Building on the success of its debut edition early last month at Taguig’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, the WR Bughouse Championships is making a quick comeback. The upcoming WR Bughouse Open is scheduled for August 29 at the Quezon City MICE Center, bringing back the fast-paced action of transfer chess.
Organizers expect over 100 players to participate, including leading masters from the Philippines and across Asia. Competitors will battle for a share of the ₱620,000 total prize pool, with the winning team taking home the ₱100,000 top prize.
The inaugural tournament saw Isaac Chiu and Janak Awwatramani of team Deep Waters capture the title by defeating Grandmaster Andrew Tang and FIDE Master Richard Zheng of The Angry Birds. That event drew major international attention, featuring World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura alongside WR founder Wadim Rosenstein.
Rosenstein—a prominent chess sponsor and organizer—is currently one of three candidates vying for the FIDE presidency in the upcoming September elections.
The one-day bughouse competition features a structured format:
- Qualifying Stage: Teams compete in initial rounds to secure high seeds.
- Knockout Stage: The top 16 teams advance to a single-elimination bracket to decide the podium.
- Main Cash Prizes: The runners-up will earn ₱70,000, third place will receive ₱50,000, and payouts extend down to the top 20 teams (minimum ₱5,000).
- Special Categories: Category winners—including Junior (U20), Youth (U16), Kiddie (U14), Senior (50+), Mixed, Female, School, and NCFP-affiliated club—will each receive ₱5,250.
The tournament is organized with support from the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Quezon City Sports Development Office, Mayor Joy Belmonte, and Vice Mayor Gian Sotto.