By Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
Every chess player nowadays is wondering who Garry Kasparov’s heir apparent will be.
Veselin Topalov is the choice of many. He is the current No. 1, way ahead of his nemesis Vishy Anand. Another up and coming chess prodigy is Levon Aronian who, at only 230-years-old, is now No. 3 in the latest Fide ratings.
Considered by many as the world’s greatest chess player, with apologies to Bobby Fischer and his fans, Gary Kasparov holds an astounding record. His highest rating was 2851 in the July 1999 Fide list, the highest so far in the history of chess. He was ranked first in the world 21 times, which in itself is a world record, from 1985 to 2006, and was the last undisputed champion from 1985 to 1993. He also won the Chess Oscar 7 times.
Veselin Topalov, 31, has a current Fide rating of 2813, making him second to Kasparov. And he is continuously improving his game. He is the current World Champion. He won in San Luis, Argentina, in 2005 over a tough field that included Anand, Polgar, Svidler, Adams, Kasimdzhanov, Mozorevich and Leko, all belonging to the world top 10 at that time. His performance rating in that tournament was an incredible 2890.
He also won the M-Tel Masters in 2005 and 2006 and is the 2005 Chess Oscar winner. He will be playing a unification match against Vladimir Kramnik in September this year for $1,000,000. He is from Bulgaria but now lives in Spain.
Levon Aronian of Armenia is only 23-years-old, but his Fide rating is already at 2761. In December 2005 he beat Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in the final round to win the World Cup in Khaty Mansiysk, Russia. In March 2006 he won Linares, half a point ahead of Topalov and Teimour Radjabov.
Anand is currently rated 2nd to Topalov, with a rating of 2779, and is only one of four players in history to break the 2800 barrier. He has been among the top three players since 1994 in classical time control and the No. 1 rapid player over much of that period.
So, who do you think is Kasparov’s successor? Is it the brilliant Bulgarian, Topalov, or the classical Indian genius, Vishy Anand? Or is it the young prodigy Aronian?
My answer is neither of these players. Good as they are they will never attain the heights reached by Kasparov. So, who will replace him? My answer is Sergey Karjakin.
Sergey of Ukraine became a grandmaster at an incredible age of 12, the youngest ever in the history of the game. He is now 16 yrs old and rated 26th in the world with an Elo rating of 2679.
His latest accomplishment was the 10th Petr Izmailov Memorial in Russia where he won the category-18 tournament 1.5 points ahead of the field that included Sergei Rublevsky, Ruslan Ponomariov, Alexander Morozevich, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Viorel Bologan. His performance rating was 2834.
Sergey’s strongest opponent in the coming years is another “boy wonder”, Magnus Carlsen. His accomplishments are also extraordinary and he is only 15 yrs old. He earned an Elo rating of 2675 in the latest Fide list, making him the World’s Junior No. 4 and 31st in the world. He won the C group of the Corus Chess tourney in 2004 at the age of 13 and the B group a year later.
My guess is that Sergey will become world champion before his 20th birthday.
Cepca July champion This month’s winner is Miguel Banebane. He scored an undefeated 4.5 points in a tournament made unique by a rule requiring the white player to play a fixed set of moves from rounds 1-5. Called a” thematic tournament” it is currently popular in the world and in most chess clubs.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Cepca updates; Wojtkiewicz
By Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
The July edition monthly handicapping tournament of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association will be on Sunday at the Bibo Chess Club along Jakosalem St. starting at 1 p.m. Format is five rounds Swiss, time control will depend on the players’ skills.
This tournament is unique in the sense that this will be a thematic tournament. For the first round, players with the white pieces must play c4, second round Nf3, third round Nc3, fourth round g3 and fifth and final round f4.
The monthly winners so far who have qualified for the Grand Finals in December are Dante Arguelles for January, Jun Olis February, Maggie Dionson March, Percival Fiel April, Jongjong Melendez May and Mike banebane June. NM Bombi Aznar, honorary member and club adviser, is automatically seeded for the month of December.
SPECIAL PRIZES. During one of the club’s Board of Trustees meetings earlier this year, it was decided that special prizes will be given to the top 10 performers, to be used as basis his monthly scores. The top 10 are Dante Arguelles 200 points, Mandy Baria 195, Felix Balbona 190, Maggie Dionson 190, Jonard Labadan 175, Mike Banebane 175, Rene Casia 160, Percival Fiel 130, Joe atillo 115 and Norway Lara 110.
It was decided in last Tuesday‘s meeting that the next General Assembly will be on Nov. 19 at the Stella Maris Seafarer’s Center at 1 p.m. to elect the new set of officers and Board of Trustees for 2007.
Also scheduled next month is the “Generation Tournament” wherein senior club members will play against selected Kiddie players. NM Bombi Aznar will test the mettle of Shell Kiddies qualifier 12-year-old Yves Fiel, Cy Balbanera, 14, against Mike Banebane, 85-year-old Gerry Tomakin against 12-year-old Ralph Pedroza, Loy Minoza, 80, versus Marq Balbona, 12, and Felix Salve vs. Jessa Balbona, 13.
Club president Mandy Baria has also scheduled a chess clinic for kids to be handled by National Master Ben Macapaz at the Stella Maris Center later this year. Some 30 kids will be chosen for the two- day training period.
WOJTKIEWICZ. We are saddened to know that GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz recently passed away due to liver illness. It will be recalled that he was a guest of Cepca in the late ’90s to play simultaneous games against club members. I clearly remember that he was your regular kind of a guy who joined us in our favorite pastime of karaoke and ice-cold beer. He even offered to pay the bills as he was one of the major winners in the National Open-Far East Bank Tournament in Manila that year.
Born in Latvia, he was of Polish descent, and later took residence in the USA. He was a child prodigy who became a master at 15. His career was interrupted when he was imprisoned for two years for not joining the Soviet Army.
Alex was one the most active players of this generation winning several tournaments while training and teaching on the side.
He won several times the annual $10,000 first prize Grand Prix Chess tournaments in the United States. He won or tied for first place in the last five tournaments he played in.
I distinctly remember about two weeks ago when Jun Olis, a member of the Internet Chess Club, talked to me that Enrico “Econg” Sevillano, a full-blooded Cebuano now based in the States, lost his final game against Wojtkiewicz, which he watched live on the Internet. Had Econg won, he would have won second place in the US Open.
Chessmoso
The July edition monthly handicapping tournament of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association will be on Sunday at the Bibo Chess Club along Jakosalem St. starting at 1 p.m. Format is five rounds Swiss, time control will depend on the players’ skills.
This tournament is unique in the sense that this will be a thematic tournament. For the first round, players with the white pieces must play c4, second round Nf3, third round Nc3, fourth round g3 and fifth and final round f4.
The monthly winners so far who have qualified for the Grand Finals in December are Dante Arguelles for January, Jun Olis February, Maggie Dionson March, Percival Fiel April, Jongjong Melendez May and Mike banebane June. NM Bombi Aznar, honorary member and club adviser, is automatically seeded for the month of December.
SPECIAL PRIZES. During one of the club’s Board of Trustees meetings earlier this year, it was decided that special prizes will be given to the top 10 performers, to be used as basis his monthly scores. The top 10 are Dante Arguelles 200 points, Mandy Baria 195, Felix Balbona 190, Maggie Dionson 190, Jonard Labadan 175, Mike Banebane 175, Rene Casia 160, Percival Fiel 130, Joe atillo 115 and Norway Lara 110.
It was decided in last Tuesday‘s meeting that the next General Assembly will be on Nov. 19 at the Stella Maris Seafarer’s Center at 1 p.m. to elect the new set of officers and Board of Trustees for 2007.
Also scheduled next month is the “Generation Tournament” wherein senior club members will play against selected Kiddie players. NM Bombi Aznar will test the mettle of Shell Kiddies qualifier 12-year-old Yves Fiel, Cy Balbanera, 14, against Mike Banebane, 85-year-old Gerry Tomakin against 12-year-old Ralph Pedroza, Loy Minoza, 80, versus Marq Balbona, 12, and Felix Salve vs. Jessa Balbona, 13.
Club president Mandy Baria has also scheduled a chess clinic for kids to be handled by National Master Ben Macapaz at the Stella Maris Center later this year. Some 30 kids will be chosen for the two- day training period.
WOJTKIEWICZ. We are saddened to know that GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz recently passed away due to liver illness. It will be recalled that he was a guest of Cepca in the late ’90s to play simultaneous games against club members. I clearly remember that he was your regular kind of a guy who joined us in our favorite pastime of karaoke and ice-cold beer. He even offered to pay the bills as he was one of the major winners in the National Open-Far East Bank Tournament in Manila that year.
Born in Latvia, he was of Polish descent, and later took residence in the USA. He was a child prodigy who became a master at 15. His career was interrupted when he was imprisoned for two years for not joining the Soviet Army.
Alex was one the most active players of this generation winning several tournaments while training and teaching on the side.
He won several times the annual $10,000 first prize Grand Prix Chess tournaments in the United States. He won or tied for first place in the last five tournaments he played in.
I distinctly remember about two weeks ago when Jun Olis, a member of the Internet Chess Club, talked to me that Enrico “Econg” Sevillano, a full-blooded Cebuano now based in the States, lost his final game against Wojtkiewicz, which he watched live on the Internet. Had Econg won, he would have won second place in the US Open.
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