IM Michael Concio Jr. of the Philippines topped the 3rd Governor Henry S. Oaminal Open Chess Festival held 4-5 November 2024 at the Asenso Misamis Occidental Sports and Cultural Center (AMOSACC), Capitol Complex in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines. Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings.
Concio won the nerve-wracking victory by Armageddon tie-break against top seed GM Timur Gareyev of Uzbekistan. Playing white, the 19 years old Dasmariñas City, Cavite pride won in 41 moves of the Nimzo-Indian Defense.
Concio walked away with a hefty P100,000 prize, courtesy of the Governor doubling the original P50,000 pot, along with a unique trophy.
Gareyev said, “I pushed myself to my limits, as I kept on attacking him but he defended well. We both gave a good fight, but I was time-pressured. In Armageddon, you have to play fast and precise,” added Gareyev who took the runner-up prize of P60,000.
According to Engr. Rey Urbiztondo, in chess, the Armageddon is a variation of the blitz event where a drawn game is counted as a win for the black pieces. By nature, an Armageddon game cannot end in a draw and black also starts with less time on the clock than white.
In Gareyev’s proposal, an Armageddon blitz showdown must be held to break the tie.
Initially, the former US Open champion Gareyev won the right to choose color via tossed coin. He chose to have the black pieces with five minutes against Concio’s white with six minutes and no increment. Gareyev was once tormentor of GM Alireza Firouzja (2804) and used to be in the elite level with 2682 elo rating.
Needing just a draw, Gareyev countered Concio’s d4 with Nf6 turning the Armageddon blitz duel to the main line of the Nimzo Indian defense.
Concio earlier strung up six-straight wins over against Rogelio Andoy, Bonn Rainauld Tibod, IDE Master Roel Abelgas, International Master Angelo Young, Jayson Salubre and International Master Joel Pimentel. Gareyev matched this against Hezziel Alcebar, Janmyl Dilan Tisado, Aljie Cantonjos, Sherwin Tiu, National Master Raymond Salcedo and Grandmaster Darwin Laylo before their drawn match in the pivotal 7th round.
Concio defeated Grandmaster Daniel Quizon and FIDE Master Austin Jacob Literatus in Round 8 and Round 9, respetively while Gareyev toppled Grandmaster Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. and FIDE Master Ellan Asuela.
Failing to cross paths with the foreign visitor in the entire tournament regulation, GM Quizon edged out fellow 7.5 pointers Tiu, IM Rolando Nolte, and local boy Rodney Opada in the Bucholz tiebreaker to bag the third place worth 40,000.
Tiu, Nolte, and Asuela occupied fourth to 6th place with P20,000, P10,000 and P6,000 take-home, respectively.
Completing the top-10 finishers with P4,000 each were Pimentel, Laylo, Literatus, and Antonio.
In the 17 & Under category, FIDE Master Christian Gian Karlo Arca of Panabo City, Davao del Norte emerged as champion with 8.5 points securing P60,000 and a trophy. In the 13 & Under category, top-seeded National Master Mar Aviel Carredo of Dasmariñas City, Cavite took the championship title with a score of 6.5 points, winning P60,000 in cash and a trophy for his strong performance.
World Chess Hall of Famer and Asia’s First Grandmaster Eugene Torre (above) led the closing ceremonies of this FIDE rated rapid event and National Chess Federation of the Philippines sanctioned tournament.-Marlon Bernardino-
