Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
THE 38th Olympiad took place from Nov. 12th to 25th in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. One hundred and 56 from 152 nations participated including all the top players except world champion Viswanathan Anand of India.
Armenia defeated China to capture the gold and retain its title, while Israel beat the Netherlands to take the silver with the same results of 2.5-1.5. The biggest story were the Americans who demolished the Ukrainian Super GMs with an impressive 3.5-0.5 destruction. The USA thus grabbed the bronze medal despite being seeded 10th at the start.
The favorites Russia, Ukraine and China who were seeded first to third at the start missed out.
In the women’s section, Ukraine and Georgia equally finished first with 18 match points, with Ceorgia taking the gold. Russia and China, who were expected to dominate the women section, did not win a medal. Our women’s team, initially seeded 51st won its last game 4-0 vs. Mexico to finish a respectable 48th place.
Although we won our last game against a strong Argentina team, 2.5-1.5, the men’s team had a sorry 46th place finish with earlier losses vs. China, Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Reoublic.
However, the big stories are John Paul Gomez, who got a 20-game GM norm in this Olympiad to become our ninth and newest GM and Cheradee Camacho getting a Women International Master (WIM) title.
Gomez scored an impressive five wins, five draws and one loss to score 7.5/11 points while Camacho, only 14, had seven wins, two draws and only one loss for a sensational 8/10.
Here is a reaction from one of my readers. Although it was sent before the tournament finished, it is a reflection of most of the sentiments of our chess players.
“I think it’s still a bit premature for me to comment on the performance of our men’s chess team to the Dresden Olympiad as there are still a few more rounds to go as of this writing. However, I’m pretty sure that it does not escape most chess-loving people’s attention that we did not send our best players, except for Wesley So.
If Russia, which has probably more than a hundred strong players to choose from, sent only their best players, then I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t. Other countries, like Armenia, Ukraine, China, USA, Bulgaria, even Vietnam, also sent only their best.
Our method of selecting the composition of our team based on a tournament only among local players should probably be looked into. It should be based on performance in international competitions preceding the Olympiad. Or if not, select only the players who have extensive experiences in the Olympiad and other international
tournaments and who have high ELO ratings. A team composed of So, Eugene Torre, Rogelio Antonio, Mark Paragua plus another strong and experienced player (not Bong Villamayor, which I have predicted to be the weakest player in our team) would have probably performed better.
The Olympiad is only for the best. I’m sure a lot of people will agree with me.”— Joel Dihayco, Lapu-Lapu City.
Here is a comment from the pinoychess.informe website: “E. Torre, Asia’s first grandmaster, was reduced to begging to be included in the team but still was ignored. He
was not given the respect he fully deserves.”
Another one “thinks that it was a wrong judgment more than anything else. I for one, believes that we could have sent a stronger team had we sent Torre to the Olympiad.”
I agree entirely that the main reason of our dismal performance is the absence of Eugene. However, it is not the fault of the NCFP or Pichay but Eugene for not participating in the eliminations, in which he could have easily qualified.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Armenia keeps title; John Paul Gomez is 9th GM
Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
THE 38th Olympiad took place from Nov. 12th to 25th in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. One hundred and 56 from 152 nations participated including all the top players except world champion Viswanathan Anand of India.
Armenia defeated China to capture the gold and retain its title, while Israel beat the Netherlands to take the silver with the same results of 2.5-1.5. The biggest story were the Americans who demolished the Ukrainian Super GMs with an impressive 3.5-0.5 destruction. The USA thus grabbed the bronze medal despite being seeded 10th at the start.
The favorites Russia, Ukraine and China who were seeded first to third at the start missed out.
In the women’s section, Ukraine and Georgia equally finished first with 18 match points, with Ceorgia taking the gold. Russia and China, who were expected to dominate the women section, did not win a medal. Our women’s team, initially seeded 51st won its last game 4-0 vs. Mexico to finish a respectable 48th place.
Although we won our last game against a strong Argentina team, 2.5-1.5, the men’s team had a sorry 46th place finish with earlier losses vs. China, Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Reoublic.
However, the big stories are John Paul Gomez, who got a 20-game GM norm in this Olympiad to become our ninth and newest GM and Cheradee Camacho getting a Women International Master (WIM) title.
Gomez scored an impressive five wins, five draws and one loss to score 7.5/11 points while Camacho, only 14, had seven wins, two draws and only one loss for a sensational 8/10.
Here is a reaction from one of my readers. Although it was sent before the tournament finished, it is a reflection of most of the sentiments of our chess players.
“I think it’s still a bit premature for me to comment on the performance of our men’s chess team to the Dresden Olympiad as there are still a few more rounds to go as of this writing. However, I’m pretty sure that it does not escape most chess-loving people’s attention that we did not send our best players, except for Wesley So.
If Russia, which has probably more than a hundred strong players to choose from, sent only their best players, then I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t. Other countries, like Armenia, Ukraine, China, USA, Bulgaria, even Vietnam, also sent only their best.
Our method of selecting the composition of our team based on a tournament only among local players should probably be looked into. It should be based on performance in international competitions preceding the Olympiad. Or if not, select only the players who have extensive experiences in the Olympiad and other international
tournaments and who have high ELO ratings. A team composed of So, Eugene Torre, Rogelio Antonio, Mark Paragua plus another strong and experienced player (not Bong Villamayor, which I have predicted to be the weakest player in our team) would have probably performed better.
The Olympiad is only for the best. I’m sure a lot of people will agree with me.”— Joel Dihayco, Lapu-Lapu City.
Here is a comment from the pinoychess.informe website: “E. Torre, Asia’s first grandmaster, was reduced to begging to be included in the team but still was ignored. He
was not given the respect he fully deserves.”
Another one “thinks that it was a wrong judgment more than anything else. I for one, believes that we could have sent a stronger team had we sent Torre to the Olympiad.”
I agree entirely that the main reason of our dismal performance is the absence of Eugene. However, it is not the fault of the NCFP or Pichay but Eugene for not participating in the eliminations, in which he could have easily qualified.
Chessmoso
THE 38th Olympiad took place from Nov. 12th to 25th in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. One hundred and 56 from 152 nations participated including all the top players except world champion Viswanathan Anand of India.
Armenia defeated China to capture the gold and retain its title, while Israel beat the Netherlands to take the silver with the same results of 2.5-1.5. The biggest story were the Americans who demolished the Ukrainian Super GMs with an impressive 3.5-0.5 destruction. The USA thus grabbed the bronze medal despite being seeded 10th at the start.
The favorites Russia, Ukraine and China who were seeded first to third at the start missed out.
In the women’s section, Ukraine and Georgia equally finished first with 18 match points, with Ceorgia taking the gold. Russia and China, who were expected to dominate the women section, did not win a medal. Our women’s team, initially seeded 51st won its last game 4-0 vs. Mexico to finish a respectable 48th place.
Although we won our last game against a strong Argentina team, 2.5-1.5, the men’s team had a sorry 46th place finish with earlier losses vs. China, Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Reoublic.
However, the big stories are John Paul Gomez, who got a 20-game GM norm in this Olympiad to become our ninth and newest GM and Cheradee Camacho getting a Women International Master (WIM) title.
Gomez scored an impressive five wins, five draws and one loss to score 7.5/11 points while Camacho, only 14, had seven wins, two draws and only one loss for a sensational 8/10.
Here is a reaction from one of my readers. Although it was sent before the tournament finished, it is a reflection of most of the sentiments of our chess players.
“I think it’s still a bit premature for me to comment on the performance of our men’s chess team to the Dresden Olympiad as there are still a few more rounds to go as of this writing. However, I’m pretty sure that it does not escape most chess-loving people’s attention that we did not send our best players, except for Wesley So.
If Russia, which has probably more than a hundred strong players to choose from, sent only their best players, then I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t. Other countries, like Armenia, Ukraine, China, USA, Bulgaria, even Vietnam, also sent only their best.
Our method of selecting the composition of our team based on a tournament only among local players should probably be looked into. It should be based on performance in international competitions preceding the Olympiad. Or if not, select only the players who have extensive experiences in the Olympiad and other international
tournaments and who have high ELO ratings. A team composed of So, Eugene Torre, Rogelio Antonio, Mark Paragua plus another strong and experienced player (not Bong Villamayor, which I have predicted to be the weakest player in our team) would have probably performed better.
The Olympiad is only for the best. I’m sure a lot of people will agree with me.”— Joel Dihayco, Lapu-Lapu City.
Here is a comment from the pinoychess.informe website: “E. Torre, Asia’s first grandmaster, was reduced to begging to be included in the team but still was ignored. He
was not given the respect he fully deserves.”
Another one “thinks that it was a wrong judgment more than anything else. I for one, believes that we could have sent a stronger team had we sent Torre to the Olympiad.”
I agree entirely that the main reason of our dismal performance is the absence of Eugene. However, it is not the fault of the NCFP or Pichay but Eugene for not participating in the eliminations, in which he could have easily qualified.
Friday, November 21, 2008
The most popular sport on the planet
Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
IF YOU have any doubts as to what is the most popular sport in the planet, go no further than the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. The official website has registered an average 60 million hits everyday and is expected to reach 80 million as we approach the final rounds. Daily visitors also average 31,000.
This is not surprising as Fide has estimated that the total chess players all over the world is about 700 million . The game is particularly popular in the Philippines and it
seems that all chess players talk about here in Cebu is Wesley So and company.
Unlike the previous Olympiads where results were based on board points, in Dresden, results are based on matches with a win worth two points, a draw worth one point and no point for a loss. After six rounds, the RP men’s team has three wins, one draw and two losses or 7 points. We are tied with 16 other countries from 41st to 57th place.
After the sixth round, Armenia and Russia were in the lead with 11 points, followed by Germany 1, Ukraine, India, Israel, France, China and Romania. In the Women’s section, China beat Hungary to take a two-point lead over Russia, Netherlands, Ukraine, USA and Poland , which are in second place.
Let’s review the individual Men’s results. Bong Villamayor at Board 1 has only a point to show after four rounds. While this is understandable as he has to play the best player from the opposing team, I believe that Eugene Torre could have done better. Wesley So had two wins and three draws, Jayson Gonzales is off with only half point in four games, John Paul Gomez is the best scorer with three wins and three draws, while Darwin Laylo has two wins, a draw and two losses.
The Women’s team has a star in Chardine Cheradee Camacho at Board 4, who had four wins and two draws, while others were struggling with Catherine Perena managing only a point, Shercila Cua had two, Daisy Rivera with one and Christy Lamiel Bernales with three points.
The women’s team has 5.0 points on two wins over Yemen (3.5-05) and New Zealand; a draw with Lithuania (2.0-2.0); and three losses to Greece (1.5-2.5) and Belarus (0.5-3.5) and Sweden (1.5-2.5).
Our Men’s opponent in the seventh round is Belgium, which is a relatively weak team with no GMs and composed of the following players, all IMs: Richard Polaczek (2419), Efrem Cekro (2419), FM Cemil Gulbas (2371), IM Daniyal Saibolatov (2360) and IM Bruno Laurent (2370).
Here are the Men’s round by round team performance: We lost to No.3 rated China, 1.5-2.5, with Wesley scoring a major upset of Ni Hua (2710); defeated Algeria, 2.5-1.5; won over Monaco, 2.5-1.5; drew with Greece, 2-2; edged Iran, 2.5-1.5 and lost to powerhouse Spain, 1-3.
When the Philippines found out that its sixth round opponent will be Spain, the 15-year-old So asked team captain Eugene Torre if he could play Alexei Shirov (2726), the Board 1 player of Spain. Non-playing team captain Eugene Torre and GM Bong Villamayor obliged.
“It’ll be exciting to play Alexei,” said So, who will be taking Bong’s place on Board 1. “It’ll be a nice opportunity to take on one of the best players in the world on this stage.”
So showed maturity with a fighting draw against the 2007 finalist of the World Cup.
SINLUOG CHESS. Cepca is planning to hold an Open Team tournament this Sinulog 2009 and we hope to finalize this with the sponsor within next week. Each team will consist of four regular players and one alternate.
A team must only have only one titled player and must have a Cepca member as a regular player (not an alternate). An exception though are out of town teams who can play without a Cepca member.
If this tournament will materialize, the total pot money is P63,000 with P25,000 going to the champion.
Chessmoso
IF YOU have any doubts as to what is the most popular sport in the planet, go no further than the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. The official website has registered an average 60 million hits everyday and is expected to reach 80 million as we approach the final rounds. Daily visitors also average 31,000.
This is not surprising as Fide has estimated that the total chess players all over the world is about 700 million . The game is particularly popular in the Philippines and it
seems that all chess players talk about here in Cebu is Wesley So and company.
Unlike the previous Olympiads where results were based on board points, in Dresden, results are based on matches with a win worth two points, a draw worth one point and no point for a loss. After six rounds, the RP men’s team has three wins, one draw and two losses or 7 points. We are tied with 16 other countries from 41st to 57th place.
After the sixth round, Armenia and Russia were in the lead with 11 points, followed by Germany 1, Ukraine, India, Israel, France, China and Romania. In the Women’s section, China beat Hungary to take a two-point lead over Russia, Netherlands, Ukraine, USA and Poland , which are in second place.
Let’s review the individual Men’s results. Bong Villamayor at Board 1 has only a point to show after four rounds. While this is understandable as he has to play the best player from the opposing team, I believe that Eugene Torre could have done better. Wesley So had two wins and three draws, Jayson Gonzales is off with only half point in four games, John Paul Gomez is the best scorer with three wins and three draws, while Darwin Laylo has two wins, a draw and two losses.
The Women’s team has a star in Chardine Cheradee Camacho at Board 4, who had four wins and two draws, while others were struggling with Catherine Perena managing only a point, Shercila Cua had two, Daisy Rivera with one and Christy Lamiel Bernales with three points.
The women’s team has 5.0 points on two wins over Yemen (3.5-05) and New Zealand; a draw with Lithuania (2.0-2.0); and three losses to Greece (1.5-2.5) and Belarus (0.5-3.5) and Sweden (1.5-2.5).
Our Men’s opponent in the seventh round is Belgium, which is a relatively weak team with no GMs and composed of the following players, all IMs: Richard Polaczek (2419), Efrem Cekro (2419), FM Cemil Gulbas (2371), IM Daniyal Saibolatov (2360) and IM Bruno Laurent (2370).
Here are the Men’s round by round team performance: We lost to No.3 rated China, 1.5-2.5, with Wesley scoring a major upset of Ni Hua (2710); defeated Algeria, 2.5-1.5; won over Monaco, 2.5-1.5; drew with Greece, 2-2; edged Iran, 2.5-1.5 and lost to powerhouse Spain, 1-3.
When the Philippines found out that its sixth round opponent will be Spain, the 15-year-old So asked team captain Eugene Torre if he could play Alexei Shirov (2726), the Board 1 player of Spain. Non-playing team captain Eugene Torre and GM Bong Villamayor obliged.
“It’ll be exciting to play Alexei,” said So, who will be taking Bong’s place on Board 1. “It’ll be a nice opportunity to take on one of the best players in the world on this stage.”
So showed maturity with a fighting draw against the 2007 finalist of the World Cup.
SINLUOG CHESS. Cepca is planning to hold an Open Team tournament this Sinulog 2009 and we hope to finalize this with the sponsor within next week. Each team will consist of four regular players and one alternate.
A team must only have only one titled player and must have a Cepca member as a regular player (not an alternate). An exception though are out of town teams who can play without a Cepca member.
If this tournament will materialize, the total pot money is P63,000 with P25,000 going to the champion.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Chess Olympiad trivia
Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
THE 38th Chess Olympiad has just started in Dresden, Germany and our first round opponent is the Physically Disabled team (IPCA) whose members are all International Masters.
To recall, we last played IPCA back in Calvia 2004 and it was a draw at 2-2. This IPCA team is much stronger now. Here are some interesting tidbits from previous Olympiads.
The Australian Women team that competed in Calvia 2004 in Spain featured three players who represented another country earlier in their careers. The three players were Arianne Caoli ([Philippines), Anastasia Sarokina (Belarus) and Engela Eriksson (Sweden).
In Turin 2006 English Daniel Gormally punched Armenian Levon Aronian in a jealous dispute over the Fil-Aussie beauty Caoli. This Olympiad has three teams that does not represent a country: IPCA (disabled), IBCA (blind) and ICSC (deaf) .
In Yerevan 1996, IBCA, relying on a delicate sense of touch and hearing, made a lot of noise after a 4-0 win over Guernsey.
In Moscow 1994. IBCA Women team shut out Singapore 3-0 thereby proving the not only love is blind but chess as well.
During the 1937 Olympiad, Dutch player Salo Landua fell asleep at the board against Belgian player Arthur Dunkelblum. The Belgian sportingly shook Landau by the arm to wake him up and suggested a draw which Landau accepted.
Former World Champion Tigran “The Iron” Petrosian played in nine Olympiads between 1958 and1974 and his only loss was to Robert Huebner at Skopje 1972. When he was told that the game was shown live on TV, he said “If I had known that, I would have smashed the clock.” He scored 79 wins, 50 draws and only one loss in his entire Olympiad career.
In Dubai 1986, Guatemala was represented by four brothers all surname Juarez. One of the brothers, Carlos, was Cepca’s guest in 1990 who played a simul here.
In Calvia 2004 USA was represented by six ex-Soviet players: Onischuk, Shabalov, Goldin, Kaidanov, Novikov and Gulko.
From 1956 to 2000 Lajos Portisch played in 20 chess Olympiads, more than anyone else. Eugene Torre would have equaled this record if he was playing in this Olympiad. However he is a non-playing captain of the Philippine team as he opted not to play in the eliminations.
In Leipzig 1960, Fischer had a won game vs. Miguel Najdorf but made a mistake and the game was drawn. In disgust, he swept the pieces of the board and Najdorf said “You will never play in South America again.”
In Buenos Aires 1939, two brothers met for the first time, each playing for a different country. J. Janowsky of Ukraine was reading the list of participants and was surprised and eager to meet one Abe Janowsky who was playing for Canada. He showed the photo of his father and Abe exclaimed “That’s my father too!” They happily embraced each other.
In Munich 1958, Spain was playing the USA and Toran won against Bisguier. Toran said with a smile “I’m so happy, it’s a nice present for my birthday.” “Its alright” said the American politely “Today happens to be my birthday too.”
In Istanbul 2000 two Philippine teams came to compete, even arriving on the same plane. They belonged to the group of Campomanes and Art Borjal. Fide decided that the Campomanes group was the official representative of the Philippines.
In Dubrovnik 1950, Chaude de Silans was the first woman to play in the Olympiad. When asked why men play better than women, she replied “Women can’t play chess because you have to keep quite for five hours.”
In Lugano 1968 the late Cebuano Glicerio “Asing” Badilles played for Hongkong, scored 11.5/14 and received a special award. He was an adviser of Cepca.
(frankpestano@yahoo.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)
Chessmoso
THE 38th Chess Olympiad has just started in Dresden, Germany and our first round opponent is the Physically Disabled team (IPCA) whose members are all International Masters.
To recall, we last played IPCA back in Calvia 2004 and it was a draw at 2-2. This IPCA team is much stronger now. Here are some interesting tidbits from previous Olympiads.
The Australian Women team that competed in Calvia 2004 in Spain featured three players who represented another country earlier in their careers. The three players were Arianne Caoli ([Philippines), Anastasia Sarokina (Belarus) and Engela Eriksson (Sweden).
In Turin 2006 English Daniel Gormally punched Armenian Levon Aronian in a jealous dispute over the Fil-Aussie beauty Caoli. This Olympiad has three teams that does not represent a country: IPCA (disabled), IBCA (blind) and ICSC (deaf) .
In Yerevan 1996, IBCA, relying on a delicate sense of touch and hearing, made a lot of noise after a 4-0 win over Guernsey.
In Moscow 1994. IBCA Women team shut out Singapore 3-0 thereby proving the not only love is blind but chess as well.
During the 1937 Olympiad, Dutch player Salo Landua fell asleep at the board against Belgian player Arthur Dunkelblum. The Belgian sportingly shook Landau by the arm to wake him up and suggested a draw which Landau accepted.
Former World Champion Tigran “The Iron” Petrosian played in nine Olympiads between 1958 and1974 and his only loss was to Robert Huebner at Skopje 1972. When he was told that the game was shown live on TV, he said “If I had known that, I would have smashed the clock.” He scored 79 wins, 50 draws and only one loss in his entire Olympiad career.
In Dubai 1986, Guatemala was represented by four brothers all surname Juarez. One of the brothers, Carlos, was Cepca’s guest in 1990 who played a simul here.
In Calvia 2004 USA was represented by six ex-Soviet players: Onischuk, Shabalov, Goldin, Kaidanov, Novikov and Gulko.
From 1956 to 2000 Lajos Portisch played in 20 chess Olympiads, more than anyone else. Eugene Torre would have equaled this record if he was playing in this Olympiad. However he is a non-playing captain of the Philippine team as he opted not to play in the eliminations.
In Leipzig 1960, Fischer had a won game vs. Miguel Najdorf but made a mistake and the game was drawn. In disgust, he swept the pieces of the board and Najdorf said “You will never play in South America again.”
In Buenos Aires 1939, two brothers met for the first time, each playing for a different country. J. Janowsky of Ukraine was reading the list of participants and was surprised and eager to meet one Abe Janowsky who was playing for Canada. He showed the photo of his father and Abe exclaimed “That’s my father too!” They happily embraced each other.
In Munich 1958, Spain was playing the USA and Toran won against Bisguier. Toran said with a smile “I’m so happy, it’s a nice present for my birthday.” “Its alright” said the American politely “Today happens to be my birthday too.”
In Istanbul 2000 two Philippine teams came to compete, even arriving on the same plane. They belonged to the group of Campomanes and Art Borjal. Fide decided that the Campomanes group was the official representative of the Philippines.
In Dubrovnik 1950, Chaude de Silans was the first woman to play in the Olympiad. When asked why men play better than women, she replied “Women can’t play chess because you have to keep quite for five hours.”
In Lugano 1968 the late Cebuano Glicerio “Asing” Badilles played for Hongkong, scored 11.5/14 and received a special award. He was an adviser of Cepca.
(frankpestano@yahoo.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)
Friday, November 7, 2008
World Chess Olympiad
By Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
THE 38th Chess Olympiad Dresden 2008 will take place next week from Nov. 12 to 25 at the International Congress Center. One hundred and 58 men’s and 119 women’s teams are Olympiad records in participation.
The Philippine men’s team is composed of Wesley So (2610), John Paul Gomez (2519), Darwin Laylo (2507), Jayson Gonzales (2469) and Bong Villamayor (2468). Team captain is Eugene Torre. Our team is ranked 38th, while our women are in the middle at 51st.
The women’s team has Catherine Pereña, Shercila Cua, Daisy Rivera, Chardine Camacho and Christy Lamiel Bernales. Team captain is Cesar Caturla who just texted me that everything is ready and they will be leaving on Tuesday next week.
It will be recalled that GMs Torre and Joey Antonio opt not to participate in the eliminations and for the first time in a decade they are out. Mark Paragua also did not make the team.
Top seeds in the men’s section are Russia with Vladimir Kramnik (2772), Alexander Morozevich (2787), Peter Svidler (2727), Alexander Grischuk (2719) and Dmitry Jakovenko (2737); Ukraine with Vassily Ivanchuk (2786), Sergey Karjakin (2730), Eljanov Pavel (2720), Zahar Efimenko (2680), Andrei Volokitin (2659); and China with
Wang Yue (2736), Bu Xianghi (2714), Ni Hua (2710), Wang Hao (2696), Li Chao (2622).
The Women’s top seeds are also Russia, Ukraine and China.
If we Cepcans were to form a team among our Class A members with an average of Elo 2000 we would be rated 127 ahead of such countries as Hong Kong, Pakistan, Chinese Taipei, Afghanistan and most African countries etc.
Another major change in the Olympiad was the reduction of 14 playing rounds to 11. The time control is 40 moves in 1 1/2 hour and 30 minutes play to finish with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting on move 1.
Fide and the organizers will also implement some new regulations. Being late and refusal to shake hands will now mean an automatic loss of the game. Draws are not allowed before the completion of Black’s 30th move.
Prior agreement between players as to the result of individual games or of a match shall be penalized. The points earned by it shall be annulled and the matter shall be referred to the Appeals Committee for the fixing of the penalty.
Only players who have played a minimum of eight games shall be eligible for Board Prizes.
The Philippines has been a participant of the Olympiad since1956. The highest finish we have achieved was in Thessaloniki 1998 when we captured seventh place.
Eugene Torre in Board 1 won the bronze twice in LaValletta 1980 and Dubai 1986 and silver in Nice in 1974 behind Anatoly Karpov where he became GM. Rico Mascariñas snared the gold in Board 2 in Lucerne 1982 with six wins, three draws and no loss. Glenn Bordonada also got the Gold in Board 4 in Buenos Aires 1978 with five wins, four draws and no loss.
Eric Gloria, likewise, won the silver as a reserve in the Manila 1992, while Ferdie Donguines got the bronze also as a reserve in Moscow 1994.
ECONG. The 2008 US Open, the biggest tournament in America was recently won by Cebuano IM Enrico Sevillano, 40, a former protegee of Bombi Aznar, over a field totaling 379 players. As a result he is on the cover of the November issue of Chess Life, the official publication of the United States Chess Federation. Congratulations!
The Shell Grand Finals will start tomorrow at SM Megamall featuring 44 of the country’s top Juniors and Kiddies. Cebuano participants are Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano of SWU and Econg’s nephew, Marq Gabrielle Balbona of USJR in the Kiddies section and Venancio Loyola Jr. of USJR and Bernardo Ruelo Jr. of UC in the Juniors. First place prizes are P30,000 for Juniors and P20,000 for kiddies.
Chessmoso
THE 38th Chess Olympiad Dresden 2008 will take place next week from Nov. 12 to 25 at the International Congress Center. One hundred and 58 men’s and 119 women’s teams are Olympiad records in participation.
The Philippine men’s team is composed of Wesley So (2610), John Paul Gomez (2519), Darwin Laylo (2507), Jayson Gonzales (2469) and Bong Villamayor (2468). Team captain is Eugene Torre. Our team is ranked 38th, while our women are in the middle at 51st.
The women’s team has Catherine Pereña, Shercila Cua, Daisy Rivera, Chardine Camacho and Christy Lamiel Bernales. Team captain is Cesar Caturla who just texted me that everything is ready and they will be leaving on Tuesday next week.
It will be recalled that GMs Torre and Joey Antonio opt not to participate in the eliminations and for the first time in a decade they are out. Mark Paragua also did not make the team.
Top seeds in the men’s section are Russia with Vladimir Kramnik (2772), Alexander Morozevich (2787), Peter Svidler (2727), Alexander Grischuk (2719) and Dmitry Jakovenko (2737); Ukraine with Vassily Ivanchuk (2786), Sergey Karjakin (2730), Eljanov Pavel (2720), Zahar Efimenko (2680), Andrei Volokitin (2659); and China with
Wang Yue (2736), Bu Xianghi (2714), Ni Hua (2710), Wang Hao (2696), Li Chao (2622).
The Women’s top seeds are also Russia, Ukraine and China.
If we Cepcans were to form a team among our Class A members with an average of Elo 2000 we would be rated 127 ahead of such countries as Hong Kong, Pakistan, Chinese Taipei, Afghanistan and most African countries etc.
Another major change in the Olympiad was the reduction of 14 playing rounds to 11. The time control is 40 moves in 1 1/2 hour and 30 minutes play to finish with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting on move 1.
Fide and the organizers will also implement some new regulations. Being late and refusal to shake hands will now mean an automatic loss of the game. Draws are not allowed before the completion of Black’s 30th move.
Prior agreement between players as to the result of individual games or of a match shall be penalized. The points earned by it shall be annulled and the matter shall be referred to the Appeals Committee for the fixing of the penalty.
Only players who have played a minimum of eight games shall be eligible for Board Prizes.
The Philippines has been a participant of the Olympiad since1956. The highest finish we have achieved was in Thessaloniki 1998 when we captured seventh place.
Eugene Torre in Board 1 won the bronze twice in LaValletta 1980 and Dubai 1986 and silver in Nice in 1974 behind Anatoly Karpov where he became GM. Rico Mascariñas snared the gold in Board 2 in Lucerne 1982 with six wins, three draws and no loss. Glenn Bordonada also got the Gold in Board 4 in Buenos Aires 1978 with five wins, four draws and no loss.
Eric Gloria, likewise, won the silver as a reserve in the Manila 1992, while Ferdie Donguines got the bronze also as a reserve in Moscow 1994.
ECONG. The 2008 US Open, the biggest tournament in America was recently won by Cebuano IM Enrico Sevillano, 40, a former protegee of Bombi Aznar, over a field totaling 379 players. As a result he is on the cover of the November issue of Chess Life, the official publication of the United States Chess Federation. Congratulations!
The Shell Grand Finals will start tomorrow at SM Megamall featuring 44 of the country’s top Juniors and Kiddies. Cebuano participants are Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano of SWU and Econg’s nephew, Marq Gabrielle Balbona of USJR in the Kiddies section and Venancio Loyola Jr. of USJR and Bernardo Ruelo Jr. of UC in the Juniors. First place prizes are P30,000 for Juniors and P20,000 for kiddies.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Former world champions
THE world championship has just concluded in Bonn, Germany. The prize pot was 1.5 million Euros to be divided equally between the players and the format was best of 12 games under classical time controls.
Vishwanathan Anand of India retained his title against challenger Vladimir Kramnik of Russia by drawing Game 11 for a final score of 6.5-4.5. It was over after 24 moves of a Sicilian Najdorf.
Here is the review of the 10 games thus far; Game 1, draw, 32 moves, Exchanged Slav; Game 2, draw 32 moves, Nimzo Indian Saemisch; Game 3, Anand wins with black, 41 moves, Queen’s Gambit Meran; Game 4, draw, 29 moves Queen’s Gambit Declined; Game 5, Anand wins again with black, 35 moves Queen’s Gambit Meran; Game 6, Anand wins with white, 47 moves, Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2; Game 7, draw,36 moves, Slav Defense; Game 8,draw,39 moves, Queen’s Gambit
Declined; Game 9,draw, 45 moves Anti-Meran Gambit ;Game 10, Kramnik wins with white, 29 moves, Nimzo-Indian.
A few days ago we had a get-together with some Cepca members and since the topic of my three previous articles has been this world championship , there was a suggestion to feature past champions as they are not common knowledge even among chess players. Here they are.
Wilhem Steinitz was an Austrian and was the first modern champion from 1886 to 94. He defeated then leading players Adolf Andersen, Henry Bird and Zukertort. He is called the “Father of modern chess.”
Emmanuel Lasker of Germany had the longest reign from 1894 to 1921.He is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players ever. His Ph.D thesis is regarded as one of the foundations of modern algebra.
Jose Capablanca from Cuba, was world champion from 1921 to 1927. He is also considered one of the greatest chess player of all time.
Alexander Alekhine (USSR/France) in 1927 became champion by defeating Capablanca and lost to Max Euwe (Holland) in 1935, but regained his crown in a 1937 rematch.
The 1948 World Championship was played to determine a new world champion following the death of Alexander Alekhine in 1946. The tournament was now managed by Fide. Mikhail Botvinnik won the five-player championship tournament (Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky and Euwe), thus beginning the era of Soviet domination for more than 20 years. Botvinnik reigned up to 1957.
Vasily Smyslov (1957-58), Mikhael Tal (1960-62), Tigran Petrosian (1963-69) and Boris Spassky (1969-72) all Soviet players, were champions respectively until American prodigy Bobby Fischer crushed Spassky in the famous “Battle of the Century” in Reyjavik, Iceland.
Fischer lost his title via forfeit to Anatoly Karpov in Manila who subsequently held on to his crown for 10 years. (1975-1985). Garry Kasparov finally became champion from 1985-1993. Karpov reigned again (1993-99) after Kasparov left Fide to form the Professional Chess Association.
The next champions were Alexander Khalifman, (Russia ,1999-2000); Anand (2000-2002); Ruslan Ponomariov, (Ukraine 2002-2004); Rustam Kasimdzhanov, (Uzbekistan ,2004-2005); Veselin Topalov, (Bulgaria 2006); Vladimir Kramnik (2006-2007); Anand (2007-present).
The women also has a long history of world championship and the first was Vera Menchik, of the United Kingdom, who was No.1 from 1927-44.
Other past champions were Ludmilla Rodenko (USSR, 1950-53); Elizabeth Bikova, (USSR, 1953-56), Olga Rubzowa, (USSR 1956-58);Elizabeth Bikova (USSR,1958-62); Nona Gaprendashvili (Georgia 1962-78); Maya Chiburdanitze(Georgia 1978-91); Xie Jun (China ,1991-96); Susan Polgar (Hungary 1996-99); Xie Jun (1999-2001); Zhu Chen (China, 2001-2004); Antoanette Stepanova (Bulgaria, 2004-06); Xu Hua (China, 2006-2008); Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia -present).
Vishwanathan Anand of India retained his title against challenger Vladimir Kramnik of Russia by drawing Game 11 for a final score of 6.5-4.5. It was over after 24 moves of a Sicilian Najdorf.
Here is the review of the 10 games thus far; Game 1, draw, 32 moves, Exchanged Slav; Game 2, draw 32 moves, Nimzo Indian Saemisch; Game 3, Anand wins with black, 41 moves, Queen’s Gambit Meran; Game 4, draw, 29 moves Queen’s Gambit Declined; Game 5, Anand wins again with black, 35 moves Queen’s Gambit Meran; Game 6, Anand wins with white, 47 moves, Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2; Game 7, draw,36 moves, Slav Defense; Game 8,draw,39 moves, Queen’s Gambit
Declined; Game 9,draw, 45 moves Anti-Meran Gambit ;Game 10, Kramnik wins with white, 29 moves, Nimzo-Indian.
A few days ago we had a get-together with some Cepca members and since the topic of my three previous articles has been this world championship , there was a suggestion to feature past champions as they are not common knowledge even among chess players. Here they are.
Wilhem Steinitz was an Austrian and was the first modern champion from 1886 to 94. He defeated then leading players Adolf Andersen, Henry Bird and Zukertort. He is called the “Father of modern chess.”
Emmanuel Lasker of Germany had the longest reign from 1894 to 1921.He is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players ever. His Ph.D thesis is regarded as one of the foundations of modern algebra.
Jose Capablanca from Cuba, was world champion from 1921 to 1927. He is also considered one of the greatest chess player of all time.
Alexander Alekhine (USSR/France) in 1927 became champion by defeating Capablanca and lost to Max Euwe (Holland) in 1935, but regained his crown in a 1937 rematch.
The 1948 World Championship was played to determine a new world champion following the death of Alexander Alekhine in 1946. The tournament was now managed by Fide. Mikhail Botvinnik won the five-player championship tournament (Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky and Euwe), thus beginning the era of Soviet domination for more than 20 years. Botvinnik reigned up to 1957.
Vasily Smyslov (1957-58), Mikhael Tal (1960-62), Tigran Petrosian (1963-69) and Boris Spassky (1969-72) all Soviet players, were champions respectively until American prodigy Bobby Fischer crushed Spassky in the famous “Battle of the Century” in Reyjavik, Iceland.
Fischer lost his title via forfeit to Anatoly Karpov in Manila who subsequently held on to his crown for 10 years. (1975-1985). Garry Kasparov finally became champion from 1985-1993. Karpov reigned again (1993-99) after Kasparov left Fide to form the Professional Chess Association.
The next champions were Alexander Khalifman, (Russia ,1999-2000); Anand (2000-2002); Ruslan Ponomariov, (Ukraine 2002-2004); Rustam Kasimdzhanov, (Uzbekistan ,2004-2005); Veselin Topalov, (Bulgaria 2006); Vladimir Kramnik (2006-2007); Anand (2007-present).
The women also has a long history of world championship and the first was Vera Menchik, of the United Kingdom, who was No.1 from 1927-44.
Other past champions were Ludmilla Rodenko (USSR, 1950-53); Elizabeth Bikova, (USSR, 1953-56), Olga Rubzowa, (USSR 1956-58);Elizabeth Bikova (USSR,1958-62); Nona Gaprendashvili (Georgia 1962-78); Maya Chiburdanitze(Georgia 1978-91); Xie Jun (China ,1991-96); Susan Polgar (Hungary 1996-99); Xie Jun (1999-2001); Zhu Chen (China, 2001-2004); Antoanette Stepanova (Bulgaria, 2004-06); Xu Hua (China, 2006-2008); Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia -present).
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