United we stand, divided we fall

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño
Chessmoso

THIS is the guiding factor in all organizations and in all aspects of human endeavor, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with chess in our country. Recently my colleague, Maning Oyson, gave me a letter sent to him by a friend George P. Barcenilla entitled “Not only politics but also Greed.”

In the letter Mr. Barcenilla wrote about the infighting within the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) particularly a court case filed by GMs Joey Antonio, Bong Montemayor et al against GM Eugene Torre and the NCFP.

He also pointed out the raw treatment of his nephew, IM Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla, by Fide officials, regarding his elevation to Grandmaster status, which was denied unreasonably.

I do not know the real score now plaguing the NCFP but it is a house divided ever since its beginning in the chess Olympiad in Istanbul when the NCFP replaced the Philippine Chess federation (PCF) as the governing body of chess in our country. In Istanbul, we were at the center of controversy then as we sent two separate teams, one headed by Eugene Torre and the other appointed by the late Art Borjal, then PCF president.

The next Olympiad is scheduled this October in Calvia, Majorca, Spain and if the NCFP doesn’t get its acts together and soon, we are in for some serious trouble. If our GMs cannot play together in one team, we might as well not participate.

Futhermore, the NCFP should consider including Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla in the team or if there is a qualifying tournament to invite him. He is the fourth highest-rated Filipino now with an Elo rating of 2503 and he deserves to be an Olympian. The last time I met Banjo was in the 1991 Cebu Grandmasters Tournament, and he had a good showing then. My impression of him was a clean living guy, dedicated to chess and full of talent. He is also a Cebuano from Carcar and nephew of NM Bombi Aznar.

INTERNET CHESS. Playing in the internet can do wonders for your game and this was shown quite clearly in our last tournament in Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu City. Antonio “Nicnic” Climaco, my “blood brother” (that’s just between us) won four straight games over such strong players as Edmund Suralta (an internet addict himself), Maggi Dionson and surprising my brother Danny. Although he lost his last game to Santiago Peque, Nicnic was certainly the surprise of the tournament and he owes his improvement to constant playing in the internet. Where else can you play 10 persons from 10 different countries in an hour or two?

If you want to play in the internet, two good sites are yahoo.com and playchess.com. Of course, the premiere site is still ICC (Internet Chess Club). In yahoo, there are 4,000-9,000 players at any given time and you can choose your opponent at your own terms (time control, color). However, the “in” site now is playchess.com, which is better designed, has more features and holds tournaments almost everyday. The players are also stronger.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. After five rounds of intense dueling in Tripoli, Libya the 128-player field is now down to four. Interestingly all the 19 Russians have been eliminated. The semifinal match-ups: Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria against Rastam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan, and Michael Adams of England against Teimour Radjanov of Azerbaijan. They will play a total of four games each. My guess is that it will be Topalov-Adams in the finals with Adams as the winner and champion. The finals will be played in six games.

TRIVIA. In 1939 this former US Open Champions wrote a book entitled “White to play and win.” At his next tournament he lost all his games as white and won all his games as black.

If you know the answer, go to Big Apple Convenience Store located in Mabolo beside Kahayag Café and Restaurant and claim your prize, a tournament-size chess set, donated by Ely Berciles of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association Inc.