Chessmoso

A timeless story of love and chess

2012-02-17T01:12:00.001+08:00

LAST month we were treated to a spectacle of the city attempting to land in the Guinness book of world records with the world`s biggest chess tournament at the Cebu City Sports Center.

An interesting part of the event was the introduction where a chess game was played by people in full costume, the Spaniards as white pieces and the natives as black. It was awesome and spectacular and the crowd loved it.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Also last month we had the Sinulog grand parade and street dancing, which is a sight to behold specially for first timers.

This being Valentine’s week ,we are also celebrating love.

Like coffee, this week`s article is a 3-in-1--love, love, human chess game and grand parade.

And this can only happen in Marostica, Italy.

I wrote about this story years ago: I write about it again but this time with a different twist.

The medieval town of Marostica holds a unique pageantry every even year in the second weekend of September, when a live chess game is played on a giant (20 x 20 meters) chess board at the Piazza Castello (popularly known as Piazza degli Scacchi, meaning Plaza of Chess) in front of the local castle.

This pageantry started in 1923, making it much older than our Sinulog.

About 500 residents of the town dressed in traditional 15th century costume take part in this pageant and re-enact the legend of circa 1454 when two noblemen , Rinaldo D’Angarano and Vieri da Vallonara were in love with Lionora, the elder daughter of the Lord of Marostica.

As was the custom at that time, they challenged each other to a duel to win the hand of Lionora.

The Lord of Marostica, not wanting to make an enemy of either suitor or lose them in a duel, forbade the encounter.

Instead he decreed that the two rivals would play a chess game, knowing that both suitors were avid chess players, and the winner would have the hand of Lionora. The loser of the chess game would also join the family by marrying her younger sister, Oldrada.

He ordered that the game take place on the square in front of the Lower Castle, with armed living persons carrying the ensigns of Whites and Blacks and played in the presence of the Lord, his daughters Lionora and Oldrada and the Lords of Angarano and Vallonara.

With them were noblemen and their ladies, the herald, the master of arms, falconers, pageboys, maidens, standard holders, musicians, farmers and their wives, the Whites and Blacks with their kings and queens, rooks and knights, bishops and pawns and the two suitors, who decided the moves.

There is no record to tell us how Oldrada felt about being the consolation prize but, according to legend, Lionora was in love with one of the two men.

Lionora told a servant that, if the “right” man won the game, she would place a lighted candle in her window so that the people of the town would know that she was happy.

On Sept. 12, townsfolk dressed in black or white representing the kings, queens, bishops and other pieces and real horses, magnificently appareled, represented the knights.

Eventually, Vieri da Vallonara won the game. The town celebrated with music,dancing and other entertainments and that night, a candle burned in Lionora’s window.

This event is repeated today just like the first time, in a framework of sumptuous
costumes, multi-color banners, martial parades, exquisite elegance just like our Sinulog.

It is held every second Friday, Saturday and Sunday of September of “even” years. The orders are still given to the cast today in the local dialect.

It is one of the favorite destination of chess-playing tourists visiting Italy.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 17, 2012.

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Sports

Judit Polgar loses……….to a woman

2012-02-17T01:09:00.000+08:00

Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.
Judit has never played in women's tournaments and has never competed for the Women's World Championship. "I always say that women should have the self-confidence that they are as good as male players, but only if they are willing to work and take it seriously as much as male players", she said.
The 2012 Gibraltar Chess Festival took place just recently from January 24 to February 3 and is the strongest Open in history . That is probably the reason why Judit is playing an Open tournament.
"There will be an historic clash at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Masters in Round 7," wrote a bulletin reporter with a sense of tradition ("an historic"). "Women's World Champion Yifan Hou (China), rated 2605, will play white against Judit Polgar (Hungary), 2710, the highest-ever rated woman player in the history of the game. They have never previously met, as Judit doesn't play in women only events, and it is some years since she played in an open tournament."

When Yifan defeated Judit it made headlines in most websites. To my recollection This is the 1st time that Judit has lost to another female.

Yifan had an amazing tournament enroute to a performance rating of 2892. Hou was in the lead going into the last round, but was caught in the 9th and final round by Nigel Short. They both scored 8 points in 10 games and Nigel grabbed the title in a blitz playoff. Facing six grandmasters rated above 2700 ,she scored four wins and two draws, including that historic win against Judit.

Judit and her 2 sisters, Sofia and Susan, were part of an educational experiment carried out by their father László Polgár, in an attempt to prove that children could make exceptional achievements if trained from a very early age.

"Geniuses are made, not born", was László's thesis. He and his wife Klara educated their three daughters at home mostly on chess. However, chess was not taught to the exclusion of everything else. Each of the sisters has several diplomas and speaks four to eight languages. Sofia is an International Master while Susan is also a Grandmaster.

Before age 13 Judit was already inside the top 100 players in the world and the British Chess Magazine declared, "Judit Polgár's recent results make the performances of Fischer and Kasparov at a similar age pale by comparison." Nigel Short called Judit, "one of the three or four greatest chess prodigies in history."

In 1993, Judit became the first woman to ever qualify for a Men's Interzonal tournament.
Judit has defeated nine current or former world champions in either rapid or classical chess: Anatoli Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Boris Spassky, Vasily Smyslov, Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Ruslan Ponomariov, Alexander Khalifman, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov
In August 2000, Judit married Hungarian veterinary surgeon Gusztáv Font.They have two children, a boy named Oliver and a girl named Hanna

Since her marriage and eventually having a family,she has played on a selective basis. I think this is partly the reason why her playing skill has diminished.

Hou Yifan is herself an amazing chess prodigy.
Only 17, She is the reigning Women's World Chess Champion, the youngest ever to win the title, as well as the youngest female player ever to become GM.
At the age of 12, Hou became the youngest player ever to participate in the FIDE Women's World Championship (Yekaterinburg 2006) and the Chess Olympiad (Torino 2006)
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

What do Nobel prize winners have in common?

2012-02-03T22:40:00.000+08:00

Aside from being highly intelligent and predominantly male (97.5%), you would be surprised to know that a great number of Nobel laureates play chess as their main hobby.

Baruch Aba Shalev, author of a book on the Nobel Prize, has said "the Nobel Prize has come to be regarded as the best-known and most prestigious award available in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace and economics." Surprisingly, there is no award for mathematics.
The category of peace was added in 1969 and is awarded in Oslo, Norway, while the others are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden.
From the start "The Prize" (as it was sensationalized in Irving Wallace's 1960 novel) became one of the most sought-after awards in the world, and eventually the yardstick against which other prizes and recognition were to be measured.
Each recipient, or laureate, receives a gold medal, a diploma, and a sum of money which depends on the Nobel Foundation's income that year. In 2011, each prize was worth US$1.46 million
The prizes were instituted by Alfred Nobel who made a fortune when he patented his discovery of dynamite and then sold the patents .Nobel could hardly have imagined the almost mythic status that would accrue to the laureates.
You will also be surprised ,like myself, to realize that At least 185 Jews and people of half- or three-quarters-Jewish ancestry have been awarded the Nobel Prize, accounting for 22% of all individual recipients worldwide. Of organizations awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 25% were founded principally by Jews. The percentage of the Jews in the world is less than 0.2 %.
An interesting fact is that most of the Nobel Prize winners who played chess were in the fields of physics, literature and economics.

Here are the Nobel chess-playing laureates :Albert Einstein (physics), Albert Michelson (physics), Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (physics), Max Planck (physics), Carl Wieman (physics), Zhores Alferov (physics), William Lawrence Bragg (physics), Percy Bridgman (physics), Richard Feynman (physics), Peter Kapitza (physicist), Sinclair Lewis (literature), Gabriel Garcia Marquez (literature), William Yeats (literature), Elias Canetti (literature), John Cockroft (literature), Samuel Beckett (literature), Ivo Andric (literature), Isaac Singer (literature), Henryk Sienkiewicz (literature), William Golding (literature), John Steinbeck (literature), John Nash (economics), John Harsanyi (economics), Edward Prescott (economics), Gerard Debreu (economics), James Heckman (economics), Simon Herbert (economics), Dudley Herschbach (chemistry), Sir Robert Robinson (chemistry), Herbert Sir Frederick Soddy (chemistry), John Cornforth (chemistry), Bertrand Russell (literature), Bernard Katz (medicine).

Here are a few more avid chess players: Menachim Begin (Peace), William Henry Bragg (Physics), Willy Brandt (Peace ),Jimmy Carter (Peace), Mikhail Gorbachev (Peace),Winston Churchill (Literature), Al Gore (Peace ), Andre Gide (Literature), Edward Kendall (Medicine), Henry Kissinger (Peace), Robert Mundell (Economics), Pablo Neruda ( Literature), Barack Obama (Peace), Boris Pasternak (Literature), Theodore Roosevelt (Peace), Anwar Sadat (Peace ), George Bernard Shaw ( Literature), Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (Medicine), John Vane (Medicine), Woodrow Wilson (Peace ), Muhammed Yunus (Peace ).

Research on chess in schools demonstrates that playing chess helps children improve their logical and abstract thinking, decision-making and creativity. Might there be a correlation between great achievement and early exposure to chess?
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Allan Pason snares world`s biggest tournament

2012-01-27T21:32:00.000+08:00

Comprising a record 43,157 participants in a tournament which started last October ,Allan Pason , 15, a 2ndst year high student of Pajo National High School ,won the World`s biggest tournament and is now a Guinness record.

The 95 participating schools, all in Cebu City, included the Apas National High School, which had 1,594 participants, the Barrio Luz Elementary School (1,369), the Don Carlos Gothong Memorial Night High School (2,289) and the Abellana National School (3,432).

It is an achievement that will not be eclipsed for a long,long tome,probably not in this generation. The whole event was orchestrated from the very start by the Chairman of the Cebu City Sports Comission,Edward Hayco.

In 2009, Hayco also gathered 7,770 participants for the biggest dance class ,also a Guinness world record.

The finals were held last weekend at the Sports Center comprising 3100 qualifiers and was dubbed the “Cebu Chess Festival: World’s Largest chess Tournament”

One of the requirements of Guinness is that the event must be witnessed by experts and individuals who have a good standing in the community.

Chessmoso was appointed an official “witness” of the event. Other witnesses were the President of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) Romualdo “Jojo” Muralla Jr and the eminent chess patron of Cebu Benjamin “Boojie” Lim Jr of the Cebu Chess Association.

The experts were Fide Master Anthony Makinano and International Master Kim Steven Yap.

An outstanding achievement was also made by the Pondoyo brothers of Mabolo and University of Cebu , Christian, 13, and Aldritz, 10, who won 2nd and 3rd place. The other semifinalist was Jazelle Villarin of USC BED.

The other top finishers must also be recognized as it entailed a lot of talent and effort:Vinnier Paraon,Raffy Bensi, Royd Ortouste, Diego Claro, Fred Fernandez, Cecillee Lumapac, Karl Alasagas, Glyssen Derotas, Francis Paraon,Karl Morala ,Jethro Claro And Quenelyn Torres.

Allan was born on January 15, 1997 and his parents are Alex Pason and Helen. He came to my attention 4 years ago when Jun Olis pointed him out to me as an outstanding talent.

He learned to play chess at the age of 5 after watching a game during a wake in the neighborhood. He has won a lot of age group tournaments and can compete with the top players here in Cebu.
Christian Klent Pondoyo started to play the game at 8 years and has since then won and placed in several local and regional events. He has competed in Shell,Milo and CVRAA

Younger brother Aldritz was taught by his elder brother,Christian and has also accomplished a lot for his age.

Both are talented players and future masters,maybe even grandmasters.

Local tourneys. Cepca will hold its monthly tournament on Sunday January 29. Venue is at Deep Blue in SM City starting at 2pm.Format is 5 rounds Swiss and will be a handicapping tournament. Contact Jun Olis at 09232629642.

There will be a competition tomorrow in Talisay for ages 16 and Under at corner Rabaya and Tabunok.Format is 7 rounds Swiss with a time control of 40mins,play to finish. Registration is P60.

For details contact Felix Balbona 09173241079 or Raul Fernando 09076496879.

Another tournament is on February 11-12 organized by USC BED also for 16 years and Under. Format is also 7 rounds Swiss and time control of 25 minutes,

There will also be a special prize for the top female and the youngest participant. Registration is P100 for USC students and P200 for others.

Contact 09335765077 for more information such as venue and prizes.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

How much does a chess pro make?

2012-01-20T23:44:00.000+08:00

Unless you are a grandmaster (GM) or in a few cases an International Master (IM),its damn next to nothing. Its not enough to live a decent life or support a family.

In fact ,most GMs have a steady job or sideline aside from chess. The World Champion and the other "super GMs" make alright livings, but nothing compared to other professional sports ,such as golf, tennis or basketball.

If you can write well enough you can make a real living through writing and personal lessons...but even then it's tough. That is how most chess pros earn more money aside from cash prizes in tournaments.

Unlike other sports who get most of their income thru the live gate and TV coverage and therefore sponsors, the tough thing about chess is that it only becomes really engrossing when you know a lot about it . So it would be hard for a chess show to appeal to a mass market.

Have you ever paid to watch a chess match? Would you ever? If so how much? Ever seen chess players endorsing products on TV?

It also depends on where you live. Top chess players in the Philippines get a monthly allowance from the Philippine Sports Commission thru the National Chess Federation of the Philippines which is more than the minimum wage and also depends on your title. GMs get P20,000 per month and IMs P15,000. Some get P10,000.

Other countries who support their chess players are Vietnam,China and India. I understand that in Armenia ,Iceland and Azerbaijan, their top players are considered national heroes and taken cared of.

Top GMs usually get "additions" when they play .In some cases they even receive "pocket money" for each day as well. The participants in Tata Steel, Linares, Bazna Kings or other major tournaments do not pay such expenses as travel, food, or hotel.

Here are the main legal means of earning money in chess based on an article by WGM Natalia Pogonina:
1)Prize money.The winner of the world championship typically gets $1-2 million. (1,300,000 euros for Anand in 2010). By winning a top event (e.g. Linares or Tata) one gets something like 100,000 euros.Top open events normally have a first prize of about $20k . A typical event won by a 2500+ GM has a first prize of below $5k. Of course, there are exceptions like Cebuano Josito Dondon who won $10k in the Under 2000 sometime ago.
2)Appearance fees – works for top pros who are paid to “show up” at a certain event, thus boosting its prestige
3) Scholarships and stipends. Members of national teams also often have a special wage. Here in Cebu, members of the school team receive scholarships and sometimes a playing allowance during tournaments. Wesley So just recently was rewarded a scholarship from Texas Tech.
4) Teaching . On the Internet IMs and GMs charge about $20-50 per hour. Personal lessons are also given by some of our top players locally for a fee.
5)Performances. simuls, exhibition matches and other events of this type.
6)Literature .writing chess columns like Chessmoso.
7)Organizational work .being an arbiter, tournament director, steward etc.
8)Hustling . You can see a lot of chess hustlers at parks or at chess clubs. Humprey Bogart and Stanley Kubrick made good money before they became famous.
The top 4 players in the world are estimated to be each earning over a million dollars annually. Being in the top 10,you should make over $200k while the top 50 should have over $100k.
All the others can make an alright living out of chess provided you're prepared to teach, etc and not just play.
Cepca-Our January tournament is on the 29th at Deep Blue in SM City, Registration is P200 and format is active and 5 rounds Swiss.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

50,000 players

2012-01-20T23:43:00.000+08:00

I never in my wildest imagination expected this kind of achievement.50,000 chess players and counting have participated in what is expected to be a Guinness record that will last far beyond our lifetime.

Guinness World Records is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, mostly in human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book series of all time.

A series of eliminations began last October 2011, which will culminate in January 21 and 22 this month. More than 50, 000 participants have been recorded and authenticated in the most ambitious chess program ever anywhere in the world..

“Nearly 4,000 finalists will converge at the Grand Finals during the first “Cebu Chess Festival: World’s Largest Chess Tournament” on January 21, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. at the Cebu City Sports Center Grand Stand and on January 22, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at the Cebu City Sports Center Gym.”

This ambitious project is organized by the Cebu City Sports Commission in cooperation with the Cebu City Government, Department of Education Region VII and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Sponsors are Julie’s Bakeshop, Bioderm, International Pharmaceuticals Inc., Rose Pharmacy, Virginia Foods Inc. and the University of Cebu and supported by the Cebu Chess Association .

The existing record is held by Krasnoyarsk, Russia with a “puny” 1,214 participants.

In essence, the current record was already broken by one school alone, the Apas National High School that had 1,594 registered participants. Barrio Luz Elementary School had 1,369 participants; while Don Carlos Gothong Memorial Night High School had 2,289. The Abellana National School alone had 3,432 registered participants.

Cebu City Sports Commission Chairman Edward Hayco exclaimed,
“We first targeted only 1,500 participants. We didn’t realize the number would balloon up to more than 50,000 after we launched an aggressive grassroots program that took three months of extensive chess workshops in over 150 public schools.”

The main bulk of the 50,000 registered participants are elementary and secondary students, with winners pitted against winners in a series of tournaments from classroom level to schoolwide, finals at the sports center, until a grand champion emerges.”

Instructions on how to play chess and how to conduct chess tournaments began early August this year with selected school teachers and school coordinators who in turn trained the students in the classrooms, section by section.

Tata Steel formerly known as Corus and originally Hoogoven has been held since 1938 in Wijk aan Zee, a small wind-swept town on the coast of the North Sea in the the Netherlands.

It is one of the most prestigious event in the chess calendar and starts January 13..

The tournament takes place in three Grandmaster Groups, with a number of amateur events being held at the same time. The three Grandmaster tournaments have 14 players each and are full round robins
According to chessbase.com “The participants of the 74th Chess Tournament Tata Steel is the strongest of its long and rich history. It features eleven of the top twenty chess players in the world-. Carlsen, Aronian, Topalov, Nakamura, as well as juniors Giri and Caruana.With an average rating of 2754, it exceeds the previous record of 2740 held by the 2008 edition..
Also of note is Veselin Topalov, who has played very little following his defeat in the world championship match against World Champion Anand in 2010, and Boris Gelfand, who will be Anand's next challenger in May.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Sinulog games

2012-01-11T23:09:00.000+08:00

Aside from the street dancing and its culmination at the Sports Center ,the highlights of the Sinulog celebration are the various sports played including the popular marathon and football.

In this case , what is of interest to us are chess and poker.

27 teams have expressed interest in joining the chess competition and I expect that the number will exceed the 32 teams who competed in the last Sinulog.

There are several teams who stands out not because of better players but because they are unique.

Handuraw is once again fielding an all women lineup and Max GXL have an all kiddies lineup .Although I don’t see them winning any of the prizes , they serve the main purpose of the organizer (Cepca) which is to promote the game especially among children and ladies.

Special mention are the Balbona family. Playing boards 1-4 are Marq Gabriele (16), John Francis (13), Felix Shaun (14) and Jessa Marie (19). Alternate is proud father and original Cepca member Felix Balbona.

The other team(s) are Rose Pharmacy, the prime sponsor of local chess ,led by Singapore based IM Rico Mascarinas,who for a long time was an Olympiad veteran and another team led by his nephew, IM Kimkim Yap.

The local schools and universities will also be in full force .University of San Jose Recoletos will have 3 teams as well as the University of the Visayas and San Carlos .Cebu Institute of Technology and University of Cebu will also fight it out.

There are also some participants from out of town namely Bohol,Dumaguete and Bayawan.

The Max lineup include Royd Jayson Ortoste (14),Ryan Pacres (13), Jeffu Durog (12) and Ryan Fernando(12). Handuraw has Shaira Mae Monsalud(15), KeithClaire Morala (15), Sharon Pacres , Kaytte Ouano.(15) and Phoebe Bitoon (15).

Registration of P1,200 is going on at the Colonnade Chess Club thru Lito Pielago or you may contact Marvin Ruelan (0926-7352-951);Roger Abella (0910-2686-890); Jun Olis (0923-2629-642.

Tournament venue is at the Activity Center of SM City on January 7 and 8. Format is 7 rounds Swiss with a time control of 30 minutes per player plus 5 seconds increment .Matches will be played on 4 boards.

This cash rich tournament with a total prize of P76,000 is organized by the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association Inc and sponsored by the Cebu City Government thru Mayor Michael Rama.

Poker- There are two major tournaments during Sinulog time. At Metro Club in Mandaue ,the Cebu Flag Football league will hold a fund raising Texas Hold Em tournament on January 7,Saturday, with a buyin of P1,500 and a guaranteed pot of P100,000.

The competition starts at 5pm with a reentry allowed until the first break. Special add-on of 4k chips worth P500 for every buyin and reentry given . Add on funds will help the CFFL team in their bid for the championship in Manila.

A much bigger poker tournament will be held at the Oriental Sports club in Parkmall Casino.They will be holding a 1 million peso guaranteed tournament Sinulog Cup on January 12 and 13,which is sure to attract the high rollers from out of town and local players.

Buyin is P25,000 and you can join and qualify for as low as P300 in their satellite events which is held everyday at 8pm. Winners will get guaranteed seats for their step 2 satellite worth P2,500.

Step 2 satellite is being held every Friday and Saturday at also 8pm.Minimum 9 players to start. Winners will get seats to the main event which is the Sinulog Cup. For registration contact Mona at 0915-4288-998.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Cebu City chess classic

2011-12-31T00:19:00.000+08:00

2011 was a banner year for local chess. The last major tournament was the Cebu City chess classic organized by the Cebu Chess Association sponsored by the Cebu City government held at the Activity Center of Elizabeth Mall last December 20-23. It was the 4th Fide rated tournament for this year.

The top rated player, Eden Diano (2416) won his first 6 games but lost to eventual champion Kimkim Yap in the last and 7th round.

Here are the final ranking of the contest: 1. IM Kimkim Yap- P25,000 and trophy 2-6. Danny Mangao, Eden Diano, Allan Pason (a big surprise!- a kiddie player from Lapulapu and a protégée of Cepcan Jun Olis ),Allan Salientes,Richard Natividad-P6,800 each 7-12.Jimson Bitoon, Michael Silvederio, Joel Fernan, Ben Polao,Rogelio Enriquez, Joseph Caballes.

Ben Polao headed a large contingent is from Lanao del Sur.

Jack Rennet scored a respectable 5 points and tied for 13th -20th and was the only foreigner from Holland. He arrived a week before the tournament and read about the competition in a local paper. He enjoyed so much about the tournament that he is planning to join the Cepca-organized team competition next year if a team will get him. He is a very good player who knows how to pace the game with a chess clock.

The top 3 players in the special categories and received cash prizes were: Senior citizen-Miguel Banebane, Carlito Santos, Dennis Gonzales. Ladies- Airene Robillos, Cacille Lumapac. Jessa Balbona, Saharia Monsalud.Kiddies-Felix Shaun Balbona, Jethro Dorog, Kyle Sevillano and Christian Pondoyo.

A total of P75,000 was distributed as cash prizes to the top 20 winners including the special categories.

While we had a banner year for chess in Cebu, the international scene has delivered a hard blow to chess with the economic crisis experienced especially in Europe

The Amber chess tournament was an annual invitation-only event for some of the world's best players, from 1992 to 2011, its last edition. Since the second edition, the event uniquely combined blindfold chess and speed chess, and has been held in Monte Carlo. The tournament is sponsored by the Dutch businessman and world champion of correspondence chess, Joop van Oosterom.

Also cancelled was The NH tournament . It was was a 'Scheveningen' team tournament between an 'Experience' team and a 'Rising Stars' team. There was a special prize for the best Rising Star (provided he has a positive score): an invitation to the prestigious Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament.
Probably the hardest blow was the loss of Linares - considered the Wimbledon of chess. It was first held in 1978 and has been held annually up to 2010. It was cancelled in 2011 although there are plans to hold it in 2012.

A decade full of dedication and passion for international rapid chess has also come to an end in Mainz.A splendid decade from 2001 to 2010 with ground-breaking innovations in tournament organization for world class players and amateurs alike and the “Mainz System” Chess960, based on the ideas of the World Champion Robert James “Bobby” Fischer.

Sinulog- Here is an update on teams who have expressed interest in joining the team tournament on January 7-8 next year. Among the schools, USJR will field 2 teams, USC 3 teams, UV 2 or 3,CIT,CDU one each.

Barangays planning to join are Mabolo and Guadalupe while Talisay chess club and Colonnade will enter the fray. Deep Blue chess club will have 2 teams . Handuraw. Julie`s bakeshop .Opascor and Aboitizland are competitive.

There are 4 out of town teams-Bohol,Bayawan, Dumaguete and Tanjay. Lapulapu will probably have 2 teams.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Guidelines-2012 Sinulog team tournament

2011-12-31T00:17:00.000+08:00

The Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association Inc. (Cepca) with the support of the Cebu City government is pleased to invite all chess teams to the “2012 Sinulog Open chess team tournament” slated on January 7-8 at SM City.

This team tournament is open to all schools, clubs, companies, barangays, cities, municipalities, government agencies and other interested groups.

Each team shall be composed of four regular players and one alternate.

A team is allowed to field only one titled player and one highly rated player or two highly rated players in a line-up. All team line-ups will be subject to approval by our screening committee to ensure a level playing field.

Competition will be played over 4 boards.

All players are required to wear their respective playing uniforms.

Players are not allowed to wear slippers and short pants during the tournament.

Cellphones must be put off otherwise the game will be forfeited if it rings.

Each participating team must submit its official line-up with the order of board assignments before the start of the competition. The order of board assignments must be observed in every round. A player cannot play on a board lower or higher than one board than his original board position.

A team captain or coach shall be nominated by each team .He maybe a playing or non-playing member of a team. The team captain must submit their team line-up 10 minutes before the start of a match ,otherwise he can only field his regular line-up from board 1-4 if he failed to do so.

The official line-up cannot be changed after the first round.

This team tournament is a 7 rounds Swiss System using the match point scoring system-2 points for winning the match (2.5;3.0; 3.5; 4.0); 1 point for a draw(2-2) and 0 point for a loss (0.0;0.5; 1.0; 1.5).

Each player is given 30 minutes plus 5 seconds increment to finish the game,35 minutes for clock with no increment.

Ties for final ranking shall be resolved by the following tiebreaks in descending order: game points-total cumulative score of a team; direct encounter-in case of a drawn match (2.0-2.0) minus the result of board 4; of board 3; or board 2, until the tie is resolved; Buccholz system.

Special award shall be given to a player with the best performance on his original board based on the percentage of score over the number of games played. To qualify, a player must play at least the following number of games: board 1-4-5 games; board 5-4 games.

Recording of moves is not compulsory.

Schedule of games: Saturday (January 7) -1030 am (registration for on -site registrants ); 11am-opening ceremonies; 1230pm-round 1;2pm-round 2 ; 4pm-round 3.

Sunday(January 8): 1030am-round 4; 1230pm- round 5; 2 pm-round 6; 4pm-round 7; 6pm- closing ceremonies.

Prizes: Champion-P25,000 plus signature trophy ; runner-up-P16,000 ;3rd- P10,000 ; 4th- P7,000 ; 5th P5,000 ; 6th-P3,000 ; 7th-10th-P1,500 each.Total-P72,000.

Board winners: 1-P1,000; 2- P700; 3-P700; 4-P700; 5-P500.

Cepca reserves the right to amend or alter any provision of the aforementioned rules and regulations for the success and interest of the tournament.

The tournament director is the president of Cepca-Jojo Muralla Jr, while the chief arbiter is Marvin Ruelan and arbiter is Roger Abella.

Committee members are Jun Olis, Boy Pestano, Ely Berciles, Nicnic Climaco, Dante Arguelles and Jun Quidlat.

You may register early at the Colonnade Chess Club-Lito Pielago(09463549027) or Marvin Ruelan(09237352951).

For more information call or text Jojo Muralla (09236793822) or Jun Olis (09232629642) or Dante Arguelles (09235879169).
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Will chess become an Olympic sport?

2011-12-16T18:36:00.000+08:00

Millions of chess players worldwide are hoping it will be ,but I seriously doubt it will happen.

Chess has been played for 1,500 years and it is the most popular game in this planet with over 700 million who know the basic moves.

Like checkers ,bridge ,scrabble ,monopoly and mahjong or poker it is considered a parlor game but has entered mainstream sport due to the antics of an eccentric genius, Bobby Fischer.

When Bobby bulldozed his way to the world championship against Boris Spassky in 1972, it was the height of the cold war. It was a battle between the Soviet chess machine and a lonely boy from Brooklyn.

It was shown on American and European live on television and the number of chess players worldwide rose to unprecedented levels.

The late Florencio Campomanes and lately Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov have been very vocal on including chess in the Olympics. At one point, FIDE considered suing the IOC in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which handles international sport disputes in Lausanne, Switzerland, but later relented.

Ilyumzhinov is confident that chess will soon be included in Olympics. "My aim is to ensure that chess becomes a part of the Olympic movement and is one of the events in the Olympic Games soon. Today, FIDE is made up of 165 countries and we would appeal to get recognition from the International Olympic Committee."

“Chess is unlike many games played. The element of chance does not exist just the pieces in the same starting position every time. Any lost position is the fault of the player, not a lucky dice roll, or malfunctioning equipment. In addition, no absolute win has been found. The starting player does not have a set of moves that guarantee victory.”

Chess is a mixture of mental strength, physical stamina, and no one is killed in the process. No submission holds, or bloody faces. The tournament could be held in a ball room. Civic centers will do just fine

Curling is also on the official Olympic roster, and that really piques Ilyumzhinov. Curling is simply "chess on ice, and it is an Olympic sport," he says, "but classical chess is not!"
One of the important criteria in being included in the Olympics is that the sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries and four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries .
The Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, are due to be held in London from July 12-27 next year. The Olympics are important to the world because, they are an event that brings peace to five entire continents. Holding it gives tremendous prestige and honor.
The games are estimated to cost $25 billion plus maybe another $5 billion. Organizers are cutting costs which is the reason why baseball and softball have been cut.
IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau says the Olympic Games are already so big that many cities can't accommodate or afford them.
When IOC president Jacques Rogge took office in 2001, he capped the number of sports at 35 (28 in summer, seven in winter) and implemented a regular review process to avoid further expanding the Olympic program. “The IOC now votes on new sports and reviews existing ones, based on thorough technical analyses and specific criteria, after each Olympics .”Mind sports, by their nature, cannot be part of the program. This basically means that the IOC will not accept anything that is not a physical activity
Opposition to chess also points out that the Olympic motto is “faster ,higher ,stronger ”. Where does chess comes in?. It's a board game, a fine game. But it's not a sport. Chess players are not athletes.
boypestano@gmail.com,www,chessmoso.blogspot.com

Fallacies about chess players

2011-12-16T18:34:00.000+08:00

One advantage of a chess player is that people assume that you are smarter than the average guy and that you must be intelligent.

I have been around chess for more than half a century and I know that this is not true.

There are all kinds of being smart: mathematical, creative, street-smart, social intelligence, musical etc. The truth is, the average chess player is just the average regular person who happens to like chess. He is smarter but only in chess.

It is true that studies have shown that chess can improve the IQ of a child but only up to a certain age. Beyond that it is mostly genetics. Knowledge inside the game is not transferable outside to other activities.

Also chess requires a very specific set of knowledge and skills, so there is no guarantee that being smart will mean that you are going to become a grandmaster.

You don’t have to be smart in order to be a good chess player. I`ve known expert chess players who are incredibly dumb.
Another fallacy is that chess players are anti-social. This is certainly not true. Throughout my life, I have been associated with mostly chess players and they are a bunch of likable individuals just like the rest who don’t play the game.
The top players, mostly grandmasters, study chess for ten hours and do not have the time to have a normal life and be social. But this is an exception.
Chess is brutal. As Bobby Fisher says you must break a man`s ego in order to win, We are here to trample each other to the ground. There’s only one winner and you are going to do your best to make sure that you are that winner.
Another fallacy is that chess players have superior memory skills. An expert in a given domain of activity, such as medicine, chess, music or golf, is “one, who has acquired special skill in or knowledge about a particular subject through professional training and practical experience”
Experts will therefore, by definition, have a greater body of knowledge about their domain of expertise than other individuals. You have all heard the phenomenal stories of the Grandmaster who can play 30 simultaneous games blindfolded and remember the positions in all of them. But the truth is that chess players do not have superior memorization skills, and it doesn't take superior memory skills to be a great chess player. Chess players are just tremendously familiar with chunks of pieces, known positions, familiar pawn structures, etc.
Another fallacy is that chess players are not athletic. Chess appeals to athletes and non-athletes alike.
It is true that few grandmasters are top athletes, but that is a function of dedication, not ability. That would be like saying that athletes are not intelligent. It's not true, it is just a matter of prioritization.
There is a sport that is getting a lot of adherents and that is chess-boxing.
Sinulog There is going to be a Sinulog chess team tournament on January 7 -8 next year sponsored by the City government and organized by Cepca. The champion will snare P25,000 out of a total prize fund of P75,000.
Format is 4- man team plus alternate and 7 rounds Swiss.Time control is 30 mins plus 5 secs increment.
Submit your lineup by text to Marvin Ruelan 09267352951 or Jun Olis 09232629642. All line-ups will be subject to review to ensure a balanced competition.
Registration is P1,200 (on-site P1,500). Register with Lito Pielago at the Colonnade chess club and submit your fee.
Cepca Xmas party is on December 18 at the Mactan beach resort. Assembly is 9am at the Kawayan Grill in Mabolo at 9am for Cebu residents .For details contact Jojo Muralla,your president ,at 0921 478 6075.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Solitary gold in Seag; Sinulog

2011-12-04T23:03:00.000+08:00

Back in the 60s and up to the 80s the Philippines was considered a class A chess playing country. In fact, the western press dubbed us as the “Russians of Asia”. China and India were way behind us and Vietnam was unheard of, being in a state of war in the 60s and early 70s.

Now, the Men World Champion is from India, Viswanathan Anand and the Women Champion is from China,Hou Yifan.

Vietnam has dominated Asean chess for more than a decade now including the just concluded 26th Southeast Asian games in Indonesia, The best player in Southeast Asia is Le Quang Liem (2717) of Vietnam who is rated way above pinoy sensation Wesley So (2659).

Wesley So swept his all matches to pocket the country's lone gold medal at the conclusion of the 26th Southeast Asian Games. Over-all, the Philippine chess team bagged 7 medals. 9 gold medals were at stake.

Here's the complete details of the performance of the Philippine team: Men Blitz (GM Wesley So, Gold Medal), Men Blitz (GM Mark Paragua, Bronze), Men Standard (GM Wesley So, Silver), Women Standard (WFM Rulp Ylem Jose, Silver), Blindfold (GM John Paul Gomez, Silver), Blindfold (GM Darwin Laylo, Bronze) and Mixed pair (GM Oliver Barbosa and WIM Catherine Perena, Silver).

.In the other side of the world, in Tirana Albania, the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship Match between the current World Champion Hou Yifan of China and her challenger, Koneru Humpy of India, is now more than halfway thru.

After 6 games Yifan is leading 4-2 after winning the 3rd and 6th game and drawing the rest. She has virtually retained her title with just 4 games left and will pocket 120,000 Euro, a sizable fortune.

Sinulog The Cebu City government in cooperation with the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) will hold an Open chess team tournament during the Sinulog season next year, January 7 and 8.

Format will be 7 rounds Swiss with a time control of one hour per player. Each team will have 4 regular members and an alternate. Total prize fund is P75,000 and the champion will get P25,000 plus trophy.

Registration is P1,200.

There will only be one class A or titled player per team and all lineups will be subject to approval to ensure a balanced competition. Venue will be announced later.

KC Morala, our future chess columnist and an excellent kiddie chess player emailed this report.

“Mabolo Elementary School won the champion trophy in the 3rd Kiddie Chess Interschool Tournament held in Mez 2 last November 19, 2011.

the Mabolinian Stars were ahead 6.5 points over second placer Canduman Elementary School while Banilad was third.

A total of 140 students took part ranging from Grade 1 to 6 . Participating schools were Bacayan, Balamban Central, Balamban II, Banilad, Basak, Canduman, Casili, Gabi, Lagtang, Mabolo, Subangdaku, Talamban, Tawason, and Yati.

The tournament was made possible through the efforts of the AboitizLand Chess Clinic. “

The Tal Memorial has started in Moscow and is remarkable in more ways than one. It is the highest rated 10-player round robin tournament in chess history

The players are Magnus Carlsen (2823, Norway), Vishy Anand (2817, India), Levon Aronian (2802, Armenia), Vladimir Kramnik (2800, Russia), Vassily Ivanchuk (2775, Ukraine), Sergey Karjakin (2763, Russia), Hikaru Nakamura (2753, USA), Peter Svidler (2755, Russia), Boris Gelfand (2746, Israel) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (2730, Russia).

Calling all Cepcans! We will have a roll call tournament this Sunday ,November 27, at Deep Blue SM City. Games start at 1 pm and format is 5 rounds Swiss .Registration is P200. Participation is a must.
boypestano@gmail.com.www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Tal Memorial ;Hou Yifan retains crown

2011-12-04T23:02:00.000+08:00

The 6th Mikhail Tal Memorial has just concluded in Moscow, Russia. Ten of the world’s top players participated in a round robin tournament and The average Elo was 2776, making this a category 22 tournament and the strongest in chess history.
The players with their latest accomplishments are: Viswanathan Anand (India 2817) – World Champion and winner of the recent Botvinnik Memorial.
Magnus Carlsen (Norway 2823) – currently no.1 , winner in Biel and co-winner in Bazna Kings.
Levon Aronian (Armenia 2802) – World team champion and no.3 in the world.
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia 2800) – Former World Champion, winner of Dortmund.
Sergey Karjakin (Russia 2763) – Co-winner in 2011 Bazna Kings
Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine 2775) – Winner of 2011 Capablanca Memorial, bronze medalist of the 2011 World Cup, World Championship Candidate.
Hikaru Nakamura (USA 2753) – Winner of 2011 Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee.
Boris Gelfand (Israel 2746) – Winner of the Candidate Matches, World Championship finalist.
Peter Svidler (Russia 2755) – Six-times Russian champion, winner of the World Cup, World Championship Candidate
Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia 2730) – 2010 European and Russian champion.
The presence of Anand and Gelfand is also unique as they will meet each other for the world championship on May next year.
Magnus Carlsen scored an all-important last round victory with black against Hikaru Nakamura to take the winner’s trophy. Carlsen shared first place (5.5) with Levon Aronian but had a better tie-break due to more games with the black pieces.
Hou Yifan and our Wesley So burst into the world scene 5 years ago and were considered exceptional children . But while Yifan became world champion, Wesley has not attained what most experts thought he was capable.

At 14½ years Yifan became the youngest female grandmaster in history; at seventeen she has already played in three world championships.

She recently accomplished the most one-sided world championship ever clobbering the higher rated Koneru Humpy by winning 3 games ,drawing 5 without a single loss. She also pocketed euro 120,000,a huge amount by any standards. She is also pretty ,by the way so she is a good catch. Ahem.

Sinulog If you love chess and you want to promote the game, play or sponsor a team in the Sinulog Open team tournament next year on January 7-8. Format is 4-man team and 7 rounds Swiss. Time control is 30 mins plus 5 secs increment.
Prizes total P75,000 with 25k going to the champion. All lineups will be subject to approval to ensure a balanced competition. Registration is P1,200 (on site-1,500).For more details contact Jun Olis 09232629642 or Marvin Ruelan 09267352951.

Cepca recently held its November tournament at Deep Blue in SM City and the winner was lawyer Jongjong Melendez of the Ombudsman. Second was Boy Gallardo who missed several winning lines while 3rd place was snared by John Francis Balbona.

Here are the results of the recent National Milo Little Olympics held in Pangasinan.The Gold winner in Elementary Boys was Ryan Fernando ,son of Cepca member Raul.

In Secondary Boys, the gold,silver and bronze were won by Felix Shaun Balbona, John Francis Balbona and Gerard Ouano respectively. They are children of Cepca members Felix Balbona and the late valued member Gerry Ouano.

Watch out and play in the Talisay Chessfest on December 3 and 4. It is open to kiddies, juniors and seniors B with a total prize fund of P20,000. There are also special prizes for Talisay residents. Contact the tournament director 2-time Cepca president Manny Manzanares 09058386310.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspor.com

Unusual chess stories

2011-11-17T01:16:00.000+08:00

Here are some unusual stories that I picked up from the net that will surely enchant most lovers of chess trivia. It shows how extensive the game is to everyday life.

In 1794, Thomas Paine (1737-1809), author of The Rights of Man and Common Sense, was arrested in Paris for favoring the exile of King Louis XVI rather than his execution. Paine was scheduled to be guillotined, but his wife intervened . She frequented the Café de la Regence where Robespierre frequented and defeated him in a game of chess. Robespierre challenged her again and promised to grant any wish if she won again. She again won and asked that her husband’s life be spared. Thomas Paine then was released from prison. "Common Sense" was so influential that John Adams said, "Without the pen of the author of 'Common Sense,' the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain.”
In 1866, William Henry Russ (1833-1866) shot his adopted daughter four times in the head after he proposed marriage when she turned 21, and she rejected him. He then jumped into a river to drown himself. He was arrested, but died 10 days later, lacking the will to live. The woman survived. He was a leading American compiler of chess problems in the 19th century who wrote under the name W. R. Henry. His book, American Chess Nuts, was published in 1868.
Joseph Blackburne nicknamed "The Black Death", dominated British chess during the latter part of the 19th century. He was arrested as a French spy for sending chess moves in the mail. The British government thought they were coded secrets.
In 1932, Norman Tweed Whitaker (1890-1975), who became an International Master at the late age of 75, was arrested for attempted extortion in a scheme to swindle $104,000 from a wealthy heiress by claiming to be in contact with the Lindbergh kidnappers. He was a lawyer but was disbarred for his criminal offenses. He served time in Alcatraz and was a friend of Al Capone there.
Prolific bank robber Willie Sutton (1901-1980) who stole an estimated $2 million, and eventually spent more than half of his adult life in prison, was arrested by the FBI. At the time, Sutton was reading How to Think Ahead in Chess by I.A. Horowitz. Sutton claimed that he robbed banks "because that's where the money is."
In 1964, chess master Raymond Weinstein was arrested for murder after he killed an 83-year old man in a nursing home with a razor. He was judged mentally ill and was confined to Ward’s Island for the mentally ill. Weinstein defeated many top American players, including Samuel Reshevsky and Pal Benko. He never defeated Bobby Fischer, although he drew one game of four with him (in the 1959-60 US Championship).
Ludek Pachman (1924-2003) was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany. He lived the remainder of his life there, and resumed his chess career with considerable success, including winning the West German Championship in 1978 and playing in the Interzonal in 1976.
In March 1952, Pal Benko, who is now 83 years old, was arrested and imprisoned for 16 months in a Hungarian concentration camp for trying to escape from East Berlin and defect to the West. He was accused of being an American spy. He is famous for the Benko Gambit and Benko Opening (g3) which he introduced at the 1962 Candidates Tournament, defeating Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal with it. He was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1993.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

How chess players die

2011-11-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

For the past few days most activities were related to death. Almost everybody went to the cemetery to clean the graves of their loved ones for the observance of All Souls Day.

This article is all about the death of famous chess players, mostly grandmasters.

If you visit an on-going chess tournament, you can immediately feel the tension in the air. A study of top level chess shows that the players have elevated blood pressure and experience a lot of stress.

Its no wonder that one of the causes of premature death is heart attack.

Those who died of a heart attack include Adolf Anderssen (age 60), Vladimir Bagirov (64), Joseph Blackburne (82), Efim Bogoljubov (63), Gyula Breyer (28), Jose Capablanca (53), Max Euwe (80), Paul Keres (59), Emanuel Lasker (72), Paul Leonhardt (57), Frank Marshall (67), Miguel Najdorf (87), Cecil Purdy of Australia (73), Sammy Reshevsky (80), Gideon Stahlberg (59), Howard Staunton (64), Leonid Stein ( 38), Herman Steiner (50), and Alexei Suetin (74), Vladimir Simagin (49), Johann Zukertort (44).

Bagirov, Bogoljubov, Capablanca, Ed Edmondson, Forry Laucks, Leonhardt, Marshall, Purdy, Simagin, Stahlberg, Steiner, Suetin, and Zukertort all died while playing chess or just finishing a chess game.

Another leading cause of death is cancer and one of the victims is our own Rosendo Balinas .

Cancer also killed Argentine Grandmaster Gerardo Barbero (age 40), Mikhail Botvinnik (83), Ricardo Calvo (59), Efim Geller (73), Tigran Petrosian (55), Karl Robatsch ( 71), Daniel Yanofsky (74), Claude Bloodgood (64)

Some masters died of accidental death. Grandmaster Georgy Agzamov of Russia died in 1986 at the age of 32 after he fell between some rocks at a beach .

Alexander Alekhine died at the age of 53 from a piece of choked meat.

Janos Flesch died in a car wreck at the age of 50. So did Cuban Grandmaster Guillermo Garcia. He was 36.

Julius Perlis, a strong master, died in 1913 at the age of 33 from a fall on a mountain in the Alps.

Frederick Yates died from a gas leak in his house. So did Hungarian International Master Arpad Vajda.

International Master Nicholas Rossolimo fell down a flight of stairs in New York and died at 65.

There were some who committed suicide.

Curt von Bardeleben jumped to his death from his boarding home. Karen Grigorian also jumped to his death at age 42. Lemit Oll also jumped to his death from his 4th story apartment at age 35. Alvis Vitolins also jumped to his death at age 59.

The most unusual death is a chess player named "Nikolai Titov" whose head exploded during the Moscow Candidate Masters' Chess Championships due to the condition 'Hyper-Cerebral Electrosis'.

Diabetes also killed Mikhail Chigorin (1850-1908) and Louis Paulsen (1833-1891).

The most famous player,Bobby Fischer, died of kidney failure ,the same cause of death of another world champion Mikhael Tal (1936-1992)

Another unusual cause of death were Bright's Disease, Alexander McDonnell 1798 -1835; Syphillis, Harry Pillsbury (1872-1906); Scarlet Fever, Richard Reti 1889-1929;
Starvation, Abram Rabinovich (1878-1943).

During the war, the Germans arrested all the chess players that were meeting at the Warsaw Chess Club , which was banned earlier . The Jews were all taken to a concentration camp and were later killed in a mass execution. This included Polish masters Dawid Przepiorka, Achilles Frydmann, Stanislaw Kohn, and Moishe Lowtzky.

Most of the information in this article is from the website of hall of famer Bill Wall, various postings in chess.com and the trivia collection of Ed Beronio of Cavite.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

NCFP rated tournament today

2011-11-09T23:58:00.000+08:00

After quite sometime the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) in cooperation with the new and renovated Colonnade Mall will bring a chess tournament sanctioned and rated by the country`s governing body , the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

Venue is at Colonnade Mall activity center and please be on time at 9am as we will have a short program and the first game will start at 10am. On site registration will be allowed.

Format is 9 rounds Swiss and time control is one hour per player ,play to finish.

There will only be one section and men, ladies ,kiddies and Cepca members will play against each other.

The champion will take home P5,000 and the 1st runner-up P3,000. Third place will be richer by P2,000 and 4th will snare P1,000. 5th -10th place will receive P500 each.

A specially designed trophy will be given to the champion

There will also be special prizes: best placed Cepca member will be awarded P1,000;best placed lady P1,000; best kiddie (15 and under) P1,000 and best senior (60 and over) P1,000.

Registration is P150 for men and Cepca members while ladies and kiddies will pay only P75.

As there might be a shortage of chess clocks, the organizers are urging those who own one to use it during their game and he/she will enjoy a discount of P50 from the registration fee.

The following officials will manage this tournament.

The tournament director is the president of Cepca himself , Jojo Muralla. Members of the committee are Nicnic Climaco,Jun Olis and Ely Berciles.

Chief referee is Fide arbiter Marvin Ruelan assisted by Fide arbiters Roger Abella,Felix Poloyapoy and Bob Tojong.

As this is a NCFP Rated tournament a Swiss manager will be used operated by Felix Poloyapoy.

Here are some tips and suggestions on how you play today.

Always play the openings you practiced. Don't get to the tournament and change your mind!

Pay no attention to your opponent's rating. Play chess, not numbers.

Your opponent may play extremely fast to throw you off. Take your time, never rush a chess game. Remember this is an NCFP rated tournament and a player is allotted one whole hour to finish the game.

Don't take long breaks from the tournament game as you run the risk of losing lots of valuable time on your clock.

Most of all have fun! although winning money feels good, you are there to enjoy chess first and foremost. If you resign a game, compliment your opponent and be a good loser. Keep a positive attitude and don’t get depressed over every defeat. After all there is always another game ,Good luck to all players !.

Indonesia Open.The 2011 Indonesia Open Chess Championship is on-going at the Le Meredien Hotel in Jakarta. 80 players compete in the 9-round Swiss tournament. 9 pinoys are playing, all GMs.

The generous prize fund amounts to US $55.500 , with $10.000 reserved for the winner.

The rest of the prizes are 2nd : $6.000 3rd : $4.000 USD 4th : $3.000 5th : $2.500
6th : $2.000 7th – 12th @ $1.500 : $9.000 13th – 20th @ $750: $6.000.
Best Women – 1st : $2.500 , 2nd : $1.500 , 3rd : $1.000
Best Junior U-20 – 1st : $1.500 , 2nd : $1.000, 3rd : $500
* Prizes are equally shared among players who has same points

The last round takes place tomorrow,

Round 8 standings:1 Ganguly Surya Shekhar IND 2631 6.5 2. Barbosa Oliver PHI 2538 6 3. Wang Yue CHN 2716 6 4. Li Chao CHN 2710 6 5. Dreev Aleksey RUS 2711 6 6. Mareco Sandro ARG 2597 6 7. Tkachiev Vladislav FRA 2631 5.5 8. So Wesley PHI 2655 5.5 9. Megaranto Susanto INA 2530 5.5 10. Bitoon Richard PHI 2504 5.5.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Colonnade chess grand prix

2011-10-15T01:57:00.000+08:00

Next weekend, October 21-23, the New Colonnade Mall in association with the Cebu Executives and Professionals Association (Cepca) will be sponsoring a chess tournament open to all players including ladies and kiddies as well as Cepca members.

Format is 9 rounds Swiss with a time control of one hour per player, play to finish. All games will be played at Oriente Colonnade Mall along Colon St.

This tournament will be sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and all participants will be accorded NCFP Ratings after the tournament.

The Champion will take home P5,000 and the 1st runner-up P3,000.There will be prizes up to 10th place. In addition the top finishers of the ladies ,kiddies as well as Cepca members will get special prizes .

There will be 3 games per day starting at 10:am followed by a break and will resume at 1pm. The final game of the day will be at 3:30 pm.

Registration will be P150 for all players including Cepca members while ladies and kiddies will pay only P75.

As there might be a shortage of chess clocks and sets, .those who bring their own clocks and sets will get a deduction of P50 from the registration fee meaning men pay only P100 and ladies and kiddies will pay only P25.

This is a project of the new and renovated Colonnade Mall management organized by Cepca under its new president Jojo Muralla to promote the royal game in Cebu.

This is a Grand Prix tournament meaning it will be a series of monthly contests followed by quarterly tournaments and a grand final in October next year.

These tournaments will surely make Cebu the center of chess activities in the country as no other place in the Philippines have such a program.

Grand Slam Just like golf and tennis, chess also has its own Grand Slam and is accorded the highest importance by Fide in the chess calendar.

The 4th Grand Slam Masters final has just concluded and continuing the new trend of sharing the event with a partner city, the organizers in Bilbao, Spain have chosen São Paulo this year to host the first half.

Magnus Carlsen won after beating Vassily Ivanchuk 1.5-0.5 in a blitz play-off. Carlsen has 15 points, the same score as Ivanchuk who finished second.

Behind them, Levon Aronian, World Champion Vishy Anand and and Hikaru Nakamura are sharing the third place with 12 points each. The Spanish Francisco Vallejo is closing the standings with 10 points.

Scoring was “football” style meaning 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
Format was double round robin with a time control of 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 10 seconds/move starting with the 1st move

This is the strongest tournament for this year as the top 3 players –Carlsen,Anand and Aronian-all have ratings above 2800 and the other 3 are over 2700

Magnus Carlsen dominated the Bilbao half of the Final Masters and finished level with Vassily Ivanchuk who played with excellent results in Sao Paolo. Carlsen would have won the event with a normal scoring system but won anyhow.

Vassily Ivanchuk also played a fine tournament but his play was more uneven. The big news of the tourney was his mugging and robbery together with his wife as he was leaving Sao Paolo on the way to the airport.

Nakamura and Anand are obviously disappointed at the results and Aronian was below par and not his usual self. His win against Anand was one of his few bright spots.

As for Francisco Vallejo Pons ,he was targeted every round. He's a good and very strong player but the others were just better.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Women chess

2011-10-15T01:56:00.000+08:00

"They're all weak, all women. They're stupid compared to men.
They shouldn't play chess, you know. They're like beginners. They lose every single game against a man.
There isn't a woman player in the world I can't give knight-odds to and still beat."
Robert Fischer,1962

Chess is a man`s game. It does not have the same appeal to women and why this is so is somewhat of a mystery.

The ratio of chess playing women to men is about 1:30 and may be even less as there are only 3 women in the top 300 players.

The main reason is probably biological or genetic as there is no satisfactory answer(s). Physical strength is not needed in chess and according to some studies women have more endurance than men.

Also, according tho WGM Natalia Pogogina,if we look at the percentage of so-called “grandmaster draws” among women and men then we’ll see that women’s fighting spirits are definitely higher

So, maybe women are just less smart than men? On the average the answer is “no”. Then what’s the problem?

The answer seems to be psychological and the upbringing of girls compared to boys. A stereotype exists in chess that women are no match for men. It is based on statistical data. That’s why many female chess players are taught from early childhood that they’ll never make it to men’s level. Parents deem chess as a strange pastime for a girl,

There is even an amusing hypothesis that chess is for immature and weird people, so women (who tend to mature faster than men) don’t take up such a strange occupation.

Fide Has however not entirely neglected Women chess. We have a Women Grand Prix the same as men and a women world championship Cycle.

In the last 10 years the Chinese have dominated Women chess. The current champion is 17 year old Hou Yifan.

Past Champions were Xie Jun (1991-96), Zhu Chen (2001-4) and Xu Yuhua (2006-8).

Beginning 2010, the Women's World Chess Championship will be held annually in alternating formats. In even years a 64 player knock out system will be used, in the odd years a classical match featuring only two players will be held.

The 2011 edition will be contested between the 2010 champion Hou Yifan and Koneru Humpy of India next month

Batang Pinoy Our kiddie journalist, KC Morala, who is an excellent chess player sent in this report.

“Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano of USC and KeithClaire Carlisle Morala of USJ-R, emerge as the champions in the first Batang Pinoy Chess Tournament in Cebu, held this October 1, 2011 in the Cebu City Sports Complex.

In the girls category, Morala stages her own comeback. Though she lost her first round to fellow Josenian Sharon Princess Lee Pacres, it turned out to be the only speck on the girl’s category champion, having defeated the rest of her opponents.

Placing second was Queenylyn Torres of Abellana National High School, who seemingly had a hard time coping with the tournament’s 20 minute time limit on the first rounds, resulting to her losses due to time forfeit. Pacres settles as the third placer.

Torres, Pacres and another player from UC, Marvie Abucay, were supposedly tied with the record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, yet it was Torres who wins in the tiebreak for having defeated the other two.

Jazzelle Villarin of USC, who led her school’s team into the top in the Little Milo Olympics, unfortunately fell behind the others after losing her matches to Abucay, Torres and Morala .

Meanwhile, next to the 14-year-old child wonder Sevillano and running second was Felix Shaun Balbona, representative of USJ-R in the boys category. The two players will be be sent in Dumaguete together with Morala and Torres to represent Cebu in the Regional chessfest.”
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Jojo Muralla new Cepca president

2011-10-02T23:54:00.000+08:00

The Cebu Executives and Professional Chess Association Inc. (Cepca) Recently elected a new set of officers for 2011-12 at their clubhouse in Mabolo last week.

The new set of officers ,who are also members of the Board of Trustees are Romualdo “Jojo” Muralla Jr.-president, Fabio Abucejo-Internal Vice- president, Jun Kidlat-External Vice- President,Dante Arguelles-Secretary. Ellery Berciles-Treasurer, Ogie Reyes –Auditor and Chessmoso-PRO. Other members of the Board are Jun Olis-Chairman Membership Committee and Mandy Baria –Chairman- Finance Committee.

Cepca is one of the oldest chess clubs in the country being founded in 1990 and has about 100 members.

The original founding members were Chessmoso. Art Ynclino, Sonny Sollano (+), Loy Minoza, Alex Tolentino, Gerry Tomakin (+), Antonio Climaco and Danny Pestano.

Aside from the regular members we also have honorary members who are also avid chess players and hold important positions both in government and the private sector. They are current Mayor Michael Rama,former Mayor Alvin Garcia, NM Matias “Bombi” Aznar (+) ,former Chairman of Southwestern University, businessman and Sportsman for this year Boojie Lim of Rose Pharmacy, businessman Kelly Uy of Cebu Progress Marketing and US based Dr. Darcy Tabotabo.

Past presidents of the club were Charter President Boy Pestano(2 consecutive terms),Alex Tolentino,Ben Dimaano, Gerry Tomakin (+),Ogie Reyes, Danny Pestano, Antonio Climaco, Manny Manzanares(2 terms and past president) , Victor Legaspina, Jun Olis(2 consecutive terms), Norway Lara, Mandy Baria, Emmanuel Matuco, Bobot Villaluna( +-2 terms).

Jojo finished a medical course in SWU (BSMT) with full scholarship because he was a varsity chess player and was also a 3rd year law student.

He worked for 15 years in the corporate world and is presently a businessman and exporter of fresh mangoes to other countries.

He is married to Nenen Saren and has a pretty and talented daughter Mary Grace.

Aside from chess he is a range officer and competitive shooter. He has participated in Australasia (level 4)competition and all over the country. He placed 2nd in the National Range Officer competition 2 years ago.

In his schooldays, he was team captain and board 1 player of the CSJ-R chess high school team and their team was champion for 4 consecutive years (1977-81) in the Cebu Catholic Schools Athletcs Association. In college his team SWU became the 1st ever team champion in the National UAAP in 1984. He was the team captain and board 3 player then.

Dante Arguelles ,the new club secretary,is not only one of the top players of the club but can also compete with the class A players of Cebu.

He has been a member since 1996 and has held various positions in the club.

He was twice Cepca Grand Slam Champion and was quarterfinalist in the Cebu Chess King several years ago. He once won a Rose Pharmacy Open and was a gold medalist in a commercial team tournament in Cebu.

Wife is Remedios and has 4 children: Pamela-who is working at Marina Bay in Singapore, Jhoanna –a real estate agent, Rochelle Michael and Dan Anthony ,a registered nurse in Gleneagle hospital in Singapore.

Ellery “Jame Bond” Berciles is married to state prosecutor ,Cecilia, and is a businessman.

They have 3 beautiful daughters- Jeane, Cherry and Janina- who are all Flight Stewardess working in Cathay Pacific, UAE airlines and Qatar Airlines respectively. Only son Elton is into computers and auto detailing.

Ogie Reyes, Jun Olis and Mandy Baria are all engineers and were past presidents of the club. Fabio Abucejo and Jun Kidlat are both retired from government service.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Shell highlights ; Svidler wins World Cup

2011-09-24T00:19:00.000+08:00

Earlier I wrote that since 1992, the Shell companies in the Philippines have promoted and sponsored the biggest annual competition among kiddies and juniors held in strategically located sites nationwide. To date, tens of thousands of youngsters have been motivated and credit chess playing as an activity that has positively contributed to enriching their lives.
Children have come to appreciate the values that the game of chess has taught them. Discipline. Diligence. Sense of fair play. Maturity. Responsibility.
Among the winners who have gained individual prominence are GM Wesley So,GM Nelson Mariano III, GM Mark Paragua,GM Darwin Laylo ,GM John Paul Gomez,IM Ian Cris Udani, FM Ildefonso Datu, NM Onofre Espiritu Jr., NM Arlan Cabe, NM Rodolfo Panopio Jr., NM Elmer Sumangat, NM Rodolfo Diaz Jr., NM Virgilio Vuelban, NM Exfelicos Bolico, NM Romeo Alcodia, NM Herbert Ciocon, NM Roland Perez and NM Roland Castro.
KeithClaire Morala , Our kiddie chess player who aspires to be a sports journalist,sent in this report.

“UV Lancers Alfer Joseph Fernandez and Michael Silvaderio prevailed in the Juniors Boys Division held in SM last September 10-11.

Both players had 6 wins and two draws in the 8-round tourney. Just a half point behind and finishing third, fourth and fifth were Yves Christian Fiel, King James Torres and Yuri Cauba.

Meanwhile, Allan Pason from Pajo National High School seized victory in the Kiddies Boys Division with 7.5 points,followed by Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano and fellow 6.5-pointers Jethro Esplenada and Alson Vincent Lim.

On the other hand, USJR’s Jessa Marie Balbona was the victor of the Juniors Girls Division. Hot on pursuit were 6 pointer Mary Israel Palero and Ma. Olympia Harvey Jane Hilvano with 5.5 pts.

10-year-old Vic Glysen Derotas of USC finished as solo 6.5 pointer, grabbing the champion trophy for the Kiddies Girls Division. KeithClaire Carlisle Morala with 6 points was declared 1st runner-up followed by Armi Venice Lumapac with 5.5 points.

Silvaderio and Fernandez finish their matches with an amazing record of 6 wins, two draws and no loss in their division.

Pason, a Palarong Pambansa 2011 competitor, drew his match against Sevillano, making it the only speck on his no-loss record of 7.5 points in the 8-round event.

Roxanne Tampus, also a Palarong Pambansa 2011 player, was unfortunately defeated by Hilvano on the last round, losing her chance to be the unquestionable victor of the Juniors Girls Division.
Fernandez, Silvaderio, Pason, Sevillano, Balbona and Derotas will be sent to Manila to compete with other players nationwide in the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship.”
World Cup Peter Svidler won the FIDE World Cup 2011 after drawing the 4th game of the final against Alexander Grischuk . He won with a score of 2.5-1.5 in a 4-game match .
Vassily Ivanchuk managed to draw a difficult ending for the second time against Ruslan Ponomariov and finished third with the same score and qualified for the next FIDE Candidates tournament together with Svidler and Grischuk.
Svidler officially won US $120,000 but as 20% goes to FIDE, he actually pocketed 'only' $96,000. Grischuk won net $64,000, and both Ivanchuk and Ponomariov net $40,000.
And so after three gruelling weeks the World Cup is finally over. There were 128 elite qualifiers from 46 different countries including pinoys Wesley So and Mark Paragua who both won $8,000 and $4,800 respectively.

Svidler's path to the final was tough.He beat the experienced Darcy Lima and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Fabiano Caruana Gata Kamsky, Judit Polgar ,Ruslan Ponomariov and then finally Grischuk.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

New Cebuano Grandmaster

2011-09-24T00:16:00.000+08:00

Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association, with sponsorship from the Masterskill Education Group Berhad under its Educating Malaysia Corporate Social Responsibility program ,The DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters proved a huge success with two new Grandmasters in Cebuano Richard Bitoon from Medellin and Oliver Barbosa from the Philippines.
In a tense last round encounter Bitoon, in a must win situation despite having the Black pieces, played a solid game over his unbeaten opponent, GM Tahir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan, to take the victory that won him his 3rd GM norm and the long overdue and well deserved Grandmaster title.
Filipino Oliver Barbosa made it a double celebration by winning the overall title and earning his third and also final grandmaster norm.
Richard got his first during the 2008 Singapore International Open and his second in the Battle of GMs earlier this year same as Barbosa,
Final standings(round robin):1 IM Barbosa Oliver PHI 2538 – 7;2.IM Vakhidov Jahongir UZB 2392 – 6.5;3. IM Bitoon Richard PHI 2504 – 6.5;4. IM Das Arghyadip IND 2461 – 5.5;5. GM Vakhidov Tahir UZB 2485 – 4.5;6. IM Goh Wei Ming Kevin SIN 2449 – 4;7. IM Nguyen Van Huy VIE 2449 – 3.5;8. GM Nguyen Anh Dung VIE 2479 – 3;9. IM Mas Hafizulhelmi MAS 2413 – 2.5;10. GM Wong Meng Kong SIN 2355 – 2.
Barbosa and Bitioon will still have to wait for a while for their GM titles which will be confirmed in the next FIDE congress. Both have the required minimum rating of 2500.
They are set to join the country’s elite GM circle which includes Eugene Torre, Rogelio Antonio Jr., Buenaventura Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Joseph Sanchez, Roland Salvador, Rogelio Barcenilla Jr., Julio Catalino Sadorra and the late Rosendo Balinas Jr.
World Cup The big story out of the FIDE World Cup in Russia was the incredible sportsmanship shown by David Navara and Alexander Moiseenko in the second game of their match, having drawn the first game. On the 35th move , Navara touch two pieces -- his king and a bishop -- at the same time, accidentally, which would force him to move the king -- and lose a piece.
Navara clearly didn't wish to move the king; a bishop move was the only move that made sense in the position. However, Moiseenko told Navara that he didn't need to move the king regardless of what he had touched, and the game continued.
After 40 moves, Navara had forced a winning position...but then offered Moiseenko a draw, feeling that winning the game would not be justified under the circumstances from earlier in the game. It was the kind of situation you see rarely in an elite tournament such as the World Cup; winning this match and moving on to the 4th round meant an extra $7,200 in guaranteed prize money! Navara would ultimately win the match in tiebreaks , 4-2 .
Both GMs received special monetary awards from the organizers.
The semifinals were between two Ukrainian and two Russian chess players: Vassily Ivanchuk vs Alexander Grischuk and Ruslan Ponomariov vs Peter Svidler.
Peter (Russia) won against Ruslan (Ukraine), and was the first to advanced to the final.
On the other board Alexander (Russia) defeated Vassily in the blitz portion of the tiebreaks to make the finals an all-Russian affair.
The winner will snare $120,000 and the runner-up $80,000 in a 4 game matchup including tiebreaks starting today.
Both will advance to the Candidates portion of the World Championship cycle as well as the winner between Ivanchuk and Ponomariov who will battle for 3rd ,also in 4 games.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blospot.com

How to excel in chess

2011-09-10T23:01:00.000+08:00

The Cebu City Sports Commission and the Cebu Chess Federation in cooperation with the Department of Education Cebu City Division are in the midst of training teachers from the different public Schools of both Elementary and High Schools the basics of chess.

These teachers are then expected to impart what they have learned to their students as part of the grass roots development of The Chess in Schools program.

I estimate that more than 40,000 students will benefit from this program not counting the private schools students and the schools in the province.

If you want to learn how to excel in chess this is for you .
One of the many problems a beginner faces in a game, once he is familiar with the rules, is what to do when playing the game, how to play the opening and how to attack his opponent.
Here are specific guidelines on what or what no to do. Winning at chess basically consists of creating and exploiting you opponent’s weaknesses.
Understanding, not memory, is the essential key to success. The chess player who understands why will consistently defeat the player who only knows how
Anyone can try their hand at a chess game, but it takes a bit more effort to become a good chess player.
First ,Join a local chess club. Don't make yourself feel good by playing people that clearly are worse than you and play with good players.
Learn the value of the pieces. A pawn is worth one point. Knights and Bishops are worth three points each. A Rook is worth five points. A Queen is worth nine points
Play for the center. Occupy, guard and influence it. Drive away enemy pieces that control it.
In general, make only two pawn moves in the opening, usually the center pawns. When capturing with pawns, it is correct most of the time to capture toward the center even if the result is doubled pawns.

Develop knights toward the center.
Place bishops on open diagonals. Avoid unnecessary exchanges with knights .Develop the Bishop on the side you wish to castle before the other Bishop.
King-side pieces should usually be developed sooner than Queen-side ones, and Knights before Bishops. Develop during exchanges
Put rooks on open files, half-open files, files that are likely to be opened, or behind advanced passed pawns. Double them, so that they support each other.
Castle early.After castling, don't move the pawns in front of your King without specific reason.
Don’t move the queen out too early in the game. In the opening, don't remove your Queen from play to "win" a pawn.
Determine whether you have an open or closed game, and play accordingly Usually play to retain Bishops in open games, and Knights in closed games
Move every piece once before you move every piece twice unless there is a clear reason to do so.
Having the 'Bishop Pair' - two Bishops when your opponent does not - is worth about half a pawn. To improve the scope of your Bishop, place your pawns on squares opposite in color to it.
Stay flexible. Always be ready to transform one type of advantage to another, or to switch from tactical to positional play.
Respect all opponents, but fear none. If you blunder, don’t resign. Sit back and figure out how to give your opponent trouble. Go down fighting.

Be aggressive, but play soundly. Don't take unnecessary chances. Make sure every move has a purpose.Don't sacrifice without good reason.
When you can't determine whether to accept or decline a sacrifice, accept it.
Attack in number. Don't rely on just one or two pieces. Look for double attacks.
Remember that there are exceptions to every general principle and law in chess. Knowing when you can violate them is one of the hallmarks of a strong player.

World Cup results 1st round

2011-09-10T22:59:00.000+08:00

The 2011 FIDE World Cup is a 128-player knockout format that is taking place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Siberia from August 27th till September 20th.
Except for the final, which will be played in 4 games all rounds have 2 game matches plus rapid and blitz tiebreaks and an Armageddon
The good news is that Wesley So won his 1st round match against China champion Ding Liren via tiebreak 2.5-1.5.

The bad news is that Mark Paragua lost to England`s Michael Adams 0.5-1.5 although it was not unexpected.

China arrived with a large delegation and large ambitions .

However they had a bad 1st round as 7 of their players lost their matches and only Ni Hua and Bu Xiangzi advanced to the second round. Wang Hao had to withdraw because of a heart problem
Wang Yue, who at 2709 Elo is number 27 in the World Cup, was knocked out by Alexandr Fier of Brazil, rated 2566 .Li Chao also lost to the Vietnamese Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son . It was downhill from there as Zhou Jianchao lost to the Ukrainian Anton Korobov and Yu Yangyi was defeated by Mircea-Emilian Parligras of Romania.
The tragedy of the Chinese team, however, was my young idol 17-year-old Women's World Champion Hou Yifan who had a promising position against Sergei Movsesian in the 1st game but blundered. In the 2nd game Yifan outplayed her Armenian opponent, who is 125 points ahead of her by ratings . But just when she had the win , a rook sacrifice on move 30 , she failed to see it and allowed her opponent to get back into the game.
Bu Xiangzhi secured himself a place in the second round by winning the 1st game against Egyptian Ahmed Adly, who then fell ill and missed the second game. Adly had to go to a hospital for a kidney stones operation
Ni Hua prevailed over Ildar Khairullin of Russia which was decided by blitz matches.
Aside from the loss of Wang Yue, Hungarian Peter Leko was the most prominent player to be eliminated in the first round. After losing a fighting game against Samuel Shankland of the US in the 1st game , Peter had to go for broke in their second encounter but played recklessly in the opening, and in the end Leko had to offer a draw.
While China struggled ,Vietnam and India had flawless results.
India`s talents had a successful run as Abhijeet Gupta defeated Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan 1,5:0,5, Pentala Harikrishna won against Maxim Rodshtein of Israel 1,5:0,5, and Parimarjan Negi had a walkover against the injured Vladimir Akopian, who broke his leg.
Vietnam also had a solid 1st round as Le Quang Liem secured a 1,5-0.5 victory against Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia , while Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son won against Li Chao with the same score.
As I write this Wesley (2658) is playing the tournament`s top seed,Sergey Karjakin (2788) in the 2nd game . The 1st game was a solid draw in a French by Wesley. It was Karjakin who offered the draw.
Mabolo Kc Morala ,our Kiddie Chess player and future chess columnist emailed this report.
“Duanne Borgonia reigns victorious over fellow kiddies participants in the Mabolo Chess Tournament last August 28, 2011.
The young 10-year-old chess enthusiast earned straight wins in the 5-round event, having defeated 2nd placer Kirk Patrick Morala who had 4pts and Aldritz Pondoyo who placed third.
Meanwhile, Christian Pondoyo was proclaimed victor in another tournament still held in the Mabolo Chess Club last August 30, 2011. Tailing closely are his younger brother, Aldritz Pondoyo and Duanne Borgonia. Running fourth is Fernando Ryan.
The tournament was made possible thanks to the Cebu City Sports Commission, Brgy. Mabolo and Council, Macasero Torrefranca and associates. The club plans to hold monthly tourneys to gain more members.”

boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Wesley and Mark in World Cup 2011

2011-09-10T22:55:00.000+08:00

Aside from the Chess Olympiad and the World Championship, The World Cup is a premiere event in the Fide calendar.
The competition will start tomorrow August 27 up to September 21 in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. The event starts with128 players and has a knockout format , where the winner has to progress through seven consecutive match victories and possible tiebreaks to reach the finals.
The competition also has one of the biggest prize funds, amounting to $1.6 million.
The winner qualifies for the next World Chess Championship Candidates event. Last year’s winner Boris Gelfand went on to win the Candidates matches and will play the World Chess Championship 2012.
Boy Wonder Wesley So will open his campaign against the tough GM from China, Ding Liren, in the first round , The other Filipino player ,Mark Paragua , faces an even bigger challenge in Michael Adams of England .
So is confident about his chances against Liren,who defeated him in their only meeting in the 2004 World Under-12 championships.
The 17-yar-old Filipino champion will easily be one of the players to watch following his surprisingly strong showing in Khanty-Mansiysk two years ago.
So defeated Gadir Gusienov of Azerbaijan, 3-1, in the first round and then shocked the world chess hierarchy by defeating world championship candidates Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, 1.5-.5 in the second round and Gata Kamsky, 1.5-.5, of the United States in the third round
So’s near-magical run ended at the hands of Vladimir Malakhov of Russia, 4-1, in rapid tiebreak matches in their fourth- round showdown.
Ding is no pushover though as he is the reigning 2011 Champion of China and was also champion in 2009. He is about the same age as Wesley and has a rating of 2664 vs Wesley`s current rating of 2658.
Paragua will make his third appearance in this prestigious event.
He qualified for the 2004 World Championship in Tripoli, Libya, but was eliminated by GM Viktor Bologan of Moldova, 1-3, in the first round 1-3.

He also qualified for 2005 World Cup, where he upset GM Sergei Movsesian of Armenia in the first round before narrowly losing in the tie breaker to GM Alexey Dreev of Russia in the second round.
Michael Adams was ranked world number 4 from October 2000 to October 2002 and has achieved a peak rating of 2755. He has achieved good results in World Chess Championship tournaments and was runner-up in 2004 in Tripoli,Libya.
Milo.KC Morala,our 14 year- old kiddie chess player who aspires to be a sports journalist sent this update.
“University of San Carlos won 3 out of 4 of the team championship medals of the Little Milo Olympics Chess Tournament Elementary Level and Secondary Girls Level held in Elizabeth Mall last August 13-14 ,2011 and in Cebu City Sports Institute of Brgy. Sawang Calero last August 20, 2011.
USC Elem. Girls had14 pts over 42 participating schools, public and private alike, followed by Sangat Elem. School with 12 pts and Marigondon Elem School with11.
Meanwhile, in the Elementary level Boys division, USC was also champion over 58 schools. Sabang Elem.School finished second tailed by third-placer Lahug Elem. School.
In the Secondary Level Girls Division, USC with Jazzelle Villarin, Hazel Sato and Cunag, had 14 match pts. Closely following the victors are its two strongest rivals, USJ-R with 12 pts and UC with 10 pts.
USJ-R consisting of the Balbona Siblings-Felix Shaun, Marq Gabrielle and Francis-and Donn Gerard Ouano, won the Secondary Boys division with their 13 pts followed by Sangat National High School and UC, second and third placers respectively.”
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Cebu aims for 2nd Guinness record

2011-08-20T23:51:00.001+08:00

Guinness World Records is a reference book that is published annually, and contains an internationally recognized collection of world records, most of it in human achievements . The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted series of all time

Edward Hayco of the Cebu City Sports Commission, never ceases to amaze me as he is after a second Guinness record attempt.

Last June 27, 2010 Guinness confirmed and authenticated that 7,770 people converged at the Cebu City Sports Center for a dancesport class. The previous record of 2,289 was held by the city of Budapest in Hungary.

This time, Edward and his group are aiming at chess.

As mentioned in a previous article, there are several records in chess, most of it inconsequential and negligible like longest or shortest games, most consecutive wins etc.

The Cebu City Sports Commission and Department of Education Cebu City Division will attempt to break the Guinness World Record of the “World’s Largest Chess (Board Game) Tournament”. The current record holder is Krasnoyarsk, Russia with 1,214 participants.

The program began with a chess coaching and officiating seminar last July 13, 2011, followed by a series of school-based and city-wide Simultaneous Chess Tournaments. 20,000-30,000 players are targeted to participate .

Championships (Finals) will be on October 8, 2011, Saturday at the Cebu City Sports Center. Be a part of history by participating!
Take note that on October 21, 2006, a gigantic multi-simul was organized in El Zócalo, Mexico City. About 600 masters played against 20 to 25 opponents each. The total number of players was 13,446.The tables were arranged in squares of different colors, each containing seven simuls. Guiness acknowledged the event as the largest one held in a single day.
Armenia is considered the “brightest nation” on Earth . It is a tiny country ,formerly a part of the Soviet Union,of around three million who has won consecutive Olympiads in 2006 and 2008.
Last month it won the 2011 World Chess Team Championship in China solidifying its internationally-recognized status as a chess powerhouse.
The Armenian team led by Levon Aronian, the world’s third-highest-ranked chess player, dominated throughout the 12-day tournament, winning five games and drawing the four others. It sealed the title with a draw against Ukraine in the final round.
In so doing, it has triumphed over giants like Russia, China,India and the US.
Chess is pursued fanatically in Armenia, where its over-the-board stars are national celebrities and chess is taught in schools.
Chess has been one of Armenia’s most popular sports ever since Tigran Petrosian, a Tbilisi-born Armenian, became a world champion in 1963. The country currently boasts the largest per-capita numbers of chess grandmasters in the world.
Two of its three post-Soviet presidents are keen chess players who have promoted the game while in office. The current president, Serge Sargisian, heads the Armenian Chess Federation. He personally supported the national team during its Olympic triumphs.
I personally do not know if Pnoy plays chess but his mother, the late President Cory Aquino, was a chess player and one of those mainly responsible for the Chess Olympiad held in Manila in 1992. Players and officials considered the Olympiad as the best ever.
Last week I wrote about Chess in Schools. How about it sir Pnoy?
This nation can be great not by being employed in other countries but by being employers. Chess can help improve the children become good and productive citizens.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

whatever happened to the Chess in Schools program?

2011-08-20T23:49:00.000+08:00

After a lot of publicity and excitement among chess masters and arbiters as they will soon have a steady income and permanent jobs, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo approved last May 2009 the inclusion of chess in schools curriculum in primary and secondary schools across the country.
Where is it now? I don`t see any development in this administration.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) President Prospero Pichay and Department of Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus signed the Memorandum of Agreement launching the National Chess Academy then.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued the Executive Order to encourage children to play chess in accordance with the Grassroots Program of the Philippine Sports Commission.
"Chess is a game that improves individual organizational and analytical skills. Children when exposed to this game at an early age achieve academically better, or even faster than those who have not been engaged in the game. Likewise, chess is among the activities that help build memory skills, concentration, self-confidence, self-esteem and in making disciplined decisions. Playing chess provides opportunities to practice such values as perseverance, honesty, and sportsmanship," Secretary Lapus stated in the Memorandum.

The Department of Education (DepEd) shall adopt chess as another strategy to promote the development of higher order thinking skills and values among Grades 3 to 6 in the Physical Education department. Chess will continue at the secondary level.
It was also announced that Grandmaster Bong Villamayor shall lead the team of accredited lectures and supervise the examination for instructors.
I believe then that this was the most significant achievement of PGMA and P`Noy should set aside political differences and coordinate with NCFP Chairman Prospero Pichay now. It is for the good of the country.
Mabolo KC Morala, a 14 year old kiddie chess player who wants to be a sports journalist someday sent in this report about the just concluded tournament in Mabolo .

“The Mabolo Elementary School and Mabolo National High School chess players toppled their rivals in the yearly District 4 Meet held at Mabolo Elementary School last August 6, 2011.

The Mabolinians had rendered speechless the four grade schools and two secondary schools who chose to be involved in this faithful event.

Board 1 Francis Fernandez and Board 2 Rafael Nardo (boys), Board 1 Algelline Lawan and Board 2 Mae Villamor (girls) of Mabolo National High School, smash their way in to the top in the secondary level.

Meanwhile, the grade-school team of Mrs. Myra Fleur Salar, Board 1 Kirk Patrick Morala and Board 2 Clyd Rejel Perandos (boys), Board 1 Therese Cabantan and Board 2 Krizia Franchette Ottara (girls) were declared victors without a single loss on the record. Right behind them is the Bagong Lipunan Elementary School, who were proclaimed second placers.

The grade schools who participated were Bagong Lipunan Elementary School, Mabolo Elementary School, Pulangbato Elementary School, Adlaon Elementary School and Mabolo Christian Academy. The secondary schools were Adlaon Integrated School, Mabolo National High School and Mabolo Christian Academy.”

Minglanilla There will be a tournament this coming Sunday Aug 14 starting 9 am at tha Reroma apts. Near Minglanilla Central School. Format is 7 rounds Swiss with 15 mins time control.

Registration is P75 . The top 5 winners will take home cash prizes.

Sponsor is LTO Carcar organized by Minglanilla Chess Club president, Mario Mangubat.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

A collection of chess poems

2011-08-05T21:54:00.000+08:00

Chess, as a game, is like poetry in motion. That is why of all the sports, chess has the most poems. Some are very good and entertaining but are much too long ,

Others are too serious. Here are the cheerful ones.

CHESS

Chess is a game
Just played by two,
Mind over matter,
Me vs. you
"What's your rating?"
The stranger does ask,
He wants to know
The degree of his task!
"1400, and what is yours?"
I kindly reply.
"Oh, I'm unrated!"
Watch out for this guy!

A silence begins
As their minds shift into gear,
They parry and spar,
Seems there's nothing to fear,
When all of a sudden
On move thirty eight,
One player moans, "Oh, no!"
As a whisper breathes, "Mate!"

Opening Overture

First I push a center pawn
Then I move a Knight
Next I get my Bishop out
And everything`s alright

Now I want to castle
Lock my King up safe and tight
Castling also puts my rook
Where it can join in the fight

Once I have both Bishops and
Both Kights where they can help
I move my Queen behind them
So her power can be felt

All my pieces come to life
Rooks, Bishops ,Knights and Queen
I now advance my pawns
Attacking everything I see

I keep my pieces active
They attack and they defend
I know that if I start out like this
I`ll win more in the end!

Peaceful Game

I like to think chess is a courteous game
I play it with family and friends
I like to think chess is a peaceful game
Nobody gets hurt when it ends

I never distract my opponent
I don`t want to act like a pest
I hope they believe in the very same way
So both of us play at our best

I know chess is not really gentle
Its more like war or a fight
I always shake hands at the start and end
So we can stay friends day and night

On the board we`re enemies
Off the board we`re friends
On the board there`s never peace
But off the board I hope for peace that never ends

Watch out man

Watch out man
The game is mine
Beating you is a crime
The next time you want to play
You better practice all that day

White Squares or Black

White squares or black
Bishops or Knights
You better get ready to put up a fight

I might open with the English
I might open with the French
But nothing you do will break
My defense

My pieces will surround your King
And then you`ll know its just too late
For the next word out of my mouth
Will be the word “checkmate”!

The Knight

I am the Knight of chess
I move like the letter L
I move two squares then turn
And I do that very well.

I can do it upside-down or sideways
To the left or right.
I can jump over other pieces
No matter what their height.

And every time I move,
I switch the color of my square
No one else can say that
No one else would dare

No King or Queen can move
like me,or jump over anyone
So with my jumping L shaped
Move, I have the greatest fun.

PMS Chess tournament There will be a 7 rounds Swiss tournament on Aug 7 for Talisay residents and neighboring towns comprising 3 individual and a team tournament.

The competition is for Kiddies, Juniors and class B senior players,
The team tournament should be composed of 3 members(senior Class B,Junior and Kiddie).

Organizer is Jojo Powao, president of the Talisay Chess Club.

boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Eugene Torre

2011-08-05T21:53:00.000+08:00

It seems odd that after writing about chess for 8 years now I have written no article exclusively about Eugene Torre. He recently showed that he still has “it” in the just concluded 4th Battle of GMs

He was voted by sportswriters as the athlete of the millennium beating Carlos “ The great difference” Loyzaga, who was chosen one of the best 10 basketball players of the competition in the World championhip in Brazil in 1954, Felicissimo Ampon, who made a gallant stand in Wimbledon in the late 1940s and the great Gabriel “Flash” Elorde,the longest reigning boxing champion in the Junior Lightweight division.

Please take note that it is not for a year,a decade or a 100 years but for a thousand years!

Eugenio Torre was born in La Paz in Iloilo City on November 4, 1951, and with the possible exception of Wesley So, is considered to be the strongest Filipino chess player ever.

Torre has the distinction of being the first Asian to earn the title of International Grandmaster in a region of 3.2 billion people!.

He accomplished the feat at the age of 22 while winning a silver medal at the 21st World Chess Olympiad held in Nice, France in 1974 where he went undefeated in 19 games (9 wins, 10 draws).

Torre has been a veteran of the World Chess Olympiad for 4 decades now and led the Philippine team to a 7th place finish at the 1988 Greece Olympiad.

He also won a bronze medal in the 24th Olympiad (1980 La Valletta, Malta) where he scored 11 points in 14 games (9 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss) and another bronze in the 27th Olympiad (1986 Dubai, UAE) where he garnered 9.5 points in 13 games (7 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss).

He beat Anatoly Karpov in Manila in 1976, one of Karpov's few losses during his championship reign. Torre qualified for the Candidates round in 1984 but lost to Zoltan Ribli of Hungary. That year he was chosen as one of the top 10 players in the world.

He became a celebrity later due to his daily one hour TV program "Chess Today", and was once voted one of the ten sexiest sportsmen in the Philippines - all of which ultimately led to a cameo spot in a movie opposite Vilma Santos with whom he was romantically linked.

I think the title of the movie was “Basta isipin mo mahal kita”.

It is not well known but he was considered by Bobby Fischer as his best friend. He worked on Fischer's team in his 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia. During this rematch present was Cebuano Eric Gloria who did the research for Fischer.

Much later, Torre conducted interviews on Bombo radio with Fischer. Those interviews gained notoriety for Fischer and despair for his fans.

One anecdote in 1996 says that when Torre and Fischer boarded a taxi in Buenos Aires, while both were promoting Fischer Random Chess , the driver immediately recognized Torre as a chess player. As both were about to leave the taxi, the driver, not knowing who the other distinguished passenger was, asked Torre: “Whatever happened to that crazy guy Fischer?”

Another anecdote to the seeming popularity of Eugene happened during the 1998 Elista Olympiad. Eugene and fellow GM Joey Antonio went to the market to buy some beef. The beef seller instantly asked in awed tones “ Are you grandmaster Torre of the Philippines?” Imagine that in a far corner of the world and the vendor recognized Torre!

In 1990 I invited Eugene and another GM,Jaime Sunye-Neto of Brazil, to dinner in the now Marco Polo and one of the topics in our conversation was about computer programs.

Eugene believed that no computer programs will ever be created that could defeat the current world champion. That has been proven wrong, of course, as computers now can defeat any human being.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Summer chess extravaganza

2011-07-22T23:24:00.000+08:00

Its summer time and as tradition goes Europe is choke full of chess tournaments.

These are not your usual 9 or 11 rounds Swiss tourneys but chess fiestas of extravagant proportions.

The 44th Biel Chess Festival is taking place from 18th to 29th July in Biel, Switzerland. There are several main groups : the Master Tournament (11 rounds Swiss- open to all); the Main Tournament (9 rounds Swiss- for players with Fide rating of 2050 and below); a Rapid and a Blitz tournament; Chess960 (Fischer random chess); Youth (free of charge for children) ,Simul exhibitions and tennis among the players . There also chess seminars for those who are interested to improve their play.

However the main interest is the Accentus Grandmaster Tournament with six very strong grandmasters playing a double round robin: Magnus Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexei Shirov, Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Morozevich and Yannick Pelletier. The scoring system is three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. No draw offers are permitted before move 30.

Another great tradition marks the 22nd year of the Pardubice festival in the Czech Republic.The festival has attracted 1445 players from 44 countries including 60 GMs and WGMs, and 81 IMs and WIMs.

It started last July 17 and participants of the festival can choose from almost 30 different types of chess tournaments.

For example there are the Polgar Superstar Chess World Championship and the Fischer Random Chess event. There is also a 4-member team tournament with 114 teams from the Czech Republic alone and several foreign teams competing.

The 39th Dortmund Chess Meeting started yesterday up to the 31st in the theater at Hiltropwall in Dortmund, Germany.
There are 4 main events- the Super tournament , Helmut Kohl's Tournament with ten players and the Sparkassen Open A and B which take place in the Dortmund Town Hall.
6 players compete in the double round robin Super Tournament. 9 time winner Vladimir Kramnik heads the field that also includes Hikaru Nakamura, Ruslan Pononmariov (last year's winner), Anish Giri, Le Quang Liem (qualified from the Aeroflot Open) and Geog Meier (the German number 2 player). The tourney boasts of an average rating of 2740.
For the second time the Sofia rule is in effect. The GMs are not allowed to offer a draw during the game.
Another important Fide event is also now taking place in Ningbo, China. The 2011 World Team Chess Championship is currently on-going from July 15-July 26 at the playing venue in New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo.
This 8th edition It is a kind of exclusive Olympiad, in which only ten elite teams compete for top honors. As such, most of the players are world class. The players are treated like royalty with single rooms in the 5-star hotel. Each team consists of five players (including one reserve) and one coach/captain of the team for a total of 6 .
According to FIDE Regulations the following Federations are entitled to send a team: China (host country),Russia (winner 2009),Ukraine (Olympiad 2010),Israel (Olympiad 2010),Hungary (Olympiad 2010),Azerbaijan (Europe qualifier),India (Asia qualifier),USA (America's qualifier),Egypt (African qualifier),Armenia (FIDE President's nomination).
Mingglanilla Chess Club. The Club recently was organized and elected the following set of Officers: Mario Mangubat-president,Eto Cañada-vice president, Dannie Reroma-secretary, Jason Orfano-treasurer, Francisco Nebria-auditor, Dennis Gonzales-PRO, Sgt at arms-Doming Villamor and Jerwin Flores.Directors-Romeo Delima and Marlon Dosados. Adviser is Manny Manzanares.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

World`s top players and poker results

2011-07-22T23:23:00.000+08:00

It has been sometime since I featured the top rated players of the world in different categories. Here are the highlights of the new list as of July 2011.

The world's top 10 has undergone some substantial changes. Magnus Carlsen's performance in the Kings Tournament in Medias took him back to World Number One replacing World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. Levon Aronian dropped back after his tied match with Alexander Grischuk in the Classical games section of their Candidates Match.

Sergey Karjakin has become the number one Russian player and improve to no. 4 in the World after his Kings tournament performance. Boris Gelfand moves up to no. 12 after winning the candidates matches to challenge Anand for the World Championship.

Ruslan Ponomariov's performance in the Ukraine Championship catapulted him from 11 to 7 in the world.

Le Quang Liem gained a valuable 19 points at the Capablanca Memorial Tournament and is now the top Junior player in the World. He is now the top Asean player beating our Boy Wonder Wesley so in their personal battle.
42 players are above 2700 and 2649 is the rating that gets you into the top 100.
Top 10 players :1 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2821 2 Anand,Viswanathan IND 2817 3 Aronian, Levon ARM 2805 4 Karjakin, Sergey RUS 2788 5 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2781 6 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2768 7 Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 2768 8 Topalov, Veselin BUL 2768 9 Nakamura, Hikaru USA 2766 10 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 27.
Top 10 women :1 Polgar, Judit HUN 2699 2 Koneru, Humpy IND 2614 3 Hou, Yifan CHN 2575 4 Kosintseva, Nadezhda RUS 2560 5 Kosintseva, Tatiana RUS 2557 6 Muzychuk, Anna SLO 2538 7 Dzagnidze, Nana GEO 2537 8 Lahno, Kateryna UKR 2536 9 Cmilyte, Viktorija LTU 2528 10 Stefanova, Antoaneta BUL 2524
Top 10 juniors: 1 Le, Quang Liem VIE 2715 2 Caruana, Fabiano ITA 2711 3 Giri, Anish NED 2701 4 Yu, Yangyi CHN 2672 5 Feller, Sebastien FRA 2666 6 So, Wesley PHI 2658 7 Ding, Liren CHN 2654 8 Negi, Parimarjan IND 2642 9 Matlakov, Maxim RUS 2632 10 Sjugirov, Sanan RUS 2629
Top 10 girls:1 Hou, Yifan CHN 2575 2 Ju, Wenjun CHN 2515 3 Harika, Dronavalli IND 2513 4 Muzychuk, Mariya UKR 2469 5 Bodnaruk, Anastasia RUS 2431 6 Paikidze, Nazi GEO 2416 7 Savina, Anastasia RUS 2398 8 Tan, Zhongyi CHN 2396 9 Cori T., Deysi PER 2376 10 Girya, Olga RUS 2371
Poker All In Anniversary P1,000,000 Guaranteed main event final results held at the Waterfront last month: 1st – P313,600 Richard Tolentino 2nd – P166,600 Sonny Ugalde 3rd – P78,400 Galileo Roma 4th – P58,800 Ben Dimaano 5th – P49,000 Marv Dumoin 6th – P39,200 Eddie Kagas 7th – P29,400 Damon Shulenberger 8th – P19,600 Bobby Valero 9th – P18,620 Nelson Reserva 10th – P16,660 Manuel Reyes.

Notable players that played in the Main event: Brad Daugherty – 1991 Main Event Champion of the WSOP ;Enrique Del Prado Jr. – APT Philippines 2011 Main Event Champion (a classmate in my elementary days); Galileo Roma-President of the Mactan Chess Club; Ben Dimaano- former president of Cepca.

The Diamond Club beside the Grand Convention Center holds a tournament every day with buyins ranging from P100 – P1000. Points are awarded to the top 10 players and the champion for the month gets to play for free the following month. 1st runner-up gets a discount of 60% and 3rd 40%.

Here are the top players for June: 1.Jay de la Fuente-176 points 2.Chessmoso-171 3.Joe “ Phoenix” Luna-113 4.Jessierez Ruiz-107 5. Tito Calderon-105 6.Junele Oswa-103 7. Adrian Jayme-81 8.Keiyes (Korean) tied with Mac Mantos-76 9. Randy Malagao-75 10. Kim Michael Enriquez-74.

My lucky dealer is Harold Flores who also acts as the tournament director.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Expensive chess sets and the Taliban

2011-07-07T02:58:00.000+08:00

Expensive chess sets, also called luxury sets feature pieces created from the highest and most extravagant materials, such as high quality wood, crystal, gold, diamond, ivory, and so on, as well as expensive chess boards made with wonderful materials and workmanship.

More often than not, these sets are personally hand made by a skilled craftsman.

Bonham is a leading auctioneer of fine arts and rare items and scheduled for auction this year are unusual and expensive chess sets.

There’s a 1780 French “bust” set with images of Europeans and Moors (est. $11-$14,000), and an1820 Cantonese set depicting the contest between East and West ($4600-$7700).
Top seller is expected to be a 300 year-old German ivory and ebony figural set, with the King and Queen in medieval dress (est. $23-$31,000).
If you think that these prices are outrageous ,think again.
Thirty craftsmen, under the direction of renowned French artist and master of jewelry, Bernard Maquin created the Royal Diamond Chess set in 2005.
Maquin spent over 4500 hours creating the chess set. The work was done all by hand and when it was completed, the artists used 1168.75 grams of 14 carat white gold, and approximately 9900 black and white diamonds, bringing the total weight to 186.09 carats and the total cost to $500,000.
If you thought this set is out of this world then you haven’t seen the most expensive chess set yet. This label goes to the Jewel Royale Chess Set from Britain. Boodles, a British custom jewelry company commissioned its production.
Valued at over £5 million ($9.8m USD), this single chess set is the most expensive and exquisite game set of any kind in the world. Constructed of gold and platinum, it contains diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and sapphires. The king piece alone weighs 165.2 grams of 18 carat yellow gold and has a spiraling mid-section graced by 73 rubies and 146 diamonds.
Where does the Taliban come in? They also have a chess set!
Jeffrey Train, a 48-year-old former Canadian soldier who designed the figures, says he has sold more than 1,500 sets mostly as souvenirs to the 140,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan
The Taliban features such figures as Osama bin Laden as the King , a woman in a burqa as the Queen , and Taliban snipers, RPGs, suicide bombers and assault soldiers as the Bishop, Rook, Knight and Pawn.
As for the U.S., you get to choose between Presidents Obama or George W. Bush for King, while the Statue of Liberty is the Queen. Various kinds of soldiers play the Bishop, Knight and Pawn with the World Trade Center as the Rook.
In the British set, the king is Tony Blair and the queen is the Queen, while the rook is Big Ben.
Train, who manufactures the resin sets in Manila , said he had the idea while working on Kandahar Airfield in 2006.
He said the sets, which include a board with a map of Afghanistan, were perfect souvenirs and were also educational. They have attracted occasional accusations of poor taste, he said, but most soldiers liked them.
"I have had Americans say 'How can you put a suicide bomber on the same board as the Twin Towers?' and I have said 'Look, this is reality, like it or not'
Fide Rated Here are the final results of the 1st Fide rated tournament exclusively for Cebuano players held at Deep Blue in SM City.
Champion -IM KimSteven Yap (2399) 7 2. IM Enrico Sevillano (2510) 6.5 3.Eden Diano (2058) 6 4. Rommel Ganzon (2053) 5.5 5. NM Eric Gloria (2336) 5 6. Richard Natividad (2098) 5 7. FM Anthony Makinano (2320) 3 8. Voltaire Sevillano (2334) 2.5 9. Rogelio Enriquez (2279) 2.5 10. NM Merben Roque (2294) 2.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Fide rated tournament among Cebuanos

2011-06-26T00:05:00.000+08:00

A fide rated tournament among Cebuano players has never happened before and is as rare the Cebu Flowerpecker.

If you are familiar with birds, the Cebu Flowerpecker (Dicaeum quadricolor) was presumed extinct since 1906 but it was rediscovered by a birdwatcher in 1992 in the forests of barangay Tabunan – part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape – in Cebu City, and has been spotted only a handful of times since. It is considered one of the rarest bird in the world.

We had fide rated tournaments before like the zonals in the CICC in Mandaue in 2007 and the Cepa-Cifya sponsored Cebu Grandmasters tournament in 1992 but these included mostly foreigners.

The Cebu City Masters Tournament has 2 stages-eliminations and finals.

The eliminations was held at the OPASCOR bldg rooftop last Jun 20. There were 36 participants and the qualifiers were Eden Diano,Richard Natividad ,Rogelio Enriquez and Rommel Ganzon.

The four will join the six FIDE rated players ; International Master Enrico 'Econg' Sevillano, a native of Tuburan, with 2510 ( a grandmaster-strength rating)(Econg has already 1 GM norm to his credit); International Master Steven Kim Yap - 2399; National Master Eric Gloria, a FIDE trainer now based in Singapore with 2336; Voltaire Sevillano, younger brother of Econg who is untitled but has a high FIDE rating of 2334; Anthony Makinano, a FIDE Master's(FM) title to his name with a rating of 2320; and National Master Merben Roque - 2294.

The ten players will play a single round robin with at least 3 hours per game and 2 games per day for 5 straight days . It should be noted that in a round robin tournament, in order for the tournament to be FIDE rated, the minimum FIDE requirement is 10 players with 6 players FIDE rated and four unrated.

The games are now on-going at Deep Blue in SM City.

This tournament is organized by the Cebu Chess federation and sponsored by the Cebu City government.

Rare pilgrimage- Cepca president, Manny Manzanares, is on a rare journey on a motorbike to celebrate his 62nd birthday and by honoring Jose Rizal 150th birth anniversary and to play chess at Rizal Park in luneta.

He started in Talisay,to Cebu City then on a ferry to Ormoc City. From Ormoc to Tacloban then across the San Juanico Bridge to Catbalogan City.

He then went to Calbayog,and Allen in Samar, rode a ferry to Matnog and then on to Sorsogon City.

He then proceeded to Legaspi then Naga and the Bicol region to Pamplona,Camarines Norte,on to Quezon province to San Pablo then Calamba, Laguna the birthplace of Rizal. From there ,he proceeded to Luneta to play chess!

Attaboy Manny!

Oriental Poker Clubs' 1 Million Guaranteed Poker Derby in Parkmall was a huge success! Entries with buyins of P25,000 included 44 players from professionals to poker enthusiasts. The list also consisted of international players from United States such as Steve Hennings, Robert Browning and Shaun.

Korean players were Park Yaehbon, Bobo, Brian, Frank, Noma and Arnold Kwon. Also a Japanese national Shin Siguira . locals to mention a few are : Paeng Escano, Wacky Salud, former cepca president Ben Dimaano, Mike Lacson, JR Vasquez and of course the 1st placer Dodo Soco. Tournament started at 5:30pm and ended at 12:35am, roughly 7 hours duration.

Here are the final table: 1st Dodo Soco P450,000 ;2nd Noma P250,000 ;3rd Arnold Kwon P175,000 ;4th Arnold Gonzaludo P125,000 ;5th Adrian Jaime P33,000 ;6th Wilfredo "Snake" Simmons P33,000 ;7th Presley Chiong P1,800 Bonus Bet;8th Park Yaehbon P1,800 Bonus Bet;9th Mike Lacson P1,800 Bonus Bet;10th Gel Bolingo P1,800 Bonus Bet.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Two eccentrics and a chess game

2011-06-17T23:17:00.000+08:00

THE eccentric Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited an old friend and fellow eccentric—Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi--in Tripoli last June 11 and 12 , to play chess and boost his morale.

Ilyumzhinov has a seven-year close relationship with Gaddafi, who in 2004 sponsored the Fide World Chess Championship in Libya.

Win US $500 cash in Sun.Star’s music video contest

Kirsan once claimed to have been abducted by aliens and taken aboard their spaceship.

Gaddafi is struggling to hang on to power in the war torn in Libya, and the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for his arrest for crimes against humanity.

Ilyumzhinov said he had found Gaddafi “quite healthy and adequate.” He also said the Libyan leader told him that he was ready for immediate talks with Nato and the Benghazi representatives but had no intention to step down or leave the country.

“I am neither premier nor president nor king,” Interfax quoted Gaddafi as saying during the meeting. “I do not hold any post in Libya and therefore I have no position that I should give up.”

Gaddafi, referred to simply as “the Leader,” indeed has no official position in the Libyan government. However, he has wielded near-supreme power for 42 years in the North African nation.

The visit of the Fide president Ilyumzhinov to Gaddafi has caused such a storm of protest that Fide has released a press release to tone down the controversy.

“I was asked to visit Libya this weekend and I was satisfied that chess could play such a critical role in this time of crisis. I had serious meetings regarding the objectives I had set and I am proud that FIDE could contribute to the peace process in the region and the world. It is therefore unfortunate that some people are trying to use this trip to wrongfully politicize the situation in Fide and I am asking everybody to show complete solidarity for the peace efforts in Libya.”

BOY WONDER. Wesley So finished in a 3-way tie for first place in the 19th Annual Sigeman Chess Championship in Malmo, Sweden with Anish Giri of the Netherlands and
Hans Tikkanen of Sweden. He had 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss for 3 points.

It was a hi-low performance by Wesley as he defeated the highest-ranked player, Alexei Shirov and lost to the lowest rated player, Tikkanen.

Wesley will be playing in a big tournament in India, the inaugural AAI Grandmasters Chess Tournament, which will start on June 21.

The center of attraction is World Women champion Hou Yifan and a tough test for her as it is a category 17 with World Junior No.1 Fabiano Caruana of Italy, Czech Republic No. 2 Viktor Laznicka, India No. 2 Krishnan Sasikiran and the reigning Indian National Champion Parimarjan Negi aside from So.

The tournament will offer a total prize money of $24,500. The winner takes $8,000, while the runner-up will receive $6,000. The purse for the next four finishers will be $4,000, $3,000, $2,000 and $1,500.

New GM. Julio Catalino Sadorra of Cavite is now officially a grandmaster.

“I can’t reduce my success to a formula, but it comes down to hard work and faith,” said Sadorra, a sophomore majoring in applied mathematics at the University of Texas-Dallas, USA.

The 25-year-old Sadorra achieved his third and final GM norm in the UT Dallas Grandmaster Invitational when he beat Grandmaster Alexander Shabalov in Round 10 last March.

Oriental Poker Club. The P1 million guaranteed pot starts tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Parkmall in Mandaue with the champion taking home P500,000. Buy-in is P25,000. For details contact Mona at 09158533836.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 17, 2011.

Poker: gambling or sport?

2011-06-11T01:53:00.000+08:00

Of all the forms of gambling, poker is one of the most complex and sophisticated, and because there is the ability to win even with a bad hand, there is much more skill involved.

It is a game that, over a long period of time, will always reward the more skilled player.

That is why there are professional poker players who depend on the game as a livelihood just like chess.

And so, even if you can't accept poker as a sport, it has to be accepted as a legitimate form of competition in which talent overrides luck.

Texas hold 'em is the most popular poker card game in Cebu and across North America and Europe, as well as online. It is a community card game where each player may use any combination of the five community cards and the player's own two hole cards to make a poker hand,

Because each player starts with only two cards and the remaining cards are shared, it is an excellent game for strategic analysis.

Metro Card in Mandaue recently had the Sharpe Classic P500,000 guaranteed tournament with a buyin of P5,500.

Here are the winners (in pesos): 1st: Anthony Song 147,500 2nd: Gerry Campo 85,000 3rd: Jett Latonio 60,000 4th: John Ruiz 50,000 5th: Joey Agustin 42,500 6th: John Ong 32,500 7th: Anthony Feliciano 22,500 8th: Ray Martin 17,500 9th: Jed Neri 12,500 10th: Taino Tenney 10,000 11th: Sonny Ugalde 10,000 12th: Rafael Escano 10,000.
The All In Poker Sports Club, located at Cebu’s Waterfront Hotel & Casino, is holding its Anniversary Series of Poker this month from June 20-27, 2011. The packed schedule will include a PHP 1 million guaranteed prize pool Main Event, which has been accredited by the Asian Poker Tour (APT) and is sure to attract the Philippines’ best poker players.
Players sitting down at the tables for the PHP 5500 buy-in Main Event of the All In Anniversary Series of Poker can be confident that the event will be run to according to the same protocol that has made the APT such a trusted tournament series.

“We’ve had a great partnership with the All In Poker Sports Club previously with the launch of our APT Asian Series Cebu tournament and are very happy to continue our association with the professional team there,” said Jeff Mann, CEO of the Asia Poker Tour.
Also The new Oriental Poker Sports Club in Parkmall ,Mandaue has also a P1,000,000 tournament this month with a buyin of P25,000 limited to 40 players. 1st prize is an amazing P500,000.
Plus they have freerolls (no buyin) that keep them coming.
Also remember that it is a special night for ladies tomorrow at Parkmall as they pay only P200 , convertible to cash game chips while gentlemen pay P500. Guaranteed pot is P15,000.
Also try your luck at Diamond Club beside the Grand Convention Center as they have affordable buyins and the lady dealers are a sight to behold and even prettier lady players.
Sigeman.The 19th Sigeman Chess Tournament is set to take place today up to the 13th in Malmö, Sweden.
The format is 6-player round robin and features Alexei Shirov (ESP 2709) and the world's top juniors namely Anish Giri (NED 2687) and our Wesley So( PHI 2667).
Completing the 6 man event are Sweden`s top players : Jonny Hector 2585, Hans Tikkanen 2560 and Nils Grandelius 2541
MICA.The "Mactan Island Chess Association" or "MICA" is organizing a tournament on June 17 1pm to be held in the park under the new bridge titled Singkwenta na Chess Tournament .
The occasion is the 50th Charter Day of Lapulapu City and has 3 sections: A,B and Kiddies.
Sponsor is councillor Harry Radaza and MICA. Prizes are cash and medals.
The president of MICA is Galileo Roma Jr who is a good poker player.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Gelfand wins Candidates matches

2011-06-11T01:51:00.000+08:00

There are a lot of information in this article so I will be as brief as possible.

The biggest news is that Gelfand wins the right to challenge Anand in 2012!

To review, Levon Aronian(2808) of Armenia and Veselin Topalov (2775) of Bulgaria (2775),the big favorites, were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Alexander Grischuk (2747 Russia) and Gata Kamsky(2732 USA).

In the other matches, Vladimir Kramnik (Russia 2785) and Boris Gelfand (Israel 2733) prevailed over Teimour Radjabov (2744) and Shakriyar Mamedyarov (2772) both of Azerbaijan.

In the semis, Gelfand downed Kamsky while Grischuk clobbered Kramnik.

In the finals Gelfand won the last of six games with a novelty in a Gruenfeld and became the oldest man at the age of 42 to compete in the World Chess Championship.

In the Asean Zonals in Tagaytay , GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia edged GM Rogelio "Joey" Antonio Jr. of the Philippines in the ninth and final round to finish seven points and emerged over-all champion.

Mark Paragua, on the other hand nipped IM Goh Weiming of Singapore to score 6.5 points and finish in a tie for 2nd to 4th place with top seed GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore, and IM Richard Bitoon of Cebu, but won via tiebreak points for the last final berth in the World Cup in Russia.
Earlier in Subic, India showed why they are a world power in chess by dominating the Asian Youth Chess Championship winning 10 gold medals out of a possible 12! The other two gold medals were taken by Philippines and Iran in the Men Under 16 and Under 12 respectively.
India completely ruled the Girls section by winning Gold in all 6 girls age groups.
WSOP The biggest spectacle in poker, the 42nd World series known as the “Woodstock for Poker”, started last Wednesday in Las Vegas up to the main event in July 7 that is expected to attract more than 70,000 players from 115 countries.
The event features 58 distinct tournaments in all variations of poker and totals more than $180 million in prizes. This is more than the total prize money for one year in chess worldwide.
Buyin ranges from $500 to $50,000. In addition cash games are held on a 24 hour basis throughout the period.
Every year, PokerListings releases its list of Best Bets for the World Series of Poker. . "Frankly, our predictions have been less than accurate," writes a spokesperson. "That’s why this year we’re taking the shotgun approach, aiming at groups in hopes of scoring a few hits." So PokerListings decided to go with – chess players! "If there is a group of people more prepared for success at the 2011 World Series of Poker than chess players, PokerListings hasn’t found it."
"Historically, chess players have proven the transition to poker to be a profitable one".1995 WSOP Main Event champ and two-time finalist Dan Harrington is among those who played chess before he turned to poker, as is 2008 November Niner Ylon Schwartz, IM Almira Skripchenko and Dinara Khaziyeva and child chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer.

Oriental Poker Club Poker is a phenomenon also in Cebu.
Making waves in the local scene is the newest club in town,the Oriental Poker Sports Club,located in Parkmall in Mandaue.
They have a unique Ladies nights on June 4 and 11 with a 15k guaranteed .Ladies buyin is only P200 that is converted into cash game chips. Gentlemen pay P500.

The Club also has 10k Freerolls ( no buyin) on June 6, 8 and 9. 50% of the prizes are cash game chips.

All tournaments start at 5pm.

Sometime in June, they will have a P1 million guaranteed tourney limited to 40 players with a buyin of 25k. Champion wins P500k and 2nd and 3rd takes home P300k and P200k respectively.Wow!
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Goodbye to a good friend

2011-05-27T16:08:00.000+08:00

OUR talented journalist and chess player KC Morala sent in this report about the Palarong Pambansa.

The Cviraa chess team brought home not one but three team trophies and three medals in one of the most exciting events of the year, the 2011 Palarong Pambansa in Dapitan City just recently.

The team was composed of eight players, all from Cebu-- Allan Pason and Felix Shaun Balbona in the secondary boys, Roxanne Tampus and Keith Claire Carlisle Morala for the secondary girls, Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano and John Francis Balbona for the elementary boys and Vic Glysen Derotas and Honey Mae Panonce for the elementary girls.

Pason made an extravagant performance after finishing as silver medalist with 5.5 points, losing only to NMRAA. F.S. Balbona got 4.5 points, and, with their victories combined, they placed third overall.

Both Sevillano and J.F. Balbona lost to NCR, which placed first, and the two grade school players made up for it by seizing second place in their category.

Though Morala was defeated by Cavraa in her first round, she did well in her next six rounds, even though she lost to IRAA. Tampus was also doing good in her first two rounds, unfortunately, her last five rounds were not in her favor.

Third-grade Derotas and Panonce also did well in their category, placing third, while Panonce won the silver in the individual standing.

SRP Open. FM Anthony Makinano staged his own unique comeback in the SRP Chess Open for this year’s Cebu Sports Festival held at the South Road Properties, from May 20 to 22, 2011.

As players from different the sports in the Cebu Sports Festival arrived at their respective venues, there was excitement among the 100 participating youngsters and veterans as they waited for the chess tournament to be officially open.

The event began with a seven-round tourney to determine the top 16, the next round of games, which will follow the knockout format.

FM Makinano, who was already seeded to the final rounds of the top 16 with IM Kim Steven Yap for being highest rated persons present in Cebu, won the title after defeating NM Merben Roque in the finals.

The FIDE Master didn’t get the chance to face IM Yap as the latter was whitewashed by Rommel Ganzon on the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, in the Kiddies Category, Felix Shaun Balbona and Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano tied for first and second places with five points apiece, with Allan Pason as the solo third placer. Those who had four points were Aldritz Pondoyo, Jeffu Dorog, Christian Pondoyo, Adrian Basiligo and Duane Borgonia.

On the other hand, Airene Robillos was the solo first placer with 4.5 pts, while Quennie Cablao and Jessa Balbona shared the 2nd and 3rd places in the Ladies Category.

Hazel Sato and KC Morala were the fourth placers.

GERRY OUANO. One of the most active member of Cepca passed away recently, at the age of 46. It was a big surprise to us as a few days earlier, we were having the time of our lives celebrating Dante Arguelles birthday.

Being a civil engineer and a successful contractor, Gerry was always there with a helping hand in all our big projects.

His loving wife Evelyn and chess-playing children, Kryztelle Kaytte and Donn Gerard, will miss him.

His parents are Eulogio and Estrella Ouano. Brothers are Davy and Joel and sisters are Cherry, Annette, Rowena and Rosemarie.

Interment will be on May 29 at Grosmar Memorial Park in Mandaue City after the 1 p.m. Requiem mass at San Isidro Parish in Talisay City.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 27, 2011.

Oriental Poker Sports Club

2011-05-22T00:01:00.000+08:00

Like the rest of the world ,poker is growing by leaps and bounds. A testament to its increasing popularity in Cebu is the opening of a new club to accommodate the increasing number of new players.

Everytime I play, I see new faces and a lot of them are women. Poker players are requesting me “adopt” the game and to cover big events .

The new kid on the block is Oriental Poker Sports Club located at Casino Filipino,2nd floor ,Parkmall ,Mandaue City. The location is easily accessible and parking is safe and secured.

This is the 5th Poker Club in Metro Cebu. The others are All-in in Waterfront Lahug, Metro Card also in Mandaue, Tulip in Mactan and Diamond Club beside the Grand Convention Center.

Grand opening of Oriental is tomorrow May 21. They started right by featuring a Free Roll tournament (no buy-in).

The guaranteed pot is 30K and registration is on a first come, first serve basis.

Eat-all-you-can Lechon Fiesta dinner will also be served.

I will be playing tomorrow with my daughter ,Zarah, and my chess buddy Nicnic Climaco. Coming with me are lovebirds Joe “Phoenix” Luna and Cindy Yap. Poker buddies Keith Coyoga and Jessie Ruiz will also be playing.

For more details on this and upcoming tournaments and events ,contact Joey Barbas @0917-3202695, operations manager or Mona @ 0915-8533836-floor manager.

Gelfand and Grischuk in finals The Candidates matches is taking place from May 4-26 in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. 8 top rated players are vying for the right to challenge Vishy Anand for the 2012 World Championship match.

Levon Aronian (Armenia), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) and Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) were knocked out in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-finals, Alexander Grischuk (Russia) won against Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) after a rapid and blitz tiebreak thriller.

In the other semis Boris Gelfand beat Gata Kamsky (USA) also in the rapid and blitz tiebreaks.

To review, time controls in the regular games are 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. In case of a tie there will be four rapid chess games, and if the tie is still not broken then up to five two-game blitz matches 5'+3". Finally there may be a sudden-death final decider.

The Grischuk-Gelfand final was not expected. When a survey was made on a leading website prior to the matches less than 10% of the readers expected anyone of them making it.

The finals will be played in 6 regular games plus tiebreaks if necessary.

Asian Championship The 10th Asian Continental Individual Championship and First Asian Individual Blitz Championship (Open and Women's) took place from May 1-11 in Mashhad, Iran.

GM Wesley So had 2 final draws against GMs Bu Xiangzhi of China and Parimarjan Negi of India and finished in a tie for ninth to 12th places .

So, one of five Filipinos entered in the prestigious, nine-round tournament, had too many draws ,as usual, with 5.5 points on three wins, five draws and only one loss.

Wesley, who was seeded third in the 50-player field, finished a full point behind GMs Pentala Harikrishna of India, Yu Yangyi of China and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam.

The top four players – P. Harikrishna , Y. Yu , N.N. Truong Son and R. Jumabayev (Kazakhstan) -earned the right to play in the 2011 World Chess Cup scheduled in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia later this year.

As a consolation though, Wesley tied for 1st -3rd in the blitz competition.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Believe it or not

2011-05-17T12:52:00.000+08:00

Remember Ripley`s Believe it or not? It was syndicated for a long time not only in print media but also on radio and TV about bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers question its authenticity.

It has been commonly accepted for about a decade that computers are better than people at chess. But a couple of weeks ago, a widely circulated story out of Ukraine suggested that a man who learned to play the game less than a year ago had beaten the world’s best chess program.

According to the press release the man “Andriy Slusarchulk beat Rybka 4 , the strongest and smartest commercially available program in the world , in a two-game match, winning one and drawing the other. He not only won, he played what is known as blindfold chess, meaning he called out his moves and had the computer’s relayed to him. The match was taped in front of an audience and broadcast on television.
Slyusarchuk claims to be a genius. He says he has memorized 20,000 books and can recite pi to 30 million decimal places. And he was widely quoted in newspaper, television and Web site reports as saying he had memorized 3,000 chess books in eight months — more than 12 a day — in preparation for his match against Rybka.”
Andriy Slyusarchuk does not apply for the title of grandmaster. He just wanted to show the audience that the potential of the human brain is incredible. Slyusarchuk is an amateur in chess playing – he is a 39 year old neurosurgeon who specializes in studying the brain as well as improving memory.
If he recited digits of Pi at one digit per second, day and night, 24-hours a day without a break, it would take him about one year to get to the 30 millionth digit. Still, both these claims pale in comparison to the idea of a chess amateur reading three thousand books and then beating Rybka blindfold.
In another demonstration of his abilities, he “memorized” where pieces were on 80 boards in 41/2 mins and then had a grandmaster move a piece on four of them, which he had to identify .
Cepca vs Lapulapu A 10 board match was played last weekend in kawayan Grill in Mabolo and Cepca won ,just barely. The score was 10.5-9.5.
Here are the game results: board 1. Jojo Muralla- Ramil Resuera 2-0 2. Dante Arguelles-Aldwin Daculan 1-1 3. Mike Banebane- Alvin Rigodon 1.5-0.5 4. Manny Manzanares- Judy Tamala 2-0 5. Mandy Baria-Amado Olea 1-1 6. Gerry Ouano-Norman Olayvar 1.5-0.5 7. John Dunne-Dodong Ferrer 0-2 8. Fabio Abucejo-Wynard Abucejo 1-1 9. Mat Matuco- Jerome Moncopa 1-1 10. Ely Berciles-Caesar Fewrnandez 0-2.
This is the 8th straight year that both clubs have met and the tournament director and arbiter was Jun Olis who is a member of both clubs.
Candidates Matches The FIDE Candidates matches are being held in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, from May 5-26 with eight strong GMs competing to qualify as Challenger for the 2012 World Champion match vs Viswanathan Anand.
The total prize fund of the candidates matches is 500,000 Euros.
The quarterfinals is over and the big surprise is the elimination of the top favorite,Levon Aronian (2808) of Armenia by Alexander Grischuk (2747) of Russia via tiebreaks 3.5-4.5.
Another big surprise was Gata Kamsky (2732) of the USA prevailing over veteran Veselin Topalov (2775) of Bulgaria 2.5-1.5.
Boris Gelfand (2733) of Israel also won over Shak Mamedyarov (2772) of Azerbaijan and Vladimir Kramnik (2785) of Russia over Teimour Radjabov (2744), also of Azerbaijan, which was decided by blitz games.
The semifinals pit Kamsky vs Gelfand and Kramnik against Grischuk which were being played starting yesterday.

Candidates matches

2011-05-07T00:09:00.000+08:00

THE Fide candidates matches started yesterday, May 5, in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. Eight players will fight for the chance to be the next challenger for Vishy Anand’s world title. We will know the challenger on May 25, when the candidates matches finish.

Rustam Minnikhanov, president of the Republic of Tatarstan, assured that the Matches will be organized on the highest level and thanked the Fide leadership for their choice of Kazan as the venue.

The competition consists of a series of short knockout matches, with the quarterfinals and semifinals played over four games, and the final over six games.

The time control will be 40 moves in two hours, followed by 20 moves in an hour, and then 15 minutes plus a 30-second increment for the remainder of the game.

If matches finish all-square, there will be tie-breaks of four games at a rate of 25 minutes plus 10-second increment. If scores are still level, there will be pairs of blitz games at a rate of 5 minutes plus three-second increment. If the scores are still level after 5 pairs of blitz games, then there will be a sudden-death game (5 minutes vs. 4 minutes, with a three-second increment after move 60).

The pairings are: Veselin Topalov (2775) vs. Gata Kamsky (2732); Vladimir Kramnik (2785) vs. Teimour Radjabov (2744); Levon Aronian (2808) vs. Alexander Grischuk (2747) and Boris Gelfand (2733) vs. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2772).

The players were chosen based on the following criteria: Topalov (lost to Anand in the last World Championship match); Kamsky (runner up to Topalov in the last qualifying cycle); Gelfand (winner of the 2009 World Cup); Aronian (winner of the Grand Prix Series); Radjabov (runner-up of the Grand Prix Series); Grischuk (third in the Grand Prix Series); Kramnik (next highest rated not otherwise qualified); Mamedyarov (wildcard)

Magnus Carlsen had qualified by virtue of his high rating, but sensationally declined to take part and was replaced by Grischuk. Mamedyarov was the wildcard choice of the original hosts Azerbaijan, and he still keeps his place despite the controversial change in venue.

Quarterfinal losers get €30,000, semifinal losers get €60,000 and finalists get €90,000 each.

A poll on chess.com currently puts Aronian as favourite (38 percent), followed by Kramnik (25) and Topalov (20). Will there be a shock winner?

DAVAO AGE GROUP. Here is the report of our Kiddie journalist KC Morala who was one of the participants: After mind-boggling yet exhausting battle among their respective categories, young Cebuano chess enthusiasts Vladimir Robillos and Jeremy Pepito finished as second placers in the Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-2011 National Age-Group Chess Championships held in Gaisano Mall from April 25 to 28.

Robillos bagged the second place in the Boys 8-under Category after four victories and a loss, while Pepito seized second place in the Boys 10-under Category with four wins and one setback. Both boys will be sent to Tarakan, Indonesia to represent the Philippines in the ASean Age-Group Chess Championship.

Six other players also finished in the top 10: Chris Aldritz Pondoyo (fourth, Boys 10-under), Vic Glysen Derotas (fourth, Girls 10-under), Laila Camel Nadera (third, Girls 12-under), USJ-R’s Felix Shaun Balbona (sixth, Boys 14-under), KeithClaire Calisle Morala (fifth, Girls 14-under) and Jessa Balbona (third, girls 20-under).

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 06, 2011.

Cebu kiddies invade Davao

2011-04-29T20:50:00.000+08:00

NATIONAL Master Roger Abella sent me this report:

Davao City becomes the country’s chess capital for almost two weeks with the staging of the much-awaited Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-2011 National Age-Group chess championships on April 25 to 28 and the National Junior chess championships on April 29 to May 3 at the Gaisano and NCCC Malls.

Do you know where to buy the cheapest rice in Metro Cebu? Join our discussion on Facebook.

The national age-group championships will serve as qualifying events for the Asean age group tournament in Tarakan, Indonesia on June 11-20, while the national junior championships will be the qualifying event for the World Juniors in New Delhi, India on Aug. 1-16.

In the age-group categories, the tournament is divided into the following categories boys and girls 20-Under, 16-Under, 14-Under, 12-Under, 10-under, and 8-under.

The Cebu City chess delegation, sponsored by the Cebu City government, is now in Davao City for the Age Group Competitions. Players will play in both tournaments, the Age-Group and the National Juniors. Fide Arbiters Marvin Ruelan and Felix Poloyapoy accompanied the delegation.

The Cebu players selected by the Cebu Chess Federation are Renzi Kyle Sevillano, Allan Pason, Jeremy Pepito, Chris Aldritz Pondoyo, Christian Pondoyo, Vic Glysen Derotas, Diego Claro, Jhoronnie Gayl Bontes, Glexan Derotas, Aireen Rubillos, Yves Fiel, Laila Nadera, Jeffu Dorog, Glazel Villarin, Ryan Fernando, my kiddie journalist,KC Morala and the Balbona siblings Felix Shaun, Jessa Marie, John Francis, James Andrew and Marq Gabrielle.

KC will write about the details of both tournaments and will be featured next week in this column.

OTHER LOCAL NEWS. The Cepca vs. Lapu-Lapu chess club friendly match now on its eighth
year, will be on May 7 at the Kawayan Grill in Mabolo starting at 1pm.

The format will be 15 boards, with two games per board, and the time control is 1 hour per player, play to finish.

Cepca prexy Manny Manzanares and Judy Tamala of Lapu-Lapu will lead their respective clubs.

The Talisay Summer Chess Clinic is now on-going at the Talisay City Hall and is both for beginners and advanced players.

Lessons are about the opening, middle-game tactics and end-game techniques. There are free t-shirts and chess materials for participants. For details, contact Manny Manzanares at 09058386310.

The Talisay Chess Club recently had an election and the new officers are Gamaliel Vicente Jr. (president), Virgilio Villavelez (vice president), Valeriano Daria (treasurer), Manny Manzanares (secretary general), Siegfred Sandalo (auditor).

HBO. A new film about the American chess genius entitled “Bobby Fischer Against The World” debuted at the Sundance Film Festival recently and is now due for a wider release after Music Box Films announced that they have bought the theatrical distribution rights.

The HBO-backed film will premiere on HBO this June 6 before a wider theatrical release in the US. It will also be released in Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand .

The film is a co-production of HBO Documentary Film and LM Media GmbH and is produced and directed by Liz Garbus. Watch for it.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 29, 2011

Fischer: The most brilliant idiot

2011-04-15T08:03:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

Friday, April 15, 2011

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DEFINING intelligence is controversial. Wikipedia describes it as a general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely a narrow academic skill, or scoring high in tests.

The World Chess Federation has initiated a program known as Chess in Schools because countless studies have shown that playing chess at an early age improves the IQ or intelligence of a child.

Through chess, children learn analytical and disciplined thinking skills, which are applicable to many other intellectual pursuits.

Chess is also extremely beneficial in raising self-esteem, teaching determination, self-motivation and sportsmanship.

More than any other game, chess has the potential to transform a child. If taught correctly, chess can be a student’s driving force, helping him/her in every aspect of critical thinking development.

It has been shown that “individuals with low IQs are more likely to be divorced, have a child out of marriage, be incarcerated, and need long-term welfare support, while individuals with high IQs are associated with more years of education, higher status jobs and higher income.”

I am defining the general IQ and it is important to realize that there are specific intelligence that defines a person’s abilities.

The intelligence that makes a good businessman is not the same as the intelligence that makes a good engineer, which in turn, is not the same as the intelligence which makes a good mathematician or a good doctor.

Please bear in mind that I am not saying that if you play chess, you must be intelligent. I’ve known people who were very intelligent but couldn’t play chess at all. And I’ve seen people who were not very bright but are excellent chess players .

I don’t know if I am intelligent because I play chess or whether I play chess because I am intelligent.

A person can be a brilliant chess player and a complete idiot also. Bobby Fischer, who had an IQ of 180, is a horrible example of this.

Some sources give “Garry Kasparov, considered by chess historians as the greatest player of all time, an IQ between 185 and 190. But in 1987-88, the German magazine Der Spiegel went to considerable effort and expense to find out Kasparov’s IQ. Under the supervision of an international team of psychologists, Kasparov was given a large battery of tests designed to measure his memory, spatial ability, and abstract reasoning. They measured his IQ as 135 and his memory as one of the very best.”

I think that chess probably attracts people who have an inquiring mind and enjoy problem solving so chess players may be more intelligent on average (by the IQ measure) than non-chess playing people.

Spatial intelligence is crucial for chess thinking. It’s the ability to “perceive possibilities.” This is important because you not only need to know what (a system of knowledge) but also know how (the system of experience).

Also, researchers have determined that high achievement in chess is based on exceptional visual memory, combinational power, speed of calculation, power of concentration, and logical thinking.

Some sources say the adult with the highest IQ who ever lived was Leonardo da Vinci, with an IQ of 220 and he was not only a chess player but a composer of chess problems.

Here is a look at how intelligent Filipinos are: 14,000,000 have an IQ of above 115, 2,000,000 above 130, 90,000 above 145 and only 270 above 160.

All the other Filipinos, totaling about 74,000,000, have or will have an IQ below 115.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 16, 2011

Hooks vs. rooks

2011-04-08T18:26:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

Chessmoso

Friday, April 8, 2011

THERE is a bizarre sport and it features a battle of hooks and rooks and wits and fists.

It’s called chess-boxing and it seems odd to see the two terms in one sentence, much less a single word.

A chess-boxing match starts with both opponents playing blitz chess for four minutes.

If no one wins, they move to the boxing ring where they try to knock each other out during a three-minute round.

If neither are able to, they break for a minute, then hit the chess board again.

In this way, they alternate (there can be up to 11 rounds) until there’s a winner.

Victory, in a standard format, is achieved by checkmate, having the opponent run out of time, or by knocking the opponent out.

Here’s an interesting rule: if the judges’ scores are tied, the one playing with the black pieces wins automatically

It’s a hybrid sport between one that’s considered geeky and one that’s considered macho.

A really strange juxtaposition.

The sport traces its origins to a 1992 comic book by French artist Enki Bilal, “Froid Equateu.”

The comic, which depicted the hybrid sport, inspired Dutch artist Lepe Rubing to make it happen for real.

Competing under name “Lepe the Joker,” Rubingh staged and won an exhibition match in Amsterdam he billed as the “Chess-boxing Middleweight World Championship.”

Rubing said the contest favors the athlete who is clever and strong.

“There is no sport that combines mental and physical aspects, so when I came up with the idea, I was immediately intrigued because it combines mental and physical capabilities,” he said.

Since then, the sport has spread across Europe, become particularly popular in chess-loving Russia, and has started popping up in the United States.

There’s even a governing body called the World Chess Boxing Association, whose tagline is “Fighting is done in the ring, and wars are waged on the board,” and is based in Berlin.

Some of the game’s biggest names include wonderfully titled characters such as Frank “Anti-Terror” Stoldt and Nikolay “The Chairman” Sazhin.

A lot of chess players who are also interested in physical fitness, joined the chess-boxing group.

“You get more fulfilled doing something that involves your mind and your body.

You have a sense of being more well-rounded.”

To avoid incidents where competitors with not the slightest interest in chess could simply batter their opponents after one round of chess, participants must be both experienced pugilists and good chess players.

Any prospective competitors must have an Elo rating of at least 1800, which apparently takes years of training to achieve.

Surprisingly, however, these “dual stars” are more plentiful than you might think

Also, promoters try to make each match relatively balanced.

In the chess portion, a weaker player might start with more time on his clock.

And in boxing, a more experienced player might be instructed to use just one hand, keeping the other behind his back.

Chess-boxing has quite a few high profile admirers.

Former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is a fan and so is Ukrainian boxer, Vitali Klitschko.

Indeed, prior to a World Championship fight between the pair in Los Angeles in 2005, Klitschko actually challenged Lewis to a game of chess before they traded blows.

They are both good chess players and are rated over 1900.

Back in the 60s I was a fan of Francisco “Kid” Balug who was the OPBF champion for some time and whose fame to eternal glory is a bread called Francis, which was made popular by Elite Bakery.

Balug is a good chess player who plays at the Colonnade Chess Club and regularly gives me a good massage at home.

Another boxer who is a good chess player is the current sensation Manny Pacquiao.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 09, 2011.

The seven wonders of the chess world

2011-04-01T02:15:00.000+08:00

LIKE the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, the Temple of Diana at Ephesus and the Colossus of Rhodes, chess has its own wonders.

I am referring to children who play chess so well that they become grandmasters at a very young age and go on to greater excellence.

The magnificent seven are Paul Morphy, Bobby Fischer, Judit Polgar, Sergey Karjakin, Magnus Carlsen, Hou Yifan and Wesley So.

When Fischer became a grandmaster in 1958 at 15 years 6 months and 1 day, experts predicted at that time that the record would not be broken in 50 years.

It wasn’t to be as 33 years later, a girl, Judit Polgar of Hungary, achieved full GM status at 15 years, 4 months and 28 days .

Since then, due to GM title inflation, it has become less difficult to achieve it. Now, 29 children, and counting, have beaten Fischer’s record.

According to one researcher, ratings inflated by about 100 points between 1985 and 2000 and it is still growing.

This means that if Fischer would be rated today, he would be kissing 2900. On the other hand, Paul Morphy’s rating was not officially listed as the rating system started in 1950 and Morphy was playing a century before.

Nevertheless, Morphy is listed as the unofficial World Champion during his time and Fischer considered him to be the greatest player of all. Coming from the supreme egoist in chess, it sure means a lot.

Judit Polgar is a phenomenon. She is undeniably the best women’s player in history and at one time was rated no.8 in the world. Motherhood has drastically cut her playing schedule but she is the only woman in the top 100 now at no.51.

Judit could have become GM much earlier as her rating was already a whopping 2555 when she was 12 (after her unbelievable 2694 performance in the 1988 Thessaloniki Olympiad). She is also the youngest top 100 player in history.

The official record for the youngest GM belongs to Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine at 12 years and 7 months. His FIDE rating at the time was 2523. Today (March 2011) Sergey is a top grandmaster, ranked sixth in the world, with a 2776 rating that is climbing steadily.

One extraordinary chess prodigy came close to breaking Karjakin`s record. In 2004 Magnus Carlsen of Norway completed his GM norms, eight months later than Karjakin.

Carlsen, at 18, went on to become the top-ranked player in the world, crossing the magic 2800 mark--the youngest player by far to achieve these feats.

Carlsen was the highest ever rated player at the age of 15, while Karjakin is the third strongest among 16 year olds.

Where does Wesley So come in?

Wesley was the strongest 14-year-old in history!

He achieved the GM title at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days, making him the seventh-youngest person to achieve the GM title.

Wesley is a diamond with some edges that needs cutting and polishing from a good tutor.

Wesley’s world ranking now is 64th. He also previously was the strongest Under-16 player in the world. He is currently ranked the sixth highest junior (Under-20) in the world. His current FIDE rating is 2665.

Hou Yifan is the youngest ever female player to qualify for the title of Grandmaster.

At the age of 12, she became the youngest player to participate at the FIDE Women’s World Championship (Yekaterinburg 2006).

In 2010, she became the youngest World Chess Champion in history (men’s or women’s) by winning the Women’s World Championship in Hatay, Turkey at 16.

Lapu-Lapu Chess Club. The club held a tournament among its members last weekend and the champion was Henry Infante followed by Aldwin Daculan and Allan Pason.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 01, 2011.

New Pinoy grandmaster

2011-03-25T23:29:00.000+08:00

A NEW grandmaster is always big news. Julio Catalino Sadorra is the country’s 14th chess grandmaster.

This was revealed just recently by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., who produced eight GMs under his six-year leadership.

The eight are Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Joseph Sanchez, Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla and Roland Salvador.

In the past, it took at least 45 years to produce GMs in the likes of Eugene Torre, the late Rosendo Balinas Jr., Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr., Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II and Mark Paragua.

“Ino (Julio Catalino Sadorra) from Cavite, is assured of his third and final GM norm after beating GM Alex Shabalov in the 10th round of the 2011 University Texas (UT) Dallas Grandmaster International Tournament,” said Pichay.

The tournament was held last week.

He finished with 7.5 points, placing in a three-way tie for second with GM Julio Becerra of the USA and GM Dejan Bojkov of Bulgaria. The 24-year-old Filipino was just 0.5 points adrift of GM Valentin Iotov of Bulgaria, who bagged the title with 8 points.

Sadorra earned his first GM norm during the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup last 2008 and he got his second GM norm during the Battle of GMs in Tagaytay last June 2010.

“I have also crossed the 2500 rating in the live ratings for the first time,” Sadorra informed Pichay via e-mail. This is important as an Elo rating of at least 2500 is
necessary for GM confirmation.

According to Sadorra’s father Bing, Ino continues to represent the Philippines in all his tournaments in the US while pursuing an academic degree at the University of Texas Dallas.

His 2011 summer schedule includes tournaments in the US mainland: Chicago Open, World Open and US Open. Incidentally, he tied for second place in the 2010 US Open, but unfortunately missed his final GM norm because he was not paired against the required number of GMs and titled players.

To the young players, Julio said, “My message to our promising juniors is to hold on to their dreams of becoming a GM. Work on improving your games by studying your games with a master to learn your weaknesses and solve positions that will strengthen them.”

“I would like to start by praising and thanking God who is always in control, even when we think things are going wrong. I almost gave up pursuing my last norm while pursuing my degree (Business Administration)... I kept working on chess whenever I got some free time and trusted that God will let me have the GM title this year, which I’ve been aspiring to achieve since I was 10. With my training and support from loved ones, I played my best on every round. I must say that I’ve never played so solid before,” he said.

Pichay said the NCFP will also “fully support Sadorra’s future tournaments.”

Local news. The Elementary Inter-school chess festival was held at the Ateneo in Manila last March 19 and our kids performed well as expected. Child wonders Kyle Sevillano won third place in the boys section, while Vic Glysen Derotas won the girls’ division.

Glysen was offered an elementary scholarship at Arellano University and a high school scholarship in Ateneo.

The Lapu-Lapu City Chess Club recently elected its new set of officers for 2011. They are Judy Tamala (president), Norman Olaybar (vice-president), Allan Bongolto (secretary), Rolando Torres (treasurer), Aldwin Daculan (PRO), Weynard Labastida (Sgt. at arms). The board members are Dennis Ferrer and Jun Olis.

Chessmoso will induct their new set of officers today.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Chess arbiters and poker dealers

2011-03-19T00:39:00.000+08:00

IN ANY competitive sport, there is always an official who controls the action. In basketball and boxing, they are called the referees and in baseball and tennis, they are called umpires.

They are also called the marshal, arbiter and dealer in golf, chess and poker, respectively.

Arbiters must have thorough knowledge of the laws of chess, the Fide regulations for competitions and the Swiss pairing systems.

Most local tournaments are organized by the Rose Pharmacy Chess Club and are managed by Marvin Ruelan and NM Roger Abella.

Marvin belongs to a family of chess players. His father is the late NM Loloy Ruelan and his relatives are NM Lincoln Yap and IMs Rico Mascarinas and Kimkim Yap. He attended the seminar under the late Manuel Lara and became Fide arbiter in 2007 together with Roger Abella and Louie Navaja.

Abella managed the Arena (Association of Regional Executives) and GCAA (Government agencies) tournaments in the 1990s and early 2000. He was also chief arbiter of the FEBTC and Shell tournaments for almost 10 years.

Louie Navaja manages corporate games and student organizations.

Felix Poloyapoy is secretary of Cepca and handles its tournaments. He also handles Deep Blue Chess Club and out-of-town NCFP tournaments in Tacloban and Davao.

POKER. A poker dealer distributes cards to players and manages the action at a poker table. This includes prodding players to act, verbally announcing actions of players to the rest of the table, and correcting players who act out of turn.

Dealers also must manage the pot and keep track of the amount of money and remove the appropriate cut (called a “rake”) for the house.

Dealers get good pay and a dealer’s primary source of income is not his or her salary, but tips from players on cash games.

Diamond Poker Club beside the Grand Convention Center is my favorite as it is accessible and affordable and you have a chance to win a million pesos on their jackpot called a ‘’Bad Beat.” This happens when at least a full house of aces and tens gets beaten by quads or better.

The jackpot is now P2.7 million and the losing hand gets 40 percent while the winning hand wins 20 percent.The rest of the table shares the remaining 40 percent.

Here are the dealers. Some of the women have a chance to win a beauty contest!

Manny Ronquillo loves his job because he loves the game itself. Just say “All in” and everything follows.

Katrynna Angela Dollosa says she gained more confidence by becoming a dealer and meeting more friends. The job has helped her managed people with different personalities.

Roslene “Ayen” Fernandez-Longakit says being a dealer is probably the best job in the world—it has no paperwork, quotas and deadlines. She says it is work and play for her.

James Michael Amante is also known as the Bad Beat dealer because he dealt three consecutive jackpots in the Club. He has a lovely daughter, Margaret Jarmaine.

Joy Maris Geyrosaga says you must have patience and always be ready for problems. You should also be neutral and treat all the players fairly no matter who they are.

Sheila Apalisok says you can’t ask for more from this job. You should be flexible at the same time be firm in applying the rules.

Danica Damayo is known as the “Poker Chic” of Diamond and rocks on the table. She used to be the receptionist but management saw her potential as a dealer.

Precy Montebon is known as the “Momo Queen” and has a good heart. She is also pretty as a picture.

Metro Card Club Cebu located along AS Fortuna St in Mandaue has a P300,000 guaranteed tournament starting at 4 p.m. today until Sunday.

Buy-in is P3,000 plus P300 service charge.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on March 18, 2011.

Women grand prix

2011-03-12T01:13:00.001+08:00

This week,we are celebrating the centenary of International Women`s Day held every March 8 since 1911.

It is just fitting that our topic this week is about the Fide Women Grand Prix, a series of six events held from 2009-2011 to determine the challenger to the world champion.

18 top world players had been selected to compete in these tournaments. Each player agreed and contracted to participate in exactly 4 of these tournaments.

The winner of each leg takes home 6,500 euros out of a prize fund of 40,000 euros and the overall winner of the series will win a further 15,000 euros.

This is the first time that such a series was organized and is a significant development for Women chess. The introduction of the Grand Prix series meant that there will be a World Championship contest annually now from 2010.

In 2010,The Champion was Hou Yifan of China who won the Knockout tournament held in Turkey.

The winner of the Grand Prix series will play the Women World Champion in the third quarter of 2011 in a ten game match for the Women’s World Championship title.
The first Women GP was held in March 2009 in Istanbul and was won by Humpy Koneru. The second, in September-October 2009 in Nanjing, was won by Xu Yuhua. Tatiana Kosintseva won the third, in March 2010 in Nalchik and Nana Dzagnidze the fourth in June-July 2010 in Jermuk. Hou Yifan won the fifth tournament in Ulaanbaatar.
The sixth tournament has just concluded in Doha,Qatar last week and was won by Koneru Humpy.
Since the overall winner of the Grand Prix was Hou Yifan then the Challenger rights will go to the second placed overall in the Grand Prix, which, in this case,is Koneru Humpy.

Thus, Hou Yifan and Koneru Humpy of India will play in the third quarter of 2011 in a ten game match for the Women’s World Championship title.

Miyoko Watai An Icelandic court said last week that Miyoko Watai, the widow of former world chess champion Bobby Fischer, should inherit his estimated $2 million estate, which has been in dispute since his death in 2008.

Claimants to this big amount of money are Fischer`s nephews, Alexander and Nicolas Targ, children of Bobby Fischer`s late sister,Joan Fischer Targ.

Another claimant is Jinky Young,The Filipina girl, whose mother , Marilyn Young, says she is the daughter of Fischer. However a DNA Test showed that Jinky is not the biological daughter of Bobby.

"It is completely ruled out" that Jinky Young can be the biological daughter of the former World Champion.
Miyoko Watai of Japan had claimed before the court she was Fischer's wife and heir while two of the chess master's nephews and Jinky, thru her mother, had questioned the legitimacy of the marriage.
In 2009 Iceland's Supreme Court overturned a municipal court decision that Watai was the rightful heir, saying definite proof of the marriage had not been made available.
However Reykjavík District Court’s verdict has concluded that the “document submitted by Watai confirmed that she and Fischer were legally married on September 6, 2004. She is said to have submitted sufficient proof to that account at the time of his death and is therefore his legal heir. Watai is a pharmacist and the chairperson of the Japanese Chess Association. She said she and Fischer met in Japan in 1973.”
The nephews' lawyer said they would appeal the court ruling.
Sammy Estimo, Jinky`s Filipino Laywer, sent me a text message that they would also appeal to the Icelandic Supreme Court.
However, sources in Iceland said that the appeal is without merit or chance.
boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Joseph Sanchez wins Cannes festival

2011-03-04T14:02:00.000+08:00

THE 25th International Open “Pierre et Vacances” took place from Feb. 21 to 27 in Cannes, France.

Sixty-four players, including 17 GMs, competed in the nine-round Swiss event, which had a 10,000-Euro prize fund with the champion taking home 2,200 Euros.

Cebuano GM Joseph Sanchez surprised everybody, including himself, by claiming first with seven points. Sanchez was only seeded 15th before the start of the tournament, but played in excellent form and led the standings throughout the event. He also won this event in 2009, thereby bagging his third and final norm to become the first Cebuano grandmaster.

Sanchez, playing black, defeated Italian GM Sabino Brunello after 33 moves of English Opening in the ninth and final round.

Final standings:

1: 7 points GM Joseph Sanchez (PHL, 2516); 2 to 6: 6.5 GM Michael Roiz (ISR 2649), IM Xavier Vila Gazquez (ESP, 2488), GM Christian Bauer (FRA, 2633), GM Evgeny Romanov (RUS, 2606) and GM Andrey Sumets (UKR, 2619);7-8: 6 points GM Alberto David (LUX, 2580) and GM Vlad-Cristian Jianu (ROU, 2539).

National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero Pichay Jr. lauded Sanchez’s latest feat saying, “He deserves this… I’m really happy for him .This
proves once again that the Filipino can be at par with the world’s best woodpushers.”

Here is the report by our budding 13-year-old sports journalist KC Morala, who is also an excellent chess player.

“Held in the Elizabeth Mall Activity Center last weekend was Cebu City’s very first major tournament in years--the Cebu City Charter Day Open Chess Tournament. The three-day event fascinated scores of chess enthusiasts, which attracted the world’s seventh-youngest Grandmaster, Wesley So, and also other GMs, IMs, FIDE Masters and NMs from
all over the country.”

Though he tied with GM So with a score of 8 points, GM Gomez won in the tiebreak, and was acknowledged champion with GM So as the first runner-up. Both sides split the P150,000 prize money.

Catching up, the 7.5 pointers were IM Chito Garma, GM Darwin Laylo, IM Ronald Dableo, and IM Richard Bitoon.

Meanwhile, GM Rogelio Antonio, along with NM Reggie Olay, Jayson Salubre, FM Anthony Makinano, NM Rodrigo Atotubo, NM Joel Fernan, FM Sander Severino, NM Rhobel Legaspi, Redentor Nailon, and Voltaire Sevillano, shared the seventh to the 16th places with 7 points.

GM So drew with IM Bitoon in the 5th round and with GM Gomez in the sixth round, both games featuring the Sicilian Defense with So playing Black.

GM Gomez also settled for a draw against IM Dableo in a Semi-Slav Defense opening.

A total of 156 players took part in the nine-round tournament, many of whom came from various parts of the country. For Cebu, it must have been a great honor to sponsor such a big event like this.

With chess players thirsty for more, Cebu City will yet again hold another tournament to break Russia’s record for the largest board game tournament with 1,214 participants in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Cebu City Sports chairman Ed Hayco and Sportsman of the year Boojie Lim are targeting a record attendance of a mind-blowing 4,000 players for the record attempt.

(boypestano@gmail.co,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on March 04, 2011.

Remember the AlaMainz and others

2011-02-25T23:24:00.000+08:00

THE economic downturn worldwide has drastically affected sponsorship in chess but obviously not Ceboom, as you will read later on.

Chess festivals ala Mainz are rare in the Fide chess calendar . This is not your ordinary tournament but a chess fiesta, comprising several events. This includes Chess960,a variant conceptualized by Bobby Fischer.

More than a thousand world class players regularly attend this festival in Germany and a decade full of dedication and passion for international rapid chess has come to an end.

The Brainchild of Hans-Walter Schmitt. It started in Frankfurt before changing to the city of Mainz. Last year there was a slimmed down event and this year no sponsor could be found.

The M-Tel in Bulgaria, and the Youth vs Experienced tournament in the Netherlands are major super- tournaments and have also been cancelled.

M-Tel Masters is an annual super-GM chess tournament held since 2005 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, sponsored and organized by the leading Bulgarian mobile network operator, M-Tel.

The “Youth vs Experience” Chess Tournament is a double round robin ‘Scheveningen’ team tournament played in Amsterdam.

This will also be the last year of Melody Amber, the only major tourn ament played blindfold by the cream of the crop.

This 20th Amber tournament will be the final edition of an event unparalleled in the history of chess and will be played next month.

In this final jubilee edition the following grandmasters will take part: World Champion Viswanathan Anand (India), Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Sergey Karjakin (Russia), Boris Gelfand (Israel), Hikaru Nakamura (United States), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan) and Anish Giri (The Netherlands).

Bombi Aznar Memorial Hazel Morala, our 13- year old girl journalist-chessplayer ,sent this report.

“The Bombi Aznar Memorial Chess Tournament held in Elizabeth Mall, which started on February 19 and lasted for three days, turned out to be another feather on Sander Severino’s already well-feathered hat, a Fide Master who traveled all the way to Cebu from Bacolod.

Though physically-challenged, FM Severino, a highly regarded chess player, had rendered speechless the local chess enthusiasts of Cebu after making a staggering accomplishment of being able to stay on the top boards throughout the whole tournament.

With 8 points, the latter was acknowledged the victor of the 9-round tourney, taking possession of the P20,000 worth of cash prize and a grand trophy. Next in line is another 8 pointer, Rogelio Enriquez, who in turn took hold of P10,000. Meanwhile, Barlo Nadera and Johnnel Balquin scored 7.5 points each, seizing the third and fourth place respectively.

Meanwhile, as the other winners were enjoying their victories, Eden Tumbos, a chess devotee from La Salle, was recognized as the top female awardee of the said tournament after gaining 6 points. In addition, Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano of the University of San Carlos, the child marvel of Cebu, was acknowledged the top Kiddies awardee of the same tourney.”

Charter Day The Cebu City Charter Chess Open will start tomorrow at Elizabeth Mall up to Monday and offers an unprecedented P300,000 in total prizes with P100,000 going to the champion.

With this much moolah, this tournament has attracted the top players of the country led by the Boy Wonder Wesley So and other GMs namely Joey Antonio, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo.

Eugene Torre might also play.

IMs playing are Cebuanos Richard Bitoon and Barlo Nadera and Oliver Dimakiling.

(boypestano@gmail.com, www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 25, 2011.

Cebu hosts two big tournaments

2011-02-18T15:25:00.000+08:00

CHESS is alive and kicking in Ceboom. Thanks to Boogie Lim of Rose Pharmacy, the Aznar family and the Cebu City Government.

Starting tomorrow up to Monday, the Bombi Aznar Memorial tournament will be played at Elizabeth Mall starting at 10 a.m.

It is held in honor of the late NM Matias “Bombi” Aznar III, a member of the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame. It has a total prize of P50,000, broken down to: Champion (P20,000), second, (P10,000), third (P5,000), fourth (P3,000), fifth to 15th places (P1,000 each).

The top ladies and kiddies player will get P500, each.

The registration fee is P100 for ladies and kiddies, P200 for students and P300 for the rest.

Other reminders:

1.) Registration form is available at Deep Blue Woodpusher’s Coffee, SM City and at Colonnade Chess Club. 2. Submit registration form with your payment at tournament site not later than 9:30 a.m. Saturday February 19 . No registration,no play. 3. All participants shall play in one group only. 4.The top lady and kiddies players who will place among the major prize winners will receive only the higher prize. The next ranked lady or kiddies player shall then be awarded the prize originally intended for the top lady or kiddies player. 5. Tournament System: 9 rounds Swiss; Time Control: 1:05 each player.

This tourney will be an annual event organized by Rose Pharmacy Chess Club and sponsored by Southwest Finance Corp., Lapu-Lapu Rural Bank, Inc. & Rural bank of Matag-ob (Leyte) Inc.

A bigger tournament will follow in a week’s time—Cebu Charter Day Chess Open on Feb 26-28.

It is also organized by Rose Pharmacy Chess Club and sponsored by the Cebu City Government through the Office of the Committee of Games, Amusement and Sports.

Venue is at Elizabeth Mall and the format is 9 rounds Swiss and time control is 1.05 hour per player.

The prizes in the open division are: champion (P100,000), second (P50,000), third (P30,000), fourth (P20,000), fifth (P10,000), sixth to 10th (P5,000, each), 11th to 15th (P3,000, each), 16th to 25th (P2,000, each).

In the ladies and kiddies divisions, the champion will get P3,000, while the second and third placers will get P3,000 and P2,000.

The registration fee for the open division is P400 and students who can present an ID will only pay P200. In the ladies and kiddies divisions, the registration fee is P100.

Those who want to join the open division must submit their registration form and payment before 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 26.

The ladies and kiddies divisions will be played separately at the Mabolo Parish Church Plaza. Both groups will follow the seven-round format, 25 minutes to play.

The ladies group will start at 9 a.m. on Feb. 24, while the kiddies division will be at 9 a.m. on Feb. 25.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 18, 2011.

Love life of World Chess champions

2011-02-11T14:36:00.000+08:00

IT'S Valentine season once again and, as usual, my article is about love.

Though there have been many great players, only a few have been honored to hold the title of World Champion.

The first world champion was Wilhelm Steinitz. His second wife committed him to the insane asylum in New York in 1900, and soon after, died destitute and was buried in a pauper‘s grave.

At 42, Emmanuele Lasker married Martha Cohn, a rich widow and already a grandmother.
According to Jose Raoul Capablanca’s second wife, Olga, his first marriage broke down as he and his first wife Gloria were cheating on each other.

Alexander Alekhine had four wives, the last, Grace Freeman, was sixteen years his senior.

The wife of Mikhael Botvinnik was a ballet dancer named Gayane Davidovna, the daughter of his algebra and geometry teacher.

Vassili Smyslov and his wife of more than half a century, Nadezhda, spent their final few years in near-poverty as his heart ailment deteriorated.

Sally Landau was the first wife of Mikhail Tal who said Tal was a romantic man. She said that Tal flew in from another planet just to play chess.

Tigran Petrosian, Rona Yakovlevna, was an amazing woman who was mainly responsible for making him World Champion.

Since 1976. Boris Spassky has lived in France with his 3rd wife, Marina, and became a French citizen in 1978. He has competed in France in the Chess Olympiads.

Bobby Fischer had a marriage of convenience with Miyoko Watai to escape imprisonment.

He later denied being married. He is often portrayed as reluctant to be around women and does not know how to handle himself around them. He had a controversial intimate relationship with Filipina Marilyn Young who lives in Davao.

Anatoly Karpov’s first wife was Irina Kuimova and they have a son, Anatoly. His second wife is Natalia Bulanova with a daughter, Sophia Garry Kasparov’s private life is messy. He has a daughter by his first wife Masha, who won a court order forbidding his daughter from visiting Kasparov in Moscow for fear she would not return to the US. He had a son with his second wife, Yulia, but they are also divorced.

On Dec. 30, 2006, Vladimir Kramnik married French journalist Marie Laure Germon, and had a daughter named Daria. His wife has retained her own surname, rather than becoming Mrs Kramnik, but Vladimir said this was largely for professional reasons (she
is well-known in journalistic circles).

Aruna Anand is as vital—perhaps even more so—to Anand’s wellbeing both as player and as person, than his computer. They live in Spain and have become Spanish citizens.

This was the main reason why Anand refused an honorary doctorate degree from a
University in India.

There had been 13 Women World Champions.

In 1937, at 31 years old, Vera Menchik married Rufus Henry Streatfeild Stevenson twenty-eight years her senior.

Lyudmila Rudenko was married to a scientist named Lev Davidovich Goldstein Xie Jun is married to her former coach GM Wu Shaobin.

In 1994, Polgar married computer consultant Jacob Shutzman, and lived in New York, but later divorced. In December 2006, she married her long-time business manager and friend, Paul Truong.

Zhu Chen is married to Qatari Grandmaster Mohamad Al-Modiahki, and now plays for Qatar.

Alexandra Kosteniuk is married to Swiss-born Diego Garces, who is of Colombian descent, and 25 years older than her.

The other Women World champions are Elisabeth Bykova,Olga Rubtsova, Nona
Gaprindasvili,Maia Chiburdanidze, Antoanette Stefanova, Xu Yuhua and the current world champion 16 year old Hou Yifan, the girl wonder of the chess World.

(boypestano@gmail.com.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 11, 2011.

Bobby Fischer’s descent into madness

2011-02-04T00:32:00.000+08:00

BOBBY Fischer against the World” is a documentary about the late chess genius who was admired by chess players as the greatest of all time but was also considered as one of the most reviled persons by the rest of the world.

The film is produced by documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus, who decided to do it after reading the New York Times obituary on the chess legend in 2008.

It is scheduled to be shown on HBO this coming July. Watch for it.

It follows Fischer from his childhood in Brooklyn, New York, to his death from kidney failure in Iceland at the age of 64.

At the height of the cold war, his match with world champion Boris Spassky, played in 1972 in Iceland, took on the magnitude of an international confrontation. When Fischer delayed his arrival, Henry Kissinger recalled in an interview that he called Fischer and bluntly told him to “go.”

Garbus built her film around the drama of the match. After winning that match, he got mad, literally, and stopped playing chess.

He showed up 20 years later in 1992 in a rematch with Spassky in war-torn Yugoslavia,
breaking a United Nations embargo. He reportedly earned about $5 million.

After Sept. 11, his long simmering anti-American and anti-Semitic feelings exploded in a tirade.

The Philippines was a special country as Eugene Torre and the late Florencio Campomanes were his close friends and he also had a controversial intimate relationship with Filipina Marilyn Young.

Garbus, together with editors Karen Schmeer and Michael Levine, has managed to show the pieces of his shattered life. They put together a complex and fascinating portrait of genius wasted.

Did he have a lifelong mental illness?

Rick Warner, a movie critic of Bloomberg News, interviewed Garbus and here are excerpts from that interview (Reprinted here with his kind permission).

Warner: What made the 1972 match against Spassky such a cultural phenomenon? It was such a big deal that it was televised by PBS and ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.”

Garbus: The Cold War played a significant role. The Soviet Union dominated chess and used it to demonstrate its intellectual superiority over the West. Then here comes this Brooklyn boy who taught himself chess in his apartment to take on the Soviet machine.

Warner: Give me an idea of how much attention it got?

Garbus: It was the highest-rated PBS show ever and “Wide World of Sports” interrupted prime-time programs with updates. They did a survey of bars in New York City , and more people were following the chess match than the New York Mets.

Warner: Fischer grew up not knowing his biological father and was left alone at 16 when his mother moved out of their apartment. How much did that scar him?

Garbus: Bobby obviously didn’t have a great home life, but I also think he had a disposition for a personality disorder. He became obsessed with chess, and nothing else really mattered to him.

Warner: Three years after winning the world championship against Spassky, he forfeited it by refusing to defend his title and retired from competitive chess. Is that when he started to decline mentally?

Garbus: Bobby was singularly focused on chess, and when that was gone, his life didn’t make much sense to him anymore. He had no support system—no close friends, relatives or loves—and he drifted into mental illness.

Warner: When Fischer was a fugitive living overseas, he made a lot of anti-Semitic and anti-American statements, including praise of the 9/11 terrorists. Was that him speaking or his mental illness?

Garbus: I don’t believe Bobby hated Jewish people. He was Jewish himself. He was suffering from paranoid psychosis.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 04, 2011.

Miss Chess beauty contest

2011-01-28T00:46:00.000+08:00

WAS watching the preview of the Miss Philippines beauty contest and it gave me an idea to search for the most beautiful chess players in the world.

Beauty pageants have become part of the Filipino culture. It is probably true that there is no other country in the world that hold as many beauty contests as the Philippines.

Greet your friends and families this Sinulog season. Sun.Star covers Sinulog 2011 live!

We have beauty queens in every city, province ,municipality and every big event. There is even a Miss Gay beauty contest.

Why this fascination about beauty?

A survey was made among male chess players and it showed that they choose significantly riskier strategies when playing against an attractive female opponent.

A 2006 study found that for door-to-door charitable fundraising, men respond more to attractive female solicitors than women do.

In 2010, researchers found that including an attractive woman in an ad has a significant effect on men but not on women .

I searched the net for the most beautiful chess players (must be titled) and I came across more than 40 names, all extraordinarily attractive.

I pruned the list to 10 and here are the finalists.

Miss Chess for 2011 is Harsanyi Kinga, while the first runner-up is Sophie Milliete and second runner-up is Arianne Caoli.

Here are the profiles of the 10 finalists.

1.) Harsanyi Kinga ,22, is a Hungarian Woman Fide Master and they say that she always wins against men because they are distracted by her beauty.

2.) Sophie Milliete,27, is the current national women’s champion of France and a WGM. A keen exponent of team chess, she represented France in the Chess Olympiads of 2004 and 2006. She also participated at the European Team Championships of 2003, 2005 and 2007

3.) Arianne Caoli, 24, is a Filipino-Australian Woman International Master title known as the “Anna Kournikova of chess.” She began playing chess at the age of six. At one point during 2002, she achieved a Fide rating in excess of 2300.

4.) Vera Nebolsina, 21, is a Russian WGM. Her most valuable victory to date was the World Junior Championship for Girls (under 20) at Yerevan in 2007 .

5.) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 26, is a former women’s world chess champion and known as the “Maria Shaparova of chess.” In November 2004, she was awarded the GM title, becoming the 10th woman to receive the highest title of FIDE.

6.) Natalia Pogonina,25, is a Russian WGM. She finished first at the prestigious Moscow Open 2009, and won the bronze medal at the European Women Championship 2009.

7.) Regina Pokorna, 21, is a WGM from Slovakia. GM Vladislav Tkachiev, talking about beauty in chess, called her “a child-woman, an eternal girl.”

8.) Anna Sharevich, 25, is a Belarusian WGM. She played for Belarus in the Women’s Chess Olympiads of 2002 to 2008.

9.) Vesna Rozic, 23, is a WIM from Slovenia. She will make it to any list of beautiful chess players.

10.) Sanja Dedijer, 21, is a WIM from Bosnia-Herzegovina. She was also chosen as the most photogenic woman in the 2006 Olympiad.

TATA STEEL. After 10 rounds, Wesley So is tied for the lead in Group B with Zahar Efimenko at 6.5 points. Wesley performance rating is 2765 on four wins, five draws and a single loss. His live rating has improved by 13 points and is now at 2686.

Standings after the 10th round.

Group A: Anand, Nakamura 7.0, Aronian, Kramnik 6.5; Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi, Vachier-Lagravem 5.5; Giri, Ponomariov, Wang Hao, 5.0; Smeets 3.5, L`ami 3.0; Grischuk, Shirov 2.5.

Group B: Wesley, Efimenko, 6.5; Navara Sargissian, McShane,Tkachiev, 6.0; Wojtaszek, Liem 5.5; Li Chao 5.0; Ganguly 4.0; Fressinet, Hammer, 3.5; Nijboer, Spoelman 3.0.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso@blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 28, 2011.

Tatasteel review

2011-01-20T23:52:00.000+08:00

THE original Koninklijke Hoogovens company was a Dutch steel producer founded in 1918.
In 1999, the company merged with British Steel to form the Corus Group .

The Corus Group, in turn, was purchased by India-based Tata Steel in 2007 (for $7.6 billion) and now, almost four years later, its chess tournament is named after the mother company.

This tournament has been held since 1938 in Wijk aan Zee, a small resort on the coast of the North Sea in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands.

To be invited to Wijk Aan Zee is like getting invited to the White house. An invitation is much sought after by chess players, not only because of the prizes but mainly because of the prestige and history behind the annual event.

It is therefore a distinct honor, and a recognition of his talents, that our Wesley So is playing in Tatasteel chess for the third time. He won the C group the first time and is now playing in the B group, which is considered to be the strongest ever.

The round robin tournament is currently started last Jan. 15 and will end on Jan. 30 and the fourth round has been played.

The A group is 21 points higher than that in the previous year, and the category has
improved from 19 to 20. The world’s top four players are present: world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2814), who is last year’s winner, world champion Viswanathan Anand (India, 2810), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2805) and Anand’s predecessor, Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2784). Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2686) debuts in Group A after winning the 2010 B tournament.

The other players in the A group are (all GMs): Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2773), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2751), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2744), Wang Hao (China, 2731), Alexey Shirov (Spain, 2722), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, 2721), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia, 2715) , Jan Smeets (Netherlands, 2662), Erwin l’Ami (Netherlands 2628).

The complete line-up of the B group (all GMs) are Radoslaw Wojtaszek (Poland, 2726) ,David Navara (Czech Republic, 2708) Laurent Fressinet (France, 2707), Zahar Efimenko (Ukraine, 2701) Gabriel Sargissian (Armenia, 2667), Le Quang Liem (Vietnam, 2664),Wesley So (Philippines, 2673), Luke McShane (England, 2664), Surya Ganguly (India, 2651), Li Chao (China, 2649), Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway, 2647), Vladislav Tkachiev (France, 2636),Friso Nijboer (Netherlands, 2584) and Wouter Spoelman (Netherlands, 2547).

The B group is led by Wojtaszek, who had a series of strong tournaments including the last Chess Olympiad .

Navara also passed through the eye of the needle in Reggio Emilia last month with a good performance and is ready for strong competition.

Fressinet and Efimenko complete the 2700 club favorites for top places in the group.

However, the B group has players who have the potential to grab the limelight--Wesley, Le, and McShane, who made headlines by downing Carlsen in the 2010 London Class Classic and Anand’s second Ganguly in the world championship 2010.

I am wondering what is happening to Le of Vietnam who lost 25 Elo points in the last
quarter last year and has an unexpected dismal performance.

The highlights so far are the defeat of world no.1 Carlsen to Giri in the third round
and the rocket start of McShane, who has three straight wins in Group B.

Standings of Group A after the 4th round: Anand 3, Nakamura 3, Aronian 2.5, Giri 2.5,Vachier-Lagrave 2.5, l’ Ami 2, Kramnik 2 ,Ponomariov 2 ,Nepomniachtchi 2, Smeets 2,Grischuk 1.5, Carlsen 1.5,Wang Hao 1, Shirov 0.5.

Standings of Group B after the 4th round: McShane 3.5, Sargissian 2.5, Fressinet 2.5 Navara 2.5 ,Efimenko 2.5, Nijboer 2,Wesley 2, Spoelman 2, Wojtaszek 2, Tkachiev 1.5, Ganguly 1.5 ,Li Chao 1.5, Liem 1, Hammer 1.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 21, 2011.

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A collection of chess limericks

2011-01-14T15:47:00.000+08:00

A limerick is a silly poem with five lines. It is often funny or nonsensical. It is also sometimes obscene.

It may have had its roots in 18th-century Ireland, although the form can be found in England in the early years of the century.

Here is a collection of limericks by Bill Wall posted in Chess.com . I enjoyed reading it and so will you.

There once was a player from Maine,
Who played chess on a fast train.
He took a move back
And was thrown off the track,
And he never played chess again.

There once was a chessplayer named Flo,
Who liked to mate, you know;
When you castled long,
She helped along,
and would say, “O - O - O.”

There once was a player named Maloney,
Who always played the Benoni.
But his counterattack,
failed to a sac;
And his Benoni was just baloney.

There’s something chess computers lack;
It’s not that they know how to attack;
They can fork and pin;
They may lose, more often win.
But they just will never talk back.

Postal chess is still played today
And no reason why I shouldn’t play.
It is nice and slow,
And I can use my ECO,
It’s the postage I can’t afford to pay.

This has happened to you, I bet.
You bring your chess set and didn’t forget.
Then you notice with shock
You have a broken chess clock,
And a piece is missing from the set.

The USCF rating system is inflated,
But the lower rated players are elated.
They can lose every game,
But their rating stays the same,
Or even become higher elevated.

A chessboard of a new design
that prevents an early resign.
With a different king
On either wing
The board must be 9 by 9.

A chess player known to be great,
Was anything but sedate;
When moving to win,
He broadly would grin,
And bellow: “That’s check - and mate!”

There once was a Grandmaster named Browne,
Who always wore a perpetual frown;
As he played blitz against Dzindzi,
The crowd got all cringy,
He said just one word, that was, “DOWN!”

MABOLO TOURANMENT. Aspiring sports journalist 13-year-old KC Morala, always active, sent this report on last Sunday’s event.

“USJR’s Felix Shaun Balbona again showed an elegant performance in Cebu City’s first Kiddies Chess Tournament of the year in Mabolo last Jan, 9. With 6 wins and a draw, Felix was declared the solo champion. He was followed by John Francis Balbona and Allan Pason, who both have six points. Diego Claro of UC got fourth place with 5.5 points.

The tournament had the 15-Under boys division and the 18-Under girls division. It was sponsored by Rose Pharmacy and other anonymous donors.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 14, 2011.

Highlights of 2010

2011-01-07T11:01:00.000+08:00

CHESSWISE, here are the important events of 2010.

World champion Viswanathan Anand defended his title against challenger Veselin Topalov in Sofia, Bulgaria from April 24 to May 13. The prize fund was 2 million euros with 60 percent going to the winner. In a dramatic finish, Anand won the match 6½–5½.

Yifan Hou defeated teammate Ruan Lufei last December after four classical and four tiebreak games to be the youngest women’s world champion at 16. That match was held in Hatay, Turkey.

(The Chess Grand Slams are the Corus chess tournament, Linares, M-Tel Masters in Sofia, Pearl Spring in Nanjing ,Bilbao and the London Chess Classic).

Wijkaan Zee winner was Levon Aronian, Linares was snared by Anand and Sofia by Vassily Ivanchuk. Magnus Carlsen topped Pearl Spring and the London Chess Classic, while Vladimir Kramnik won in Bilbao.

Florencio Campomanes, the Grand Old Man not only of Philippine chess but of the world as well, was Fide president from 1982 to 95. He was Fide chairman from 1995 to 96 and honorary president until his death on May 3, 2010 at age 83.

Campo will always be remembered for turning Fide into a truly universal body ala United Nations.

The DNA test on Bobby Fischer remains proved negative when compared to Filipina Jinky Young, who claims to be his daughter.

Two men facing a trial for playing chess in a public park had their case dismissed on a technicality. The case attracted worldwide attention.

The World Chess Olympiad 2010, the largest national teams event with 150 men and 119 women, took place on Sept. 4 to Oct. 4 in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.

Ukraine (GM Ivanchuk Vassily, GM Ponomariov Ruslan, GM Eljanov Pavel, GM Efimenko
Zahar, GM Moiseenko Alexander) won eight matches and allowed only three ties, to win the gold medal.

Russia 1 (GM Kramnik Vladimir, GM Grischuk Alexander, GM Svidler Peter, GM Karjakin Sergey, GM Malakhov Vladimir) claimed the silver medal.

Israel took the bronze medal .

In the women’s division, Russia 1 secured the gold medal. The team was composed of GM Kosintseva Tatiana, IM Kosintseva Nadezhda, GM Kosteniuk Alexandra, IM Galliamova Alisa and WGM Gunina Valentina

China snatched silver with GM Hou Yifan, WGM Ju Wenjun, GM Zhao Xue, WGM Huang Qian, IM Wang Yu.

Georgia beat took the bronze medal with a better tiebreak over six teams.

A total of 17 chess teams entered the competition in the men’s section and 12 in the women’s section in the Asian Games at the Guangzhou Chess Institute, China.

The gold medal for both men and women was won by China.

The players of Team Philippines surprised even themselves by winning the silver and Iran the bronze.

We performed better than India, our nemesis, the remarkable Vietnamese and the former Asian republics of the Soviet Union.

Wesley So, Joey Antonio, John Paul Gomez, Darwin laylo and Eugene Torre were the members of the team

Magnus Carlsen is officially the highest rated player at the end of the year with Elo 2814. Second is Anand with and not far behind is Aronian with Elo 2805.

The women’s division has three players with a rating of over 2600--Judit Polgar of Hungary ,who plays only with men, India’s Koneru Humpy and Hou Yifan, who I expect will dominate women’s chess for a long time.

Wesley So continued his climb by being No. 3 among the world’s top junior players and no.64 in the world.

And lastly, sorely missed by the chess playing community is the late NM Matias ‘’ Bombi” Aznar III.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 07, 2011.

Chess players to face trial

2010-12-31T01:13:00.001+08:00

TWO of the six men arrested for playing chess in Inwood Hill Park last October refused a plea deal from a Manhattan Criminal Court and want to take their case to trial.

The chessmen turned down the deal even though they face up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000-fine.”They want to go to trial,” said their lawyer, civil rights attorney Norman Siegel. “They feel the charges against them should be dismissed outright.”

Yacahudah Y.A. Harrison and Chris Peralta were part of the group ticketed on Oct. 20 for playing chess at tables inside Emerson Playground, a children’s play area off limits to adults unaccompanied by minors.

The other three of the six men were given adjournments in contemplation of dismissals yesterday morning—meaning if they stay out of trouble from the law for six months, the matter will be dropped. The sixth was a no-show.

News of the arrests created a worldwide uproar with residents expressing outrage.

They were arrested by bulletproof vest -clad cops, causing an observer to comment that the cops were afraid that the chess players will throw “poison pawns” at them.

The group—two of whom had been playing there for years—was ticketed for “failure to comply with signs.” There was a posted notice beside them that read, “Adults allowed in playground areas only when accompanied by a child under the age of 12.”

Most of the men said they had not noticed the signs. Harrison, 49, told The Post he had seen the sign but had permission from a park ranger to play there.

“The ranger said, ‘Oh no, that’s fine. That’s only written for pedophiles,’” Harrison said.

ROSE CHESS. Keith Claire Carlisle Morala, a 13-year-old aspiring sports journalist and chess player, sent me this report about the ladies and kiddies tournament held last Monday at SM Deep Blue.

“On top of the list and taking away the grand trophy was Jessa Balbona, who scored five points in the five-round event. Finishing behind her were Maria Cecile Lumapac and Sharon Princess Lee Pacres with four points apiece.

Balbona found her game with Airene Robillos to be the toughest one to win. It was a Sicilian Dragon Variation, with Robillos using white. The latter was supposed to have an advantage in the position, but because of time pressure, she lost hold of the
advantage and black won the game.

The tournament was attended by female players from the different parts of Cebu.

Unmindful of the frostiness of the SM atmosphere, the players took each match as seriously as they could.

Kyle Sevillano also emerged champion with seven points in seven rounds, winning P1,000 and a trophy. Ten-year-old James Andrew Balbona, with 6 points, took second place and P500, while Diego Abraham Claro and Felix Shaun Balbona got third with 5.5 points each.

The mall was freezing cold yet the intense heat among the players soared as the tournament went underway.

The youngest sibling of the well-known Balbona family, James Andrew, achieved an astounding feat after he vanquished 2011 Palarong Pambansa-bound Alan Pason in the sixth round. The game was headed for a draw, but Pason lost on time forfeit.

Diego Claro, another Palarong Pambansa competitor, also had a good showing after drawing with Felix Shaun Balbona and beating Marq Gabrielle Balbona.

Gayl Bontes of UC assisted Keith Claire by taking notes.

The tournament was sponsored by Boojie Lim of Rose Pharmacy.”

Women world championship

2010-12-17T23:24:00.000+08:00

SIXTY-FOUR have qualified to the Women’s World Chess Championship being held at Hatay, Turkey, from De. 2 to 25. It is knockout tournament featuring two-game mini-matches per round, until the final and 6th round, which is a four-game match to determine the champion.

In the event of a draw after two games, there will be a rapid game tie-breaker, followed by a possible blitz playoff, and finally an Armageddon blitz game. The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, and a 30-second increment per move.

The semifinals are now being played. The remaining players are Koneru Humpy of India, and China’s Hou Yifan, Zhao Xue and Ruan Lufei.

Out is defending Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk who lost to Ruan Lufei, Kateryna Lahno who lost to Hou Yifan, the Muzychuk sisters, Anna and Mariya, Almira Skripchenko and US champion Anna Zatonskih.

The performance of the Chinese players is astonishing. Also extraordinary is the absence of European and American players in the semifinals.

For a long time, women chess has been dominated by Eastern Europeans, especially Georgia. Russia won the women‘s team in the last Olympiad and Georgia was third.

Koneru will play against Hou in the semifinal. That will be a repeat of their 2008 semifinal match, which Hou won. It is an unfortunate pairing as Koneru is the highest-ranked player in the field and Hou is the second highest. They should have met in the finals.

London Chess Classic 2009 was a huge success that the organizers decided to do a repeat this year. It has joined the ranks of super Major tournaments like Linares, Wijkaan Zee, Nanjing, Bilbao and Amber.

Boy wonder Magnus Carlsen won after an incredible comeback winning in the last three games.

Final scores (Elo, age, score): 1)Carlsen (2802,20,13); 2) Viswanathan Anand (2804,41,11); 3) Luke Mcshane (2645,26,11); 4) Hikaru Nakamura (2772, 23,10); 5) Vladimir Kramnik (2765,35,10); 6) Michael Adams (2725,39,8); 7) David Howell (2611,20,4); 8) Nigel Short (2680,46,2).

The tournament was an eight-player, round-robin format. Time control is 40 moves for two hours, one hour for the next 20 moves and 15 minutes with 30-second increment for the rest of the game.

Sofia Rules were in effect, which means no draws were allowed unless approved by the arbiter. Also Scoring is Bilbao with three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss.

Prizes: 1st, 50,000 Euros; 2nd, 25,000 Euros; 3rd, 15,000 Euros; 4th, 10,000 Euros; 5th, 10,000 Euros; 6th, 8,000 Euros, plus seven daily Best Game prizes of 1,000 Euros voted on by the public.

NATIONAL. Three members of the Philippine team that won the silver medal in the recent Asian Games will play in the National Inter-Cities and Municipalities chess team championship tomorrow Dec. 18-19 at the People’s Astrodome in Dagupan City.

Wesley So will play for Makati, while John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo will play for Quezon City and Mandaluyong, respectively.

Aside from the three teams, 30 other cities and municipalities have already confirmed their participation in the contest, which offers a guaranteed cash prize of P70,000 to the champion.

“The entry of the three national players, who made the country proud in the recent Asian Games, will add luster to the season-ending tournament,” said NCFP president/chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay.

CEPCA. After our Christmas party and the induction of the 2011-12 officers and members of the board of trustees, we had a mini-tournament last week in my residence in Mabolo.

The winner was Harrison Chua, followed by the Kiddies Kyle Sevillano, Alan Pason, and Felix Shaun Balbona. Fifth place was bagged by Junard Labadan.

(boypestano@gmail.com, www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on December 18, 2010.

Chess and preventing Alzheimer

2010-12-13T10:25:00.001+08:00

ALZHEIMER'S Disease (AD), also known as “the long goodbye,” is a progressive, degenerative disease that alters the brain, causing impaired memory, thinking and behavior and finally complete helplessness.

It is characterized by a progressive decline in comprehension, calculation, language, learning capacity and judgment sufficient to impair personal activities of daily living.

It is caused by the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain.

Most often, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer’s can occur in the 40s and 50s.

It is named after Alois Alzheimer, a German neurologist who described it in 1907.

In 2006, there were 26.6 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer’s is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.

How to prevent AD? Play chess!

AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. And fewer than three percent of individuals live more than 14 years after diagnosis.

Because AD cannot be cured and is degenerative, management of patients is essential
and is known for placing a great burden on caregivers.

Famous people who got affected with AD are Ronald Reagan, Charles Bronson, Charlton Heston, Sugar Ray Robinson, Perry Como, Rita Hayworth, Barry Goldwater, Harold Wilson etc.

Arnold Denker, an octogenarian and a late US chess champion, wrote a letter to Chess Life asserting that he had never known a grandmaster who had developed Alzheimer’s disease.

Dan Mayers, another active tournament chess player in his 80s, declared that Denker was correct although scientific experiments were necessary to prove it.

The New England Journal of Medicine has published an article that, in effect, says Denker and Mayer could be right. Beginning in 1980, they followed 469 people over age 75, largely screening out anyone who had signs of dementia.

Those who played games, particularly chess and bridge showed a 75 percent lower risk of getting AD or dementia. Those who played a musical instrument showed had a 64 percent lower risk.

The study, of course, could be flawed, but the unusually positive result for bridge and chess players is certainly significant and startling.

Research shows that the brain is much like the body--it needs continuous activity to remain strong and supple and fight off the predations of old age.

And researchers have determined that chess is uniquely well-suited to “exercising” the brain. It is simple to play, but offers nearly limitless variation.

It requires memory, problem-solving skills, abstract thought, and creativity.

People who play it regularly in their older years are less likely to develop AD.

Studies have shown that old people are less likely to suffer from a swift
deterioration of AD if they are mentally very active. This activity can take the form of many things but it is believed that chess is one of the best ways to keep the mind active.

For Alzheimer’s patients, this mental activity is even more important as this disease swiftly takes the patient’s memory from him. By actively playing a game of chess, the patient is forced not only to remember how each piece moves but also what openings, middle games and end games to play in a certain situation.

CEPCA MEMBERS. Please take note that the induction of the new set of officers members of the Board of Trustees and Christmas party is today in my residence in Mabolo starting at 6 p.m. For more information, get in touch with Manny Manzanares at 09058386310 or call me at 2317656.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on December 10, 2010.

Arrested for teaching chess

2010-12-13T10:23:00.000+08:00

ALTHOUGH we lost to powerhouse China in the battle for gold, our chess players surprised the experts, including Chessmoso, by snaring the silver in the men’s team competition in the Asian Games in China.

The Chinese placed fifth in the 2010 Chess Olympiad held in Russia and were the overwhelming favorites.

China won, 3.5-0.5, as Wesley So drew with Wang Yue in the top board, while John Paul Gomez bowed to Wang Hao. Darwin Laylo and Eugene Torre lost to Zhou Jianchao and Ni Hua, respectively.

The format was seven rounds Swiss with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals--China, Philippines, India and Iran.

Torre and Rogelio Antonio Jr. relied on their vast experience as the Philippines prevailed over defending champion India, 2.5-1.5, in the semi-finals .

Gomez sealed the Filipinos’ triumph when he drew with Surya Shekhar Ganguly in Board 3, negating the loss of Wesley So to Pentala Harikrishna in Board 1.

The 48-year-old Antonio trounced fellow Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran in Board 2, while Asia’s first GM Torre, still sharp at 59, bested GM GN Gopal in Board 4.

The Filipinos, with So and Torre hurdling their rivals, also downed the Indians, 2.5-1.5, in the fifth round. Antonio drew his match while Gomez bowed to his rival that time.

We had a long losing streak against India, dating back to the 1988 Olympiad.

We were not expected to advance to the semifinal round as Vietnam, and most of the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union were rated higher than us.
Congratulations guys!

ARRESTED FOR PLAYING CHESS. Everyone has the right to use a public park, and that right must be defended.

In northern Manhattan’s Inwood Hill Park, police ticketed seven chess for playing chess in a children’s play area.

The Inwood neighborhood is home to a multinational working-class community and wealthier residents along with the police are aiming to push poor people out of parks and other public areas

Forty-nine-year -old Y. A. Harrison, one of those who received a summons, said he and the other players regularly showed kids how to play the game on Saturdays when “the police rolled up on us like we were drug dealers.”

“If we were teaching them to pitch pennies and gamble, that’s one thing,” Harrison said. “But this is chess. We weren’t trying to add to the problem.”

A police spokesperson claimed that officers were following New York City Parks Department rules, which bar adults from the playground if they are not accompanying minors.

They must appear in a Manhattan Criminal Court on Dec. 28.

News of the tickets and upcoming court date were met by outrage at police actions by many community members who sympathized with the chess players.

In the wake of the uproar, the parks department installed new chess tables outside the restricted park area for the players Zaida Grunes, a mother of twins said, “When my toddler twins are old enough, I will be sending them to Inwood Hill Park, alone, and hope that there is a caring, attentive individual sitting at a chess table, willing to give my kids their time and patience to teach them not only a game, but a skill.”

Inwood parent Jackie Rodriguez-Jones said she was incensed over the situation and planned to do what she could to support the players. “This is about people. People who did nothing wrong.’’

CEPCA. Members please note that the induction of the newly elected officers and trustees and our Christmas party will be at our residence in Mabolo on Dec. 9.

For details, get in touch with the newly elected president Manny Manzanares at 09058386310.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on December 03, 2010.

Manzanares elected Cepca president

2010-12-13T10:19:00.000+08:00

MANUEL “Manny” Manzanares was again elected president of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) last weekend at the Kawayan Grill in Mabolo.

Others elected were Dante Arguelles (internal vice president), Fabio Abucejo (external vice president), Jojo Muralla (treasurer), Nicnic Climaco (secretary), Danilo Madeja (auditor) and Jun Olis (PRO).

Elected to the board of trustees were Mandy Baria,Renato Casia, Felix Balbona and Ogie Reyes.

The past presidents of Cepca are charter president Chessmoso (two terms), Alex Tolentino, Gerry Tomakin, Benjamin Dimaano, Ogie Reyes, Danny Pestano (two terms), Nicnic Climaco, Bobot Villaluna (two terms), Norway Lara, Mat Matuco, Mandy Baria, Renato Casia (two terms) and Jun Olis.

Honorary members are chess patron Boojie Lim of Rose Pharmacy, Cifya’s Kelly Uy, US-based Dr. Darcy Tabotabo, former Mayor Alvin Garcia and Mayor Michael Rama.

Those who have passed away honorary member Bombi Aznar, Cepca co-founders Gerry Tomakin and Sonny Sollano, past president Bobot Villaluna and radioman Migs Enriquez.

They are now playing with the likes of Bobby Fischer, Emmanuel Lasker and Paul Morphy.
Manny’s immediate plan is to popularize chess in Cebu using the club as an instrument for training kids and recruitment of new members.

His long-term goal is to build a clubhouse, where all chess activities in Cebu will emanate.

Manny also plans to introduce the C-Cat program which he started in Talisay. C-Cat means chess clinic and tournament and is a program for kids 14 years old and below to teach them the basics of chess.

It will involve the barangays (to fund the program), the schools (to provide the kids) and Cepca (to organize and coordinate the activities).

Speaking of kids, whatever happened to the “Chess in Schools” Program which was
launched with a lot of publicity during the term of President Arroyo?

I recall that it was already approved in principle by PGMA, the Department of Education and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines to be partly implemented this school year.

I hope key officials of P-Noy realize the benefits of chess to the child.

Here are some of them as enumerated by President Zuma of South Africa, one of many countries now with “Chess in Schools” firmly established.

“Chess is one of the most powerful educational tool available to strengthen and enhance a child’s mind. It is an important game in many respects, the main benefit being that it contributes to the development of strategic thinking as well as concentration, analytical skills and problem solving. These are traits that are
important for school going children.”

“No amount of video games can teach a child the same level of patience, strategic thinking, concentration, analytical skills and the attention to detail that they would gain from this timeless intellectual game.”

ASIAN GAMES. The Philippines qualified to the semifinals by beating Uzbekistan, 3.5 to 0.5, to improve to 10 points with a a round to spare.

The most critical round was in the fifth when Wesley So and Eugene Torre won, leading the Philippines to a shock 2.5-1.5 victory over defending champion India.

REUNION. I would like to call the attention of my classmates in USC Boys High School seminary in 1956 to 57, Joe Villagonzalo and Walter Lawas, that we are planning a reunion on Nov. 30 together with Sun.Star Publishing Inc. chairman Jesus B. Garcia Jr. and Samuel Yap. Please get in touch with me.

Also joining us is Fr. Florencio Lagura, who writes the Sun.Star “In the Service of the Lord,” and the rest of our classmates in the classical section.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 26, 2010.

Cepca elections today

2010-12-13T10:18:00.000+08:00

THE Cebu executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) will elect today its officers and board of trustees for 2011-12 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kawayan Grill in Mabolo in front of Persimmon. Attendance is compulsory for all members.

Cepca,one of the oldest clubs in the country, was founded in 1990 by Chessmoso, together with Art Ynclino, Loy Miñoza, Alex Tolentino, Danny Pestaño, Nicnic Climaco and the late Sonny Sollano and Gerry Tomakin.

We will have a handicapping tournament after the elections. Format is five rounds Swiss and members will be divided into the A , B and C categories. Each group will have different time controls.

POKER. The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Cebu champion is Young-shin Im from Korea. Young-shin, who won P5,810,000, is the first female APPT winner.

Michael Fabiano from Australia took second place and P3,660,000 and Kim Gap Young from Korea took third place and P2,045,000.

A total of 236 players from 38 countries participated, including players from Mongolia, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden and Pakistan who invested P100,000 each for a shot at poker fame.

In total, 79 PokerStars Online Qualifiers and 18 PokerStars Cebu Satellite Winners played.

The event was held at Shangrila Mactan from Nov. 12 to 16.

CHESS. Forty-seven kids and 30 Lapu-Lapu City residents played in the Lapu-Lapu Fiesta tournament last weekend.

The winner in the Kiddies section was Allan Pason, who defeated Felix Shaun Babona in the last round in 39 moves of a Trompovsky opening to snare P2,000 plus trophy.

Second place went to Kyle Sevillano, who got P800 and trophy and the third placer was Diego Claro, who earned P600 and trophy.

In the open section, Michael Infante beat Ramil Resuera in 31 moves of a Sicilian to garner the champion’s prize of P3,000 plus trophy. Second placer was Peterson Sia, who had a better tiebreak over Amado Olea.

The tournament was sponsored by the Lapu-Lapu City Government headed by Mayor Paz Radaza. Tournament director was Jun Olis and arbiter was Tony Cabibil.

The Rose Pharmacy Chess King challenge will be held next month from Dec. 18 to 22 and will have two main categories: Open and Kiddies

There will be two sections in the Kiddies Categories: 12- and 15-Under.

Since the kiddies categories will be played in the last two days of the tournament, they may join the open Category eliminations. Tentative venue is the Mango Square Mall and the finals will be held at Deep Blue in SM.

The Open elimination stage will be a seven-round rapid Swiss to determine the top 16 players who will play a two-game knockout round.

The champion will pocket P20,000 and the runner-up P10,000. Losing semi-finalists and quarter finalists will get P4,000 each and the rest P500.

For further inquiries, contact Marvin Ruelan (09267352951) or Roger Abella (09102686890).

WESLEY SO. I am a little bit disappointed by the performance of our Boy Wonder in his last tournaments namely, Biel, Spice Cup and the Asian Games Rapid competition in Guangzhou,China.

He placed fifth in Biel and tied for third in the Spice Cup 2010. Most foreign observers were expecting him to do better.

Wesley is not playing as well as he should, considering that he is the strongest player in history at 14 years old.

When Magnus Carlsen, the world no.1 now, and Sergey Karjakin were at his age (Wesley just turned 17 last month), they were improving by leaps and bounds.

I believe that the National Chess Federation should hire a trainer not only for Wesley but also for the rest of our up and coming players.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 19, 2010.

Chess and poker

2010-12-13T10:17:00.000+08:00

COMPARING chess to poker is like comparing oranges and apples. The relationship is strong, but the difference is obvious. While chess demands a lot of brains, poker requires a lot of guts.

They say that watching a chess game is like waiting for paint to dry and so is poker, that is until the pocket camera came along.

Once we see the actual cards dealt to the players on TV we have big time drama knowing the money at stake.

Watching a poker expert on TV fold or raise can be easily understood by the average viewer but most have no idea behind a chess grandmaster moves.

This fools people into thinking they could be a poker champion, which is why so many people play poker now.

There is a poker revolution all over the world, with millions of dollars at stake every day.

Cebu has also caught up with the fever.

Cebu City now hosts top of the line clubs—All-in, Diamond and Metro Card and Tulip in Mactan.

My favorite is Diamond Club along Archbishop Reyes Avenue primarily because of its accessibility and affordability.

A lot of beautiful lady players also congregate there to name a few--Cindy Yap, Jacqueline Flores, Noriza Ken Son and Myshel Paredes.

The dealers are also top of the line—Danica, Ayen, Joy ,Daisy, Katrina and Precy.

The club manager is Edward Uy and is assisted by Poppy and Joanna.

Buy-in is P100 every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and P500 every Tuesday and Thursday. On Saturdays the buy-in is P1,000.

PokerStars is the sponsor of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cebu 2010. The series will take place at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort from Nov. 12 to 16 with a string of side events.

Pokerstars is the world’s largest online poker room.

APPT Cebu started last Wednesday and yesterday, with a P5,000 No Limit Hold’em event (P1,000,000 guaranteed).

Here’s the full 2010 PokerStars APPT Cebu Schedule (buy-ins in pesos):

Nov. 12: P100,000 APPT Main Event Day 1A

P20,000 No Limit Hold’em

Nov. 13: P100,000 APPT Main Event Day 1B.

P20,000 No Limit Hold’em KO Bounty

P5,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em

Nov. 14: P10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed.

P30,000 Pot Limit Omaha

Nov. 15: P40,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed

P200,000 High Roller Event (Two-Day)

Nov. 16: P20,000 No Limit Hold’em

“We’re delighted to be taking the APPT back to the Philippines, and Cebu in particular,” said Jeffrey Haas, President of the APPT. “Last year’s event in Cebu was a definite highlight and offered further evidence of the continued passion for poker in the Asia Pacific region.”

The tournament director is Danny McDonagh, while the founder and executive producer of the local tournament is Alan Escano.

BACK TO CHESS. The Lapu-Lapu tournament will take place on Nov. 13 at the Lapu-lapu Basketball Court starting at 8:30 a.m.

The categories are Kiddies (14 years and under) and Juniors/Seniors (Lapu-Lapu residents only).

Format for Kiddies is 6 rounds Swiss with 30 minutes time control, while the format for the juniors/seniors section is 7 rounds Swiss with 30 minutes time control.

For details, contact Jun Olis at 09103476907.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 12, 2010.

Getting killed over a chess game

2010-12-13T10:16:00.000+08:00

CHESS is inherently a harmless and safe pastime. However, it has its dark side and it’s not about it being very addictive.

Since a lot of egos are involved, a whole symphony of feelings comes into play.

A few days ago, I was playing at a chess club and met an old acquaintance whom I have not seen since my Luneta weekends in the 70s and 80s.

I still remember him vividly as he was involved in a fistfight in Luneta over a chess game. That memory prodded this topic.

Although most people will disagree, there is some truth to the statement by Henry Blackburne that “chess is a kind of mental alcohol. Unless a man has supreme self-control, it is better that he should not learn to play chess. I have never allowed my children to learn it, for I have seen too much of its evil results.”

Blackburne, nicknamed “The Black Death,” is notorious for his fistfights with his opponents.

I did a search on the Internet about chess fights and violence and came across an article by world famous and hall of fame writer Bill Wall. He is, without doubt, the most productive writer about chess trivia.

Please note that these are isolated incidents and are exceptions.

Martin Wirth shot to death Vernie Cox after the two argued over a chess game in 1994.

Cox died of two gunshot wounds to the chest. Witnesses said Wirth had lost a chess game with Cox and knocked over the chess board. He went home and returned with a gun and shot Cox to death.

Robert Bryan of England shot Matthew Hay with a shotgun over a chess game in 1992 and was jailed for 10 years .

The Soviet Union banned cosmonauts from playing chess in space with each other although they can play with ground control after a fist fight once broke out between cosmonauts over a chess game in 1980.

In 1981, GM John Fedorowicz and GM András Adorján got into a fistfight at the Edward Lasker Memorial on New York. Fedorowicz was upset that Adorján beat him when Adorján was drawing all his earlier games.

Patrick McKenna, a prisoner in Nevada, strangled his Las Vegas cellmate, Jack J. Robles, after an argument over a chess game in 1979.

In 1971, when Tigran Petrosian lost his match with Bobby Fischer, Petrosian’s wife, Rona, put the blame on his trainer, Alexey Suetin, and slapped him.

Walter Bjornson of Vancouver was cut with a knife by his opponent in 1950 during a chess game, leaving a four-inch gash in his forearm.

The Argentine Chess Federation called off the national chess tournament in 1954 after a player punched the arbiter.

A Russian scientist killed another colleague with an axe after losing a chess game at the Vostok Research Station in the Antarctic in 1989.

International Master Bernard Zuckerman was once playing a chess tournament in 1979 .

A loud spectator was nearby and Zuckerman told him to keep quiet. When the spectator refused, Zuckerman hurled a captured bishop at him.

During the Candidates Tournament in Curacao in 1962, Bobby Fischer and Pal Benko got into a fight. Fischer asked Bisguier to assist him during an adjournment, but Benko also wanted Bisguier to help with his own adjournment.

Fischer insulted Benko and made fun of his accent and Benko responded by hitting Fischer A U.S. sailor got into a fight with a spectator in a Greenwich Village bar in 1960 while playing chess. He struck the spectator with a broken bottle and hit him on his jugular vein. The sailor was eventually acquitted of murder and was charged with accidental death instead Laurence Douglas of Puoghkeepsie, New York, stabbed Craig Williams to death over a chess game in 2000.Douglas, who lost $5, pulled out a knife and stabbed Williams 16 times.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 05, 2010.

Fide president: Aliens taught humans chess

2010-12-13T10:14:00.000+08:00

ABOUT a decade ago, when a survey was made among leading scientists and historians on what was or would be the most significant event in history, the answer was unanimous.

The greatest event would be the confirmation by Seti (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and NASA of intelligent life on other planets.

Chess was originally thought to have been invented in India or China 1,500 years ago.

Now, we have an amazing new hypothesis.

Chess came from outer space! Aliens came here and introduced the game to us back then.
The source, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, has personal information of this claim.

He is a multi-millionaire businessman and has been the president of the World Chess Federation, Fide, since 1995.

He was reelected last month for another four-year term, which means a lot of followers believe in his sanity, including Chessmoso.

He claimed that in 1997 he was taken by aliens to a spaceship and much later brought back to Earth.

“I’m not ill. I’m psychologically normal,” he says. “I didn’t hide it even though I knew that people would laugh at me and say I was crazy. Maybe it was a form of self-sacrifice.”

He said he saw a “semi-transparent half tube” spaceship on his balcony.

He then entered it and met “human-like creatures in yellow spacesuits”.

He also told The Guardian the aliens took him to some kind of star. “They told me many things and showed me around.”

I have always been fascinated with astronomy. During the 70s I was a member of the Philippine Astronomical Society.

I still remember the Luneta Planetarium, Hans Arber and Fr. Victor Badillo of the Ateneo Observatory, who has claim to eternal fame by having an asteroid named after him.

Aliens are apparently regular visitors as more than 1,700 encounters have been reported.

The most notable, aside from Kirsan, are Elizabeth Klarer (South Africa,1956), Antonio Villas Boas (Brazil,1957), Betty and Barney Hill(1961,USA), Herbert Schirmer (USA,1967), Pascagoula Abduction (USA,1973), Allagash Abductions (USA,1976) and Whitley Strieber (USA,1980).

The most amazing though is the claim by jazz singer Pamela Stonebrooke of having an “out of this world” sex with a 6’ alien reptilian in 1998 who could change into human-like form while making love.

An indirect argument for the existence of extraterrestrial life relies on the vast size of the observable universe. The argument, endorsed by Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking, says it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere other than Earth.

Possible forms of extraterrestrial life range from simple bacteria-like organisms to sapient beings far more advanced than us.

Based on observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, there are at least 125 billion galaxies in the Universe. It is estimated that at least 10 percent of all sun-like stars have a system of planets. Even if we assume that only one out of a billion of these stars have planets supporting life, there would be some 6.25×109 (billion) life-supporting planetary systems in the Universe. Wow!

An official announcement has been made that the exoplanet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope has discovered about 140 candidate worlds that are “like Earth.”

They could support liquid water and harbor intelligent life and who knows, play chess!
If a chess-playing alien is reading this article, you are welcome to join me, Jun Olis, Ely Berciles, Dante Arguelles and Tata Morelos for a game in Handuraw.

Beer below zero is on us plus their pizza is out of this world, just like you!

Incidentally, Handuraw Mactan is now open and is located at the ground floor of IMEZ building in front of Mepz 2.

(boypestano@gmail.com, www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 29, 2010.

Women’s team loses Asian Games spot

2010-12-13T10:13:00.000+08:00

THE surprise of the week was the withdrawal of the women’s chess team from the Asian
Games in Guangzhou, China which is scheduled on Nov. 12 to 27.

I immediately contacted NM Cesar Caturla, the captain of the women’s team in the last Olympiad, who referred me to National Chess Federation President Prospero Pichay.

Pichay said he withdrew the team, made up of women’s Fide Masters Cheradee Camacho, Sherily Cua and Catherine Perena, national champion Rulp Ylem Jose and alternate Jedara Docena, due to lack of competitiveness against the powerhouse teams from China, India, Vietnam and the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union.

The lady chessers placed 44th overall in the recent Chess Olympiad in Russia.

Apparently, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richie Garcia and the various sports federations have an agreement to send only competitive players to the 45-nations Asian Games.

Meanwhile, Rogelio “Joey” Antonio will join the Philippine chess team to the Guangzhou Asian Games after being reinstated by Pichay.

Antonio was suspended by the NCFP after failing to return from the US to compete in two tournaments here, the Pichay Cup and the Campomanes Memorial.

Antonio will rejoin fellow GMs Wesley So, John Paul Gomez, Darwin Laylo and Eugene Torre in the team, replacing Cebuano IM Richard Bitoon.

“Admittedly, Joey is one of our strongest players next to Wesley. But then again, we had to hand out disciplinary action for his failure to comply with the NCFP’s orders, that’s why he got delisted,” NCFP executive director Willie Abalos said.
We had our worst finish at 50th place in the Olympiad without Antonio, although I doubt if we could have done better.

Antonio recently won the Tuguegarao tournament, which included the country’s top players. He finished in a tie with Wesley but had a better tiebreak.

“Joey has proven that he still is one of our best players and he also apologized to our president and promised that he will follow all the rules and regulations set by the NCFP,” said Abalos.

Antonio will retain his Board 2 status. So will be the team’s Board 1 player, John Paul Gomez will play in Board 3 and Darwin Laylo will be in Board 4. Torre will now be an alternate and the team captain.

So has a good chance of winning an individual medal, while Antonio has a chance in the rapid competition.

China, India ,Azerbaijan and Vietnam are solid favorites in the team competition and it will be a tremendous achievement if we snare even a bronze medal.

SPICEY. The Spice Cup 2010 will take place on Oct. 28 to Nov. 7 at the Texas Tech University. This prestigious event is growing bigger every year since it started in 2007.

To make the tournament more exciting, the Spice Cup committee has unanimously voted to adapt the modified Sofia and Bilbao Rules.

This means no draws are allowed prior to move 30 and a win is worth 3 points, a draw 1 point and a loss, zero.

The formats are designed for players to always go for a win.

The contest will be a six-player double round robin event. The average Fide rating of the participants is 2631—a category 16—which is the highest-rated international invitational tournament this year in the USA.

The players are (all GMs): Zoltan Almasi (Hungary, 2707), Alexander Onischuk (US, 2688), Wesley So (Philippines, 2668 ),Georg Meier (Germany, 2659 ) ,Ray Robson (US, 2539), and Eugene Perelshteyn (US, 2528).

Spice is short for Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence. Apparently she is a great fan of Wesley, who was also invited last year.
(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2010.

Strongest event and 2 new Pinoy GMs

2010-12-13T10:12:00.000+08:00

THERE has never been a category 22 tournament before, that is, until this week. The second part of the 2010 Grand Slam Masters Final is set to end today. It started on Oct. 9 in Bilbao, Spain.

This year, the participants are Viswanathan Anand (2800), the current world champion and world No. 2, Magnus Carlsen (2826), winner of the Wijk aan Zee, Nanjing and Bazna tournaments and current world No. 1, Alexei Shirov (2749) world No. 12, and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik (2780), the world no. 5.

Shirov and Kramnik qualified after placing first and second, respectively, in the first phase in Shanghai from Sept. 3 to 8.

It is a six-round double round-robin event and is the highest-rated event in history.

Veselin Topalov, winner of Linares and former world no. 2, missed the final due to personal reasons.

A category 22 means the average rating of the participating players must be at least 2776. The greatest player of all time, Bobby Fischer had a peak rating of 2780 in the 70s.

Time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 60 minutes with a 10-second increment per move as of move 41.Sofia rules are used, meaning no draws are allowed unless approved by the arbiter.

The scoring system is the Bilbao, which scores three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero for a loss to encourage fighting chess .

In the event of a tie, the tiebreak used will be two blitz games played at four minutes each with a three-second increment per move. And if the match is still drawn, a final Armageddon game.

The Bilbao Masters are off to a big surprise, with some unforeseen results, to say the least. Carlsen, after losing three games in the Olympiad, continued his free fall and lost to Kramnik and Anand for an 0-2 start.

Kramnik, on the other hand, is red hot, as he had wins over Carlsen and Shirov. Using the tournament’s 3-1-0 scoring systems, that leaves the standings as follows after 4 rounds:

Kramnik (8 points), Anand (6), Shirov (3), Carlsen (2).

NEW GMS. It’s now official. Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla (2518) and Roland “Kulot”Salvador (2511) were officially conferred the Grandmaster title by the World Chess Federation during the Fide Congress coinciding with the 39th Olympiad in Khanty Mansiyk, Russia .

Barcenilla, whose roots are in Carcar,Cebu and is now based in Arizona, USA, was conferred the title after getting his final GM norm in the 2009 Copper State International Chess Championship held in Mesa, Arizona.

He is the second Cebuano after Joseph Sanchez to achieve the title.

Also a blackbelter in taekwando, he would like to thank the late Art Borjal, Casto Abundo and most of all Prospero Pichay. He also credits his uncle, the late Bombi Barcenilla Aznar, Boogie Lim of Rose Pharmacy, his wife Lilibeth Lee, his parents Rogelio Barcenilla Sr. and Wilhelmina Padla, his uncle George Barcenilla, his in-laws Antonio Lee and Hedelisa Lee for being very supportive throughout his career in chess.

Salvador, who hails from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan earned his third and final GM title during the 11th edition of the International Chess Tournament Fermo-Porto San Giorgio held from Aug. 21 to 29 at the Astoria Hotel in Fermo ,Italy.

Thus, Barcenilla and Salvador has joined RP’s elite group of GMs--Eugene Torre, the late Rosendo Balinas, Jr., Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr., Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez and of course, Sanchez.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 15, 2010.

The 39th Olympiad in review

2010-12-13T10:11:00.000+08:00

DESPITE logistics problems, the 39th Olympiad at Khanty Mansiyk, Russia was considered by the players as well-organized.

The Philippines men’s team started with a bang and ended with a whimper. We actually shared 49th to 63rd places, but after the Sonneborn-Berger tiebreak was applied, we placed 50th, the country’s worst performance in the biennial meet.

"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.

The RP men’s team garnered a total of 12 match points after 11 rounds of competition, while the ladies ended up in 44th place with the same score after the tiebreak points were applied.

The Filipinos had their best-ever finish in 1988 in Thessaloniki, Greece at seventh.

But the rest of the world continued on improving while we were practically at a standstill.

The turning point was the game between Cebuano Richard Bitoon ,who up to that time was considered a hero and IM Aleksander Volodin of Estonia. Before the final-round
setback, Bitoon was the second-best Filipino performer after Wesley So with six points on four wins, four draws and one loss while playing on board five.

If Richard had won, we would have finished in the top 20.

On the other hand, National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero
Pichay, Jr. was named by Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to the Panel of Advisers.

NCFP secretary-general Abraham Tolentino was elected Zone President 0f Southeast Asia.

Pichay was instrumental in the reelection of Kirsan for another four-year term after Pichay lectured former world champion Gary Kasparov on parliamentary procedure during the Congress.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STATS.

Here are the top six men’s team (match /game points): 1.) Ukraine (19/31), 2.) Russia 1 (18/28) 3.) Israel(17/29), 4.) Hungary (17/26.5), 5.) China (16/29), 6.) Russia 2 (16/29.5).

Women’s section: 1.) Russia 1 (22/34) , 2.) China (18/31.5) 3.) Georgia (16/29) 4.) Cuba (16/30) 5.) USA (16/28.5 ) 6. Poland (16/29.5).

Medal winners, men’s section:

Board 1: Gold medal: Vassily Ivanchuk, 8/10, 2890.

Silver: Levon Aronian (Armenia), 7.5/10, TPR (Tourament Performance Rating) 2888.
Bronze: Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia 2), 6.5/9, 2821.

Board 2: Gold Emil Sutovsky (Israel), 6.5/8, 2895.

Silver: Zoltan Almasi (Hungary), 7/10, 2801.

Bronze: Wang Hao (China), 7.5/10, 2783.

Board 3: Gold medal Vitaly Teterev (Belarus), 7/8, 2853.

Silver: Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine), 7/10, 2737.

Bronze: Sergei Rublevsky (Russia 3), 8/11, 2727.

Board 4:Gold medal Sergey Karjakin (Russia 1), 8/10, 2859.

Silver medal Zahar Efimenko (Ukraine), 8.5/11, 2783.

Bronze medal: Anish Giri (The Netherlands), 8/11, 2730.

Board 5: Gold medal: Sebastien Feller (France), 6/9, 2708.

Silver: Mateusz Bartel (Poland), 7/9, TPR 2706.

Bronze: Vlastimil Babula (Czech Republic), 7/9 2668.

Medal winners women’s section :

Board 1:Gold medal: Tatiana Kosintseva 7/10, 2628

Board 2:Gold medal Nadezhda Kosintseva (Russia 1), 8.5/10, 2662.

Board 3:Gold medal Yaniet Marrero Lopez (Cuba), 7/8, 2511.

Board 4:Gold medal Inna Gaponenko (Ukraine), 7.5/8, TPR 2691

Board 5:Gold medal Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine), 6.5/9, 2431

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 08, 2010.

Alien abductee is still Fide president

2010-12-13T10:10:00.000+08:00

KIRSAN Ilyumzhinov remains Fide President for four more years up to 2014. He won convincingly during the elections held with the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Maniysk. He
got 95 votes to 55 for Anatoly Karpov, while three abstained.

After his re-election Ilyumzhinov reportedly offered a position to Karpov.

Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency

Gary Kasparov, a Karpov supporter, questioned the proxy list composed of 56 countries that have entrusted their right to vote to other member states participating.

The result was a devastating loss for Karpov, although he had the support of the big federations like Germany,USA and most of Europe.

Kirsan had the votes of the small federations in Asia, Africa and South America.

A review of the developments prior to the election showed that this was probably the nastiest election in Fide history.

Ilyumzhinov criticized the destructive tactics of his opponent a few days before the Olympiad.

I understand that the Philippines voted for Ilyumzhinov. Although he is highly controversial, especially for his claim that he was visited by aliens in his Moscow apartment and taken on a guided tour in their spaceship, my opinion is that chess has become more popular worldwide during his terms starting in 1995.

Besides, I am a firm believer that we are not the only intelligent species in this universe.

Olympiad results after eight rounds. Men’s section (win-draw-loss): Ukraine 14 points, (6-2-0), Russia 1 13 points (6-1-1), Georgia 13 points (6-1-1), Azerbaijan 13 points (6-1-1), Hungary 13 points (6-1-1), Armenia 13 points (6-1-1), France 13 points (5-3-0), China 12 points (5-2-1), USA 12 points (5-2-1),Cuba 12 points (5-2-1), Israel 12 points (5-2-1).

Women’s section: Russia 1 16 points (8-0-0), Serbia 13 (6-1-1), Russia 2 13 (5-3-0), China 12 (6-0-2), Georgia 12 (6-0-2), Ukraine 12 (6-0-2), Cuba 12 (6-0-2), Hungary 12 (5-2-1), India 12 (6-0-2), Bulgaria 12 (5-2-1), Croatia 12 (5-2-1).

The Philippines’ men’s team scored nine pts with 4 wins 1 draw and 3 losses, while the women has eight with 3 wins 2 draws and 3 losses.

Here are our men’s round by round results: 4-0 vs. Korea; 1.5-2.5 vs. Spain, 2-2 vs. Scotland,; 3.5-1.5 vs. Paraguay, 3-1 vs. Uruguay, 1-3 vs. Belarus, 3-1 vs. Puerto Rico and 1-3 vs. Bulgaria.

The RP women results are:4-0 vs. Netherlands Antilles, 0.5-3.5 vs. Romania, 4-0 vs. Qatar, 2-2 vs. Israel, 2-2 vs. Argentina, 4-0 vs. Mexico, 1.5-2.5 vs. Peru and 0-4 vs. Vietnam.

Individual scores of our boys are: Wesley So (4/7), John Paul Gomez (4/7), Darwin Laylo (2.5/6). Eugene Torre (3.5/5). Richard Bitoon (4.5/7).

Individual scores of our women are: Cheradee Camacho (5/8), Catherine Perena (3.5/7), Shercila Cua (2.5/5), Rulp Ylem Jose (5/8) Jedara Docena (2/4). Cheradee was in solid contention for board 1 honors until she lost in the seventh and eighth rounds.

The leading scorers for board honors (men’s):

Board 1—Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) 6.5/7, Levon Aronian (Armenia) 5/7 and Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)-5/7.

Board 2—Emil Sutovsky (Israel) 5/6, Wang Hao(China) 6.5/8, Victor Laznika (Czech Republic) 6/8.

Board 3—Vitaly Teterev (Belarus) 6/7, Sergei Rublevsky (Russia 3) 6/8, Judit Polgar (Hungary) 5.5/8.

Board 4—Sergei Karjakin (Russia 1) 6.5/7, Levan Pantsulaia ( Georgia) 5.5/6, Zahar Efimenko(Ukraine) 6.5/8.

Board 5—Vlastimil Babula (Czech Republic) 5/6, Nils Grandelius (Sweden) 5.5/7, Kirili Stupak (Belarus) 5/7.

Our boys were set to play Turkmenistan last night in the ninth round, while the girls were to face Bolivia.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 01, 2010.

The 39th Chess Olympiad

2010-12-13T10:09:00.000+08:00

THE 39th Chess Olympiad started last Sept. 21 and will end on Oct. 3 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. It is an 11-round Swiss System team event for men and women and each team has four players with one reserve.

Time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, plus 30 minutes play to finish with an increment of 30 seconds/move.

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The numbers are astounding.There are 148 teams (735 players) in the men’s division and 114 teams (262 players) in the women’s division. Russia has fielded a controversial five teams in the men’s section and three in the women’s. The statistics are remarkable--772 titled players or 247 GMs, 63 WGMs, 160 IMs, 87 WIMs, 81 FMs, and 80 WFMs.

Thirty-five are over 2700 ELO and 117 are above 2600. There are a total of 220 players
above 2500 in the Men’s section.

The top seed is the first team of Russia followed by Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia B.
The defending champion is Armenia, which won in the last two Olympiads in Turin 2006 and Dresden 2008.
There are 22 teams with a rating average of 2600+, and all are possible medal winners.

In the women’s section, the top seed again is the team of Russia. They are the only team so far with an average ELO of 2500+. China is second with 2494, while Ukraine is third with 2493.

Georgia is the defending women’s champion.

To review, there are 312 titled players in the women section—14 GMs, 63 WGMs, and 37 IMs. 10 players are above 2500 and 37 are above 2400 ELO.

Absent is world champion Viswanathan Anand, who should have been playing for India but is now a Spanish citizen.

Special mention are the current world no.1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway, the volatile Veselin Topalov, playing for Bulgaria and Judit Polgar, the no.1 woman player who has only played 11 tournament games in the last 18 months. She will play board three for Hungary.

Composing the Philippines men team are GMs Wesley So, John Paul Gomez, Darwin Laylo , Eugene Torre and IM Richard Bitoon. The women’s squad is composed of WFMs Cheradee Camacho, Catherine Pereña, Shercila Cua, Jedara Docena and Rulp Ylem Jose.

Also to be decided in the Olympiad is the election of a new set of Fide officers, which is hotly contested by the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and former world champion Anatoly Karpov, both of Russia.

Initial feedback though shows that 93 federations, including the Philippines, have committed to support Kirsan.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s lineup includes Georgios Makropoulos of Greece for deputy president, Lewis Ncube of Zambia for vice president, Beatriz Marinello of Chile and Brazil, for vice president, Ignatius Leong of Singapore for general secretary, and Nigel Freeman of Bermuda for treasurer.

The ticket of Anatoly Karpov includes Richard Conn Jr. of the United States, for deputy president, Aguinaldo Jaime of Angola for vice president, Alisa Maric of Serbia for vice president, Abd Hamid Majid of Malaysia for general secretary, and Viktor Kapustin of Ukraine for treasurer.

GAMES. As expected the Philippines men’s and women’s teams scored identical 4-0 wins over lowly-rated Korea and Netherlands Antilles,respectively, in the first round.
In the second round, No. 16 Spain edged the No. 37 RP, 2.5-1.5 as John Paul Gomez lost to Ivan Salgado Lopez in Board 2 while the rest were drawn.

The women likewise went down against Romania, 0.5-3.5.

The men were set to play Scotland last night, while the ladies were set to face Qatar.
Vietnam, seeded 27th, registered the biggest upset of the tournament thus far with a spectacular 2.5-1.5 win against No. 3 Azerbaijan while the Topalov-led Bulgarian team, seeded eighth, No. 28 Croatia.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 25, 2010.

New twist on Jinky and Joey case

2010-12-13T10:04:00.000+08:00

SAMUEL Estimo, Jinky Young’s lawyer, e-mailed me the other day for updates on the case of Bobby Fischer’s estate.

“The District court of Reykjavik, Iceland has reopened the case of Jinky Young, the Filipino child of the late Bobby Fischer, to allow her to add further evidence in support of her claim to the estate of the chess legend.

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“In a ruling during the hearing on Sept. 10, Judge Ms. Ingiridur Ludviksdottir reset the case to Oct. 6 to allow Marilyn Young, Jinky’s mother, to engage the services of another lawyer after their counsel in Iceland, Thordur Bogason, had a falling out with Jinky’s local lawyer, Sammy Estimo.”

Estimo has theorized Bogason had prematurely closed the case without consulting his client after the DNA tests in Germany allegedly showed Jinky was not the child of Fischer. He said there were post-DNA remedies available, like a request for a similar test to be conducted on the DNA samples of Fischer’s nephews who are also claimants to his estate. If the result proves negative, then the seven tissue samples which were taken from the coffin supposedly containing the remains of Fischer during his questionable exhumation in July, were not genuinely his. The DNA examination in Germany would then be a hoax.

Estimo also discovered a provision of Icelandic law which would have won the case for Jinky but was not used by Bogason. This law, plus the bank deposits, post cards signed by Fischer admitting he was Jinky’s daddy, photos taken in a hotel in Hong Kong and the expensive house which Fischer bought for Jinky in Davao City could have clinched Jinky’s claim to the estate of her father.

But even if Jinky loses at the District Court, she can still appeal to the Supreme Court where she will have a better chance. Bogason admitted in his letter to Marilyn dated Sept. 11 a losing party at the District Court can go to the Supreme Court
within two weeks from receipt of the lower court’s ruling.

ANTONIO. Philippine Sports Commission chairman Ritchie Garcia said he cannot just deprive Joey Antonio of his benefits and his P20,000 allowance based on the request of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines(NCFP).

“Obviously, there’s something wrong here but we need to discuss it first. We will talk to the parties concerned. We need to clarify things,” said Garcia.

The NCFP, through its president Butch Pichay, removed Antonio from the national team that will play in the Olympiad in Russia and the Asian Games in China and replaced him with Richard Bitoon.

Antonio elected to play in some minor tournaments in the USA and did not play in the country’s major international tournaments, the Pichay Cup and the more important $100,000 Capomanes Memorial.

The PSC provided the airfare and daily allowance for Antonio for the US trip based on a letter of request signed by Pichay himself.

“It would be a pity if an elite athlete like Joey Antonio is dropped from the national pool when he is not at fault,” Garcia said.

Pichay said, “Pwede namang ipagpaliban yung pagsali sa US. Kung wala siyang respeto sa Pichay Cup, kahit sa Campomanes Cup man lang siya sumali.”

LOCAL. There will be a tournament this Sept 19 at 9 a.m. in lower San Roque (near City Hall) Bulacao. Format is seven rounds Swiss with 25-minute time control. It is restricted to players 18 and below. For more details contact Denis Navales 09286614674.

Meanwhile, Cebuanos Felix Shaun Balbona and Kyle Sevillano qualified for the Shell
Kiddies Grand Finals. They qualified in the Cagayan leg along with Jhon Rey Batucan of Davao City. Congratulations.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 18, 2010.

Bitoon replaces Antonio in RP team

2010-12-13T10:02:00.000+08:00

THE National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) has named Cebuano IM Richard Bitoon to replace GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. in the national team that will play in the Chess Olympiad in Russia this month and in the Asian Games in China this November.

Antonio was dropped from the national team after he elected to play in two minor events in the United States rather than compete in the Pichay Cup and the first Campomanes Memorial.

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Bitoon, 34, who was called the Gata Kamsky of Cebu while he was growing up, said he is ready to take part in his third Olympiad.

He scored a respectable 6/9 points in the Campo Memorial to tie for seventh to 13th together with Wesley So, Darwin Laylo and several others. The three were the best Filipino placers in the memorial.

Bitoon also donned the national colors in the 1998 Kalmykia and 2000 Istanbul Olympiads which was highly controversial. The issue is too complicated to be discussed here as the Philippines sent two separate teams.

Bitoon, the 2008 Singapore Masters champion, will be joining GMs Wesley So, John Paul Gomez, Darwin Laylo and Eugene Torre in the national team.

We placed 46th in the last Olympiad at Dresden. Can we do better without Joey around?

Meanwhile, Antonio is planning to sue NCFP and president Prospero Pichay for removing him from the RP team.

NM Samuel Estimo, Joey’s lawyer explained that under the by-laws of the NCFP, before any disciplinary action can be slapped against any player, he must be given a chance to defend himself before the NCFP Internal Affairs Committee after proper notice has been served.

In the case of Antonio, Estimo said the GM was denied his right to due process.

NEW GMS. I featured Cebuano Banjo Barcenilla a few weeks ago as our next GM.

Joining him is Italy based-IM Roland Salvador who recently snared his third and final norm in Italy late last month.

About 250 players competed in the International Chess Tournament Fermo-Porto San Giorgio. In the Master Open, six players shared first place with 7.0 points each: IM Salvador Roland (2498, Philippines ), GM Epishin Vladimir (2598, Russia), GM Prohaszka Peter (2526, Hungary), GM Meijers Viesturs (2474, Latvia), GM David Alberto (2622, Luxemburg) and GM Leon Hoyos Manuel (2556, Mexico).

Salvador was declared winner because he had the best tiebreak score.

NCFP President/ Chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. lauded Salvador’s latest feat.

“He deserves this... I’m really happy for him. This proves once again that the Filipino can be at par with the world’s best woodpushers,” said Pichay.

“Inaalay ko po sa bayan ang pagkapanalo ko dito sa Italy at pagkuha ng third at final GM norm. Naging inspirasyon din po natin si President Pichay na patuloy na sumusuporta sa local at international tournaments para lalong mapalakas ang chess sa Pilipinas,” said Salvador.

With his impressive performance, Salvador raised his Elo rating from 2498 to 2511. He achieved his first GM norm in 2004 in Bratto, Italy and picked up his second in 2006 in Genova, Italy.

The two will soon join the ranks of RP’s elite group of GMs—Torre, the late Rosendo Balinas Jr., Antonio Jr., Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, So, Laylo, Gonzales, Gomez and Joseph Sanchez .

Salvador’s and Barcenilla’s status as full-pledge GMs will be confirmed in the upcoming Fide Congress to coincide with the Chess Olympiad in Russia on Sept. 21 to Oct. 3.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

September 10, 2010.

Just say sorry, Joey

2010-12-13T09:58:00.000+08:00

GM JOEY Antonio is out of the Philippine team that will be sent to the Chess Olympiad in Russia and the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou ,China.

Not only that, he stands to lose his monthly allowance of P20,000.

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What happened? How can such a misfortune be possible?

After examining all the facts and following the drama the past week or so, my conclusion is that it is all a matter of misunderstanding.

But Joey should not justify his actions and air his grievances to the media as the blame largely falls upon himself as he was warned and had ample time to rectify his error. What he should do is to admit his mistake and ask for forgiveness from NCFP president Prospero Pichay, who is a reasonable man.

The whole thing started when Joey snubbed the two most prestigious international tournaments of the country--the back-to- back Pichay Cup and the Campomanes Memorial.

The $100,000 Campomanes Memorial is considered to be a major tournament this year and even Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Ignatius Leong, the Fide president and secretary-general were here.

Instead Joey went to the USA and competed in the minor 2nd Central California Open which he won. He also planned to play in the Atlantic Open and return home on Sept. 9, which is too late for the Campo Memorial.

Meanwhile, Pichay said Antonio faces expulsion from the national team if he fails to return to the country in time and participate in the first Campomanes Memorial .

Pichay instructed NCFP executive director Willie Abalos to relay the possible sanction
to Antonio.

“We are giving him the chance and will wait until Saturday. If he fails to show up then we have no other choice but to replace him,” added Abalos.

“Definitely, we will sanction him. Discipline is important for a national player and we will not tolerate players who are prima donnas,” said Pichay.

Antonio said, “I have all the documents signed by Mr. Pichay. I also made a courtesy call on PSC chairman Richie Garcia before I left so I am completely puzzled by their decision, which I hope is not final. Physically, I cannot play in the ‘Campo’ Memorial because my plane ticket has been booked until Sept. 9. If they would send me a new ticket, I will go home ASAP.”

I note a tinge of arrogance here. He should have gone home pronto!

Pichay said, “Yes, I signed the letter intended for the PSC, but it doesn’t mean that he was given the go signal to miss the two major events in the country. We already had the order that national players must take part in at least one tournament, either the Pichay Cup or the Campomanes Memorial. His action shows that he is not serious in joining the team.”

Antonio, the country’s No. 2, said, “Modesty aside, I have given so much honor and glory to the Philippines being one of the main pillars for the RP team in the past 10 Olympiads along with Eugene Torre. I have dedicated my life to the sport and now, they just want to snuff out the fire in me?”

GMs Wesley So, John Paul Gomez, Darwin Laylo and Asia’s first grandmaster Eugene Torre are the other members of the team.

Joey’s replacement will be chosen after the Campo Memorial.

My wish though is for Joey to remain on the team. After all, he has learned his lesson. Taking legal action, which he and his wife are planning to do, is not advisable. It will only make things worse for him.

CLINIC. A clinic on basic chess principles will be conducted in Gun-ob,Lapu-lapu City for kiddies 14 years and younger on Sept.5.

After the clinic, there will be a tournament among the participants with attractive prizes at stake. For details, contact Manny Manzanares at 09058386318 or Jun Olis at 09103476987.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Friday, September 3, 2010

Experience team vs. Rising Stars

2010-12-13T09:55:00.000+08:00

THIS distinct annual event pits five highly-talented young players against five older and experienced ones. It was held last Aug. 12 to 22 at the five-star Hotel Krasnapolsky in the heart of Amsterdam.

The “Experience” team consisted of Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2739), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2734), Peter Heine Nielsen (Denmark, 2700), Loek van Wely (The Netherlands, 2677) and Ljubomir Ljubojevic (Serbia, 2572). The “Rising Stars” was made up of Hikaru Nakamura (United States, 2729), Fabiano Caruana (Italy, 2697), Wesley So (Philippines, 2674), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2672) and David Howell (England, 2616).

The tournament was a double round-robin Schveningen type match, in which the players of each team play each player of the other team twice.

It was the fifth and final edition of the tournament. The youngsters won the first three editions. This year the rising stars won again but barely, 26-24.

This tournament is organized by the Monaco-based Association Max Euwe of renowned
billionaire Joop van Oosterom. The players are treated like movie stars and the only thing that is expected in return is that they entertain the public with great fighting chess.

Each player of the winning team receives 2,000 euros, and the losing team 1,000 euros each. In case of a tie, each player gets 1,500 euros. In addition, each player receives 500 euros for each point he scores.

There’s also a special prize for the “Rising Stars” team and the player with the highest score will be invited to the 2011 Melody Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament in Nice, provided he scores over 50 percent. In case two players reach the same score, a blitz tiebreaker will decide who will be invited.

Nakamura and Giri were tied at the end of the tournament and a tiebreak blitz game was played. Nakamura, renowned as one of the world’s best blitz players, swept the series 2-0, and will join an elite field in Nice next year for some blindfold and rapid chess.

Our Wesley So is turning out to be like Peter Leko of Hungary and Tigran Petrosian of Russia—great players with a penchant for draws. Wesley did not win a game in 10 rounds and had nine draws. His single loss against the lowest rated Ljubojevic who I remember was a nemesis of Eugene Torre in the 70s and 80s.

BARCENILLA.US-based GM elect Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla’s long-overdue grandmaster title will be tackled again .

“Mag meeting ulit daw sa September sa next Congress during Olympiad,” said Barcenilla, former Asian Junior champion.

It was Fide delegate Casto “Toti” Abundo of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) who assured Barcenilla’s long-ovedue GM title application.

“Sabi ni Casto Abundo iti-take up nila ang application ko daw ulit,” said Barcenilla.

Barcenilla achieved his first GM norm in 1993 in Jakarta and picked up his second norm five years later in Subic. He won his third GM norm in 2000 in New York and his fourth in 2009 in Phoenix. Barcenilla best ELO rating is 2518.

Barcenilla became the fourth Filipino GM after Eugene Torre, the late Rosendo Balinas and Rogelio Antonio, Jr. when he obtained the third and final GM result in the
Marshall Chess Club GM Invitational in New York in June 2000.

However, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) did not confirm Barcenilla’s GM status since his third norm was a result of a tournament which used the Marshall system.

This tournament format is not included among those cited in Fide’s guidelines that could bestow GM norms.

He is a nephew of the late Bombi Aznar and is from Carcar.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

The Bobby Fischer saga continues

2010-12-13T09:53:00.000+08:00

THE DNA test on former chess champion Bobby Fischer’s corpse has shown that he was not the father of nine-year-old Jinky Young, as claimed by Jinky’s mother Marilyn Young.

The Youngs are from Davao City.

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I am reprinting the comments of Jinky’s lawyer, Samuel Estimo, which was e-mailed to me, last night.

“The exhumation of Bobby Fischer was not done in the normal way. His coffin should have been brought up and opened to make sure the seven tissue samples taken from the alleged remains were those of Bobby Fischer.

Indeed, the procedure undertaken borders on the doubtful. The lot where Fischer was buried belongs to the family of Gardar Sverisson, a close friend of Miyoko Watai.

He had complete access to the area, and in fact, Fischer was buried there in front of the church in an early January morning without the church pastor knowing it. Who knows what could have taken place there between the date of burial and on the days before the exhumation?

As it will appear now, the Targ nephews will collect the estate of Bobby Fischer. Of the three claimants, the nephews are the least-favored as far as Bobby was concerned.

The two women closest to his heart were Jinky Young and Miyoko Watai, and if he could just have written a last will, he would have bequeathed his entire estate to the two.

I doubt if the Targ brothers would get a single kroner in that will.

I am sure Bobby will not like the way his estate will be disposed of. The strong secondary evidences, like the photos, bank remittances to Jinky, the postcards which Bobby sent to Jinky where he signed “Daddy” and even the expensive house and lot that Bobby bought for Jinky in the Philippines, should have been factored in the disposition of his estate.

“Jinky will be denied her rightful due to the estate of Bobby Fischer!”

I am positive that Marilyn and Jinky would not have gone to Iceland to have their DNA test had Marilyn not been sure of the paternity of Jinky.

Either Marilyn is terribly wrong or the tissue removed during exhumation was not that of Fischer. From what I have gathered, the DNA sample was taken by digging a hole in the ground and into the coffin “out of respect’’ for Fischer and the coffin was not opened.

Although I am not a lawyer, the case should not be considered close. It is clear that Fischer accepted Jinky as his daughter as shown by the continuous financial support given to her and other evidences. It should go to court arbitration as the amount involved is substantial (estimated at P100 million to 140 million).

Although there is no will, Bobby’s real intention should be respected.

TALISAY. The Talisay City Chess Club has launched the CCaT program.

CCaT (pronounced “sikat” ) is an abbreviation for Chess Clinic and Tournaments. Its primary aim is to promote chess to kids who are 14 years old and younger.

It also offers an alternative option to computer war games, gambling and illegal drugs and has organized chapters in Barangays for this purpose.

The CCaT Program is on-going. It started in Barangay San Roque, then Bulacao under Antonio Cabrera and organized by Loreto Powao. Now it is Tabunok’s turn.

Barangay Captain Maning Cabriana is inviting all kids to participate in the coming tournament on Aug. 22 9 a.m. at the Tabunok Sports Complex. It will be seven rounds Swiss, 30 minutes play to finish. Registration is P25.

Contact persons are Loreto Powao, organizer, Vicente Rabaya, Tabunok Chapter President and Rowell Campaner, Bulacao Chapter President. Tournament director is former Cepca president Manny Manzanares.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

The incredible Polgar sisters

2010-12-13T09:51:00.000+08:00

IF YOU have not heard of the Polgar sisters, then you are not a chess player.

Former Cepca president Nicnic Climaco of negative ion fame lent me a book “Talent is overrated” by Geoff Colvin and it is an eye-opener. The author described partly the chess achievements of the sisters—Susan,Sofia and Judit—and how they did it.

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Susan became the first woman to become a grandmaster and was the women’s world champion several times.

Judit became the youngest GM. She is also considered to be the greatest and strongest woman chess player in history.

Sofia, an International master, scored an amazing 8.5/9 in a tournament in 1989 known as the “sack of Rome” over a phalanx of GMs. And that is considered one of the greatest performance ever by a chess player-- male or female.

Why do they excel? Most people will say because they are talented, but that is not exactly the right answer.

Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work.

For one thing, Colvin said, “You do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don’t exist.

You are not born a chess grandmaster, swimmer or pianist. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that’s demanding and painful.”

Bobby Fischer devoted 10 to 14 hours of intense chess study everyday that would kill an ordinary person (at least me).

Understand that talent doesn’t mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits.

It’s an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well.

British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda conclude in an extensive study, “The evidence we have surveyed ... does not support the (notion that) excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts.”

In virtually every field of endeavor, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly and then stop developing completely.

Yet a few do improve for years and even decades, and go on to achieve greatness. Why? How are certain people able to go on improving?

The answer? Deliberate practice.

Lazlo Polgar, a Hungarian educational psychologist, believed that great performers are made, not born. He wanted to prove it by doing it himself.

He made it known that if a woman would marry and have children with him, he would conduct an experiment that would make his children extraordinary achievers.

Amazingly, he found such a woman, a schoolteacher, named Klara who agreed to
cooperate with him.

Why he choose chess was because his first child was female—Susan--and the prevailing view then was women couldn’t compete with men at the highest level. Also, the improvement in chess can be easily monitored. Thus this would be the ideal realm to
prove his theory.

The couple devoted their lives to teaching Susan and her two sisters, starting at age 3. All three daughters studied at home.

The parents quit their jobs to devote full time to teaching them hours and hours of chess instruction.

Lazlo bought thousands of chess books as the children progressed. They also learned other subjects as insisted by school authorities and had to pass exams and all the children speak several languages.

One can only wonder at the results if Laszlo had boys instead of girls as chess is a man’s game.

Susan said, “My father believes that innate talent is nothing, that success is 99% hard work. I agree with him.”

This story illustrates how the principle of deliberate practice,when carried to an extra-ordinary level ,produce extraordinary achievement.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Vietnam’s chess factory

2010-12-13T09:49:00.001+08:00

THE Philippines and Vietnam have the same budget for chess—5 million. The big difference is that the amount for the Philippines is in pesos, while for Vietnam, it’s in US dollars. Yuck!

Vietnam is the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia. As a result, sports, especially chess, gets a lot of attention from the government.

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Vietnam adopted the old Soviet model and offers a monthly allowance to children as young as four who excel in tournaments.

The result? Two of their brightest talents made waves in the last two major tournaments.

Le Quang Liem, only 19 and is ranked higher than Wesley So at No. 55 in the world, tied for first at the Moscow Open in February. He followed that up by snaring the Aeroflot Open, the strongest Open tournament of the year. That qualified him for the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund, Germany, an elite event.

Le finished solo second behind Ruslan Ponomariov. Vladimir Kramnik and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov tied for third. The other players were Peter Leko and Arkadi Naiditsch.

This was a category 20 tournament and Le’s showing was considered a fantastic achievement. He showed he is able to compete with the top players of the world and will soon be a strong contender to be world champion.

The other Vietnamese player on his way to the top is Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, 20. He tied for third at the same Aeroflot Open behind Le.

Just recently, Nguyen tied for first with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana in the top section of the Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland where our Wesley So placed fifth.

What is Vietnam’s formula?

“Chess clubs are spread throughout the political structure of provinces and cities,” said Casto Abundo, deputy president of the Asian Chess Federation. “Each club has its own budget at its disposal and concentrates on the development of the youth. They are now harvesting the fruits of their labor.”

The coach of Vietnam’s national chess team, Mikhail Vasyliev, a Ukrainian, said the Vietnamese government’s approach to chess works because “efforts are directed at the most promising players from a young age, rather than at those children whose parents have the money to pay for classes.”

Many of Vietnam’s best players are from poor families, Vasyliev said.

Children as young as four who do well in tournaments receive monthly allowances and free chess instruction.

“They get around $300 per month plus room and board and three or four times a year they can go abroad,” Vasyliev says, “(and that’s in a country where) $100 per month is considered a good salary.”

In April, the top four male and female winners of Vietnam’s national chess tournament took home a total of $13,500 in prizes.

“Nowhere in the world are there children who get these stipends.” chess player Huang Xuan Thanh Khiet said, “If the child is talented, all the conditions (for his improvement) are created. That’s how we make good players.”

In 2008, seven-year-old Tran Minh Thang became the world chess champion for children under eight and many more are coming.

For starters, how about giving an allowance to Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano? He won the 16 and Under tournament last weekend at SM with a score of 6.5/7 and he is only 11 yrs old! Give monthly allowances also to kiddie players Vic Glyssen Derotas, Jeremy Pepito and the talented Balbona siblings--Jessa Marie,Marq Gabriele, Felix Shaun ,John Francis and James Andrew.

Calling Richie Garcia of the Philippine Sports Commission!

How about it Mayor Michael Rama, who I know is a good chess player? If the city can give P4,000 to seniors and P10,000 to high school graduates, these kids deserve it too. They can give honor to the city and country.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Biel and Dortmund

2010-07-30T21:34:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

TWO big events are going on almost at the same time—Biel and Dortmund. Aside from that, there’s the US Women Championships, it’s getting famous because of the drama in the previous two seasons.

The US Women Championship took place from July 9 to 20 at the Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, thanks to a guy named Rex Siquenfield, who is becoming one of the biggest benefactors of the game.

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IM Irina Krush won her last two games to snare the crown from the two-time defending champion IM Anna Zatonskih.

These two ladies have been in a very close competition in the last four years, and they also had a highly-controversial Armageddon game two years ago.

Dortmund 2010 in Germany or the The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting is on its 38th edition. It is one of the four “majors” in the chess tournament circuit along with Corus, Sofia and Linares and only very strong players are invited.

The nine-time winner here is former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.

This year, the tournament is a category 20 having an average rating of 2734. It is a six-player, double round-robin event. The players are Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan, 2760), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Peter Leko (Hungary,2735) , Arkadi Naiditsch (Germany, 2691).

The newcomer is the highest-rated Asean player today, Le Quang Liem (Vietnam, 2689) who won a place here by winning the 9th Aeroflot Open in Moscow.

After six rounds, the solo leader is Ponomariov with 4.0, followed by Le at 3.5. Mamedyarov and Kramnik are tied with 3.0, while Naiditsch has 2.5. Leko only has 2.0.

The Biel Chess festival in Switzerland is a whole canopy of chess events. The main attraction is the category 17 battle of 10 young stars.

The hero for the moment is our Wesley So, who is now leading the tournament after scoring two wins and a draw in three rounds.

His win over Maxim Rodshtein was a masterpiece and most kibitzers did not see the mate in five engineered by Wesley. Tied for second are Fabiano Caruana and Evgeny Tomashevsky with 2.

There is a five-way tie between Maxime Vacher Lagrave, Dmitry Andreikin, Anish Giri, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Rodshtein, all with 1.5. David Howell has 1, while Parimarjan Negi is the whipping boy of the competition and is still scoreless.

LOCAL. Talisay City conducted basic training sessions last July 11 and 18 that was attended by 22 kiddies players.

A tournament was played after the training sessions and the winner in the 10-Under was Nadene Cabano, while Kierlyn Sebial won the 11-Above.

The next event will be on July 25. For details contact Manny Manzanares at 09058386310. The organizers are Loreto Powao, Gil Buzon and Rowell Campaner.

Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano won the 16-Under tournament last Sunday at SM with a masterful 6.5 out of seven rounds and he is only 11 years old!

Golden Haven is sponsoring a tournament this Sunday at their park in Barangay Binaliw, Talamban starting at 1 p.m.

A van will ferry passengers from the Metrobank parking lot in front of the Talamban Gym to the park and back. Passengers can ride in shifts starting at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

There are two categories—13-Under and 20-Under. For details contact Roger Abella 0910-268-6898.

This is probably the first time in the world that a chess tournament will be held in a cemetery or a memorial park as it is now aptly called.

Also, a 10-board match will be played tomorrow between Aboitizland and Deep Blue players at SM.
Olympiad. Here are members of the Philippine team for the Chess Olympiad in Russia on Sept. 19 –Oct. 4.

The men’s team is composed of GMs So, Eugenio Torre, Rogelio Antonio, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo. The women’s team is composed of Catherine Perena, Cheradee Camacho, Shercila Cua, Jedara Docena and Rulp Ylem Jose.

Nicely chosen!

(boypestano@gmail.com, www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 23, 2010.

9-year-old Filipina to inherit P140 million

2010-07-30T21:28:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl from the Philippines, Jinky Young, claims Bobby Fischer, who died in 2008, was her father. She stands to inherit approximately P140 million and some gold holdings deposited in a bank in Iceland.

Other claimants are Fischer’s nephews, Nicolas and Alexander Targ, Bobby’s alleged wife Miyoko Watai and the Internal Revenue Service.

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Thordur Bogason, a lawyer based in Reykjavik, said evidence was presented to the court that showed that Fischer sent Jinky and her mother Marilyn Young “considerable” amount of money on eight occasions in the years before he died. It ranged from $1,230 to $6,150.

Other documents she provided were pictures of her with Fischer, and postcards to Jinky signed “Daddy” that she said were from Fischer.

Also, Marilyn claimed that Fischer also gifted her with a house and lot in an upscale subdivision in Davao.

“At this point we are just trying to establish this,” Thordur said. “And if she is confirmed as the daughter of Bobby Fischer, then by Icelandic law she is his legal and only heir.”

The remains of chess genius Bobby Fischer was exhumed a few days ago for paternity testing .

Paternity tests use samples from blood or tissue and compares the DNA pattern of the child to that of the alleged father.

Usually the mother’s DNA is also collected (called a trio) to help exclude half of the child’s DNA, leaving the other half for comparison to the alleged father. Because DNA is inherited from parents, the comparison can be used as definitive proof of a biological relationship.

Establishing paternity is important not only for legal and financial reasons, but also for social and health reasons.

Both mothers and children can get a peace of mind and sense of well-being for knowing for sure who the biological father of a child is.

There are two types of paternity tests: legal and home DNA tests. Unlike a home DNA test, legal testing follows a Chain of Custody documentation process to ensure accurate and legally defensible results. Testing can offer a 99.99 percent accuracy rate for inclusion and a 100% accuracy rate for exclusion.

Police district commissioner Olafur Helgi Kjartansson said Fischer’s corpse was dug from a cemetery near Selfoss in southern Iceland in the presence of a doctor, a priest and other officials.

Kjartansson said the exhumation “was done in a professional and dignified way and according to law. The privacy of the deceased was protected at all times.”

Thordur Bogason said the country’s Supreme Court made the decision in order to allow for tests so his client, Jinky Young, can find out who her father is.

Earlier in December last year, Jinky and her mother were DNA-tested in Iceland.

One of Iceland’s lower courts had originally been asked for permission to examine Fischer’s remains, Bogason said, but it was denied. They appealed to the Supreme Court, which approved the exhumation.

According to Samuel Estimo, Jinky’s local lawyer, this whole issue will be resolved in about two week’s time.

A movie is also in the works as Kevin MacDonald helms the story of Bobby Fischer’s match in 1972 against Soviet Boris Spassky in the Universal Pictures co-production with Working Title Films. Shawn Slovo provided the script based on David Edmonds and John Eidinow’s book “Bobby Fischer goes to war.”

Another movie about Fischer is ‘’Pawn Sacrifice” starring Tobey Maguire of Spiderman fame. David Fincher will direct.

Royalties from these movies will add a sizable income to Fischer’s estate.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 16, 2010.

Why GMs are not what they used to be

2010-07-30T21:27:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

THE Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in chess.

Elo is not that reliable. Let’s take a Look at what Arpad Elo (the inventor of this system) said about his own creation.

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He said it was futile to attempt to use ratings to compare players from different eras and in his view, they could only possibly measure the strength of a player compared to his or her contemporaries.

He also said the process of rating players was in any case rather approximate; Elo is not absolutely correct and must be adjusted over time. He compared it to “the measurement of the position of a cork bobbing up and down on the surface of agitated water with a yard stick tied to a rope and which is swaying in the wind”!

The Fide rating list for July has just been released and Magnus Carlsen remains world No. 1 at 2826. Veselin Topalov lost some points in his world title match against Viswanathan Anand and is second with 2803.

Anand moved to No. 3 and these three players are rated 2800 and above. In addition, there are 37 players over 2700 and all players in the top 100 are 2639 and higher.

Wesley So is rated 2674 and is at No. 60.

Only one player in history has ever been rated higher than Magnus: Garry Kasparov, who peaked at 2851 11 years ago.

Here are the Elo ratings of the world top 20 players and the year they acquired them.
You will notice that only Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov are included. The great players of the past like Capablanca, Lasker, Tal ,Spassky, Botvinnik are nowhere near.

Gary Kasparov (Russia, 2851,1999), Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2826, 2010) Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria, 2813, 2006), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2811, 2002), Viswanathan Anand (India, 2803, 2006), Alexander Morozevich (Russia, 2788, 2008), Ivanchuk Vassily (Ukraine, 2787, 2007), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2786, 2009), Robert Fischer (USA, 2785, 1972), Anatoly Karpov ( Russia, 2780, 1994), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2765, 2006), Peter Leko (Hungary, 2763, 2005), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ( Azerbaijan, 2763, 2010), Radjabov Teimour (Azerbaijan, 2761, 2009), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2761, 2010), Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia, 2760,2009), Alex Grischuk (Russia, 2760, 2010), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2759, 2010), Michael Adams (England, 2755, 2000), Alexei Shirov ( Spain, 2755,2008).
Ratings inflation is a real thing over time and it is a scandal that the ratings required to get titles have not moved with it.

The highest title a player can reach is the grandmaster and once awarded, it is good for life. There is only one title higher than that and it is world champion.

My proposal is to increase the minimum rating of a grandmaster from 2500 to 2620 and an IM from 2400 to 2520.

A GM title should carry some measure of respect from the lesser rated players but that is not what is happening now. Beating a GM is relatively easier and once achieved, it does not merit news coverage.

MARATHON. The country’s bid to break the world record for the biggest chess simultaneous exhibition is scheduled on July 31 to Aug. 1 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales will face 600 opponents—mostly varsity players from public schools of the nation capital—and needs at least an 80 percent score to qualify for the record.

The current record-holder is Iranian GM Morteza Mahjoob, who faced 500 opponents simultaneously last Aug. 13, 2009 in Tehran, Iran.

PLDT, Shell and other supporters will cover the bulk of the operating expenses including the preparation expenses of Gonzales. Registration is free.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 9, 2010.

Why Wesley gets invited to big events

2010-07-30T21:25:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

WHAT makes one popular? My observation is that if you have money or if you are talented, good-looking and pretty, you get invited to parties and big events.

In chess, what counts most is talent but there are also a lot of factors that come in.

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The reasons Wesley So is now the darling of the chess crowd is because he is the youngest ever to become super GM, the youngest player now in the top 60, and he comes from a third country, and is also Asian at that. He also has the distinction of being the strongest 14-year-old player in history.

He also defeated super strong players, Vassily Ivanchuk and Gata Kamsky, in the last World Cup.

Earlier, he was invited to Corus, which is like being invited to the White House. Now, he is playing at Biel, a much sought after event by GMs. It has been a so-so performance by Wesley though as he scored only 4.5/9 to place fifth after tiebreaks.

EXPERIENCE. Here comes the 5th NH tournament to be held from Aug. 12 to 22 at the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam.

The NH Chess Tournament is a “Scheveningen” team tournament between an “Experienced” team and a “Rising Stars” team. There’s a special prize for the best Rising Star--an invitation to the celebrated 2011 Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament.

The “Experience” team has Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2739), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2734), Peter Heine Nielsen (Denmark, 2700), Loek van Wely (The Netherlands, 2677) and Ljubomir Ljubojevic (Serbia, 2572). The “Rising Stars” are Hikaru Nakamura (United States, 2729), Fabiano Caruana (Italy, 2697), Wesley So (Philippines, 2674), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2672) and David Howell (England, 2616).

Another event where our prodigy is invited is the Spice Cup 2010.

The Spice Cup will take place on Oct. 28 to Nov. 7 at the campus of Texas Tech University.

To make the tournament a lot more exciting, the Spice Cup committee has unanimously voted to adapt the following new rules: No draw offer allowed prior to move 30, a win is worth three points and a draw is worth 1 point.

The invited players are Zoltan Almasi (2717), Alexander Onischuk (2701), So (2674),Georg Meier (2648), Ray Robson (2562), Eugene Perelshteyn (2523).

Wesley will also be playing in the Pichay Cup on Aug. 20 to 27 and the Campomanes Memorial on Aug. 28 to Sept. 5.

There is, of course, the granddaddy of them all, the Chess Olympiad in Russia on Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

LOCAL. Here are the winners of the Golden Haven competition held at Talamban Hills last Sunday.

The Kiddies section winner is Andrew Balbona. Second place went to his brother Felix Shaun and third to Raffy Benzi. The Junior winners were Bernardo Suelo, Kyle Sevillano, who opted to play at the Junior level, and Kraig Quinain.

I checked, though I stand to be corrected, this is probably the first chess tournament in the world held in a cemetery.

The Bulacao tournament was also held last Sunday at Hillside Village. There were three sections--seniors, open and kiddies.

The winners were Joel Acabo, John Jane Bayutas and Emmanuele Arcamo.

The sponsors were Danilo Penaranda, Gil Buzon, Bernardo Navarro and Ronnie Lobarada.

There is also an upcoming tournament in Labogon this Saturday at their Barangay Hall.

It will start at 9 a.m. and will have four sections--class B, open, Kiddies and Women.

Players are advised to bring their own chess sets and clock.

The sponsor is Sen. Lito Lapid and the tournament director and arbiter is NM Leonardo Alidani.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 30, 2010

Wesley in Biel chess tournament

2010-07-02T01:06:00.000+08:00

Thursday, July 1, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

BIEL in Switzerland is not just a mere event in the chess calendar but is a festival of gargantuan proportion.

There is the master group, the main section, the Hanowa rapid, a blitz attraction, Chess 960 and simul exhibition games.

The main attraction this year though is the invitational section featuring the rising stars of tomorrow and that includes our own Wesley So.

Other young players are defending champion Maxime Maxime-Lagrave (France, 19 ,2710), Evgeny Tomashevsky (Russia, 22 ,2708), Fabiano Caruana (Italy, 17, 2675), Dmitry Andreikin (Russia, 20 , 2643), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 16, 2642), Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam, 20, 2642), Parimarjan Negi (India, 17 , 2636), Maxim Rodhstein (Israel, 21, 2626) and David Howell (England, 19, 2620). All are GMs.

This is a category 17 tournament with an average Elo of 2657. The format is round robin and it will start on July 19 and end on July 28.

This is the 43rd edition of this annual festival and it is a much-sought invitation among the top players.

This is an excellent chance for Wesley to close in on a 2700 rating.

Elections. It has been posted on Chessbase.com that the following presidential tickets and continental presidents have submitted their candidacies to the Fide office.

The Presidential ticket of Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov:

President: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov nominated by Russia, Argentina and Mexico.

Deputy president: Georgios Makropoulos nominated by Greece.

Vice president: Lewis Ncube nominated by Zambia.

Vice president: Beatriz Marinello nominated by Chile and Brazil.

General secretary: Ignatius Leong nominated by Singapore.

Treasurer: Mr. Nigel Freeman nominated by Bermuda.

Presidential ticket of Anatoly Karpov:

President: Anatoly Karpov nominated by France, Germany and Switzerland.

Deputy president: Richard Conn Jr. nominated by the USA.

Vice president: Jaime Aguinaldo nominated by Angola.

Vice president: Alisa Maric nominated by Serbia.

General secretary: Abd Hamid Majid nominated by Malaysia.

Treasurer: Viktor Kapustin nominated by Ukraine.

I. Continental President for Europe:

Silvio Danailov nominated by Bulgaria, Robert von Weinzacker nominated by Germany, Ali-Nihat Yazici nominated by Turkey.

II. Continental President for the Americas: Jorge Vega Fernandez nominated by Guatemala.

Erick Marvin Guevara nominated by El Salvador. III. Continental President for Asia:

Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahayan nominated by United Arab Emirates.

IV. Continental President for Africa: Dabilani Buthali nominated by Botswana.
Hesham Elgendy nominated by Sudan.

Mohammad Moammar AL-Gathafi nominated by Libya.

Lakhdar Mazouz nominated by Algeria.

Kezzie Msukwa nominated by Malawi.

Hussein Nafady nominated by Egypt.

Max Baron Nitzborn nominated by Namibia.

Fide will ratify the list of candidates during its Presidential Board meeting in Tromso, on July 24 on 25.

The Philippines was earlier reported as one of the 55 federations which have expressed their support for the candidacy of Kirsan and company.

LOCAL EVENT. The monthly kiddies champion of Talisay for June was Justice Sousa with a score of five points. Other winners were Kent Padillo, Kierlyn Sebial, Emmanuele Arcamo and Cathysienne Tabora.

The sponsors of the event were Loreto Powao, Ariel Araw-araw and Gamaliel Vicente Jr., while the tournament director was Manny Manzañares.

(boypestano@gmail.com; www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Matias ‘Bombi’ B. Aznar III

2010-06-28T17:34:00.000+08:00

Thursday, June 24, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

FROM what I have observed and gathered, Bombi lived an amazing and full life. He was a man of all seasons for all the right reasons. He was not only a friend to the high and mighty but also to the simplest of people.

He was the kind of friend you can count and rely on.

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He was a loving father. A good husband. A golfer. A real sportsman. An avid fisherman.An educator. A fellow of the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers. A national master in chess. A Cebu Sports Hall of Fame awardee. A valued member of the Auxilliary Coast Guard with the rank of rear admiral.

On the lighter side, he was also a good karaoke singer who liked to belt out Visayan songs, a bridge player who loved ice-cold San Miguel beer.

One of the things we shared in common, aside from chess and beer, was poker.

One of the trademarks of Bombi was that he always wanted to make people happy. I cannot recall him turning down whatever I requested him.

I first became aware of Bombi’s special talent in chess when the National Open was held in 1971 here in Cebu.

He became, along with the late Loloy Ruelan and Ben Macapaz, a national master.

Later, I read that Bombi was elected president of the Philippine Chess Federation.

He was team manager of our Olympiad team which played in Nice, France in 1974. That was an Olympiad to remember as Eugene Torre became Asia’s first grandmaster during that tournament.

Looking back, this stint was one of our best performances ever. We placed 11th in the A group.

Being in to the A group showed our high status in the international chess community back then.

According to NM Roger Abella, the members of that elite team, aside from Bombi, were Florencio Campomanes (team captain), Eugene Torre, Renato Naranja, Rodolfo Cardoso, Glenn Bordonada, Ramon Lontoc and Rosendo Balinas.

When I organized the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) in 1990, our first honorary member was Bombi.

The Manila Interzonals were being held at that time and we decided to start with a big bang by inviting four grandmasters to play a simul tournament, which had never been done at all, in Cebu. Bombi and the Sikatuna Lions Club help our club in a big way.

One of the things that endeared Bombi to Cepca happened during the 1992 Sinulog, when we (Cepca) decided to join the parade and street dancing.

We had a float where Bombi put on a cape and a scepter as “King” and Loy Minoza and Darcy Tabotabo as “bishops.” We had also a beautiful “Queen” and eight lovely maidens as pawns, which were probably the reasons Bombi agreed to being king then!

Cepca received a citation and trophy for that venture from the Sinulog organizers.

Bombi is gone from us now. Cebu chess will never be the same without his patronage. He has been around chess for more than three score years and the void can never be filled and replaced. I suppose you can also say that about golf.

Bombi was special. He was not only a friend to me but also to all my brothers--Jimmy ,Pepe, Bob and Danny.

What will I remember most about Bombi? His sincerity mostly, and his humility. Despite being a man of power, he never threw his weight around.

As they say, “This is not the time for us to grieve his death but it’s our time to celebrate his life. His memory will always be with us and his legacy through his children.”

On behalf of the Cebu Chess Federation, Cepca, the Colonnade chess club and all chess lovers in Cebu, goodbye and rest in peace, dear friend!

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

$1 million for Campo Memorial

2010-06-28T17:33:00.000+08:00

Thursday, June 17, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

ONE of the main reasons Kirsan Ilyumzhinov will be reelected is his legendary generosity in the promotion of chess using his personal funds.

Former world champion Anatoly Karpov is challenging him for the Fide presidency and has gathered the support of most federations in Europe including the USA.

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I estimate that Kirsan has spent $50 million in the past 15 years and this has benefited not only the
top players, but the ordinary players as well. In fact, this month is a prime example of the abundance of Fide Tournaments.

The number of fide-rated tournaments is now more than 2,000 every year.

Kirsan announced during the meeting of the Asean Chess Federation in Subic early this month that he is personally putting up $1 million for a series of 10 tournaments in the region over the next 10 years to honor Florencio Campomanes, his mentor and predecessor as president.

Campomanes died last month at the age of 83 in Baguio City.

The tournaments will be in 10 countries: the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei.

The tournament will formally kick off in Manila on Aug. 11 to 19, possibly at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

“The whole Asian region, especially the Filipinos, are very thankful for Ilyumzhinov for sponsoring these memorial tournaments in honor of Campomanes,” said National Chess Federation President Prospero Pichay during the meeting attended by Fide general secretary Ignatius Leung of Singapore and representatives of the 10 Asean countries.

Here the major tournaments this month.

The 1st Roseto International Festival was held on June 4 to 12 at the Villaggio di Abruzzo in Roseto degli Abruzzi, on the Adriatic coast in central Italy.

After nine rounds, GM Oleg Romanishin took clear first place with 7.0 points. A point behind is Roland Salvador of the Philippines.

The fourth edition of the Ruy Lopez International Festival is being held in Villafranca de los Barros, Spain from June 11 to June 19.

There are also other events are planned, some of for the youth and amateur players. There are also lectures, master tournaments, meetings, and a rapid open.

The main event of the festival is the round robin Master Tournament with eight players: Vladimir Malakhov (Russia, 2722), Fabiano Caruana (Italy, 2675), Ivan Cheparinov (Bulgaria, 2640), Gabriel Sargissian (Armenia, 2677), Pia Cramling (Sweden 2536), WGM Daisy Cori (Peru 2409), GM Ivan Salgado (Spain, 2606) and IM Manuel Pérez Candelario (Spain, 2527).

The 11th Poikovsky Karpov Tournament took place from June 2 to 14. Sergey Karjakin came straight from his ACP Rapid Cup victory to finish first place on a tie-break against Viktor Bologan. Both finished on 7/11.

The 3rd Kings tournament started last June 14 and will end on June 25 in Medias, Romania. Magnus Carlsen, Wang Yue, Boris Gelfand, Teimour Radjabov, Ruslan Ponomariov and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu are in the event.

The 45th Casablanca Memorial is being held in Havana, Cuba. The Elite Group is a six-player, double round robin event with Vassily Ivanchuk as top seed. This is Ivanchuk’s fourth participation in Havana after he won the tournament back in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Russia is represented by Evgeny Alekseev and Ian Nepomniatchi. Top Cuban players Leinier Dominguez and Lazaro Bruzon present the local challenge and Nigel Short of England is also in.

LOCAL. Lapu-Lapu and Talisay Cities will have a friendly chess match on June 20 in Lapu-Lapu.

The event, which will have 10 players playing two rounds, is organized by Councilor Django Roma, Alwin Dacalan and Manny Manzañares.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 18, 2010.

Cash prizes for the Olympiad

2010-06-28T17:31:00.000+08:00

Thursday, June 10, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

FOR the first time in the history of the Olympiad, cash prizes will be awarded to the winning teams as well as to the board winners.

The following prizes (all in Euros) will be paid to the winning teams in the Open and Women's events: first placer-20, 000, second placer-12,000 and the third placer-8, 000.

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The top three winning teams for the best composite scores in the Open and Women's sections (The Nona Gaprindashvili International Trophy) will also receive 10,000, 6,000 and 4,000.

The top three individual board performers in both open and women's sections will get 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000.

The 39th edition will be held in Khanty Mansiyk, Russia on Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 and despite the financial crisis in Europe, the organizers have assured Fide and the participating federations that the Olympiad will be held at the highest levels.

It will be recalled that Khanty Mansiysk successfully organized the 2009 World Cup.

There were six competing bidders to host the 2010 Chess Olympiad. They were Poznan (Poland), Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Budva (Serbia and Montenegro), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Khanty Mansiysk.

The Fide Congress in Turin, Italy in 2006 voted for Khanty Mansiyk.

GM Michal Krasenkow, 46, is a well respected player from Poland and in an open letter to Fide, he objected to the cash prizes.

"I have just seen the news of the money prizes to be awarded for the best results at the Khanty-Mansiysk Chess Olympiad this year. The news is partly excellent but partly, alas, sad and devastating.

The team money prizes are the excellent part of the news. The best squads deserve to get rewards for their successful effort!

And parity of men's and women's prizes is an absolutely just idea! However, as an experienced participant and occasional team captain at Chess Olympiads and European Team Championships, I am extremely concerned about the individual money prizes. They can ruin the performances of many strong teams and lead to pressure and conflicts within the squads."

Here is the history of the Olympiad since it was held in Manila in 1992 and the top three winners:

1992 Manila, Philippines-Russia 39, Uzbekistan 35, Armenia 34.5.

1994 Russia-Russia I 37.5, Bosnia-Herzegovina 35, Russia II 34.5.

1996 Yerevan, Armenia-Russia 38.5, Ukraine 35, USA 34.

1998 Elista, Russia-Russia 35.5, USA 34.5, Ukraine 32.5.

2000 Istanbul, Turkey-Russia 38, Germany 37 Ukraine 35.5.

2002 Bled, Slovenia-Russia 38.5, Hungary 37.5, Armenia 35.

2004 Calvia, Spain-Ukraine 39.5, Russia 36.5, Armenia 36.5.

2006 Turin, Italy-Armenia 36, China 34, USA 33.

2008 Dresden, Germany-Armenia 19, Israel, 18 USA 17.

I suggest our lineup to the Olympiad should be based on the results of the recent National Championship billed as the "Battle of GMs."

The top six players were Wesley So, John Paul Gomez ,Joey Antonio, Catalino Sadorra, Darwin Laylo and Rolando Nolte.

In the women's section, the winners were Rulp Jose, Cheradee Camacho, Catherine Pereña, Beverly Mendoza and Jedara Docena.

It is fair and just that these players should compose our lineup for the Olympiad.

LOCAL. The monthly tournament for June in Talisay will be held on June 19, 9 a.m. at San Roque Barangay Hall.

The contest is for Kiddies who are residents of Talisay, Minglanilla and Inayawan. For details and registration, please call Manny Manzanares at 09058386318. (boypestano@gmail.com; www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 11, 2010.

Karpov challenges Fide president

2010-06-04T23:48:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

THE World Chess Federation will hold presidential elections during the General Assembly of the Fide Congress on Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. The elections, which is held every five years, will be held along with the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Just like the recent Philippine presidential elections, it is turning nasty.

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The incumbent president is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, whose passion for chess is legendary.

He has been leader of the largely Buddhist southern Russian region of Kalmykia since 1993. He has served Fide for three terms since 1995, succeeding Filipino chess icon Florencio Campomanes who died last month.

He has spent millions of dollars of his own money on chess, including building a Chess City in Elista, Kalmykia’s capital.

He has claimed that he was given a tour of a spaceship by extra-terrestials in the 1990s and revealed just recently on TV that he was visited by aliens in his apartment in Moscow.

This is one of the main reasons Anatoly Karpov is challenging him to the presidency, claiming that Kirsan’s sanity is questionable.

Karpov was the 12th world champion and considered the third greatest player of all time after Bobby Fischer and Gary Kasparov.

He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985.

I wrote in my column a month ago that Kirsan is the official candidate of the Russian Chess Federation (RCF). This is important as a federation can only have one candidate for president.

This was disputed by Karpov, who claimed he has the backing of RCF when a meeting on May 14 nominated him as Russia’s candidate.

But Arkady Dvorkovich--best known as the chief economic advisor of President Dmitry Medvedev and head of RCF’s supervisory board—thinks otherwise.

He declared that the nomination was invalid as there was no quorum and said his own letter of recommendation is enough for Ilyumzhinov to be the candidate of RCF.

“I respect Anatoly Karpov as a great chess player but unlike Kirsan Ilyumzhinov he is an ineffective manager. I also think Karpov’s election campaign has been indecent and unethical.”

On May 20 last month, security men seized the offices of the Russian Chess Federation on Gogol Boulevard, allegedly at the behest of Arkady Dvorkovich.

Control of the RCF bank account and website was also seized.

It was also reported that the chairman of the Russian Chess Federation, Alexander Bakh, a supporter of Karpov, was ejected.

Heavyweights France, Germany, the United States and 30 other federations are supporting Karpov but it may not be enough as Kirsan has the support of the smaller federations. Fide has 158 federations and follows the UN charter of one member-one vote policy.

Aside from Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, the world’s no.1 player, is supporting Karpov but former world champion Vladimir Kramnik and women’s champion Alexandra Kosteniuk are reportedly for Kirsan.

BATTLE OF GMS. Wesley So defeated IMs Oliver Dimakiling and Ronald Dableo in the last two rounds to snatch the top purse of P200,000 in the 2010 Phoenix Petroleum- Battle of GMs national chess championship in Tagaytay City.

Here are the final men’s standings:

(8.5 points) – W. So, (7.5) – J. Gomez, (7)–R. Antonio, J. ,Sadorra, (6)-- D. Laylo, (4.5)–R. Nolte, (4)–R. Dableo, R. ,Bitoon, (3.5)–H.Pascua, (2)–O. Dimakiling, (1)–J. Garcia.

Women’s standings. (8.5)–R. Jose, (8)–C. Camacho, (7.5)–C. Perena, (7)– B. Mendoza, (6)–J. Docena, (5.5)–C. Bernales, C. Mejia, (4.5)–S. Cua, (4)– A. Salvado, (3.5)–M. Suede, (3)–J. Palomo, A. Suede.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 4, 2010.

Grand Prix

2010-05-29T00:28:00.000+08:00

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

THREE years ago, Fide created the Grand Prix--a series of six tournaments that would be part of the cycle to select a challenger for the world chess championship for both men and women.

The Grand Prix is a brainchild of Bessel Kok of Global Chess, who challenged unsuccessfully Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, during the last elections in 2006 in Turin, Italy.

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The Grand Prix tournaments offer substantial prizes (30,000 euros for first, 22,500 for second, 20,000 for third, etc.) though much lower for the ladies.

Fide selected 21 of the top men players in the world. Each of the 21 men will play in four of six tournaments.

Each Men tournament is a 14-player, single round-robin format. Grand prix points are then allocated according to each player’s result: 180 points for first place, 150 for second place,130 for third place and down the line.

The winner of the Men Grand Prix was originally scheduled to play a match in 2010 against the winner of the Chess World Cup 2009, with the winner of that match becoming the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2012.

Fide has changed the format. Instead, the winner and the runner-up will join an eight-player Candidates Tournament. This has caused a number of protests, with two players withdrawing (Magnus Carlsen and Michael Adams) and two others being replaced.

Here are the top 3 players on each leg: Wang Yue and Vugar Gashimov tied for 1st followed by Teimour Radjabov in Baku, Azerbaijan; Levon Aronian won in Sochi,Russia while Radjabov was 2nd and Wang Yue 3rd; In Elista, Radjabov ,Alexander Grischuk and Dmitry Jakovenko tied for 1st ; Aronian again won in Nalchik,Russia with Peter Leko 2nd and Grischuk 3rd; Vassily Ivanchuk won in Jermuk,Armenia followed by Aronian and Boris Gelfand.

Finally,the last leg took place in Astrakhan, Russia last May 9-May 25. Pavel Eljanov took clear first place with 8/13.Five players tied for second including Radjabov.

The 2 Grand Prix qualifiers are, therefore, Levon Aronian and Teimour Radjabov.

They will join the following players to select the challenger to Vishy Anand in 2012: Veselin Topalov (loser of the championship vs Anand this year); Gata Kamsky (loser of the 2009 challenger match); Boris Gelfand (winner of 2009 World Cup); Magnus Carlsen (highest rated player in the world); Vladimir Kramnik (2nd highest rated player in the world).The seeding is based on the average ratings as of July 2009 and January 2010.

The final 8th player will be nominated by the sponsor of the Candidates Tournament.

Eighteen women were selected in the Women‘s Grand Prix and 12 players will play in each leg.

The third Women’s Grand Prix has just concluded in Nalchik, Russia. It was won by Tatiana Kosintseva of Russia. She scored 9 points out of a possible 11. This was Kosintseva‘s 1st participation in the Grand Prix series.

The 1st leg was held in Istanbul and snared by Koneru Humpy and the 2nd was snatched by Xu Yuhua in Nanjing.

After the 3rd Grand Prix,Hou Yifan and Zhao Xue are tied for first in the overall standings. Nana Dzagnidze and Koneru Humpy are tied for third and fourth, Pia Cramling is fifth and Kosintseva is tied for sixth through eighth with Marie Sebag of France and Xu Yuhua of China.

The 4th Grand Prix will take place in Jermuk,Armenia on June 23-July 6, the fifth in Ulan Bataar,Mongolia on July29-August 12 and the final and 6th leg will be in Santiago,Chile on October 27-November 9.

The winner of the Grand Prix series at the end of 2010 will play the Women World Champion in the third quarter of 2011 in a ten-game match for the Women’s World Championship title.

Alexandra Kosteniuk is the current Women Champion.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Solution to the previous puzzle (problem 108)-Qd4 (White mates in 3 moves). Those who got it right are Markeno Czar Manzanares, Allan Abing, Reynaldo Tolorio, Jhamaika Seville, Windy Padin, Jerty Dorog, Denis Navales, Christian Lumapac, Darius Caesar Lauta, Godfrey Villamor.The winner is Denis Navales.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 28, 2010.

Wesley So nabs World Cup spot

2010-05-21T18:21:00.000+08:00

Thursday, April 29, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

THERE are three big events that are being held at the same time—the Asian Individual Continental Championship in Subic, the third Women’s Grand Prix in Nalchick and the granddaddy of them all, the World Championships between Vishy Anand and Veselin Topalov in Sofia, Bulgaria

Our focus is the Subic event, where the top five players will qualify to the World Cup 2011.

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Thirty-two grandmasters, 23 IMs and 63 titled participants are playing in the Open Division. There are 10 players rated over 2600, including local hero Wesley So.

The total prize fund is $65,000--$50,000 for the Open Division and $15,000 for the women.

The result was not favorable for the 32 Pinoy participants as only Wesley So qualified to the World Cup 2011.

Joey Antonio had one draw too many.

In addition to Wesley, the other qualifiers were Ni Hua and Zhou Jianchao of China, Abhijeet Gupta of India and Le Quang Liem of Vietnam despite a loss and a draw at the start.

Ni Hua sored 7/9 to snare the top prize of $6,000.

The Women’s Grand Prix will have six legs over two years (2009/10) in various countries around the world with three tournaments every year. The leader after two legs is Zhao Xue of China.

The Women’s Grand Prix is a significant development as there will be a Women’s Championship annually starting this year. The champion will be determined from the Knockout World Championship which will be held in Turkey and the following year, 2011. The world champion will face the winner of the Grand Prix series 2009/2010 in a match for the title.

The Women’s Grand Prix in Nalchik, Russia is being played from April 25 to 8 May 8.

The participants are: GM Koneru Humpy (2622, India), GM Yifan Hou (2570, China), GM Kosintseva Tatiana (2524, Russia), GM Cramling Pia (2523, Sweden),IM Mkrtchan Lilit (2503, Armenia), IM Danielian Elina (2491, Armenia), GM Zhao Xue (2490, China),GM Dzagnidze Nana (2479, Georgia),GM Chen Zhu (2476, Qatar), WGM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (2428, Mongolia), WGM Kovanova Baira (2385, Russia), WIM Yildiz Betul Cemre (2244, Turkey).

In the World Championship, Anand won Game 2 and 4, both Catalans, to lead, 2.5-1.5. Topalov won Game 1.

Prize fund is 2 million Euros with 1.25 million going to the winner and the format is best of 12 games.

LOCAL EVENTS. Here are the winners of the Dimataga Open held last weekend in Opon: Joel Fernan (champion) Nelman Lagutin (runner-up). The semifinalists were Francisco Abugho and Mike Banebane.

In the Kiddies section, the champion was Felix Shaun Balbona. He was followed by Neil Gilig, Kyle Sevillano and Allan Pason.

There were 72 players in the Deep Blue Open held at SM City last Sunday for Juniors sponsored by Felix Balbona, Carlos Tan and Edgar Hortelano.

The first place winner was Yuri Cauba, who got a trophy and a chess clock. Marq Gabrielle Balbona placed second and got a trophy and a chess set. The third placer was Bernardo Ruelo Jr. and went home with a chess book and trophy.

Former Cepca president Manny Manzanares organized a chess clinic mostly for beginners in coordination with the Talisay City Sports Commission headed by Jeanneth Villagonzalo and Councilor Rodi Cabigas, starting last April 12.

Twenty-five students finished the course and the winners of the culminating tournament yesterday were Justice Sousa, Fashene Labajo, Emmanuele Arcamo Jr., May Labajo and Mishael Seguerra.

Coming up this weekend is the Marcelo “Loloy” Ruelan Memorial Open to be held at Norkis Plaza, Plaridel St., Looc, Mandaue City, in front of Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School .

The format is seven rounds Swiss and time control is 25 minutes each, play to finish. Registration is P150 for the Open and P50 for Kiddies and Women.

Games start at 9 a.m.

(boypestano@chess.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April

Anand still world champion

2010-05-21T18:15:00.000+08:00

Thursday, May 13, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

THE past week, I have slept late not because of the elections but because of the just concluded World Championship which was played in Sofia, Bulgaria from April 24 to May 11.

I followed the live broadcast of the match on the Internet, usually at chessdom.com with occasional peeks at chesscenter.com and chessbase.com.

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Viswanathan Anand of India won the 12th and final game despite playing black to retain his
crown over the challenger Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, 6.5-5.5.

Prior to the last game, black never had a winning chance and all the wins were with the white pieces.

The match was delayed by a day due to the incredible eruption of a volcano in Iceland, which caused all air travel to be cancelled in most countries in Europe.

Anand was in Frankfurt, Germany with his team: GMs Peter Heine Nielsen, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Surya Shekhar Ganguly and wife Aruna.

Anand was lucky to hire a limo in Holland, a Mercedes Sprinter (equipped with all kinds of amenities like a fridge, two TV screens and a DVD player) to drive him all the way from Frankfurt to Sofia.

The trip, which took 40 hours, took them to five countries—about 2,000 kilometers and a “million potholes.”

Here is a brief rundown of the match.

Game 1.Topalov won in 29 moves of a Gruenfeld Indian with white. Anand resigned in a hopeless position. A great start by Topalov.

Game 2. Anand equalized with his pet, the Catalan. He obtained a decisive advantage and it was just a matter of time before Topalov resigned. Black gave up on move 43, in a lost Rook endgame.

Game 3. Draw. Topalov played the Gruenfeld Indian again but this time, Anand played a solid Slav.

Game 4. Another Catalan game and another win by Anand in white in 32 moves. He took the lead, 2.5-1.5.

Game 5. Draw. Anand again played a solid Slav and a peace treaty was agreed after a triple repetition in move 44.

Game 6. Draw. Anand had the white pieces and for the third time played the Catalan. Another repetition of moves in 58.

Game 7. Draw. Anand again had the white pieces as per regulations. A lot of maneuvering by both players as Anand again played his pet, the Catalan. They split the point in move 58.

Game 8. Topalov won with white in 56 moves and the match is tied, 4-4. The eighth game of the match featured the Slav defense, which was seen in Games 3 and 5.

Game 9. Draw. The game saw a different opening as Anand and Topalov entered the Nimzo-Indian defense, Rubinstein variation, avoiding the previous dispute in Catalan. The complicated struggle lasted until the 83rd move.

Game 10. Draw. Another Gruenfeld by Topalov and another intense struggle until move 60.

Game 11. Draw. The 11th game saw an opening entirely different from the earlier games.

Anand played with the English opening, allowing Topalov to play his favorite reversed Sicilian. The game ended in a draw on the 65th move when repetition of moves became imminent.

Game 12. Anand won the game and with it retained his title as undisputed champion of the world. He played the Lasker Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Not a great win by Anand but I think Topalov lost it as I believe Anand would have been contented with a draw.

Anand earned 1.2 million out of a prize fund of 2 million Euros.

RP CHESS. The national age group 2010 will be held in Davao City at the Gaisano Mall starting tomorrow up to May 18. Cebuano Kiddies participating are Kyle Sevillano in the 12-Under, Vic Glysen Derotas in the Girls 10-Under and Jeremy Pepito in the Boys 8-Under.

Good luck from Chessmoso!

There will be twin tournaments in Talisay City: the Barangay Cup on May 15 and the SK Youth Chessfest on May 18.

For details, you may contact Manny Manzanares at 09058386310.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot

Tips and dangerous moments

2010-05-21T18:08:00.000+08:00

Thursday, May 20, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

IT’S never too late to improve your game. Even if you are in your 40s or 50s, you can still learn a few tactics and strategies. There is so much to know that you can never learn it all in a lifetime.

Here are a few tips that you may look into:

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1. Always unpin.

2. Always make a blunder check.

3. Check each possible move of your opponent’s pieces and pawns while it is the opponent’s turn to move.

4. Try to find ways to ignore your opponent’s threats and look for stronger counter-threats.

5. Prefer to move an attacked piece rather than defend it.

6. Never play the Queen to the b-file early in the opening unless it goes there with a threat.

7. Handle rooks aggressively.

8. Never vacate an open file to avoid exchanges.

9. Look for ways of using your King as an active piece.

10. Do not postpone a must move.

11. Never risk for additional material when winning.

12. Plan a few moves at a time and revise as often as you can.

Watch out for these situations. They could be the start of your defeat:

1. pieces that can be easily attacked by enemy pieces of less value;

2. one or more pieces that can be attacked via discovered check;

3. weak back rank;

4. pinned pieces along the same rank, file and diagonal;

5. pieces vulnerable to Knight forks;

6. opponent’s pawn nearing promotion;

7. open enemy lines for Queen, Rooks and Bishops to your King;

8. uncastled King;

9. pieces that have less mobility;

10. a “desperado” piece that is lost anyway and can cause maximum destruction;

Here are 10 dangerous moments that can happen during a game (humor):

1. There has been a change in pawn structure. Your opponent has eight and you don’t have any.

2. Your opponent begins to throw pieces at your eyes.

3. You have a won position but your opponent has a gun.

4. The arbiter tells you not to turn in your score sheet after the game.

5. Before the games begin, you notice that your opponent’s initials start with GM.

6. Just as you start your opening move, your opponent announces mate in two.

7. You don’t control any squares at all.

8. After making your opening, your opponent is already playing the endgame.

9. Your draw offer sends all the people watching your game into uncontrollable laughter.

10. Your opponent has three bishops.

LOCAL. The SK Youth Chessfest was held last May 18 and the champion was Jan Maravilla. He was followed by Firce May Labajo, Jhon Deipharine, Lorrainne Powao and Kryztelle Ouano.

Also last May 15, Joshua Guinto won the San Roque Tournament Was Joshua Guinto. The runners-up were Justice Sousa, Francis Kyle Entera, Kent Pardillo and Dasvid Musa.

CAMPOMANES. The late Fide president and chess legend will be honored with a tournament in mid-June by his close friend Boojie Lim of the Cebu Chess Federation.

(boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 21, 2010.

Florencio Campomanes

2010-05-07T18:07:00.000+08:00

Thursday, May 6, 2010
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By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

Very few of the young players today are aware of his contributions to chess but he helped place the Philippines in the world chess map.

Several months ago, Campo (his nickname) visited me at Handuraw.

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He liked the pizza there and said that you could not find that concoction anywhere in the world. That meant a lot as he has probably visited more than 100 countries during his lifetime.

He never gave me any hint that he was suffering from cancer. After a few chess games, we broke up and discussed the possibility of playing poker. We played before and I can say that he was a good poker player and even a finer chess player despite his age.

Once, he joined a Cepca monthly tournament several years ago and was able to hold his ground against the good players of our club. I remember that he was strict in implementing the rules of tournament chess.

One of my prized possessions was a kamagong chess set that I won while I, and several of my officemates, were his guests during his TV show in Manila in the mid-70s.

I met him again in 1988 and 1990 during the World Juniors and Interzonals in Manila, which he both organized, and in 1992 here during the pre-Olympiad Grandmaster tournament organized by the Cebu Chess Federation headed by Boojie Lim,Cepca and CIFYA.

He, and the organizers of the Chess Olympiad, even gave me a citation.

From time to time, he would call me up or visit me to correct some of my articles and even asked copies of all of them as I had no blog then.

He was a character, unique and his love for chess had few equals.

Here is his brief curriculum vitae (from Chessbase and Fide websites):

Born 22 Feb 1927, Manila Philippines

B.A., cum laude, University of the Philippines, 1948

M. A., Brown University, Prov., R.I. 1951

Doctoral Studies, Georgetown University, Wash. B.C. 1949-1952

Fullbright Guarantee, 1948

Lecturer, (Political Science) University of the Philippines, 1954-1956

Chess columnist, Manila Times and Manila Chronicle, 1954-1961

TV Producer and Host, “Chess Today,” PTV 4 Manila, 1973-1982

Permanent Philippine delegate to Fide, 1956-1982

Fide Asian Zone President, 1960-1964

Fide deputy president for Asia , 1974-1982

Fide President, 1982-1995

Fide Chairman, 1995-1996

Honorary President 1996-2010

He also raised $13 million for six men’s world championships in nine years.

Campo could also be resourceful.

Casto Abundo said, “He was studying flight schedules during the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad in Germany and told his teammates that they could tour Paris. They wondered how since they had no money.”

“On their way home, they missed their Paris connection for the once-a-week Air France flight to Manila. Campo argued convincingly to get free hotel accommodation. And they qualified for $200 compensation for one lost luggage.

Campo, Renato Naranja, Meliton Borja, Ruben Reyes, Edgar de Castro and Segundino Avecilla enjoyed Paris for a week, free at the Georges V hotel.”

(boypestano@chess.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 7, 2010.

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