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)
Friday, July 2, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Matias ‘Bombi’ B. Aznar III
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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)
Print EmailCommentShareThisSubscribe
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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.
Print EmailCommentShareThisSubscribe
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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.
Print EmailCommentShareThisSubscribe
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Karpov challenges Fide president
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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.
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Grand Prix
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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.
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Wesley So nabs World Cup spot
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Print EmailCommentShareThisSubscribe
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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
Print EmailCommentShareThisSubscribe
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.
Click here for Election 2010 updates
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
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