MANILA, Philippines – Bulacan will host the Luzon leg of the National Age-Group Chess Championships as well as the semi-finals of the National Juniors tournament this March, with the country’s best young chessers striving for top honors.

The age-group championships will be held on March 3-6, while the National Juniors are scheduled for March 11-15. Both tournaments will be played at the Bulacan Capitol gymnasium in Malolos City.

The two tournaments, spearheaded by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, are open to all Filipino players 20-years-old and below.

NCFP chairman and president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. said the tournaments will serve as elimination series to select the qualifiers to the grand finals.

“The primary aim of the competition is to search and develop chess masters for future international competitions,” he said.

In the age-group tourney, contestants will compete in the following categories: 20-under, 16-under, 14-under, 12-under, 10-under, and 8-under, with different divisions for men and women.

The National Juniors, meanwhile, is an open event. The top ten finishers in the men’s and women’s division will join the six men and six women already seeded in the grand finals, which will be held on April 1-10 in Taguig City.

The category champions in the age-group competition will meet in the finals on April 11-19, also in Taguig City. -- By Marlon Bernardino