players from Greece, one from Belgium, one from Kuwait, one from Kenya, and had a draw with an opponent from England throughout the 9-round format via the Swiss-system tournament type.
With their earned 5.5 points, he and his team mates landed on the top 16 out of 74 players in the U1700 FIDE rating list.
Tallayo said that it was a rare opportunity for an Igorot chess player to fly to Europe and compete in a prestigious international event.
“They (international players) didn’t know there were Igorot chess players who could compete,” he added, as he described his experience.
Tallayo and two fellow OFWs from Cavite composed the Philippine team.
He was the champion in the Benguet State University-organized 3rd Highland Online Chess Tournament last July 17.** By Augustin Dao-anis