IN preparation for bigger tournaments lined up for him this year, Grandmaster Joey Antonio dominated the recent 5th Chess Mates Rapid Open Tournament last Sunday at the Southgate Mall in Makati.
Antonio swept all of his opponents in the 7-round Swiss system tournament organized by Chess Mates, led by Gracielle Macaspac and sponsored by Southgate Mall.
Among those who were crushed by Antonio are Anatoly Pascua Jr., Ricardo Batcho, Jerome Villanueva, Rolly Parondo Jr., IM Ronald Dableo, Sherwin Tiu and Florel Cruz.
“Magandang preparasyon ito para sa mga susunod na tournaments na sasalihan ko. Hopefully, magtuluy-tuloy,” said the 55-year-old GM.
Antonio is scheduled to compete through the help of his benefactors Col. Jim Santos and Atty. Coburn Anthony Orbe of Alphaland in the KL Open on Aug. 25 and the Battle of the Grandmasters 2017 National Open, where he is the defending champion.
He is also set to participate in the coming Asian Seniors in New Zealand in October and the World Seniors in Acqui Terme, Italy in November .
Antonio went home with the top prize of P7,500 and a trophy from the tournament participated by 55 rated and non-rated players.