Pestaño: Chess statistics

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

Chessmoso

Thursday, August 16, 2012

CHESS is the sleeping giant of the sports/entertainment world,” said Steve Martin, CEO of M&C Saatchi Sports. According to Fide, there are 605 million chess players worldwide and they are increasing by leaps and bounds.

Chess has been under the spotlight for the last 40 years since Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky fought the Cold War for us in Reykjavik on 1972. It transformed chess from being considered a parlor game to mainstream sports.

The number of chess players exploded to unprecedented levels and continued up to today, due mainly to the Chess in Schools program initiated by Fide.

In India and China, the two most populous countries in the world, chess is now their no.1 sport.

In fact, the men’s and women’s world champions are from India and China, respectively.

Here in the Philippines an estimated 25 percent of the male adult population knows the basic moves of chess.

Overseas, there are six million players in the UK, 35 million in the US, 16 million in Germany, 50 million in Russia and 85 million in India and half of them are in the 18-34 age group.

Another interesting statistics is that in the US, 78 percent of regular chess players are university graduates and among households with incomes over $120,000, 21 percent are regular chess-players. They are also 2.5 times more likely to read The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist or The New Yorker.

In the U.K., current chess players are better informed than those who are either former players or have never played chess. They are five times more likely to read The Guardian, The New Scientist or The Week.

The global research organization reports that chess players are 40-100 percent more likely to purchase a luxury item than a non-chess-player.

All figures are from YouGov Plc. The total sample sizes were 4,161 adults (UK), 2,024 adults (US), 953 adults (Germany), 2,013 adults (Russia), and 1,000 adults (India).
All surveys were carried out online.

Cepca vs Lapu-lapu. This Aug. 19, at the Goodwill Gallery in J Centre Mall along AS Fortuna St. in Mandaue will be the meeting between arch-rivals Cepca and Lapu-Lapu chess Club. Lapu-Lapu leads, 3-2.

The format will be two games against the same player with a time control of 30 minutes per player. Games start at 1 p.m.

The lineups are Ben Dimaano (Cepca) vs. Allan Pason (Lapulapu); Jongjong Melendez vs. Ramil Resuera; Maggi Dionson and Aldwin Daculan; Mike Banebane vs. Peterson Sia; Dante Arguelles vs. Exequiel Limpot; Jojo Muralla vs. Judy Tamala,; Manuel Abucay vs. Lando Torres; Felix Balbona vs. Norman Olayvar; Boy Tumulak vs. Weynard Labastida, Felix Poloyapoy vs. Amado Olea; Ruel Hortelano vs. Arnel Abellana; Fabio Abucejo vs.
Giovanni Borongan, Ronald Galindo vs. Ariel Abellana, Jeferson Lendio vs. Alvin Rigodon, Gabby Misterio vs. Amay Igot, Jun Pasion vs. Kraig Quinain; Jun Kidlat vs. Sarge Fernandez.

To those Cepca members that I have listed, please text me if you can or cannot play so I can find a substitute. For those Cepca members not listed, if you would like to play also, please inform me so we can request Lapu-Lapu to field extra players.

After the match, we will have a seven-round rapid tournament among Cepca and Lapu-Lapu members.

Please be reminded also that there is a tournament tomorrow at the same venue for executives and professionals starting at 1 p.m. For details, get in touch with Marvin Ruelan at 09267352951.

Kyle tops Shell. Like his uncle Enrico, who finally is now a grandmaster, Kyle made an astonishing performance by topping the Mindanao leg of the Shell Kiddies and Youth tournament with a perfect score of nine straight wins in Davao.

His participation was made possible by Hon. Mayor Democrito Aljun Diamante of Tuburan.

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

Pestaño: Guinness confirms record for Cebu City

Chessmoso

Thursday, August 9, 2012

MAKING a Guinness record is like climbing Mt. Everest. It is attempted only by super-achievers like our very own Edward Hayco, the chairman of Cebu City Sports Commission.

It’s now official! Guinness confirmed last Wednesday that Cebu City now holds the world record for the largest chess tournament.

There were 43,157 participants, mostly students of Cebu City, and the attempt covered a period of over six months up, sending in January this year. The champion was Allan Pason.

There were more than 1,000 volunteer coaches and teachers.

Sponsors were the Cebu City Government, Department of Education, Philippine Sports Commission, International Pharmaceuticals, Julies Bakeshop, Virginia Foods, Rose Pharmacy, University of Cebu and the Cebu Chess Federation and its head, Bogie Lim.

Chessmoso and Cepca president Jojo Muralla also had key roles as we were officially listed as “expert witnesses”--a requirement of Guinness.

STREAK. Wesley So is now on a roll. After placing a respectable third place finish at the World Open in Philadelphia, he won the Toronto Invitational winning $4,000 for first place followed by another win at the Quebec Open and another $4,000.

After remaining at the same rating for several years now, it looks like he has improved a lot.

He showed this by demolishing up and coming Ray Robson of the US in their “Death Match” last July 31 by a score of 23-9. They played online for three hours, starting with five minutes time control diminishing to one minute each.

Cepca vs Deep Blue. Here are the results of the match between Cepca vs. Deep Blue Chess Club held at SM City last July 29. The format was rapid over 12 boards and two games per player against the same opponent.

The results were Ben Dimaano (Cepca) and Jongjong Melendez (Deep Blue), 1-1; Arnold Cadiz and Maggi Dionson, 1-1; Jojo Muralla and Jojo Canque, 1-1; Mike Banebane and Romeo Lumanog, 2-0; Jun Kidlat and Manny Abucay, 0-2; Norman Olayvar and Jun Pasion, 2-0; Felix Poloyapoy and Allan Cinco, 2-0; Ramon Pangilinan and Ben Rodriguez, 0-2; Ruel Hortelano and Felix Balbona, 2-0; Fabio Abucejo and Al Alesna 2-0; Gabby Misterio and Joe Sabandeja, 1-1; Jun Olis andNestor Encallado, 2-0.

Cepca won 15-9!

Scheduled on Aug. 19 is the sixth meeting between arch-rivals Cepca and Lapu-Lapu Chess Club at either the Kawayan Grill in Mabolo or Deep Blue in SM. Format is 15-20 boards and two games per player against the same opponent.

The Lapu-Lapu Chess Club will be holding tomorrow its monthly tournament for August at 1 p.m. at the Church of God Missions Ministry campus in Gun-ob. The format is seven rounds Swiss with rapid time control and the tournament is only for members.

The sponsors are Cepca president Jojo Muralla, Norman Olayvar, Jun Olis and Wynard Labastida.

Color-Coded. The First Invitational Color-Coded Chess Tournament and Skills Training Workshop under the Project Strive was held last Aug. 4 at the Bunzel Lobby of the University of San Carlos–Talamban Campus.

There were 32 players, which included students, teachers and Cepca members and it was as single elimination event with 30 minutes time control.

The champion was Allan Pason, who at 15 was the youngest participant. Pason is a third year high school student of Lapu-Lapu City and he won P 2,000, plus medal and a certificate.

The first runner-up was Yves Christian Fiel, a college student of USC, earning P1,000, a medal and a certificate.

The semifinalists, who got P500 each, were Nino Avelino Bautista and Michael Rey Rabino.

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

Pestaño: Philippine chess Olympiad lineup

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

Chessmoso 

Thursday, July 26, 2012

THE World Chess Olympiad will be held in Istanbul, Turkey next month from Aug. 27 to Sept. 10 and the Philippine selection for the team to the Olympiad, the “Battle of Grandmasters” has just concluded.

This prestigious 16-player round robin tournament was held at two venues in the Province of Aklan--the Paraw Club in Boracay from July 14–20 and the Cabagnot Training Center in Kalibo from July 21– 26.

The GMs in the field were Oliver Barbosa (2554), Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. (2548), John Paul Gomez (2539), Julio Catalino Sadorra (2525), Mark Paragua (2508), Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla (2501), Darwin Laylo (2489), Eugene Torre (2469), and Richard Bitoon (2442).

Heading the qualifiers from the semifinals were IMs Oliver Dimakiling (2415) and Emmanuel Senador (Elo 2353), Fide Masters Roderick Nava (2397), Haridas Pascua (2310) and Randy Segarra (2283) and the surprise of the tournament, 15-year-old Giovanni Mejia.

The event offered P655,000 in prizes with the winner getting P150,000. GM and IM norms were also up for grabs.

Three players will be selected. Wesley So (2650) is already assured of a slot while the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) headed by chairman/president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Jr. has the option to pick the fifth player of the men’s team and two players in the women’s team.

Competing for the three outright slots in the women’s were Woman International Masters Catherine Perena (2091) and Beverly Mendoza (2058), Woman Fide Masters Rulp Ylem Jose (2061), Jan Jodilyn Fronda (2022), Cherry Ann Mejia (1995) and Marie Antoinette San Diego (1922), Woman National Masters Jedara Docena (2061), Janelle Me Frayna (1991), and Shania Mae Mendoza (1806), Eden Tumbos (1776), Akiko Charmaine (1892) and Mikee Charlene Suede (1948).

According to Richard Bitoon (he had a fever during the tournament) , who texted me the results, the possible men’s team will be composed of Wesley, Paragua, Torre, Barbosa, and Dimakiling. Sadorra, who qualified, will not play as he has classes.

The Women’s team will be composed of Perena, Frayna, Docena, Galas and Jose.

Wesley So has been busy as a bee. After placing a respectable third place finish at the World Open in Philadelphia early this month, he proceeded to New York.

Wesley took part in a charity chess match organized by the Filipino-American Chess
Club of New York last July 11 at the Philippine Center and competed against 20 players simultaneously.

One of the 20 players he competed against was acting deputy permanent representative of the Philippine Mission to the UN Eduardo de Vega.

After New York, he went to Toronto, Canada. The tournament was a seven-round Swiss with 18 participants and organized by the Chess Institute of Canada.

He finished with a total of six points from five wins and two draws, half-a-point ahead of his closest rival International Master (IM) Nikolay Noritsyn of Canada. With his victory he won the top purse of $4,000.

So continued with his Canadian tour at the Quebec Open Chess Championship from July 21 to 28 in Montreal.

Canada’s most successful tournament attracted 9 GMs and 1 WGM, as well as 10 IMs looking for GM norms. Thirty-two players are competing in the invitational section for a first prize of $4,000.

After four rounds, So is the tournament leader and is followed closely by GM Lazaro Bruzon from Cuba (ranked 35th in the World) and IMs Bryan G Smith, Eric Hansen, Leonid Gerzhoy and Daniel Naroditsk.

So will then head to Webster University-Spice for his full- time study on a scholarship, with a brief two-week interruption to represent the Philippines in the Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

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

Main event of the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas since 1970. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet and a monetary prize based on the number of entrants and buy-in amounts. Over the years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $10,000 no-limit hold'em "Main Event," which, since 2004, has attracted entrants numbering in the thousands. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered the World Champion of Poker. This year, the Main Event had 6,598 entrants from all over the world. The cast on the final table was finalized last Tuesday and they are : Russell Thomas ,Jacob Balsiger, Jeremy Aismus,Steven Gee, Greg Merson ,Jesse Sylvia (the chip leader with 43,875,000), Robert Salaburu, Andras Koronai and Michael Esposito . Due to the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the 2012 WSOP final table will be delayed until October 28. It was the hopes and dreams of many that this would be the year that a female would make it to the final table, but alas, those dreams faded with a 10th and 11th place finishes . Elisabeth Hille of France placed 11th and Gaelle Baumann of Norway was also eliminated in 10th place The all-time leader is currently Antonio Esfandiari, who has not won a Main Event. He collected a record-breaking first prize of $18.3 million two weeks ago when he won the Big One for One Drop, a charitable WSOP event with a $1 million buy-in. There have been many memorable moments during the main events, including Jack Straus 1982 comeback win after discovering he had one $500 chip left when he thought he was out of the tournament. I am taking note of this as the same thing almost happened to me. Last Tuesday, I played a tournament at the Metro. With 14 players left( out of the original 40), I went all-in and lost almost all my chips. I had only 300 chips when the blinds were 1200/2400. But lo and behold! What is fascinating about poker is that I made the final table and by the time there were only 5 players left, I was the tournament chip leader with over 120,000! If I had won the event, it would have been probably the biggest comeback in local poker history. Wesley So finished 3rd in the World Chess Open held in Philadelphia last weekend. He had 4 wins and 5 draws in a performance that was not unexpected as he was the second highest rated player in the tournament. He just had too many draws against much lower rated opponents. So took third place honors with a superior tie break over GMs Giorgi Kacheishvili of Georgia, Aleksander Lenderman, Alexander Evdokimov, Ray Robson, Yuri Shulman, and Mark Tyler Arnold of the USA. GM Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands defeated fellow seven-pointer GM Alexander Shabalov of the USA in an Armageddon game to win the coveted chess title. Deep Blue “Ronald Ganzon and Richard Natividad finished tied with five wins and two draws to be the highest scorers in the DeepBlue Open Chess Tournament held in SM Cebu last July 14-15. Ganzon had drawn his game with Natividad. But with a higher tiebreak score , Ganzon took home the trophy. Half a point behind the duo winners was Joel Pacuribot . The tournament, sponsored by DeepBlue ,was attended by 41 players, including a number of kiddie and junior players “-KC Morala, kiddie chess player and contributing journalist.. Announcement .The July tournament of Cepca will be held in Deep Blue on July 29 starting at 1pm. Format will be Rapid and 7 rounds Swiss. Registration is P150. boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Main event of the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas since 1970. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet and a monetary prize based on the number of entrants and buy-in amounts. Over the years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $10,000 no-limit hold'em "Main Event," which, since 2004, has attracted entrants numbering in the thousands. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered the World Champion of Poker. This year, the Main Event had 6,598 entrants from all over the world. The cast on the final table was finalized last Tuesday and they are : Russell Thomas ,Jacob Balsiger, Jeremy Aismus,Steven Gee, Greg Merson ,Jesse Sylvia (the chip leader with 43,875,000), Robert Salaburu, Andras Koronai and Michael Esposito . Due to the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the 2012 WSOP final table will be delayed until October 28. It was the hopes and dreams of many that this would be the year that a female would make it to the final table, but alas, those dreams faded with a 10th and 11th place finishes . Elisabeth Hille of France placed 11th and Gaelle Baumann of Norway was also eliminated in 10th place The all-time leader is currently Antonio Esfandiari, who has not won a Main Event. He collected a record-breaking first prize of $18.3 million two weeks ago when he won the Big One for One Drop, a charitable WSOP event with a $1 million buy-in. There have been many memorable moments during the main events, including Jack Straus 1982 comeback win after discovering he had one $500 chip left when he thought he was out of the tournament. I am taking note of this as the same thing almost happened to me. Last Tuesday, I played a tournament at the Metro. With 14 players left( out of the original 40), I went all-in and lost almost all my chips. I had only 300 chips when the blinds were 1200/2400. But lo and behold! What is fascinating about poker is that I made the final table and by the time there were only 5 players left, I was the tournament chip leader with over 120,000! If I had won the event, it would have been probably the biggest comeback in local poker history. Wesley So finished 3rd in the World Chess Open held in Philadelphia last weekend. He had 4 wins and 5 draws in a performance that was not unexpected as he was the second highest rated player in the tournament. He just had too many draws against much lower rated opponents. So took third place honors with a superior tie break over GMs Giorgi Kacheishvili of Georgia, Aleksander Lenderman, Alexander Evdokimov, Ray Robson, Yuri Shulman, and Mark Tyler Arnold of the USA. GM Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands defeated fellow seven-pointer GM Alexander Shabalov of the USA in an Armageddon game to win the coveted chess title. Deep Blue “Ronald Ganzon and Richard Natividad finished tied with five wins and two draws to be the highest scorers in the DeepBlue Open Chess Tournament held in SM Cebu last July 14-15. Ganzon had drawn his game with Natividad. But with a higher tiebreak score , Ganzon took home the trophy. Half a point behind the duo winners was Joel Pacuribot . The tournament, sponsored by DeepBlue ,was attended by 41 players, including a number of kiddie and junior players “-KC Morala, kiddie chess player and contributing journalist.. Announcement .The July tournament of Cepca will be held in Deep Blue on July 29 starting at 1pm. Format will be Rapid and 7 rounds Swiss. Registration is P150. boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Main event of the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas since 1970. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet and a monetary prize based on the number of entrants and buy-in amounts. Over the years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $10,000 no-limit hold'em "Main Event," which, since 2004, has attracted entrants numbering in the thousands. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered the World Champion of Poker. This year, the Main Event had 6,598 entrants from all over the world. The cast on the final table was finalized last Tuesday and they are : Russell Thomas ,Jacob Balsiger, Jeremy Aismus,Steven Gee, Greg Merson ,Jesse Sylvia (the chip leader with 43,875,000), Robert Salaburu, Andras Koronai and Michael Esposito . Due to the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the 2012 WSOP final table will be delayed until October 28. It was the hopes and dreams of many that this would be the year that a female would make it to the final table, but alas, those dreams faded with a 10th and 11th place finishes . Elisabeth Hille of France placed 11th and Gaelle Baumann of Norway was also eliminated in 10th place The all-time leader is currently Antonio Esfandiari, who has not won a Main Event. He collected a record-breaking first prize of $18.3 million two weeks ago when he won the Big One for One Drop, a charitable WSOP event with a $1 million buy-in. There have been many memorable moments during the main events, including Jack Straus 1982 comeback win after discovering he had one $500 chip left when he thought he was out of the tournament. I am taking note of this as the same thing almost happened to me. Last Tuesday, I played a tournament at the Metro. With 14 players left( out of the original 40), I went all-in and lost almost all my chips. I had only 300 chips when the blinds were 1200/2400. But lo and behold! What is fascinating about poker is that I made the final table and by the time there were only 5 players left, I was the tournament chip leader with over 120,000! If I had won the event, it would have been probably the biggest comeback in local poker history. Wesley So finished 3rd in the World Chess Open held in Philadelphia last weekend. He had 4 wins and 5 draws in a performance that was not unexpected as he was the second highest rated player in the tournament. He just had too many draws against much lower rated opponents. So took third place honors with a superior tie break over GMs Giorgi Kacheishvili of Georgia, Aleksander Lenderman, Alexander Evdokimov, Ray Robson, Yuri Shulman, and Mark Tyler Arnold of the USA. GM Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands defeated fellow seven-pointer GM Alexander Shabalov of the USA in an Armageddon game to win the coveted chess title. Deep Blue “Ronald Ganzon and Richard Natividad finished tied with five wins and two draws to be the highest scorers in the DeepBlue Open Chess Tournament held in SM Cebu last July 14-15. Ganzon had drawn his game with Natividad. But with a higher tiebreak score , Ganzon took home the trophy. Half a point behind the duo winners was Joel Pacuribot . The tournament, sponsored by DeepBlue ,was attended by 41 players, including a number of kiddie and junior players “-KC Morala, kiddie chess player and contributing journalist.. Announcement .The July tournament of Cepca will be held in Deep Blue on July 29 starting at 1pm. Format will be Rapid and 7 rounds Swiss. Registration is P150. boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com

Main event of the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas since 1970. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet and a monetary prize based on the number of entrants and buy-in amounts. Over the years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $10,000 no-limit hold'em "Main Event," which, since 2004, has attracted entrants numbering in the thousands. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered the World Champion of Poker. This year, the Main Event had 6,598 entrants from all over the world. The cast on the final table was finalized last Tuesday and they are : Russell Thomas ,Jacob Balsiger, Jeremy Aismus,Steven Gee, Greg Merson ,Jesse Sylvia (the chip leader with 43,875,000), Robert Salaburu, Andras Koronai and Michael Esposito . Due to the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the 2012 WSOP final table will be delayed until October 28. It was the hopes and dreams of many that this would be the year that a female would make it to the final table, but alas, those dreams faded with a 10th and 11th place finishes . Elisabeth Hille of France placed 11th and Gaelle Baumann of Norway was also eliminated in 10th place The all-time leader is currently Antonio Esfandiari, who has not won a Main Event. He collected a record-breaking first prize of $18.3 million two weeks ago when he won the Big One for One Drop, a charitable WSOP event with a $1 million buy-in. There have been many memorable moments during the main events, including Jack Straus 1982 comeback win after discovering he had one $500 chip left when he thought he was out of the tournament. I am taking note of this as the same thing almost happened to me. Last Tuesday, I played a tournament at the Metro. With 14 players left( out of the original 40), I went all-in and lost almost all my chips. I had only 300 chips when the blinds were 1200/2400. But lo and behold! What is fascinating about poker is that I made the final table and by the time there were only 5 players left, I was the tournament chip leader with over 120,000! If I had won the event, it would have been probably the biggest comeback in local poker history. Wesley So finished 3rd in the World Chess Open held in Philadelphia last weekend. He had 4 wins and 5 draws in a performance that was not unexpected as he was the second highest rated player in the tournament. He just had too many draws against much lower rated opponents. So took third place honors with a superior tie break over GMs Giorgi Kacheishvili of Georgia, Aleksander Lenderman, Alexander Evdokimov, Ray Robson, Yuri Shulman, and Mark Tyler Arnold of the USA. GM Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands defeated fellow seven-pointer GM Alexander Shabalov of the USA in an Armageddon game to win the coveted chess title. Deep Blue “Ronald Ganzon and Richard Natividad finished tied with five wins and two draws to be the highest scorers in the DeepBlue Open Chess Tournament held in SM Cebu last July 14-15. Ganzon had drawn his game with Natividad. But with a higher tiebreak score , Ganzon took home the trophy. Half a point behind the duo winners was Joel Pacuribot . The tournament, sponsored by DeepBlue ,was attended by 41 players, including a number of kiddie and junior players “-KC Morala, kiddie chess player and contributing journalist.. Announcement .The July tournament of Cepca will be held in Deep Blue on July 29 starting at 1pm. Format will be Rapid and 7 rounds Swiss. Registration is P150. boypestano@gmail.com,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com