RIYADH, 26 December 2003 — Humangit claimed the championship crown in the elite group of the Arab National Bank-Telemoney Open Chess Tournament while wizards were to the fore in Class B, and C respectively at the Al Mutlaq Hotel organized by the Riyadh Chess Club.

In Class 'A' race ended with formidable Gilberto Humangit, Willy Trinidad and George de la Pena on top of the pack with 5.5 points apiece. In the tie-breaker 7-Swiss system tournament, however, it was Humangit who emerged the champion on account of his higher tie-break cumulative points.

Humangit won his penultimate round against chess wizard Antonio Zorilla when the latter allowed Humangit to post a temporary Knight sac, simplifying things on the board with his Sicilian Opening game. Ed Valenzuela jolted the Class 'A' applecart when he used his Knight material advantage to win his last game against Humangit.

The loss of Humangit in this key game allowed skilled craftsmen George dela Pena and Willy Trinidad, who won their last 2 games, to catch up with him in the overall standing.

In the computerized tie-breaking system, Humangit emerged the front-runner to snatch the championship trophy. Trinidad took the first runner-up trophy while Dela Pena bagged the second runner-up trophy.

Completing the Top Five winners in Class 'A' were Ed Valenzuela and Antonio Zorilla with 4.5 and 4 points, respectively. Valenzuela took home the VCD player while Zorilla brought home a radio/cassette.

In other games, Ramil Ancajas won over Rene Almario in 38 moves of a Sicilian Opening. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi formed a Bishop-Queen mating tandem along the b1-h7 diagonal via a neat Knight sacrifice to beat Riyadh Chess Club President Rudy Sadernas in another Sicilian encounter.

In Class 'B', front-runner Frank Padla led his class throughout. He got the championship trophy and the 21" colored TV despite coasting along with 2 draws in the last two rounds. The employee of the Ahmed A. Abed Trading Establishment won the title in a computerized tie-breaker over Roger Esquivias, who equaled Frank's final output at 5.5 points.

Although Esquivias won his penultimate and final games against Nestor Ceballos and Manny Ordonio in the 6th and 7th rounds, respectively, he got the second place trophy based on the results of tie-break system and the 14" colored TV set. Ceballos received the 3rd place trophy and the VCD Player. Bies Pena and Kit Umali were each awarded with a radio/cassette and a trophy for winning the 4th and the 5th places, respectively.

In Class 'C' chess buff Cornelio Pondoc emerged as winner after the tie-breaker with Rey Dimaano and Oscar Asis all finishing at 5.5 points. He got the prized 14" TV set and the championship trophy. Rey Dimaano came in second for the VCD player and the first runner-up trophy. Oscar Asis, Allan Monilla and Mohammed Nictar were each awarded a radio/cassette and the runner-up trophy for finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th, respectively.

The final standings: Class 'A' — G. Humangit, 5.5; W. Trinidad, 5.5; G. dela Pena, 5.5; E. Valenzuela, 4.5; A.Zorilla, 4; A. Al-Ghamdi, 4; R. Ancajas, 3.5; H. Honrado, 3; S. Siddique, 2.5; R. Sadernas, 2; R. Almario, 1.5; C. Sanchez, .5.

Class 'B' — F. Padla, 5.5; R. Esquivas, 5.5; N. Ceballos, 5; B. Pena, 4.5; K. Umali, 4; L. Daria, 4; J. Javier, 3.5; M. Ordonio, 3.5; A. Gallardo, 3.5; K. Zamil, 3.5; E. Sumagaysay, 3.5; A. Uddin, 3; A. Abug, 3; R. Aro, 1.

Class 'C' — C. Pondoc, 5.5; R. Dimaano, 5.5; O. Asis, 5.5; A. Monilla, 4.5; M. Nistar, 4.5; B. Garcia, 4; J. Mato, 4; E. Wartenberg, 4; A. Samas, 4; E. Gatpatan, 3.5; J. Hermoso, 3.5; P. Saquian, 3.5; J. Salazar, 3; R. Cortez, 3; C. Gervacio, 2.5; A. Gallardo, 2.5; F. Fajardo, 2.5; N. Rabanal, 2; S. Andrews,1; D. Buenas, 0.5.