Good seed

Good seed bears good fruit. It’s really heartwarming to note that the hardships and the cause-oriented goals we have been laboring for spark good acts from others.

Just recently, two kind souls donated a chess set each to the Malibay Chess Club. One more pledged to donate another set very soon.

Another individual, upon knowing what transpired during the 1st Malibay Chess Chess Club Mini-Chess Tournament, committed to share a considerable amount of cash prize for the next tournament.

It’s like magic, or let me say, there was some kind of a divine intervention.

Figure this out: we were just supposed to hold our mini-chess tournament in one corner of the Malibay gym. But perhaps the gym officials saw the perseverance from our club members during the tournament preparation, we were allowed to hold the event at the center stage! And to emphasize the magical aura, we were even provided with lights!

Who would believe that we were able to stage the event without spending even a single centavo?

The venue and lights, chess sets and chess clocks, tables and chairs, trophies – they were all for free!

The message is clear: we should plant good seeds if we wish to harvest good fruits.

Optimism is up in the air. The future looks bright. Let’s spread the virus of good deeds.

Photo fiesta!

More photos

Hot shot!

This picture of a father-and-son tandem best defined the real essence of the 1st Malibay Chess Club Mini-Chess Tournament. It was all about bonding and enjoyment -- especially between parents and kids.

1st Malibay Chess Club Mini-Chess Tournament Photos

The participants and supporters of the 1st Malibay Chess Club Mini-Chess Tournament.

Alex Imperial (with chess bag) -- CHAMPION

Arman Suarez (middle) -- 1sr RUNNER-UP

Sammy Canapit (middle) -- 2nd RUNNER-UP

Imperial captures the 1st Malibay Chess Club Mini-Chess Tournament

Alex Imperial scored 4.5 points in five rounds to capture the 1st Malibay Chess Club Mini-Chess Tournament that was held last July 27, 2008 at the Malibay Center for Culture and the Arts.

Handling the white pieces in a French Opening, Imperial settled for a truce in the last round against Sammy Canapit , which was enough for him to take home the champion’s trophy and a cash prize.

Canapit, the solo champion in the 1st Edang Rapid Chess Tournament last May, ended in solo third place after piling up 3.5 points.

Arman Suarez, who lost his first round game to Robert Camara, swept the remaining four rounds to emerge solo second placer with 4.0 points.

Suarez and Canapit brought home their respective trophies. “Di baleng walang cash prize, basta may trophy,” said Canapit who beamed with pride holding his cherished trophy. Due to limited budget, only the champion was awarded a cash prize.

“Ang gandang project nito,” said one of the amused crowd, particularly referring to kids who were accommodated to participate in the event.

To the delight of some spectators, a couple even approached the event organizer to delay for a while the start of the event to fetch their kids at home to be able to join the tournament.

A number of participants, especially kids, clamoured for more tournaments to come. During the tournament, some of them even wanted to extend the number of rounds to satisfy their hunger for chess games. (Bitin pa, so to speak.)

Here are the remaining scores (in descending order due to Bucholz points): three (3.0) pointers, John Paul Pena, Jonathan Bucatcat, Nepthali Ayco, Paulino Francisco, Angelo Comendador, Ivan Porteza; two (2.0) pointers, Robert Camara, Angelo Berico, Manerl Estiller, Gerald Belarmino; one (1.0) pointers, John Ace Mary, Mark Owen Basco, Raven Ragual, Mark John Basco. (PHOTOS to follow)

The battle is about to begin

The battle of Malibay chess warriors is coming to explode! We invite all chess lovers, specially Pasay residents, to witness the event that will spark new chess development in Pasay City.

To those who do not know where this cause-oriented battle will take place, please click here.

Please be there!

Acknowledgement

This early, the Malibay Chess Club extends its gratitude to all who pledged their support for the staging of the 1st Malibay Chess Club Mini-Chess Tournament which is scheduled to be held this coming Sunday (July 27, 2008).

Our warmest thanks to:

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao B. Trinidad -- For the venue (Malibay Center for Culture and the Arts)
Coun. Marlon Pesebre -- For the trophies
Rev. Larry Teodoro -- For the chess sets and chess clocks
Mr. Ruben Tengco -- For the tables and chairs
Atty. Serafin Manila -- For the trophies
Officials and Staff of the Malibay Center for Culture and the Arts-- For the venue
MCC Members -- For the cash prize
Select tournament participants -- For the cash prize
Pinoychess.informe.com -- For promoting our activity

May you continue to support the future activities of the club. Thank you and God bless!

Maureen Harkins bids farewell

We are really saddened by the news that Maureen Harkins, an American volunteer who served as a social worker at the Community and Family Services International (CFSI) in Park Avenue in Pasay City, had already returned home to US.

Who is Maureen Markins? Well, she is the Malibay Chess Club’s key contact person at the CFSI, a humanitarian organization that takes care of poor street children and out-of-school youth living in the Park Avenue area and outlying barangays.

Maureen gave her unwavering support in a continuing partnership between CFSI and the Malibay Chess Club in helping the kids reach their full potentials through chess, which is just one of the many services of CFSI in serving the community.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you, MAUREEN, for the good cause that you fought for while you were still here in the Philippines. It was a cause worth working for. It was a cause worth living for.

Your commitment inspired other cause-oriented souls to persevere more in championing a good cause, even in a very small way that can save and touch more lives.

Here are the parting words of Maureen in her emails:

“It has been my pleasure collaborating with you and your enthusiastic group
on the chess project during my time here in Manila. I hope that the
cooperation between many local young chess enthusiasts continues to grow and the
network continues to strengthen long after my departure. My only regret is
that my tenure here has been far too short; I hope to return to Manila in the
future and to find a chess network that has been nurtured by the dedication and
generosity that you offer to the young people who enjoy it so much.

Thank you so very much for your kind words. Today, Friday the
19th of July will be my last day working at CFSI, and I fly back to the states
early next week.

Again, thank you for your warm reception here in your beautiful
country, and I am so grateful for the collaboration we have been able to forge
for the children and youth in the chess clubs. I hope to return very
soon!

Yours,
Maureen”

Asian Youth Chess Championship 2008

Only one Filipino youth chess player, in the name of Axel John Valerio, participated in the Asian Youth Chess Championship 2008 that was held in Tehran, Iran from July 15 to 22.

Competing in the Boys Under 14 Category, Valerio single-handedly took the challenge against foreign competitors and carried the honor for the Philippine flag.

A field of 220 players from 17 countries namely, Iran, India, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikstan, Mongolia, Austalia, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka, Kyrgizstan, UAE, Singapore, Iraq, Lebanon, Philippines and South Korea competed in the event which had age-categories for boys and girls under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.

Malibay Chess Club's 1st Mini-Chess Tournament

The Malibay Chess Club (MCC) will be holding its 1st Mini-Chess Tournament on July 27, 2008 at the Malibay Recreation Center in Pasay City.

Since this is just a buena mano tournament, it will be exclusive to MCC members and select invitees only.

The main purpose of the event is to assess the members’ will and cooperation in holding such an event, in preparation for something big and grand in the future, hopefully.

Of course, the event is also our way of raising funds. But take note that the funds we are going to raise will come from our own pockets. No solicitations (yet, hehe).

Just like other formal and big tournaments, our humble event will offer cash prizes and a trophy. The cash prize will simply come from the pooled entry fees. The agreement is that half of the total amount of collected entry fees will go to the winner and the rest to the club’s coffer.

And where will the collected funds go? Well, the first priority is to purchase chess sets and chess clocks, for the club members themselves to use.

To simply put it, our first mini-chess tournament is a ‘bayanihan’ act. It’s a way of each member chipping in his resources for a good cause – that is, to produce chess equipment for the club. As an icing on the cake, two of our members volunteered to provide for the trophy (thank you, brothers!).

Optimism is in the air. We are hoping that everything goes well, and this small starting point leads to something grand in the future.

Play and win

What is your purpose in playing a game of chess? To win, right? But to win what? To win a game? To win money? To win titles and fame? How about winning an acquaintance, or better, a friend? All of the above? It's up to you, brother.

The photo was taken during the birtdhay celebration of Angel (extreme left, in yellow shirt), who serves as treasurer of the Malibay Chess Club.

Just say it: "I resign"

The longest game, in terms of the number of moves made, in the just concluded national finals for the Dresden Olympiad took place between untitled Jony Habla and Edmundo Gatus. These two players executed a decisive marathon duel which lasted for 103 moves! Habla outlasted Gatus in a, well, not so ‘dignified’ endgame. All I can say is that a real gentleman knows when to say “I resign.” See the game and decide for yourself.

Habla,Jony - Gatus,Edmundo [D02]NATIONAL FINALS - men (4.9), 03.07.2008

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Qb3 Nc6 6.e3 c4 7.Qc2 Bf5 8.Qc1 e6 9.Nbd2 h6 10.h3 Qd8 11.Be2 Bd6 12.0-0 Bxf4 13.exf4 Nh5 14.Nb1 g5 15.fxg5 hxg5 16.Nxg5 f6 17.Bxh5+ Rxh5 18.Nf3 Qc7 19.Kh1 0-0-0 20.Ng1 e5 21.dxe5 fxe5 22.Qe3 d4 23.Qf3 Qh7 24.Na3 dxc3 25.Nxc4 Rd3 26.Ne3 cxb2 27.Rae1 Rc3 28.Kh2 Nd4 29.Qd5 b1Q 30.Rxb1 Bxb1 31.Rxb1 Qxb1 32.Qg8+ Kd7 33.Qf7+ Kd6 34.Qf8+ Kd7 35.Qf7+ Kc6 36.Qxh5 Qe4 37.Qe8+ Kc5 38.Qe7+ Kc6 39.Qe8+ Kc5 40.Qe7+ Kb5 41.Qd7+ Qc6 42.Qe7 Qc7 43.Qe8+ Kc5 44.Qf8+ Kc6 45.Qe8+ Qd7 46.Qb8 b6 47.a4 e4 48.Qa8+ Qb7 49.Qe8+ Qd7 50.Qxe4+ Kc5 51.Qe5+ Kc6 52.Qe4+ Kc5 53.Qe5+ Kc6 54.g3 a6 55.Qe4+ Kc5 56.h4 b5 57.axb5 axb5 58.Nh3 Qe6 59.Qf4 Rxe3 60.fxe3 Qa2+ 61.Nf2 Nc6 62.Kh3 Qe6+ 63.g4 b4 64.Nd3+ Kb5 65.h5 Qd5 66.Qf5 Qxf5 67.gxf5 b3 68.h6 Nd8 69.h7 Nf7 70.Kg3 Nh8 71.Kf3 Kc4 72.Ke2 Kd5 73.Kf3 Kc4 74.Ke4 Kc3 75.Nc5 Nf7 76.Nxb3 Ng5+ 77.Kf4 Nxh7 78.Nc5 Kc4 79.Nd7 Kd5 80.e4+ Kd6 81.Nb6 Nf8 82.Nc4+ Ke7 83.e5 Nd7 84.Ne3 Nc5 85.Nd5+ Kd7 86.Nb4 Ke7 87.Ke3 Kf7 88.Kf4 Ke7 89.Kg5 Kf7 90.Nd5 Ne4+ 91.Kf4 Nc5 92.Ke3 Kg7 93.Kd4 Nb3+ 94.Kc3 Nc5 95.Kc4 Ne4 96.Kd4 Ng3 97.Ne3 Kf7 98.e6+ Kg7 99.Ke5 Nh5 100.Nd5 Ng3 101.f6+ Kg6 102.e7 Kf7 103.Nc7 1-0

Demolishing a GM in 19 moves!

Although not able to make it to the RP team for the Dresden Olympiad, IM Julio Catalino Sadorra (2470) made one the most impressive performances in the recent national finals.

Well, he simply made the shortest decisive game in that event, demolishing GM Bong Villamayor (2469) in just 19 moves!

The irony is that GM Villamayor, along with four others (GMs Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales and IM John Paul Gomez) made it to the RP team after accumulating 11.5 points out of 17 rounds.

IM Sadorra was only able to pile 8.5 points, enough for him to have a ticket to the 1st World Mind Games.

Sadorra,Julio Catalino (2470) - Villamayor,Buenaventura (2469) [A42]NATIONAL FINALS - men (15.1), 12.07.2008

1.Nf3 g6 2.c4 c5 3.e4 Bg7 4.d4 Nc6 5.d5 Nd4 6.Nc3 d6 7.Nxd4 cxd4 8.Nb5 Qb6 9.c5 dxc5 10.Bf4 Qa5+ 11.b4 Qxb4+ 12.Bd2 Qb2 13.Rb1 Qxa2 14.Nc7+ Kf8 15.Nxa8 Nf6 16.Ra1 Qb2 17.Bd3 c4 18.Bxc4 Nxe4 19.Rb1 1-0

Eagerness to learn

It’s fascinating to see a group of people huddling with each other to learn a new thing. And that’s just one of the beauties of chess. Young and old, men and women, boy and girls – they all come together to discuss something about chess. Subjects could vary from pure gossips to analyzing the games of their favorite chess players.

The members of the Malibay Chess Club (MCC) are simply among those who love to talk about almost anything related to chess. And the good thing is that – together – they really love to analyze the games of their favorite players. Once they got hold of a chess notation of a certain game of the players they admire, they will dissect it like a frog being experimented by a curious kid.

It is for this reason why, starting from now, this blog will publish select games of notable players – for MCC players (and others) to learn from and enjoy.

As a buena mano, select games of GM Wesly So in the recent national finals for the Dresden Olympiad will be featured here. The following games (in PGN text files) are copied from the website of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).

Gomez,John Paul (2464) - So,Wesley (2577) [B30]
NATIONAL FINALS - men (16.6), 12.07.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.b3 Ne7 6.Ba3 Ng6 7.0-0 Be7 8.d4 cxd4 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Qxd4 0-0 11.c4 c5 12.Qd3 Bb7 13.Re1 f5 14.e5 Nf4 15.Qe3 g5 16.Nbd2 Kh8 17.Red1 Nxg2 18.Kxg2 g4 19.Qf4 gxf3+ 20.Kf1 Rg8 21.Nxf3 Rg4 22.Qe3 Rag8 23.Nd2 f4 24.Qc3 Qg7 25.Ke2 f3+ 26.Nxf3 Re4+ 27.Kd2 Rf8 0-1


Paragua,Mark (2523) - So,Wesley (2577) [E15]
NATIONAL FINALS - men (3.8), 03.07.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 c5 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.0-0 Be7 10.Rd1 Qc8 11.Qf5 Nf6 12.Nc3 0-0 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.e4 d6 16.Qxc8 Rxc8 17.Nb5 Bc6 18.Nxd6 Rc7 19.e5 Be7 20.b4 cxb4 21.Rac1 Rd7 22.Rd4 a5 23.Rdc4 Bxd6 24.exd6 Rxd6 25.Ne5 Bxg2 26.Rc8+ Kh7 27.Kxg2 f6 28.Nf7 Rd7 29.Rf8 a4 30.h4 g6 31.Nd8 Na6 32.Ne6 Rda7 33.Rxf6 Nc5 34.Nxc5 bxc5 35.Rxc5 Rb8 36.Rc1 0-1


So,Wesley (2577) - Bitoon,Richard (2439) [B82]
NATIONAL FINALS - men (11.7), 09.07.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.f4 d6 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Qf3 Be7 9.0-0-0 a6 10.Rg1 0-0 11.g4 Nd7 12.g5 b5 13.f5 Nde5 14.Qf2 Re8 15.Bh3 Bf8 16.Nce2 Bd7 17.Nf4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Rac8 19.g6 hxg6 20.fxe6 fxe6 21.Kb1 g5 22.Rxg5 Nf3 23.Rg6 d5 24.Nh5 Kh7 25.Rg2 Nxd4 26.Qh4 Kg8 27.Nxg7 Kf7 28.Rf1+ 1-0

Free Chess Videos

As promised, here are the links to the chess videos of Mr. Oliver Magno, who is by the way one of the active members of the Malibay Chess Club. A man of few words, Oliver's actions do the talking. The links below are just among his valuable services:

Oliver's blog
Oliver's website
Google link

Also, special thanks go to an anonymous reader who shared the links below. Sir, whoever you are, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Tubechess
Chessmovies
Chesskillertips
Youtube Chessqueen

Please take note that these links have their permanent special section in this blog. Simply visit the Chess Videos section. Learn and enjoy!

Chess Videos

Through the courtesy of Mr. Oliver Magno, this blog will be posting chess video links very soon. Please watch out for it.

An anecdote

I am addicted to playing chess games online. I usually have an account at chess servers whose services have free options. Yahoogames, Chesshere, Chesspark, Chessmaniac, Gamescolony - these are my favorite servers.

One day, I played in one of the servers that I mentioned. I met an opponent who is something like 200 points stronger than I am. I usually start the game with pleasantries so, in the chat window, I said, "Hi."

No response.

OK. Perhaps my opponent was not interested with chatting while playing. So I made my first move, 1.e4.

He made his first response, 1. . . d5.

Again, I tried to start a conversation. "Where from?"

Silence.

So the game just went on. Move after move. Attack. Defence. But the moment came when I made a weak move which gave him a winning advantage. I was a piece down.

I said, "Nice sacrifice. I didn't see that. You're really good."

I was about to resign but opted to continue playing, hoping he'd make one fatal mistake, or luckily, win on time. In the first place, we're just playing a 5-minute blitz.

To my surprise, the server suddenly slowed down, which ate up much of his time. He was so much ahead in the value and placement of materials, but I was winning on time. I certainly knew the irritation and frustation of my opponent about the server's technical problem. Until the moment came when he finally lost the game - on time.

I said "Sorry. Server's glitch."

At last, before leaving the playing room, my opponent took his first and last turn in our conversation.

He said, "FUCK YOU!"

The most basic tip for self-improvement in chess

By: Resty Par

I have read a lot of tips about self-improvement in chess, most of which I found useful and effective. However, I noticed that one PRACTICAL tip was missing in what I’ve read. I consider the tip that I thought of as the necessary concrete foundation for all the “academic” tips that I have come across with. Some may consider my idea as no longer new, nonsensical and immaterial, but this may set a firm foundation for somebody who really wants to improve in this mind sport.

The tip that I want to share is this: HAVE YOUR OWN CHESS SET.

Sounds funny, right? But don’t ignore this very basic tip. From this simple idea can ensue grand things for self-improvement in chess.

In the first place, I may not be in the position to talk about self-improvement in chess since I don’t have any titles in chess. I am not even a national master; neither have I won any mini-tournament. I am even reluctant to say that I have reached the so-called intermediate level. This article may raise some eyebrows of some readers who know my playing strength. But let me clarify that I am speaking based only on my own experience. This is how I feel that I was able to improve – no matter how slight in the eyes of others may be – my skills in this mind sport. This tip that I prescribe is effective for a beginner player who wants to graduate to the intermediate level. I am not sure, though, if it also applies to the advanced or master level.

The most known tip in self-improvement in chess is to study tactics. As they say, chess is 90% tactics. Let’s say that that’s true. But studying tactics is arguably best done with the use of a chess board. Based on my own experience, learning the knight fork is best appreciated when one holds a knight and makes it jump over some pieces and pawns into the forking square.

Of course, reading printed materials, watching computer chess lessons, or solving tactical exercises online are also beneficial. All I can say is that one can maximize the potential of these resources with the use of a chess board. As I noticed in my own self-improvement program, printed materials and computer resources are two-dimensional (2-D) tools that, in one way or another, program my mind on how to see things. I observed that I am having a hard time adjusting my two-dimensional-trained-mind to a three-dimensional (3-D) set-up – that is, a game played over-the-board (OTB). (NOTE: I will extensively discuss this topic about 2-D vs 3-D in the future).

Aside from studying tactics, a lot of books recommend studying opening, middlegame and endgame principles, positional concepts, analyzing own games, analyzing games of the masters, solving puzzles, and so on. These are all good. But to maximize the potential of all these tips, they must be done with the use of a chessboard. The concepts and ideas contained in those books and CDs are best appreciated if personally LIVED by the players. The pieces must be touched and moved by the players. The concepts must not only exist in the mind but rather be LIVED through actual practice, particularly by beginners.

Now I realized why some books prescribe to solve the chess problems contained in them using a chessboard. I also observed that even the grand chess events, especially chess training, in the so-called powerhouse nations in chess, such as Russia, employ chessboards side-by-side big screens in studying chess lessons.

The chessboard is the real battle arena for chess – not the books, not the computers (unless of course one intends to participate exclusively in an online tournament or blindfold chess). I therefore conclude that before anybody intends to go further steps in chess, he or she should do the most basic thing – that is, he or she must have her own chess set first.

Wesley beats Mark

I can't resist the urge to post the game between GM Wesly So (2577) and GM Mark Paragua (2523). The game above was played during the 3rd round of the national grand finals (qualifying stage) in preparation for the country's participation in the 38th World Chess Olympiad to be held in November of this year in Dresden, Germany.

The tournament runs from July 1 up to July 14 at the Kaban ng Hiyas Bldg. in Mandaluyong City. The top five winners in men and women categories will qualify for the chess olympiad.

Special visitor

Mr. Francis Buenaventura, the man behind the philippinechesschronicles blog, visited the Malibay Chess Club. We treat it as a privilege.

Sadly, we were not even able to offer him anything to drink, not even a monoblock chair for him to comfortably sit on.

All we could afford was to entertain him to the cold concrete stair-like bench of the Malibay gym.

But of course, we certainly know that he understands. As far as we believe, what the Malibay Chess Club "offered" him was sweeter than the sweetest drinks and even more comfortable than the most comfortable chair to sit on.

We simply offered him our -- hands. May the handshakes lead to fruitful and lasting collaborations.