By Frank "Boy" Pestaño
Chessmoso
MORE than 600 players from 43 nations played in the recently concluded 8th European Championship in the chess city of Dresden ,Germany from April 2-15,2007.
There was actually an 8 player tie after 11 rounds in the men`s section Vladislav Tkachiev won the tie-breaks beating Ivan Cheparinov (1.5-0.5) Dmitry Jakovenko (1.5-0.5) and Emil Sutovsky 2-0 in the final. Sutovsky reached the final by beating Konstantin Sakaev (1.5-0.5) and Dusko Pavasovic (1.5-0.5).
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Tatiana Kosintseva snatched the Women`s event by an amazing 2 full points over sister Nadezhda , Antoanetta Stefanova and Hungary based Vietnamese Hoang Thanh Trang with 10 points out of 11 for a performance rating of 2774.
Here are the top 9th –16th placers: 9. Gustafsson Jan 2588 GER 7½ 10. Tomashevsky Evgeny 2641 RUS 7½.11 Almasi Zoltan 2675 HUN 7½ 12. Malakhov Vladimir 2679 RUS 7½ 13. Galkin Alexander 2590 RUS 7½ 14. Laznicka Viktor 2608 CZE 7½ 15. Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter 2693 ROM 7½ 16. Nevednichy Vladislav 2528 ROM 7½ .
The top 10 in the Women`s section: 1. Tatiana Kosintseva RUS 10 2. Antoanetta Stefanova BUL 8 3. Nadezhda Kosintseva RUS 8 4. Hoang Thanh Trang HUN 8 5. Ekaterina Atalik TUR 7.5 6. Iweta Rajlich POL 7.5 7. Ekaterina Korbut RUS 7.5 8. Monica Socko POL 7.5 9. Nino Khurtsidge GEO 7.5 10. Irina Zakurdjaeva RUS 7.5.
Kasparov arrested. Garry Kasparov, considered to be the greatest chess player of all time was arrested in Moscow just recently for attending a political rally but released after a detention of 10 hours in jail.
Garry, who is very critical of the Putin leadership and an advocate of human rights heads the United Civil Front Organization based in Moscow.
More than 9,000 troops had been mobilized by the government to stop the rally from going ahead.
The planned march came as Russia warned “it wanted the extradition of London-based exile Boris Berezovsky, who told the UK's Guardian newspaper he was plotting "revolution" to overthrow Vladimir Putin,” according to BBC News reports.
The strong willed former champion has consistently warned his supporters that Putin has rolled back democracy.
Philippine Open 2007. More than 50 players, including 13 grandmasters from 8 countries are competing in this 9 round Swiss tournament at Subic organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines under the leadership of its president, Prospero Pichay.
Chess players never had it so good until now in this country as this is the 4th major tournament organized by the honorable congressman from Surigao. Total prize money in this open is $40,000 with $6,000 to the champion followed by $5,000, $4,000, $3,000, $2,000, etc.
As expected, the Chinese completely dominated the tournament. They won the 1st 5 places and had 7 players in the top 10. Here are the final results after 9 rounds: 1-3 .Wang Yue CHN 2656, Zhang Zhong CHN 2621, Ni Hua CHN 2654, 7.0 pts 4-5. Wang Hao CHN 2838, Zhao Jun CHN 2554, 6.5 pts. 6-8. Ghaemmaghani Ehsan 2599 IRI, Megaranto Susanto INA 2530, Li Shilong CHN 2552 6.0 9-10. Li Chao CHN 2525, Eugene Torre PHI 2532, 5.5 pts.
Previous “majors” were the Cantilan Open in Surigao, Sinulog Open in Cebu and the President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo Cup, also international.
Cepca news. We had a successful monthly ( April) tournament last Sunday at Stella Maris. The winners were 1st- Tony Cabibil, 2nd–Joe Atillo and 3rd–Mike Banebane. Juniors champion was Cy Balbanera followed by Nikki Sabiquil and Yuri Cauba. Kiddies went to Kyle Sevillano with John Francis Balbona at 2nd and Patrick Osorno at 3rd.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Chess-savvy football players
By FRANK PESTAÑO
Chessmoso
THERE is no doubt that soccer is the most popular game in the world and the World Cup in Germany this June and July is the most awaited event of the year. With chess being popular, it is no surprising that there are well-known soccer players who also excel in chess.
Simen Agdestein. Called the Striker Grandmaster, he was, at one time, the world No.16 in chess, the first Norwegian GM and champion at 15, he shared the first place in the 1986 Juniors, ahead of Bareev, Piket and Anand. He was a member of Norway’s national soccer team, when Norway was still very good but stopped playing because of a torn knee.
He is in the limelight again as the trainer of chess wonder boy Magnus Carlsen, who recently qualified for the candidates’ matches.
He currently works at an academy in Norway, teaching chess and football.
GRAND OLD MAN. Vlastimil Jansa. He is a GM from Chechoslovakia, who was a national champion in 1964, 1974 and 1984. He was also a member of the national soccer team in the 1960s and the author of the popular book “Dynamics of Chess Strategy,” a book that explores the stages of play between the planning and early middle game.
He is the grand old man of Czech chess nowadays as Hort, Kavalek, Pachman, Filip and Smekjal are mostly inactive.
Bela Soos. Although his highest rating in the 1960s was only in the 2400s, he was considered a strong master and was also a national soccer player of Romania.
Charles Wreford Brown. He is credited for inventing the word soccer as an abbreviation for “association football.” He was a captain of the English football team in the 1890s and he also played cricket. He was a keen chess player, who took part in the 1933 British Open.
Osie Ardiles. He was a midfielder and a member of the Argentinian team that won the World Cup in 1978. A competitive and skilled player, he was a cult hero in England when he played for the Tottenham Hotspurs.
He was sent home to Argentina as a result of the Falkland War, thus missing most of the 1982-83 season.
He is more famous for his career in football management, being the manager of Blackburn Rovers, Swindon Town, Newcastle United, West Bromwich, Guadalajara (Mexico) and Racing Club in Argentina.
He is also responsible for the creating the “diamond formation,” the 4-4-2 style with left-sided and right-sided attacking and defensive midfielders. He is also a skilled chess player using his chess analytical skill in football.
RUELAN MEMORIAL. Eden Diano defeated Aller Somosot in the seventh and final round to snare first place with 6.5 points in this tournament held in memory of the late Marcelo “Loloy” Ruelan, a Cebu Sports Hall of Famer. The tournament was held last weekend at Tisoy’s Sports Restobar along A.S. Fortuna St. in Mandaue.
Second was C. Moreno with six points. Tied for third to eighth places were E. Alesna, C. Cabuenos, A. Salientes, N. Cuizon, F. Abugho and D. Arcilla, all with five points.
Sponsors of this yearly affair are Bombi Aznar, Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca), Mayor Rosemarie Suezo of Tuburan, Manuel Fernandez, Gal Gallarde and Ely Berciles.
CEPCA APRIL TOURNAMENT. This month’s tournament will also be held at Tisoy Sports Restaurant on Easter Sunday at 2 p.m. For the first time, this will be a blitz handicapping contest with time controls at five, eight and 15 minutes for class A,B and C, respectively. Format is seven-round Swiss System.
I am inviting all members to participate as the prizes have been increased and we will have a short meeting before the tournament. Also kindly update your yearly dues.
Chessmoso
THERE is no doubt that soccer is the most popular game in the world and the World Cup in Germany this June and July is the most awaited event of the year. With chess being popular, it is no surprising that there are well-known soccer players who also excel in chess.
Simen Agdestein. Called the Striker Grandmaster, he was, at one time, the world No.16 in chess, the first Norwegian GM and champion at 15, he shared the first place in the 1986 Juniors, ahead of Bareev, Piket and Anand. He was a member of Norway’s national soccer team, when Norway was still very good but stopped playing because of a torn knee.
He is in the limelight again as the trainer of chess wonder boy Magnus Carlsen, who recently qualified for the candidates’ matches.
He currently works at an academy in Norway, teaching chess and football.
GRAND OLD MAN. Vlastimil Jansa. He is a GM from Chechoslovakia, who was a national champion in 1964, 1974 and 1984. He was also a member of the national soccer team in the 1960s and the author of the popular book “Dynamics of Chess Strategy,” a book that explores the stages of play between the planning and early middle game.
He is the grand old man of Czech chess nowadays as Hort, Kavalek, Pachman, Filip and Smekjal are mostly inactive.
Bela Soos. Although his highest rating in the 1960s was only in the 2400s, he was considered a strong master and was also a national soccer player of Romania.
Charles Wreford Brown. He is credited for inventing the word soccer as an abbreviation for “association football.” He was a captain of the English football team in the 1890s and he also played cricket. He was a keen chess player, who took part in the 1933 British Open.
Osie Ardiles. He was a midfielder and a member of the Argentinian team that won the World Cup in 1978. A competitive and skilled player, he was a cult hero in England when he played for the Tottenham Hotspurs.
He was sent home to Argentina as a result of the Falkland War, thus missing most of the 1982-83 season.
He is more famous for his career in football management, being the manager of Blackburn Rovers, Swindon Town, Newcastle United, West Bromwich, Guadalajara (Mexico) and Racing Club in Argentina.
He is also responsible for the creating the “diamond formation,” the 4-4-2 style with left-sided and right-sided attacking and defensive midfielders. He is also a skilled chess player using his chess analytical skill in football.
RUELAN MEMORIAL. Eden Diano defeated Aller Somosot in the seventh and final round to snare first place with 6.5 points in this tournament held in memory of the late Marcelo “Loloy” Ruelan, a Cebu Sports Hall of Famer. The tournament was held last weekend at Tisoy’s Sports Restobar along A.S. Fortuna St. in Mandaue.
Second was C. Moreno with six points. Tied for third to eighth places were E. Alesna, C. Cabuenos, A. Salientes, N. Cuizon, F. Abugho and D. Arcilla, all with five points.
Sponsors of this yearly affair are Bombi Aznar, Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca), Mayor Rosemarie Suezo of Tuburan, Manuel Fernandez, Gal Gallarde and Ely Berciles.
CEPCA APRIL TOURNAMENT. This month’s tournament will also be held at Tisoy Sports Restaurant on Easter Sunday at 2 p.m. For the first time, this will be a blitz handicapping contest with time controls at five, eight and 15 minutes for class A,B and C, respectively. Format is seven-round Swiss System.
I am inviting all members to participate as the prizes have been increased and we will have a short meeting before the tournament. Also kindly update your yearly dues.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Chess as a (Royal) game
By Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
I WAS browsing over a book, The Complete Chess Addict , a collaboration by Mike Fox and Richard James, during the Holy Week and I was astounded at the amount of information it contains, including games by famous people such as the legendary Aladdin, Humprey Bogart, Che Guevara, Leo Tolstoy, Karl Marx and many others.
It also has a tremendous amount of trivia which I would like to share with you, readers.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Shah Jehan (1627-1658) is known for his massive construction projects such as the Red Fort, and Jama Masjid, both in Delhi.
But the most famous of them all is the Taj Mahal, a massive white marble mausoleum constructed for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, along the bank of the Jamuna River in Agra.
It took nearly a decade to build.
Shah Jehan was an avid chess player and sometimes played with living pieces, reputedly 32 virgins.
According to some sources the winner took the virgins as prize. If it happens here most of the members of Cepca will fight tooth and nails with each other just to play.
Another Royal who also played with living pieces, this time palace maids, was the Emperor Ming Huan (712-56) against his favorite concubine Yang Kwei-fei.
You might be interested to know that the great Akbar, Shah Jehan‘s grand father, who developed the Mughal Empire played chess on a giant board ( it still exist at Fatehfur Sikri) with elephants as pieces and horses as pawns.
However, all these are tame compared to King Muley Hassan of Morocco.
His contribution was to use prisoners from the Royal dungeon as pieces. It would be on prime time TV today, beating even Manny Pacquiao fights as the captured pieces are beheaded right on the spot. What made the whole thing even bloodier was that according to legend his favorite opening was the Danish Gambit.
An amusing anecdote was the game between Henry IV, the first of the Bourbons and Francois de Bassompierre, Marshall of France.
Francois shocked the court, himself and the King by breaking wind involuntarily while making a knight move.
With his future hanging in shreds, he still had the presence of mind to say “Your Majesty, my knight will not move if he does not hear the trumpet call.”
The King, it is recorded, made a wintry smile.
King Canute, the first King of all England (the one who commanded the tide to stop), was a sore loser.
He was playing Earl Ulf of Denmark when he blundered, losing a knight. Imperiously he tried to take the move back, but Ulf did not agree.
After a vigorous debate, the Earl knocked the board down. It was literally a fatal chess blunder as the King had him slain for arguing.
The award for best defensive player goes to Prince Valdemar of Denmark. The story goes that he was playing chess with King Knut V when they were attacked by a rival King.
Knut was killed but Valdemar escaped by employing a rarely used side defense— he used the chessboard as shield.
Another homicide in chess happened to Charlemagne‘s nephew, Berthelot.
Renaud de Montauban, a French knight fed up with losing, chose as his particular blunt instrument, a golden chessboard.
He smote Berthelot “so hard that he clubbed him to the teeth,” says Caxton.
King Conchubair of Ireland seems to have his priorities right.
According to Irish legend, he divided his day into three— one third for drinking, one third for fighting and one third to play chess.
CEPCA NEWS. According to Mat Matuco, president of the club, our April tournament will be on Sunday at Stella Maris starting at 1p.m.
The Kiddies and Junior tournaments will also be held simultaneously at the same venue.
Chessmoso
I WAS browsing over a book, The Complete Chess Addict , a collaboration by Mike Fox and Richard James, during the Holy Week and I was astounded at the amount of information it contains, including games by famous people such as the legendary Aladdin, Humprey Bogart, Che Guevara, Leo Tolstoy, Karl Marx and many others.
It also has a tremendous amount of trivia which I would like to share with you, readers.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Shah Jehan (1627-1658) is known for his massive construction projects such as the Red Fort, and Jama Masjid, both in Delhi.
But the most famous of them all is the Taj Mahal, a massive white marble mausoleum constructed for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, along the bank of the Jamuna River in Agra.
It took nearly a decade to build.
Shah Jehan was an avid chess player and sometimes played with living pieces, reputedly 32 virgins.
According to some sources the winner took the virgins as prize. If it happens here most of the members of Cepca will fight tooth and nails with each other just to play.
Another Royal who also played with living pieces, this time palace maids, was the Emperor Ming Huan (712-56) against his favorite concubine Yang Kwei-fei.
You might be interested to know that the great Akbar, Shah Jehan‘s grand father, who developed the Mughal Empire played chess on a giant board ( it still exist at Fatehfur Sikri) with elephants as pieces and horses as pawns.
However, all these are tame compared to King Muley Hassan of Morocco.
His contribution was to use prisoners from the Royal dungeon as pieces. It would be on prime time TV today, beating even Manny Pacquiao fights as the captured pieces are beheaded right on the spot. What made the whole thing even bloodier was that according to legend his favorite opening was the Danish Gambit.
An amusing anecdote was the game between Henry IV, the first of the Bourbons and Francois de Bassompierre, Marshall of France.
Francois shocked the court, himself and the King by breaking wind involuntarily while making a knight move.
With his future hanging in shreds, he still had the presence of mind to say “Your Majesty, my knight will not move if he does not hear the trumpet call.”
The King, it is recorded, made a wintry smile.
King Canute, the first King of all England (the one who commanded the tide to stop), was a sore loser.
He was playing Earl Ulf of Denmark when he blundered, losing a knight. Imperiously he tried to take the move back, but Ulf did not agree.
After a vigorous debate, the Earl knocked the board down. It was literally a fatal chess blunder as the King had him slain for arguing.
The award for best defensive player goes to Prince Valdemar of Denmark. The story goes that he was playing chess with King Knut V when they were attacked by a rival King.
Knut was killed but Valdemar escaped by employing a rarely used side defense— he used the chessboard as shield.
Another homicide in chess happened to Charlemagne‘s nephew, Berthelot.
Renaud de Montauban, a French knight fed up with losing, chose as his particular blunt instrument, a golden chessboard.
He smote Berthelot “so hard that he clubbed him to the teeth,” says Caxton.
King Conchubair of Ireland seems to have his priorities right.
According to Irish legend, he divided his day into three— one third for drinking, one third for fighting and one third to play chess.
CEPCA NEWS. According to Mat Matuco, president of the club, our April tournament will be on Sunday at Stella Maris starting at 1p.m.
The Kiddies and Junior tournaments will also be held simultaneously at the same venue.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Chess-playing billionaires
By Frank "Boy" Pestaño
Chessmoso
THREE weeks ago Forbes.com sent me a list of the richest men in the world and the number 1 for the past 10 years now is Microsoft founder and chairman William “Bill” Gates (born 1955) with a net worth of over $56 billion.
He is the most successful entrepreneur in the personal computer revolution and his riches are primarily due to his intelligence and foresight. For the past several years now he has pursued a number of philanthropic donations, at latest count $30 billion, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
He is a well-known chess player with a rating of about 1578, at one time reaching a peak of 1690, and his foundation has sometimes donated to various chess organizations.
Another chess-playing billionaire is Carl Icahn (born 1936) who is known as a corporate raider after his hostile takeover of TWA in 1985. He is the chairman of Imclone, American Real Estate partners with investments in Time Warner and a host of major companies including casino interests in Las Vegas. He is a self made man with a fortune estimated at $9 billion.
Carl once said that “chess is one thing I am really good at, I could have been a master or something, but there was no future in it.” His predatory skills learned in chess have made him the king of corporate checkmates and the most feared takeover specialist in the world.
A chess playing billionaire in the world of finance is George Soros who is a financial speculator and stock investor. He was well known for “breaking the Bank of England” on Black Wednesday in 1992, earning a billion dollars on “one day’s work.” His wealth has been estimated at $8.5 billion.
His currency speculation has made emerging nations become “open societies” that are more tolerant of new ideas and different modes of thinking and behavior.
Another high-profile chess player in the 60s and 70s was the late Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975) famous for his wealth and love affairs. He married Jacqueline Kennedy (widow of American President John Kennedy) that was the talk of the world for quite sometime. He made his billions by becoming the most successful shipping magnate in the 20th century.
He had a notorious love affair with opera diva Maria Callas despite the fact that they were both married and ended only when he married Jacqueline. He is one of the few persons in the world to die of myasthenia gravis, a rare disease.
Another chess-playing billionaire is Barron Hilton (born 1927), an American heir and Chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain. His younger brother “Nicky” was once married to Elizabeth Taylor (1950) and has a younger half sister whose mother is Zsa Zsa Gabor. His Wealth is estimated at $1 billion.
He is listed as one of the “Chairmen of the Chessboard” in an article written by Robert Levy,Dun`s review,1975.
When Barron`s father, Conrad, died in 1979, he left most of his wealth to the Roman Catholic Church and almost none to his children. Barron contested the will claiming he was partly responsible for the family wealth and won.
Terence Chapman is a London businessman whose company specializes in IT and software products for financial institutions. He is a very good player by any standard. A fellow chessplayer asked him the question: “What odds would you need to beat Garry Kasparov?” “Two pawns,” was Terence’s answer.
The Garry Kasparov vs. Terence Chapman Charity Challenge actually took place on April 21-22, 2001 with the latter making a substantial donation to the Kasparov Chess Academy. Kasparov only had 6 pawns and 60 minutes while chapman had 8 and 90 minutes.
The result was an interesting 2/12 -1/12 victory by Kasparov.
Chessmoso
THREE weeks ago Forbes.com sent me a list of the richest men in the world and the number 1 for the past 10 years now is Microsoft founder and chairman William “Bill” Gates (born 1955) with a net worth of over $56 billion.
He is the most successful entrepreneur in the personal computer revolution and his riches are primarily due to his intelligence and foresight. For the past several years now he has pursued a number of philanthropic donations, at latest count $30 billion, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
He is a well-known chess player with a rating of about 1578, at one time reaching a peak of 1690, and his foundation has sometimes donated to various chess organizations.
Another chess-playing billionaire is Carl Icahn (born 1936) who is known as a corporate raider after his hostile takeover of TWA in 1985. He is the chairman of Imclone, American Real Estate partners with investments in Time Warner and a host of major companies including casino interests in Las Vegas. He is a self made man with a fortune estimated at $9 billion.
Carl once said that “chess is one thing I am really good at, I could have been a master or something, but there was no future in it.” His predatory skills learned in chess have made him the king of corporate checkmates and the most feared takeover specialist in the world.
A chess playing billionaire in the world of finance is George Soros who is a financial speculator and stock investor. He was well known for “breaking the Bank of England” on Black Wednesday in 1992, earning a billion dollars on “one day’s work.” His wealth has been estimated at $8.5 billion.
His currency speculation has made emerging nations become “open societies” that are more tolerant of new ideas and different modes of thinking and behavior.
Another high-profile chess player in the 60s and 70s was the late Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975) famous for his wealth and love affairs. He married Jacqueline Kennedy (widow of American President John Kennedy) that was the talk of the world for quite sometime. He made his billions by becoming the most successful shipping magnate in the 20th century.
He had a notorious love affair with opera diva Maria Callas despite the fact that they were both married and ended only when he married Jacqueline. He is one of the few persons in the world to die of myasthenia gravis, a rare disease.
Another chess-playing billionaire is Barron Hilton (born 1927), an American heir and Chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain. His younger brother “Nicky” was once married to Elizabeth Taylor (1950) and has a younger half sister whose mother is Zsa Zsa Gabor. His Wealth is estimated at $1 billion.
He is listed as one of the “Chairmen of the Chessboard” in an article written by Robert Levy,Dun`s review,1975.
When Barron`s father, Conrad, died in 1979, he left most of his wealth to the Roman Catholic Church and almost none to his children. Barron contested the will claiming he was partly responsible for the family wealth and won.
Terence Chapman is a London businessman whose company specializes in IT and software products for financial institutions. He is a very good player by any standard. A fellow chessplayer asked him the question: “What odds would you need to beat Garry Kasparov?” “Two pawns,” was Terence’s answer.
The Garry Kasparov vs. Terence Chapman Charity Challenge actually took place on April 21-22, 2001 with the latter making a substantial donation to the Kasparov Chess Academy. Kasparov only had 6 pawns and 60 minutes while chapman had 8 and 90 minutes.
The result was an interesting 2/12 -1/12 victory by Kasparov.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Blindfold play and Melody Amber
By Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
THE Café de la Regence in Paris was the favorite playing ground of chess players from all over Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. On one table was a brass plaque saying “Napoleon Bonaparte used to play at this table.”
Melody Amber is a one-of-a-kind tournament in the chess calendar. It is usually played during March at the fabulous Fairmont Hotel in Monaco.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Only the world’s top players are invited by its sponsor Dutch billionaire and champion of postal chess Joop von Oosterom. It is named after his daughter Melody Amber that started in 1992. Total prize fund for this year is $288,000 and the players are treated like Royalty.
Format is blind chess and rapid play. In each round, players play both rapid and blindfold chess against the same opponent.
For the uninitiated, one would think that blind chess is difficult. For grandmasters it is a piece of cake and my personal observation is that anybody interested enough can play blind chess if practiced constantly with the proper technique.
Significant and mind boggling simul blind chess exhibitions in the past have been done by Morphy, Pillsbury, Alekhine, Flesch, Reti and Koltanowski. The most impressive is the 47 boards feat by the legendary Miguel Najdorf with the result of 39 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses.
Blindfold chess is useful in increasing one’s playing strength but is deemed a health hazard if carried to extremes. The mental problems of Morphy and Pillsbury were due to, they say, too many bindfold simul chess exhibitions.
In Monte Carlo, the players play with computer laptops far from the blindfold play of yesteryears where play was full of drama as the players had their backs opposite the board or with a scarf covering their eyes.
After 4 rounds, Kramnik leads the pack with a combined score of 6.5 points followed by Aronian half a point behind. Tournament favorite Anand could only manage 4 points.
Blindfold:
1. Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2766 4.0 2. Svidler, Peter RUS 2728 3.0 3. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2750 3.0 4. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2733 2.5 5. Aronian, Levon ARM 2744 2.5 6. Leko, Peter HUN 2749 2.0 7. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2741 1.5 8. Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2729 1.5 9. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2690 1.0 10. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2779 1.0 11. Van Wely, Loek NED 2683 1.0 12. Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2679 1.0.
Rapid:
1. Aronian, Levon ARM 2744 3.5 2. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2779 3.0 3. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2741 2.5 4. Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2766 2.5 5. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2750 2.5 6. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2690 2.0 7. Leko, Peter HUN 2749 2.0 8. Svidler, Peter RUS 2728 2.0 9. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2733 1.5 10. Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2679 1.0 11. Van Wely, Loek NED 2683 1.0 12. Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2729 0.5.
Cepca news. The club’s monthly tournament for March has just concluded and the winners are: 1st, William Retanal; 2nd, Maggi Dionson; and tied for 3rd to 5th are Jade Garzon, Mandy Baria and Nick Cuizon.
We have a new member, Alain Montenegro, an electrical and communication engineer.
Itaas memorial. Come and play at The 3rd Coleto Itaas memorial tournament to be contested this weekend March 24 and 25 at the Bibo Chess Club starting at 1pm. Format is a 7 round Swiss and the top 8 players will play a two-game knockout match to determine the champion.
Total prize money of this tourney is P8,000. Registration fee is P100 with a defaulting fee of P50.
Einstein Puzzle. Dr. Arthur Padilla, a US-based anesthesiologist in Iowa, follows my column regularly in the Internet and together with his sister, Imelda, are fond of logic puzzles. He got the correct answer to Einstein`s puzzle although this acknowledgement is delayed due to lack of space in my previous column.
Imelda, a Summa graduate of the University of San Carlos, is based in Alabama where she is chief financial officer of a window company.
Chessmoso
THE Café de la Regence in Paris was the favorite playing ground of chess players from all over Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. On one table was a brass plaque saying “Napoleon Bonaparte used to play at this table.”
Melody Amber is a one-of-a-kind tournament in the chess calendar. It is usually played during March at the fabulous Fairmont Hotel in Monaco.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Only the world’s top players are invited by its sponsor Dutch billionaire and champion of postal chess Joop von Oosterom. It is named after his daughter Melody Amber that started in 1992. Total prize fund for this year is $288,000 and the players are treated like Royalty.
Format is blind chess and rapid play. In each round, players play both rapid and blindfold chess against the same opponent.
For the uninitiated, one would think that blind chess is difficult. For grandmasters it is a piece of cake and my personal observation is that anybody interested enough can play blind chess if practiced constantly with the proper technique.
Significant and mind boggling simul blind chess exhibitions in the past have been done by Morphy, Pillsbury, Alekhine, Flesch, Reti and Koltanowski. The most impressive is the 47 boards feat by the legendary Miguel Najdorf with the result of 39 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses.
Blindfold chess is useful in increasing one’s playing strength but is deemed a health hazard if carried to extremes. The mental problems of Morphy and Pillsbury were due to, they say, too many bindfold simul chess exhibitions.
In Monte Carlo, the players play with computer laptops far from the blindfold play of yesteryears where play was full of drama as the players had their backs opposite the board or with a scarf covering their eyes.
After 4 rounds, Kramnik leads the pack with a combined score of 6.5 points followed by Aronian half a point behind. Tournament favorite Anand could only manage 4 points.
Blindfold:
1. Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2766 4.0 2. Svidler, Peter RUS 2728 3.0 3. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2750 3.0 4. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2733 2.5 5. Aronian, Levon ARM 2744 2.5 6. Leko, Peter HUN 2749 2.0 7. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2741 1.5 8. Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2729 1.5 9. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2690 1.0 10. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2779 1.0 11. Van Wely, Loek NED 2683 1.0 12. Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2679 1.0.
Rapid:
1. Aronian, Levon ARM 2744 3.5 2. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2779 3.0 3. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2741 2.5 4. Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2766 2.5 5. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2750 2.5 6. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2690 2.0 7. Leko, Peter HUN 2749 2.0 8. Svidler, Peter RUS 2728 2.0 9. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2733 1.5 10. Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2679 1.0 11. Van Wely, Loek NED 2683 1.0 12. Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2729 0.5.
Cepca news. The club’s monthly tournament for March has just concluded and the winners are: 1st, William Retanal; 2nd, Maggi Dionson; and tied for 3rd to 5th are Jade Garzon, Mandy Baria and Nick Cuizon.
We have a new member, Alain Montenegro, an electrical and communication engineer.
Itaas memorial. Come and play at The 3rd Coleto Itaas memorial tournament to be contested this weekend March 24 and 25 at the Bibo Chess Club starting at 1pm. Format is a 7 round Swiss and the top 8 players will play a two-game knockout match to determine the champion.
Total prize money of this tourney is P8,000. Registration fee is P100 with a defaulting fee of P50.
Einstein Puzzle. Dr. Arthur Padilla, a US-based anesthesiologist in Iowa, follows my column regularly in the Internet and together with his sister, Imelda, are fond of logic puzzles. He got the correct answer to Einstein`s puzzle although this acknowledgement is delayed due to lack of space in my previous column.
Imelda, a Summa graduate of the University of San Carlos, is based in Alabama where she is chief financial officer of a window company.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Chess-playing soldiers
By Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
THE Café de la Regence in Paris was the favorite playing ground of chess players from all over Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. On one table was a brass plaque saying “Napoleon Bonaparte used to play at this table.”
Although the would-be emperor was a first class military tactician and did love the game, he was a pretty rotten chess player.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Those who have played him says that that he was too impatient with little defensive skills and given to impetuous attacks. He was also a bad-tempered loser that is why his generals would let him win.
Another chess player is the unfortunate British Lt. Colonel Rall. The story goes that General Howe has just dealt Washington his worst defeat capturing 3,000 prisoners and was pushing down towards New Jersey with designs on Philadelphia.
Washington, still retreating with a constantly diminishing force, suddenly turned upon Lt .Colonel Rall`s advanced corps of Hessians on Dec. 26, 1776 at Trenton and captured 1,000 prisoners. This was a major turning point in the American war of independence.
What is known much later was that an Englishman who lived nearby sent his son with a note to Lt. Colonel Rall that Washington was preparing to attack him. Rall was busy playing chess, took the note and placed it in his pocket, unopened.
Next day Washington attacked and won a great victory. Colonel Rall was killed and the note discovered in his pocket. Thus it can be said that the game of chess helped the Americans become independent!
They say that war is a chess game played by gentlemen officers with human pieces. Robert Lee was the most celebrated General of the confederate forces during the American Civil War. He had his own traveling chess set and was an enthusiastic player.
Another soldier who always carried a pocket chess set was America`s Gen. John “Black Jack “Pershing. He served in the Spanish-American war, Philippine war of independence (“insurrection,” according to the Americans), The Mexican Expedition and was the overall Commander of American forces in World War I. Following the war, he served as Army Chief of Staff.
Another famous general who played chess though rather poorly was the hero of El Alamein, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. He gave up playing chess on being beaten by his nine-year-old son.
Ferdinand Marcos was one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II and was mainly responsible, together with Campomanes, for the Karpov vs. Korchnoi world championship match in Baguio in 1978. The last time Bobby Fischer was seen playing in public was against Marcos on Philippine TV in 1973.
My favorite chess playing soldier is a very good friend and one of the founders of Cepca , Gerry Tomakin. Though he is now 88 years old, he still plays like a tiger in chess. He was a Philippine scout during the war, was captured by the Japanese, and escaped from the concentration camp. He walked all the way to Pampanga from Bataan for one week surviving on the generosity of complete strangers.
Anand wins. Here is the final standings after 14 rounds of the Morelia/Linares Super GM tournament: 1. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2779 8.5; 2. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2690 7.5; 3. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2741 7.5; 4. Aronian, Levon ARM 2744 7.0; 5. Svidler, Peter RUS 2728 7.0; 6. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2750 6.5; 7. Topalov, Veselin BUL 2783 6.0; 8. Leko, Peter HUN 2749 6.0.
This tournament will be remembered by the sterling performance of Morozevich who rallied with 4 wins and 3 draws in the last 7 rounds.
Cepca news. Mandy Baria has announced that the March edition tournament of the club will be this Sunday March 18 at the Bibo chess club starting at 1 p.m.
Chessmoso
THE Café de la Regence in Paris was the favorite playing ground of chess players from all over Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. On one table was a brass plaque saying “Napoleon Bonaparte used to play at this table.”
Although the would-be emperor was a first class military tactician and did love the game, he was a pretty rotten chess player.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Those who have played him says that that he was too impatient with little defensive skills and given to impetuous attacks. He was also a bad-tempered loser that is why his generals would let him win.
Another chess player is the unfortunate British Lt. Colonel Rall. The story goes that General Howe has just dealt Washington his worst defeat capturing 3,000 prisoners and was pushing down towards New Jersey with designs on Philadelphia.
Washington, still retreating with a constantly diminishing force, suddenly turned upon Lt .Colonel Rall`s advanced corps of Hessians on Dec. 26, 1776 at Trenton and captured 1,000 prisoners. This was a major turning point in the American war of independence.
What is known much later was that an Englishman who lived nearby sent his son with a note to Lt. Colonel Rall that Washington was preparing to attack him. Rall was busy playing chess, took the note and placed it in his pocket, unopened.
Next day Washington attacked and won a great victory. Colonel Rall was killed and the note discovered in his pocket. Thus it can be said that the game of chess helped the Americans become independent!
They say that war is a chess game played by gentlemen officers with human pieces. Robert Lee was the most celebrated General of the confederate forces during the American Civil War. He had his own traveling chess set and was an enthusiastic player.
Another soldier who always carried a pocket chess set was America`s Gen. John “Black Jack “Pershing. He served in the Spanish-American war, Philippine war of independence (“insurrection,” according to the Americans), The Mexican Expedition and was the overall Commander of American forces in World War I. Following the war, he served as Army Chief of Staff.
Another famous general who played chess though rather poorly was the hero of El Alamein, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. He gave up playing chess on being beaten by his nine-year-old son.
Ferdinand Marcos was one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II and was mainly responsible, together with Campomanes, for the Karpov vs. Korchnoi world championship match in Baguio in 1978. The last time Bobby Fischer was seen playing in public was against Marcos on Philippine TV in 1973.
My favorite chess playing soldier is a very good friend and one of the founders of Cepca , Gerry Tomakin. Though he is now 88 years old, he still plays like a tiger in chess. He was a Philippine scout during the war, was captured by the Japanese, and escaped from the concentration camp. He walked all the way to Pampanga from Bataan for one week surviving on the generosity of complete strangers.
Anand wins. Here is the final standings after 14 rounds of the Morelia/Linares Super GM tournament: 1. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2779 8.5; 2. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2690 7.5; 3. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2741 7.5; 4. Aronian, Levon ARM 2744 7.0; 5. Svidler, Peter RUS 2728 7.0; 6. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2750 6.5; 7. Topalov, Veselin BUL 2783 6.0; 8. Leko, Peter HUN 2749 6.0.
This tournament will be remembered by the sterling performance of Morozevich who rallied with 4 wins and 3 draws in the last 7 rounds.
Cepca news. Mandy Baria has announced that the March edition tournament of the club will be this Sunday March 18 at the Bibo chess club starting at 1 p.m.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Belonging to the 2 percent
By Frank "Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
EINSTEIN'S puzzle featured last week Drew 23 correct answers, with feed back from the States, and a few from outside Cebu, including a wrong answer from Afghanistan. According to statistics 98% of the population can’t solve the puzzle.
The answer is the German. If you want a copy of the puzzle, please send an email to my address.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Here are those who answered correctly:
George Ruiz is a general surgeon connected with Ruiz Derma clinic and is 53 years old. He is a chess player and played before against NM Ben Macapaz and Rico Mascariñas in simul games. He also used to play with chess computers and in fact owns two of these portable units.
Marion Jaimee Uy works in a call center and is 30 years old. Her boyfriend saw the puzzle and asked her to solve it.
Jeremy Elape is only 19 years old and his favorite pastimes are watching TV and solving puzzles. His nickname is “Ippo.”
Khan Francis C. Guieb, 28, is a CPA-lawyer from Malabuyoc, Cebu and took up Accountancy at the University of San Carlos and Law at San Beda College. He is married to a beautiful lady, Connie Navarro.
Homer Jr. Busig will be turning 30 this June 6 and works as operations control assistant at USDI, pier area.
Xavier Veloso is a civil engineer from Cebu.
Jerome Gaerlan is a doctor specializing in Radiology. He is married with three kids and resides and practices in San Fernando, La Union. He used to be a varsity player in chess and in fact won a UAAP gold medal on board five in 1980.
Stephanie Taylor is a 19-year-old computer engineering student at the University of San Carlos.
Adrain Villarin is a 16-year-old student at the USC in Talamban majoring in Mathematics.
Wilson Ng is a businessman who loves technology and has written a computer column in Sun.Star Cebu for 12 years now. He
dabbles in mental games for relaxation and was an avid chess player during his high school days.
Niña Sanchez is a second year student at Cebu City National Science high and thus the youngest of the whole group.
Anne Amores is also a 16-year-old student taking up ECE at the USC. She is from Lapu-Lapu City and is also into music and the arts.
Joel Bangalan was a former faculty member of DLSU and UP, teaching Math and Finance. He is now EVP of Present Value Asia located at Keppel, Cebu Business Park where his principal task is to develop training modules in Finance.
Jerry Maratas is a civil/structural engineer who works as an instructor at the University of San Carlos and Besavilla Engineering Review Center. He is also into private practice in structural design. He is an avid chess player and has expressed interest in joining Cepca.
Gregor Anthony Marcaida is from Manila and is in Cebu on business. He should be in Manila by now and has asked a friend to send him a copy of this column.
May Christina Bugash solved the puzzle with an impressive set of diagrams.
Tom John Pineda is 34 years old and an architect. He wrote me a very nice letter encouraging me about my columns and to keep it up. Thanks Tom.
Tony Juarez is 30 years old, a Cebuano, and intrigued by the title of my column.
Others who answered the puzzle correctly were Dr.Mario Amores of Lapu-Lapu City, Jigs Ty of Park and Go Bakeshop, Banilad, Mandaue City, Glenn Chua of Bank of the Philippine Islands, Subangdaku branch, Mandaue City and Janice Monterola.
Finally the only person who sent a solution via text messaging is Lun Chee Li who loves to play chess and badminton. He is a graduate of Cebu Eastern College and USJ-R with a degree in BSEE .He still remembers my cell number when I used to display it in my columns before.
Chessmoso
EINSTEIN'S puzzle featured last week Drew 23 correct answers, with feed back from the States, and a few from outside Cebu, including a wrong answer from Afghanistan. According to statistics 98% of the population can’t solve the puzzle.
The answer is the German. If you want a copy of the puzzle, please send an email to my address.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
Here are those who answered correctly:
George Ruiz is a general surgeon connected with Ruiz Derma clinic and is 53 years old. He is a chess player and played before against NM Ben Macapaz and Rico Mascariñas in simul games. He also used to play with chess computers and in fact owns two of these portable units.
Marion Jaimee Uy works in a call center and is 30 years old. Her boyfriend saw the puzzle and asked her to solve it.
Jeremy Elape is only 19 years old and his favorite pastimes are watching TV and solving puzzles. His nickname is “Ippo.”
Khan Francis C. Guieb, 28, is a CPA-lawyer from Malabuyoc, Cebu and took up Accountancy at the University of San Carlos and Law at San Beda College. He is married to a beautiful lady, Connie Navarro.
Homer Jr. Busig will be turning 30 this June 6 and works as operations control assistant at USDI, pier area.
Xavier Veloso is a civil engineer from Cebu.
Jerome Gaerlan is a doctor specializing in Radiology. He is married with three kids and resides and practices in San Fernando, La Union. He used to be a varsity player in chess and in fact won a UAAP gold medal on board five in 1980.
Stephanie Taylor is a 19-year-old computer engineering student at the University of San Carlos.
Adrain Villarin is a 16-year-old student at the USC in Talamban majoring in Mathematics.
Wilson Ng is a businessman who loves technology and has written a computer column in Sun.Star Cebu for 12 years now. He
dabbles in mental games for relaxation and was an avid chess player during his high school days.
Niña Sanchez is a second year student at Cebu City National Science high and thus the youngest of the whole group.
Anne Amores is also a 16-year-old student taking up ECE at the USC. She is from Lapu-Lapu City and is also into music and the arts.
Joel Bangalan was a former faculty member of DLSU and UP, teaching Math and Finance. He is now EVP of Present Value Asia located at Keppel, Cebu Business Park where his principal task is to develop training modules in Finance.
Jerry Maratas is a civil/structural engineer who works as an instructor at the University of San Carlos and Besavilla Engineering Review Center. He is also into private practice in structural design. He is an avid chess player and has expressed interest in joining Cepca.
Gregor Anthony Marcaida is from Manila and is in Cebu on business. He should be in Manila by now and has asked a friend to send him a copy of this column.
May Christina Bugash solved the puzzle with an impressive set of diagrams.
Tom John Pineda is 34 years old and an architect. He wrote me a very nice letter encouraging me about my columns and to keep it up. Thanks Tom.
Tony Juarez is 30 years old, a Cebuano, and intrigued by the title of my column.
Others who answered the puzzle correctly were Dr.Mario Amores of Lapu-Lapu City, Jigs Ty of Park and Go Bakeshop, Banilad, Mandaue City, Glenn Chua of Bank of the Philippine Islands, Subangdaku branch, Mandaue City and Janice Monterola.
Finally the only person who sent a solution via text messaging is Lun Chee Li who loves to play chess and badminton. He is a graduate of Cebu Eastern College and USJ-R with a degree in BSEE .He still remembers my cell number when I used to display it in my columns before.
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