Chess No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura arrives in PH for Bughouse tilt

FILE–US chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines–Chess World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura is in the country to compete in the inaugural WR Bughouse Championship, which kicks off Monday at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City.

The American Grandmaster arrived in Manila on Sunday with his partner, German Wadim Rosenstein, founder of WR Chess, which is staging the event with a total prize pool of $100,000 (around P6.1 million).

“Good morning from Manila,” Nakamura posted on social media. “Through chess, I’ve been able to travel around the world, and this is now the 63rd unique country I’ve been to.”

Nakamura headlines the two-day tournament featuring bughouse, or transfer chess, with 52 teams vying for the $50,000 top prize.

Also seeing action are American GM Awonder Liang, ranked No. 34 in the world, alongside Canadian Eilia Zomorrodian; Australian GM Anton Smirnov and American GM Timur Gareyev; and Indonesian GM Novendra Priasmoro and WGM Ardhiani Anastasia.

Leading the local challenge are GM Daniel Quizon and IM Eric Labog, GM Darwin Laylo and FM David Elorta, WGM Janelle Mae Frayna and WIM Ruelle Canino, and IMs Pau Bersamina and Jem Garcia.

The tournament opens with a 12-round elimination phase at 4 p.m., with the top eight teams advancing to Tuesday’s knockout stage.

Nakamura will also hold an autograph-signing session from 10 a.m. to noon on a first-come, first-served basis.

In bughouse, captured pieces are passed to a teammate for use on the adjacent board, with each player allotted five minutes and no increment.

Matches are decided by checkmate, resignation, or time forfeiture. Automatic checkmates using transferred pieces are prohibited, while pawn promotions are limited to pieces available from captured material.