FIDE Master Sander Severino spearheads the Philippine team that will compete in the 4th World Championship for People with Disabilities to be held online starting Friday.
Severino, an Asian Para Games multiple gold medalist, is seeded fifth in the individual tournament that drew 249 participants from 45 countries.
Also in the hunt for the title are Jasper Rom, Darry Bernardo, Henry Lopez and Rodolfo Sarmiento.
Rom is seeded 13th, Bernardo 26th, Lopez 27th and Sarmiento 117th.
This is the first time the country is participating in the tournament.
Severino, who was diagnosed with muscle dystrophy or degeneration when he was a child, is one of the favorites to rule the event after the Negros Occidental native captured last year’s online International Physical Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) World Championships.
Rom and Lopez are veteran campaigners in the international stage, winning two gold medals with Severino in the team event of the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Lopez also pocketed the men’s individual rapid class T1 in the same Asian Para Games edition.
Bernardo, for his part, is a member of the Far Eastern University team that won multiple titles in the UAAP.
Opening and draw ceremony will be held Thursday, while the first round will fire off on Friday.
The nine-round Swiss tournament will apply 45 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
Grandmaster Marcin Tazbir of Poland is the top rated player competing in the event, followed by Kazakh International Master Igor Yarmonov and Polish FM Marcin Molenda.
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