Youth will be pitted versus experience in this year’s “Battle of GMs” as favorite grandmasters Wesley So and Jon Paul Gomez expect tough matches against veteran chess players, including GMs Eugene Torre and Rogelio Antonio Jr.

“Wesley is the defending champion, but I expect the other top players to put up a good fight,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) chief Prospero “Butch” Pichay in a report posted on SportsNews.ph.

So, the country’s highest-rated player with an ELO of 2627, will be coming into the tournament fresh from successful campaigns in the Corus tournament at the Netherlands and in the Aeroflot Open in Russia.

The 15-year-old chess prodigy bagged the Group C title in the Corus tournament and won the top junior award in the Aeroflot Open.

Gomez, meanwhile, was voted most outstanding athlete in the 71st season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

But So and Gomez are expected to have their hands full against their older and more-experienced rivals led by Torre and Antonio.

Torre is the first Asian grandmaster (GM) while Antonio is a veteran of various international competitions.

Also competing in the men’s division are GMs Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo, Buenaventura “Bong” Villmayor, and Jayson Gonzales, plus GM-candidates Richard Bitoon, Julio Catalino Sadorra, Rolando Nolte, and Ronald Dableo.

At stake are cash prizes with the champion in the men’s division taking home P200,000 and the championship trophy.

The runner-up and the third placer will receive P100,000 and P80,000, respectively. The fourth placer will get P60,000 and the fifth placer will bring home P40,000.

Cash prizes will be given up to the 12th finisher.

Organized by Phoenix Petroleum and Dapitan City, the “Battle of GMs” championship will kick off at the Pavilion Hotel in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte on March 24-31.