Pestaño: Manny Pacquiao, a man of many talents

Chessmoso

Friday, May 24, 2013

ACCORDING to Wikipedia ,Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao is the first eight-division world champion in boxing. He is also one of the richest men in the Philippines and the second highest paid athlete in the world with earnings of $63 million in 2012.

He was named “Fighter of the Decade” by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO).

Aside from boxing, Pacquiao has participated in acting, music recording and various sports such as darts, bowling, basketball, billiards and chess.

Last May 13 Pacquiao was re-elected as congressman representing the province of Sarangani.

Pacquiao was a devout Roman Catholic, frequently making the sign of the cross before the start of every round but became a born-again bible-preaching Christian.

Pacquiao is also a military reservist with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Philippine Army. In 2009, Pacquiao was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities (Honoris Causa) by Southwestern University in recognition of his boxing achievements and humanitarian work. He is a known philanthropist that is why he was re-elected.

As an actor, his movies are Wapakman, Lisensyadong Kamao and Anak ng Kumander.

He has also appeared in various TV shows with Ara Mina.

He is also a singer with recordings such as Laban Nating Lahat Ito (2006) – under Star Records and Pac-Man Punch (2007) – under MCA Records.

Pacquiao also became the first Filipino athlete to appear on a postage stamp.

I have known for a long time that Manny is an avid chess player. On-going right now is one of the biggest tournaments ever based prize money thanks to Pacman, the $100,000-rich Pacquiao Cup.

The Manny Pacquiao Cup Asian Continental Chess Championship for men and women featuring leading chess players is being held at the Midas Hotel and Casino in Pasay City. The format is nine rounds Swiss.

The top five players qualify to the 2013 World Cup on Aug. 10 to Sept. 5 in Tromso, Norway. Pinoy GMs Wesley So and Oliver Barbosa are the early qualifiers. The Asian Women’s champion advances to the 2014 Women’s World Championship tournament.

According to the National Chess Federation ( NCFP) website, “The Philippine bid is spearheaded by GMs Oliver Barbosa, Julio Sadorra, Mark Paragua, Rogelio Antonio Jr.,
John Paul Gomez, Darwin Laylo and Richard Bitoon. Other Filipinos are IMs Rolando Nolte, Oliver Dimakiling, Emmanuel Senador, Petronio Roca and Chito Garma.”

The top seed is Le Quang Liem of Vietnam (2714). Chinese champion Li Chao is second at 2686. Two Indians are among the favorites, Krishnan Sasikiran (2669) and Parimarjan Negi (2651). Southeast Asian zone champion Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam (2631) and Iranian champion Ehsan Ghaem Maghami are also strong contenders for the top five places for the World Cup.

Chinese players are top seeds in the women’s division--Tan Zhongyi, Huang Qian, Guo Qi and Wang Jue and Batkhuwag Munguntuul of Mongolia.

The Philippine women’s bid is spearheaded by Catherine Perena, Janelle Mae Frayna ,Bernadette Galas and Marie Antoinette San Diego ’’

In the opening ceremonies, PacMan played a fighting 20-move draw against the organizer of the tournament Eugene Torre.

“Chess is one of the sports I love because I played chess even before I became a boxer,” Pacquiao said. He also said that he will continue to support chess.

Richard Bitoon has four points together with Gomez, Sadorra and Liem after 5 rounds.

Leading with 4.5 is Paragua. Richard was set to have an acid test yesterday against Li Chao in the sixth round.

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

Pestaño: Suprise twist to candidates tournament

Chessmoso

Thursday, April 4, 2013

THE 2013 candidates tournament was the strongest tournament of its kind in history.

The prize fund totaled €510,000 and was held in London from March 14 to April 2. The main sponsor for the Candidates was the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (Socar).

Magnus Carlsen of Norway won despite losing his last round game to Peter Svidler as the other penultimate round leader, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia also unexpectedly lost to Vassily Ivanchuk in a bizarre finish.

Kramnik was ahead on traditional tiebreak points, but the candidates tournament rules count the number of wins--Carlsen five, Kramnik four --to break the tie. This means that in the next title match, world champion Viswanathan Anand will face Carlsen sometime in November this year.

Carlsen had five wins in the double round robin format against Svidler, Grishuk, Gelfand (twice) and Radjabov. Kramnik had four against Svidler, Aronian(a turning point in the tournament ), Grishuk and Radjabov. Both Kramnik and Carlsen had one loss each against the unpredictable Ivanchuk. Ivanchuk also had a number of winning games but was always in time trouble.

The competing players were so strong that Teimour Radjabov, with a rating of 2793, only scored four points and finished in the cellar.

Here is the final standing--1.) Carlsen (2872), Kramnik (2810)- 8.5 3.) to 4.) Svidler( 2747), Levon Aronian (2809)- 8.0 5.) to 6.) Alexander Grischuk (2764), Boris Gelfand (2740)-6.5, 7.) Ivanchuk (2757)- 6.0, 8.) Teimour Radjabov (2793) 4.0.

Cepca. This report by tournament director Jun Olis is quite late as Chessmoso did not have a column last Good Friday as there was no issue.

“Cepca kids dominated their elder counterparts during the club’s monthly qualifying chess tournament for March held last March 24 at Ocean Pearl Beach Resort in Tongo, Marigondon.

Felix Shaun Balbona defeated Yves Fiel in the final round to emerge champion with a perfect score of 5 points. He earlier defeated Jun Pasion , Ruel Hortelano , Gabby Misterio and Bong San Pascual .

Sharing second to fourth places with four points apiece were Yves Fiel, Marc Balbona and Percival Fiel. The younger Fiel claimed the second spot with the highest tiebreak points, followed by M. Balbona and P. Fiel at the third and fourth spots,
respectively.

Percival Fiel, claimed the monthly qualifier honors as the kids were only guest participants of the club.

Meanwhile, eight new members were inducted into the club with Chessmoso, Cepca founder as inducting officer. They are SPO4 Ruel Hortelano, Maj. Jun Pasion (Ret), Gabby Misterio, Ruel Robillos, Engr. Jeffrey Solis, Engr. Gerry Maratas, and Amado Olea and Cris Lim of the Philippine Air Force.”

From KC Morala: The Rose Pharmacy Ladies Chess Tournament was held in SM Deep Blue last March 31.

Jazzelle Villarin, after a drawn game to Jessa Balbona, overpowered her other opponents until the last round to keep her lead and take the title as the solo champion of the five-round tournament.

Airene Robillos, Marie Cecillee Lumapac and Vic Glysen Derotas tied at 4 points for the second to fourth places.

The fifth to ninth places were shared by Laila Camel Nadera, Alphecca Gonzales, KC Morala, and Lyka Pondoyo, while Queenie Cablao, Jhoronnie Gayl Bontes, Marvie Abucay and Marivelle Lumayag tied for 10th.

The tournament was sponsored by Boojie Lim and was attended by twenty lady chess players.

An 18-Under tournament will be held this Saturday at Deep Blue starting at 10:30 a.m.

It is sponsored by lawyers Jongjong Melendez and Ben Harayo. Contact Marvin Ruelan for details 09267352951.

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

Pestaño: My kid brother Danny—a chess player

Chessmoso

Thursday, March 21, 2013

MY BROTHER passed away last Saturday evening. He would have been 61 next month on April 11.

He was the eighth child of the late Tomas Pestaño and Narcisa Yap and the youngest among five boys. He graduated high school from the Colegio del Santo Niño and had a degree of Mechanical Engineering from the University of San Carlos. He married his childhood sweetheart and our neighbor, Farrah Silva.

Aside from Farrah, he is survived by four children--Khristina, Maria Luisa, Lorenzo Sr. and Rafael. Daughter-in-laws are Venus and Mae and three grandchildren—Lorenzo Jr, Rhob Maverick and Lucas Andrew, who was born last January only .

His brothers are Jimmy, Pepe, myself and Bob. Sisters are Linda, Becky, Nena Debbie and Lourdes. We are a big family and all professionals and he was the first to pass away.

When I founded the Cebu Executives and Professional Chess Association (Cepca) with Arturo Ynclino, Danny was our first recruit. Of the original eight members, four have retired permanently –Danny, Sonny Sollano, Loy Minoza and Gerry Tomakin. Only Alex Tolentino, Nicnic Climaco and I are still active as Art Ynclino is semi-retired.

All of us brothers played basketball and were very competitive. Danny was forbidden by my father to play as he was born with a “heart murmur” and was probably the cause of his early demise. So he turned to chess and was some sort of a prodigy.

By the time he was eight, he was already better than me. My father had many colleagues who played chess and when they come to the house, they enjoyed playing with Danny.

When our club had its first tournament in 1990 Danny was the first champion.

Also, back in 1990, the Inter-zonals was held in Manila with more than 100 grandmasters playing. Our group, Cepca, wanted to come out with a big bang and decided to invite four GMs to visit Cebu to play simultaneous exhibitions.

Since it required some financial muscle and we were just starting, we turned to Cebu Lakandula Lions Club for help and its president at that time was Danny. The endeavor was a big success with four GMs paying simuls at Baseline, the first and only time that it happened in Cebu. The GMs were Eugene Torre, Jaime Sunye-Neto of Brazil, Walter Arencibia of Cuba and Carlos Juarez of Guatemala.

Another big event where Danny played a key role was our participation in Sinulog 1992.

Up to now, no organization has equaled our effort. We participated in three categories--Free interpretation, where our boys danced to the beat of the Budapest Gambit, Float with the late Bombi Aznar as King and eighth beautiful ladies as pawns, and two Higantes as grandmasters Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky . We were given a special award by the organizers.

Danny was also a former president of Cepca for the period 1995-96.

The most active chess club in Cebu is at the Colonnade Mall and it is owned by Danny.

It has been running for more than 15 years now with its 10 tables and there is hardly any vacancy at its peak times from 6 p.m to 8 p.m. It is known even by those players who are from out of town and are just visiting Cebu. Even foreigners who are chess players play there.

Aside from chess, he was active business wise and he was the founder and guiding light of Cebu Kawayan Multi-Purpose Cooperative (founded 1986) with its many projects and close to 100 members.

Perhaps, the most active alumni organization locally is the Colegio del Sto Niño Alumni Association. Danny was one of its most active members( all of us brothers are alumni) and was its president in the 100th centennial celebration in 2004.

He was cremated yesterday at St,Peter Chapels along Imus road and his ashes interned at Cebu Memorial Park.

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

Pestaño: The top lady players in Cebu

By Frank 'Boy' Pestaño

Chessmoso

Thursday, March 14, 2013

THE month of March is International Women’s Month and is celebrated all over the world. Our article for today is all about women chess.

Fide estimates that there are 700 million chess players worldwide but less than six percent are women. There are an estimated 1,300 grandmasters today but only 28 are women.

In the March 2013 Elo list, there is only one lady player (Judit Polgar) in the top 100 and only three in the top 300

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

However, women’s chess in the Philippines is very active and more so in Cebu as there are a lot of tournaments here where they can participate.

Top local players. Here are the top local ladies. This list was prepared by KC Morala who knows the playing strength of each and every one of them. I also consulted Fide arbiter Marvin Ruelan, who is also knowledgeable as he presides over local tournaments.

1.) Jessa Marie Balbona (20 years old). USJ-R Chess team tertiary level; former Palarong Pambansa player and Philippine Team player; former Prisaa player.

2.) Cecillee Lumapac (18 years old). USJR Chess team tertiary level; former Palarong Pambansa player.
3. ) Airene Robillos (17 years old). USJR Chess team Tertiary level and former Prisaa player.

4.) Jazzelle Villarin (17 years old). USC Chess Team Secondary level; former Palarong Pambansa player, board 1 silver medalist and team gold medalist in Milo Nationals 2012, former Batang Pinoy Visayas Leg champion.

5.) KC Morala (16 years old). USC Chess Team Secondary level; former Palarong Pambansa player, Most Outstanding Player, board 2 gold medalist and team gold medalist in Milo Nationals 2012, Batang Pinoy Visayas leg 2012 champion.

6. ) Sharon Princess Lee Pacres (16 years old). USC chess Team Secondary level; board 3 silver medalist and team gold medalist in Milo Nationals 2012; Batang Pinoy Visayas
LEG 2012 silver medalist.

7.) Laila Camel Nadera (14 years old). USC Chess Team Secondary level; former Palarong Pambansa player, alternate gold medalist and team gold medalist in Milo Nationals
2012, Batang Pinoy Visayas LEG 2012 champion.

8.) Vic Glysen Derotas (11 years old). USC Chess Team Elementary level; former
Palarong Pambansa player; Philippine Team; Batang Pinoy Visayas leg 2012 champion.

9.) Shaira Monsalud (16 years old). UC Chess Team Secondary level; current player for Palarong Pambansa.

10.) Queenelyn Torres (16 years old). ANS Chess Team Secondary level, former Milo Visayas LEG team gold medalist.

Top players nationwide. I contacted Cebuano GM Richard Bitoon, who is now based in Manila for his opinion on who are the top ladies nationwide. Here are the top 5.

1.) Catherine Perena. She is the rating favorite ( top-rated women’s player of the Philippines) and a mainstay of the National team.

2.) Ralp Ylem Jose. She twice won the prestigious national women’s championship.

3.) Jedara Docena. A mainstay of the women national team and a serious rival for every women’s championship.

4.) Bernadette Galas. A new and young talent who performed very well in the recently concluded Asean women chess championship that was held in Tagaytay early this year, besting several WGMs from neighboring countries.

5.) Cheradie Camacho. She used to be the Board 1 player in the Philippine women’s team to the Olympiad but after grabbing the opportunity to study in the USA, she’s been quiet lately.

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

Pestaño: A remarkable chess success story

Chessmoso

Thursday, February 21, 2013

THIS is a wonderful story worth telling. In fact it is so outstanding that it has been featured over and over again by newspapers worldwide for the past several years now and has been made into a book “Queen of Katwe ” by Tim Crothers.

Now that Walt Disney is filming a movie about this girl (started last year) it is time to write about her.

Phiona Mutesi is an Ugandan chess player. She is not certain when she was born, although Fide has estimated it to be 1993. Her father died of AIDS while she was only three and afterwards her older sister Juliet died of an unknown cause.

She couldn’t read or write. As a child, she scrounged for food, selling corn each day for herself, her mother, and her brother in Katwe, a slum in Kampala ,the capital of Uganda,

The extreme poverty and deprivation in Katwe is hard for many around the world to imagine. Crothers wrote that “human waste from downtown Kampala is dumped directly into the slum. There is no sanitation.”

Mutesi woke at 5 a.m. every day to “begin a two-hour trek through Katwe to fill a jug with drinkable water, walking through lowland that is often so severely flooded by Uganda’s torrential rains that many residents sleep in hammocks near their ceilings to avoid drowning” Crothers wrote .

“I thought the life I was living, that everyone was living that life,” the teenager told CNN, describing her childhood. “I was living a hard life, sleeping on the streets, and you couldn’t have anything to eat.”

She heard about a religious charity organization that mentored slum kids and served food, and also taught the kids an odd game called chess.

“I was hungry,” Mutesi says, “I’d never heard of chess, and I’d never seen it. So… I was like, ‘Maybe I can also go there to learn about chess and get a cup of porridge.’”

She remembers on her first visit that, “I was very dirty…They didn’t accept me even to touch the pieces.”

Robert Katende, a missionary , had started a chess program in Katwe, Kampala. He offered a bowl of porridge to any child who would show up and learn.

The first indications that she was good came when she started to beat the boys even older than she. Chess is considered too difficult for girls. But Mutesi changed that belief.

Mutesi is not one of the world’s top chess players, but she is the first titled female Ugandan player.

Eventually, she became her country’s champion -- and represented Uganda at international tournaments. In 2009, she traveled to Sudan.

In 2010 she played on board 2 for Uganda at the 39th Chess Olympiad in Russia, and as of 2011 she is a three-time Women’s Junior Champion in her country. Last year, she played in the Olympiad in Istanbul.

Phiona is also the youngest person ever to win the African chess championship
“Chess has changed my life. Chess gave me hope, whereby now I’m having a hope of becoming a doctor and ... a grand master,” she said.

A grant from a program called Sports Outreach has allowed her to go back to school and she’s learning to read and write.

“I feel happy,” she said when asked about the growing attention. “I’m excited. I didn’t have hope that one time, one day, I would be like someone who can encourage people, and they start playing chess,” she told CNN.

Meanwhile, Mutesi is becoming an inspiration to people all over the world as she is “the ultimate underdog.” She has overcome all kinds of obstacles that the world has placed in front of her thru chess. Mutesi’s success has challenged the expectations of girls worldwide who are like her and Walt Disney thinks she would be a good example to all those similarly situated.

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

Pestaño: Wives of selected grandmasters

Chessmoso

Friday, February 15, 2013

BEHIND every successful man is a woman. I am sure most grandmasters have the support and encouragement of their wives or the marriage will not last long as chess is a difficult profession.

Our article today is all about love as yesterday was Valentine’s day.

Eugene Torre is married to the former Marilyn Alano, who was the Miss Basilan in 1976 and is niece to the then Basilan governor. Eugene holds two records—Asia’s first grandmaster and for having played in the Chess Olympiad 21 times.

Rogelio “Joey” Antonio has a supportive wife, Aileen, a niece of former Manila mayor Mel Lopez. Joey has been playing in the Olympiad for a long time, mostly in board 2 behind Eugene. He is a 10-time National Champion.

Mark Paragua, the only player aside from Wesley So to have a rating of over 2600, is married to Mary Christine Joyce Dacayo.

Cebuano Richard Bitoon, the Sportswriters Association of Cebu athlete of the year in 2012, has a lifetime partner in Joyce Lee, a registered nurse and med-tech.

Another Cebuano GM, Enrico Sevillano, who was a recent visitor and played in two simuls last December at the Colonnade Mall and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu is now a resident of the USA. His wife is Rose, reportedly a nurse.

Another Cebuano who is also based in the USA is Banjo Barcenilla, a nephew of Bombi Aznar. His wife is also a chess player from Iligan, Lilibeth Lee.

The executive director of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, John Paul Gomez, is married to Shiella Sorrel, a graduate of De La Salle University.

Miguel Quinteros from Argentina is married to a sister of former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz, Benjie (Miss Philippines, Maid of Cotton), the prettiest of the Diaz sisters which includes Rio (Mutya ng Pilipinas).

Bobby Fischer had a marriage of convenience with the former president of the Japanese Chess Federation, Miyoko Watai, to escape imprisonment in Japan. I think she inherited Fischer’s estate estimated at $3 million.

Alexander Alekhine was married four times. In 1920 he married a Russian baroness, who was several years older. In 1921, he married Annelise Ruegg, a Swiss journalist who was 13 years older. His fourth wife, Grace Freeman Wishard (1876-1956) was a chess player and 16 years older. They were married in 1934.

Anatoly Karpov has a son from his first marriage. His second wife, Natasha, was a librarian. They were married in 1987.

All-time great Garry Kasparov has been married three times (Masha, Yulia, and Daria), and has three children.

Emanuel Lasker married Martha Bamberger Cohn at the age of 42. He was the best friend and roommate of Albert Einstein.

Mikhail Botvinnik’s wife was an Armenian named Gayane Davidovna, the daughter of his algebra and geometry teacher. She was a student at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in Leningrad and later, a ballerina in the Bolshoi Theatre.

Boris Spassky married Marina Stcherbatcheff, a secretary of the French embassy in Moscow. This was his third marriage.

Jose Capablanca married Gloria Simoni Beautucourt in Havana in 1921. He had a second marriage in 1938 to Olga Choubaroff Chagodaeva, a Russian princess in Elktron, Maryland.

All of those mentioned were former world champions aside from the Pinoys and Quinteros.

Paknaan B. The top 5 winners in the Paknaan B Mixed Open tournament last Feb. 9-10 were Allan Pason, King James Torres, Diego Claro and Dennis Labrador. The participants were kiddies, ladies and non-rated players.

This coming Saturday and Sunday there will be an open tournament also at the Paknaan gym. On March 3, they will hold an exclusive tournament for lady players. The sponsors are Barangay Captain Malaquias Soco and councilors Willy Semblante, Jonathan Dechos, Dulce Jumao-as, Francis Bongo, Danny Andaya Jenjen Cortes and Carlito delos Santos.

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

Pestaño: Basketball players who excel in chess

Chessmoso

Thursday, February 7, 2013

SOME of the most awaited events in sports aside from the Olympics are the Super Bowl of the NFL, the major events in tennis and golf, championship boxing matches and the NBA All-Star game.

The NBA All-Star Game is an exhibition game matching the league’s star players from the Eastern Conference against their counterparts from the Western Conference.

The starting lineup for each squad are selected by fans, while the reserves are chosen through a vote among the head coaches. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.

The 2013 NBA All-Star will be played on Feb. 17 in Houston, Texas, which is also the home of the Houston Rockets. This game will be the 62nd edition and the Eastern Conference All-Stars lead the all-time series 36–25.

This article features NBA basketball players who excel also in chess.

Kobe Bryant was quoted as saying “These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.” His favorite opening is the Budapest gambit.

A 2009 basketball ad showed Kobe Bryant playing chess with LeBron James.

Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain played chess. He once phoned Bobby Fischer to come over his house to have dinner and play chess, but Bobby declined the invitation because there would be other people there. There are several photos of Wilt playing chess during his college days. Known for his relentless pursuit of women,he claims to have bedded 10,000.

NBA center David Robinson is a chess player. He played chess at the Naval Academy where he graduated, before going to the San Antonio Spurs.

Both Amare Stoudemire and Danny Ainge once said, “I’m always playing chess on the basketball court.”

Larry Bird’s favorite opening is f4, which is known as the Bird’s opening. It is not named after him, of course, but after a 19th century English master, Henry Bird.

“Basketball is like a really fast-paced game of chess, where every move has its benefits and repercussions,” Bill Walton said.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was reading a book called Chess Tactics For Champions while at the Bonnaroo music festival

There is a famous basketball player in Israel, Oded Katash, who plays a lot of chess at the Internet Chess Club. He was formerly a European champion and European Player of the Year, and was drafted by the NY Knicks. But he got injured and had to stop playing ball for a while.

Bill Cartwright taught himself while on road trips with the University of San Francisco. His teammates could rarely challenge him, so he relied on opposition from a computer.

“I like to play chess out there,” Bosh said. “It’s all about the setup for the next thing. I’m always thinking 18 moves ahead. Chess is still one on one. You’re thinking three and four moves ahead and considering all the possibilities. If a guy beats me one time, I’ll challenge him to do it again. He won’t beat me twice.”

“We have a mini-tournament in our locker room most of the time,” says Mark Madsen of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Among his colleagues who play chess are Latrell Sprewell and Gary Trent.

The wife of one of his friends taught Larry Johnson, formerly of the NY Knicks, how to play chess and he was hooked. He played often with his teammate Allan Houston.

Other basketball players who play chess are Dick Barnett, Maurice Carter, Jason Forte, Elvin Hayes, Magic Johnson, Steve Smith, Jason Williams and Jay Williams.

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