ASEAN chess

How long can the Philippines maintain the prestige of being the No.1 chess country in Southeast Asia?

Let's see the rankings of ASEAN chess nations as of January 2009 (original ASEAN members only):

No.33 Philippines

No.35 Vietnam

No.55 Indonesia

No.64 Singapore

No.81 Malaysia

No.96 Thailand

Obviously, it is Vietnam which threatens to grab the leadership from the Philippines in the ASEAN region.

The threat is real.

Just look at Vietnam's wide base of young chess players. It's indeed awesome to know the number of Vietnamese participants in the coming 10th ASEAN Age-Group Championship. Please take a peek HERE.

Now look at the Philippine contingent HERE.

Yes, it is easy to say that Vietnam can afford to send such a huge contingent since they are the host.

But actually no, being a host perse does not guarantee the size of a contingent. A population's culture and ability already play a key role here.

Remember the Philippines' own version of age-group championship which took place recently in Kalibo, Aklan?

Isn't it a cause to panic to see a Philippine age-group championship with a number of participants as few as seven - yes, seven - participants? See it HERE to believe.

And omen of all omens, the country's No.1 chess player - GM Wesley So - lost to a Vietnamese player in the name of GM Le Quam Liem in the final round of the recently concluded 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship in Subic.

One positive sign, though, is the move to include chess in school curriculum. Let's hope that it generates a wide mass of chess-loving Filipinos to at least maintain our No.1 ranking in this region.

And to be more optimistic, let's hope that that move propel us a little higher in the world rankings.

SHELL Active

The 2009 edition of Shell Active Chess was reportedly set to be staged from June 20 to 21 at SM Mall of Asia.

Recently, Shell made a heroic move by cooperating with the Department of Education in staging the "Interaction with the Masters" where Filipino masters held chess-appreciation seminars for young kids.

Through grassroots chess, SHELL has been doing a noble advocacy in the country for a number of years already.

Very good indeed!

Excellent job, Mr. Alex Dinoy!!

Filipino arbiters

In this chess nation which can stage less than 10 international chess tournaments a year, we have more than enough manpower to ensure that every FIDE-sanctioned event here flows smoothly.

In fact, with the world-renown quality of Filipino services, the Philippines can surely deliver the highest quality of chess arbitration the whole chess world can ever get.

Yes, the Philippines has a name in chess. Don’t forget that this country was a hospitable refuge to the late US chess hero GM Bobby Fischer. Don’t forget, too, that the name “Campo” is widely recognized in the world of chess.

How about the name “Casto Abundo”? Ah, you saw his name imprinted on electronic chess boards in the Internet during the live games of the 8th Asian Continental/Individual Champioship.

It is only fitting, therefore, that our national chess federation and the people who have a hand in managing Philippine chess live up to the world-renown branding of Filipino service.

How many Filipino FIDE-accredited arbiters do you know? Let’s know them:

Abalos, Wilfredo IA
Abundo, Casto P.IA
Anthony, P. Pelayo FA
Augusto S. MarcialP FA
Bautista, Roberto IA
Benitez, Carlos P IA
Butch VillaviejaP FA
Campomanes, Florencio B. IA
Carag, Erwin IA
Cardoso, Rodolfo Tan IA
De Castro, Edgar IA
Edmundo, Legaspi FA
Holazo, Rafael IA
Jobannie C., Tabada FA
Lao, Elias IA
Livelo, Joey IA
Lluch, Erlito IA
Moseros, Jose IA
Navalta, Ricky FA
Patrick, Lee FA
Poliarco, Gene IA
Reyes, Roumel IA
Yap, Lincoln IA
Yutuc, Rolando IA

And for the benefit of Philippine chess, we will have more FIDE arbiters with the graduation of chess-loving people who attended the recent FIDE Arbiters Seminar in Subic from May 13 to 18.

Let's know them, too:

James G. Infiesto
Cesar Magdangal
Lito R. Abril
Carlos G. Florendo
Edmon Grey Prado
Augustus I. Portem
Wilfredo R. Neri
Ms. Ida Santos
Felix C. Poloyapoy Jr.
Alex Domansi
Ralph Caluya

(Photo copied from FIDE website)

10th ASEAN+ Age Group Championships

A lean 25-member Philippine contingent will battle for supremacy in the 10th ASEAN+ Age Group Championships which is set to run from June 7-12 in Hue City, Vietnam.

I guess, the "+" sign means the participation of non-ASEAN countries in the event. Russia and Australia will send their bets to this tournament.

Know our young heroes:



Let's not repeat the mistake of disallowing parents/guardians to accompany their prized young chess jewels in an international competition like this.

They are still kids - especially those participating in the Open 8 and Open 10 - who need motherly or fatherly care.

Let's give them the comfort and support of a family to make them give their best.

Good luck, young Pinoys. Make the Philippines proud!!!

NM Efren Bagamasbad

I wanted to label this particular match as the “Game of the Day.”

NM Bagamasbad (2283) just beat GM Bong Villamayor (2474) in Round 1 of the ongoing 2nd Subic International Open.

NM Bagamasbad is the country’s No.59 highest-rated player while GM Villamayor, No.10.

It was indeed a very good start for Bagamasbad, only to vow to compatriot IM Rolando Nolte in the second round.

Villamayor, on the contrary, extracted a full point against junior player Jan Emmanuel Garcia (2292) in the same round.

Position after 37. . .Qe5. White to play. How did NM Bagamasbad force GM Buenaventura to resign?

Watch the full game below:

2nd Subic International Open

GM Mark Paragua is leading the Filipino campaign in the ongoing 2nd Subic International Open with the absence of GM Wesley So, GM Eugene Torre and GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr.

Even GM John Paul Gomez took a time out after a grueling battle in the recently concluded 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship.

But still, this promises to be an exciting event with the participation of the newly crowned king of the 8th Asian Continental champion, GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar (2625) of India.

Well, we can’t blame the players who opted not to continue playing in the 2nd Subic Open from the 8th AI.

Perhaps, the main objective was to really get a slot among the Top 10 in the 8th AI to qualify for the World Chess Cup 2009.

GM Hou Yifan (2590) made it. So what’s the reason to stay?

GM Sasikiran Krishnan (2682) luckily made the cut at No.10. Ba-bye, too.

GM Antonio made the Philippines proud at No.6. Time to rest – and smile.

Am I missing somebody? Oh yes, of course. You know who.

Cheer up, boy. There’s time for every thing. Come back stronger and make us happy and proud again.

Round 1 results

Round 2 pairings

Salcedo rules AI Chess Challenge

Raymond Salcedo (2297) continued to conquer non-master tournaments in the country, this time the 8th Asian Continental/Individual Challenge.

Salcedo finished with 7.0 points with three others after posting 5 wins, 4 draws, 0 loss for a performance rating of 2339.

The other three 7.0 pointers are Allan Macala, Alcon John Datu, and Sheider Nebato.

Notably, Datu and Sheider are the country's junior players who are both making names in Philippine chess.

Top 10 finishers (Tota of 74 players)

See the complete list of final rankings HERE.

Gabriela!!

The country's nine Filipina participants in the Women's Section of the 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship gallantly battled against their foreign counterparts , but only one made it to the upper half.

Matched against much higher-rated and internationally experienced players, our Filipina combatants stood their ground to wave proudly the Philippine flag amidst a very tough battlefield.

Surely, our lady fighters need more attention and assistance to become more competitive in the global chess arena.

To our lady fighters, thank you all for the gallant stand! Keep on fighting!!

Final rankings of Filipina players in the Women's Section:

22 WFM Camacho Chardine Cheradee 5.5
29 WFM Cua Sherily 5.0
32 Salvador Aices 5.0
37 WFM Perena Catherine 4.5
38 WIM Mendoza Beverly 4.5
41 Bernales Christy Lamiel 4.0
42 Docena Jedara 4.0
44 Jose Rulp Ylem 3.5
45 Suede Mikee Charlene 3.0

GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr.

The recently concluded 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship saw the participation of the strongest lineup the Philippines could ever afford to send in an international tournament in the recent years.

Nine of the Top 10 Filipino players were there, composed of seven grandmasters and two international masters.

Had GM Joseph Sanchez played in the tournament, it could have been the complete Top 10 chess players of the country to see action in that tough – yes, tough – continental chess event.

Final Rankings of Filipino players:

6 GM Antonio Rogelio Jr 7.5
21 GM So Wesley 6.5
22 GM Torre Eugenio 6.5
34 GM Laylo Darwin 6.0
41 IM Bitoon Richard 5.5
47 IM Nolte Rolando 5.5
50 GM Villamayor Buenaventura 5.5
52 IM Dimakiling Oliver 5.0
53 GM Gonzales Jayson 5.0
55 IM Sadorra Julio Catalino 5.0
59 GM Gomez John Paul 5.0
60 Garma Edgardo 5.0
61 GM Paragua Mark 5.0
70 Garcia Jan Emmanuel 4.5
75 Causo Deniel 4.0
78 Pascua Haridas 4.0
79 IM Bancod Ronald 4.0
80 Olay Edgar Reggie 4.0
82 Elorta David 3.0

(Total of 85 players)
Complete list HERE (Final Rankings)

A total of 19 Filipino players displayed their chess powers against foreign counterparts, but only one – in the name of GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. – made it to the Top 10 finishers to qualify for the World Cup 2009.

Only one Philippine Flag was waved in the Top 20 ranking list – courtesy of GM Antonio.

In the end, the overall performance of the Philippine contingent in the event – as I see it – came a little short of high expectations.

Chess phenomenon

Wanted: social scientist and psychologist! Or even psychiatrist?

The happenings are alarming. And they're real.

Believe it or not, Barangay Wesley (BW) is something worthy of attention and research by social scientists and psychologists. Or even by psychiatrist?

The spell of the 15-year old GM Wesley So is simply phenomenal.

Exaggeration? Nah, it's real.

BW citizens are bonding like real brothers - emotions attached. Curiously, their emotions are triggered by the fate of their Chairman.

They tend to become depressed - even war-freak - when the boy they are looking up to loses a game of chess.

They exult like innocent kids, the happiest on earth, when victory is at hand.

Interestingly, they have this thing called "tampuhan" - which could possibly be caused by a-not-so-good game result of their hero.

Indescribable charisma. Their hero affects their real lives.

Visit the barangay to believe.

Main event

Prodigy vs prodigy – this would be the focus of attention in Round 10 of the ongoing 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship in Subic.

The beauty of this much-awaited battle lies in the persona behind the names.

One is a female wonder girl from China and the other is a wonder boy from the Philippines.

Both are among the youngest grandmasters in chess history. Yes, they are that exceptional since they are already part of history at their very young age.

The girl made it at the age of 14 years, six months and two days, the youngest ever female player to make it.

The boy made it at the age of 14 years, one month and 28 days.

The girl is the 11th youngest GM, while the boy, 7th. Ask numerologist the meaning of No.7.

But the girl seems to have the upper hand going into this stage of the tournament. After nine rounds of game, the girl is parading a performance rating of 2649 over the boy’s 2609.




Up to Round 9, the girl is performing better than the boy. In fact, the girl already has 6.5 points, higher than the boy’s 6.0.

A win for the girl in this round will reverberate an emphatic message to the global chess community – that of a female’s real ascendancy in the competitive world of chess.

But a loss for the boy could mean the death of a nation.

Let’s get ready to rumble. It will be GM Hou Yifan vs GM Wesley So in Round 10.

Wrong move

In any sport, sportsmanship is a gesture of humility and peace.

That virtue separates the good from a fool.

Insulting an opponent whom you are defeating right in front of you equates to sadism.

It is a common perception that chess is a simple, non-violent mind sport. I disagree.

Chess can be more than a physical sport – at times even more brutal and painful than the Roman gladiators’ game of death.

It’s because the pain from losing cuts across the mind, body and soul.

The pain gets more painful when rudeness comes into play. It’s like thrusting a spear to an already dying body.

In chess, a handshake for a won game would be enough.

But oh, please, don’t make a wrong move – say a pure blunder of sacrificing a Rook – when you already knew that your opponent’s clock time has flagged down.

Especially when the arena is an international one – let’s say an Asian international chess championship.

That arrogant action over-the-board is uncalled for – a shame. Yes, a wrong move indeed.

RP Women's performance ratings

Rating Performance (or Performance Rating) is an indicator of a chess player's strength in a single chess tournament.

Looking at performance ratings could somehow help us assess as to whether a certain chess player performs well or not in a particular chess event.

So let's peek on the performance ratings of our Filipina warriors who are campaigning in the ongoing 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship.

(AFTER Round 7)

WFM Chardine Cheradee Camacho (3.0 points)
FIDE Rating: 2166
Performance Rating: 2224
Starting Rank: 28
Rank after Round 7: 27

WFM Sherily Cua (3.0)
FIDE Rating: 2143
Performance Rating: 2204
Starting Rank: 34
Rank after Round 7: 28

Rulp Ylem Jose (3.0)
FIDE Rating: 2054
Performance Rating: 2039
Starting Rank: 38
Rank after Round 7: 33

Christy Lamiel Bernales (2.5)
FIDE Rating: 2041
Performance Rating: 2090
Starting Rank: 40
Rank after Round 7: 37

Jedara Docena (2.5)
FIDE Rating: 1999
Performance Rating: 1839
Starting Rank: 43
Rank after Round 7: 39

WIM Beverly Mendoza (2.5)
FIDE Rating: 2045
Performance Rating: 1898
Starting Rank: 39
Rank after Round 7: 40

Aices Salvador (2.0)
FIDE Rating: 2040
Performance Rating: 2040
Starting Rank: 41
Rank after Round 7: 42

WFM Catherine Pereña (2.0)
FIDE Rating: 2184
Performance Rating: 1994
Starting Rank: 27
Rank after Round 7: 43

Mike Charlene Suede (2.0)
FIDE Rating: 0
Performance Rating: 1878
Starting Rank: 45
Rank after Round 7: 44

Performance Rarting is just one indicator. Of course, it's still the final ranking results that matter most in a tournament.

Objectively, the best performance is to finish on top of the final rankings list - no ifs, no buts.

Barangay Wesley blitz chess

I am posting here the video of the game between pulsar and spawn2, two citizens of Barangay Wesley who, along with other BW citizens, met at the Greenhouse Grill in Quezon City last May 9 in the name of fun, friendship, and brotherhood.

The game was a 3:3 blitz. The player with White was pulsar, and Black, spawn2.

To those who still don’t know Barangay Wesley, please click here.

Cua waves RP flag

After Round 5 of the 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship, our lady chess players continue to struggle against their foreign counterparts.

So far, it seemed that only WFM Sherily Cua (2143) is showing a decent performance in this tough international chess event.

Cua has already piled up 3.0 points to put her at No.12 after five rounds of play in a 45-player field.

She has erected a +2-1=2 showing for a rating performance of 2318. Notably, she's able to halve a point against WGM Huang Qian of China (2410) in Round 5 with the Black pieces.

Here's how our Filipina players are faring through Round 5:

Rankings after Round 5:

12 WFM Cua Sherily (3.0 points)

28 WFM Camacho Chardine Cheradee (2.0)

32 WFM Perena Catherine (2.0)

34 Salvador Aices (2.0)

39 Bernales Christy Lamiel (1.5)

41 Suede Mikee Chardine (1.5)

43 WIMMendoza Beverly (1.0)

44 Jose Rulp Ylem (1.0)

45 Docena Jedara (1.0)

Please click here for the women's standings after Round 5.

Sherily Cua - the lady in red - is shown here in deep thought against Ali Branzuela (2203) during the recently concluded 2nd SK Bangkal Non-Master Active Chess.

RP women's chess

Looking at the ranking list after Round 4 in the Women's Category of the 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship would pinch your heart.

Our ladies - yes, the Filipinas - are being battered by visitors right here in our homeland.

Of the 10 tailenders after four rounds of play, five of them are our prized women combatants.

Too much of a hospitality.

This is not rubbing salt into a bleeding wound. Rather, this is a wake-up call to all of us who love Philippine chess.

It's the NCFP that says "Make the right move!"

A very strong statement, indeed. I just doubt as to whom they address that statement.

A time for every thing

(I am re-posting my old post about my personal feelings whenever GM Wesley So loses a game.)

There's a time for every thing.

But it’s really hard to lose especially when you know that the whole country rests on your shoulder for inspiration.

It’s painful to lose when you know that you are a hero to a country which fanatically looks at you as a bringer of hope.

Wesley’ loss is not a simple loss. Wesley’s loss means death to a legion of followers who look up to him as a messiah of Philippine chess.

Wesley is no regular chess player. He is extraordinary – a very special one – for he embodies a country’s aspirations and dreams.

That’s why when he suffers a defeat, the whole legion of his followers die with him.

But as the time-tested adage goes, it’s not really about losing. It’s about what we learn from our loss.

It’s about how we recover from the defeat to be more victorious in the future.

Let me share with you a passage from the Holy Bible to bring comfort to our weeping hearts:

Ecclesiastes 3
American King James Version

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Round 1 notables

As I view it, two Filipino players did excellent performance in Round 1 of the ongoing Asian Continental Chess Championship in Subic.

One is (No.48 seed) IM Julio Catalino Sadorra (2451) who beat a much higher-rated opponent in the name of (No.4 seed) GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas (2626).

A good start indeed for IM Sadorra. Continuing his winning ways in this tournament will bring him closer to his GM title quest.

Practicing with GM Wesley So really translates to improvement. I think Sadorra benefited much from his regular training with GM So.

The other excellent performer (in my opinion) is WFM Chardine Cheradee Camacho who was able to halve a point against WGM Huang Qian of China.

Seeded No.28 and with a rating of 2166, Camacho held to a draw her Chinese opponent who is seeded No.5 and boasting a rating of 2410. Notably, Camacho did it using the Black pieces.

No Filipina was able to score a full point in Round 1.

To all the Filipino participants, fight, fight, fight!!!

Barangay Wesley

A reader of this blog asked: "Saan ba exact address ng Barangay Wesley?"

The question really made me smile, something that lightened up my morning. The question was a comment on my previous post about the Barangay Wesley Mini-Tournament.

Perhaps, he wanted to meet and be with the citizens of the Barangay.

Or maybe, he wishes to meet in person the "pogi" boys of the Barangay (hehehe).

Well, please read my old post about the Barangay. But don't blame me if you get addicted to the brotherhood there.

Welcome to Barangay Wesley! CLICK HERE

NCFP provides LIVE feeds

At last, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) provides a live feed of select games in the ongoing Asian Continental Chess Championship.

Here’s the link: CLICK HERE

Although only the top 5 boards are being featured, it’s already a very good initiative by the NCFP.

Good work, NCFP. You certainly fills the hunger of chess fans for viewing live games of our local chess stars.

May you continue making the right moves!!

Congratulations!

Chess jewels

Ocean pearls abound in the Philippines. Not only that, even chess jewels are plentiful here.

The two young chess talents (in the photo above), Jan Jodilyn Fronda (left) and Akiko Suede, took time out to frolic on one of the beautiful beaches in Tacloban where the Palarong Pambansa 2009 was held.

These two young talents from NCR brought home the gold in Girls' High School category (please correct me if I'm wrong).

However, I don't see their names in the list of Filipina players who have registered to compete in the Asian Continental Chess Championship.

The opportunity for battling against strong opponents is already here. I think it's best for them to take advantage of the opportunity.

Let's say, they would have difficulties battling against the giants, but at least they would learn a thing or two, apart from exposure and experience.

Asian Continental Chess Championship

Isn’t the Asian Continental Chess Champion supposed to begin today (May 13, 2009) at 3:00pm in Subic?

I aired this question since I’ve been groping in the dark on where to find game pairings for Round 1.

Or perhaps, I’m just this stupid who’s not resourceful enough to find out where to go?

Ideally and by all logic, all the basic, the most updated, and the most detailed information about the event should emanate from the official website of the organizers.

Remember that this event is international – that is, not only the reputation of the organizers but more importantly the character of entire Philippine chess is at stake here.

The Philippines is the venue, oh please don’t forget it.

Remember that based on the chessdom.com’s list of participants, foreign players will come from different nations such as China, India, Kazakhstan, Iran, Vietnam, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Korea, Bangladesh, Mongolia, UAE, Indonesia, and Malaysia. At least, chess fans from these countries will be monitoring this event.

The official website of the main organizers of the tournament is the face of the Philippine chess.

And what kind of a face are we projecting to the whole world with just the dates, venue, and rules and regulations, and such information that we could offer?

GM Wesley So's pictures at China Chess League

Mrs. Leny So, the highly supportive mother of GM Wesley So, sent me some pictures of his prized son during his short stint at the China Chess League.

Thank you very much for the pictures, Ma'am Leny!!

Mayor "Peewee" Trinidad supports Pasay's chess

Pasay City's Paulo Bersamina, winner of the National Age-Group 12-under category and Board 2 Best Player at the Palarong Pambansa 2009 with a perfect performance of 7/7, paid a courtesy call to his chief supporter, Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad at Pasay City hall.

Mayor Trinidad reiterated his support for Paulo in the coming ASEAN Age-Group Chess Championships to be held at Hue, Vietnam this coming June 6, 2009. The Bersamina family wishes to thank Mayor Trinidad, Vice-Mayor Tony Calixto, Councilor Onie Bayona and Pasay City Administrator Atty Ernestina Carbajal.

Paulo Bersamina with Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad

Pau with Pasay City Admnistrator Atty. Ernestina Carbajal

Barangay Wesley Mini-Tournament

If there’s a word to describe that scene, the word would certainly be “magical.”

It’s as if a wizard came with a magic wand that day, waved it in the air, and enchanted all of us. Yes, I was there. And I was among the enchanted.

Who would believe that a group of individuals, from different places and status in life, would converge to play like kids with full freedom and like long-lost brothers?

That was the first time they met, yet they bonded as if they’ve been there long before. The smiles were sweet, the gazes pure.

The aura was simply perfect. They’re like kids who only think of playing games. They’re like kids who are pure in heart, playing with all the freedom and zest in the world.

Oh yes, they’re like brothers.

Indeed, the inner beauty of humanity and brotherhood lies within innocent hearts and pure intentions.

I hope that this brotherhood continue to get stronger and bring out the playful and innocent kids in all of us.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to those who made the Barangay Wesley Kita-Kits and Mini-Tournament a wonderful experience: kapmigz, obientag, nanobrain, pulsar, spawn2, knyt4k, jpsacristan, epistle, r7788, and angel.

By the way, the mini-tournament was won by malibaychessclub's Angel.

Freedom of speech

Just to make things straight, this blog is not owned by Mr. Bersamina.

This blog is being administered by Rusticbull. Rusticbull is not Mr. Bersamina. Rusticbull and Mr. Bersamina are friends.

This blog is aimed at helping fostering chess developments in the country. Never has this blog had the intention of making intrigues whatsoever.

This is an act of volunteerism.

Sadly, the name of Mr. Bersamina, my friend, was pinned down this morning by one reader today.

Also, the name of certain Mr. Ricky Navalta was put to bad light, too.

Names were named and dragged today, which saddened this blogger.

As much as possible, this blog solicits freedom of expression. However, this blog also calls for humanity and reason.

As such, comments from readers from now on will be moderated. This is to take care of the names of people who might be affected by comments that do not have the pure intention of fostering chess and humanity.

But as a commitment, this blog has all the freedom in the world to praise the good deeds and criticize the wrong doings. That’s my freedom. And nobody can take that away from me.

Asian Continental Chess Championship

GM Wesley So (2641) is seeded No.2 in a total of 105 players who registered for the Asian Continental Chess Championship which will run from May 12 to 24 in Subic.

No.1 seed is GM Krishnan Sasikiran (2682) of India.

The top 10 seeded players are:

1 GM Sasikiran Krishnan 2682 IND

2 GM So Wesley 2641 PHI

3 GM Zhou Jianchao 2635 CHN

4 GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2626 KAZ

5 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2625 IND

6 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2593 IRI

7 GM Negi Parimarjan 2592 IND

8 GM Hou Yifan 2590 CHN

9 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2588 VIE

10 GM Al-Modiahki Mohamad 2585 QAT

The battlefield seems explosive since only GM Wesley So is the only Filipino player who made it to the top 10 seeded players.

Here are the seedings of other key Filipino players:

14 GM Torre Eugenio 2561 PHI

20 GM Gomez John Paul 2538 PHI

23 GM Paragua Mark 2529 PHI

28 GM Antonio Rogelio Jr 2518 PHI

32 GM Laylo Darwin 2509 PHI

40 IM Bitoon Richard 2479 PHI

41 IM Nolte Rolando 2479 PHI

43 GM Villamayor Buenaventura 2474 PHI

44 GM Gonzales Jayson 2465 PHI

47 IM Sadorra Julio Catalino 2451 PHI

51 IM Dableo Ronald 2441 PHI

A number of other talented Filipino players are also in the field.

Good luck to all of you!!! Entertain the world. Make the nation proud.

Alex Dinoy

I was able to have a chat with Mr. Alex Dinoy during a lull in the just concluded 2nd SK Bangkal Open Active.

In case you still don't know him, he's the superman behind the success of Shell Active Chess in the country through the years.

Good news. He said that Shell is committed more than ever to continue its grassroots chess projects.

No truth whatsoever to speculations that Shell will withdraw from staging scholastic chess in the country, particularly for the benefit of countryside chess.

With the inclusion of chess in schools, I see a more active Shell Active in the coming years.

Good luck.

Salcedo rules 2nd SK Bangkal Open Active

With a round to spare, Raymond Salcedo has virtually clinched the title in the just concluded two-day 2nd SK Bangkal Open Active in Makati City with 8/8 performance.

Only Ali Branzuela appeared to impose a slight opposition by splitting a point in the final round.

Lately, Salcedo has been lording non-master tournaments in the country. Time to go to a bigger pond.

I was supposed to get the complete results and the names of category winners but decided to go home early instead.

I just like to give a few oberservations about this year's Bangkal event.

First, last year's tournament was more organized.

Second, last year's tournament was richer.

Third, last year's tournament was simply better.

NCA

Somebody, who named himself as Mr. Ricky Navalta, phoned this blogger this morning and clarified that GM Eugene Torre was “not tapped to oversee the establishment of the National Chess Academy (NCA).”

According to him, Bro. Rolly Dizon and Mr. Bong Belen are the ones who are running the show.

And it is GM Bong Villamayor who has been tapped as the NCA National Training Director.

OK. Those are the data he dictated over the phone.

Notably, he requested that I, as a chess blog administrator, should moderate the comments of readers to get rid of profane words such as “putang ina.” Well, that’s a good comment.

As his parting words, he said that since the Philippines now has a national chess academy, they will now monitor chess blogs like this one to correct errors in reporting.

Well, good luck. I just hope that he really understood what he said.

Just a word of advice. NCA people should not adopt a censhorship-attitude to chess blogs. That’s dangerous, if you know what I mean.

Missed fun

The No.1 Chinese player versus the No.1 Filipino chess player will not happen.

Arggg!!!

It was previously hinted that GM Wesley So (2641) would battle GM Wang Yue (2738) in the fourth round of the ongoing China Chess League.

But no, the excitement was readily frozen even before the two Asian chess giants collide. Instead, GM So will face untitled Xu Hanbing of Team Tianjin.

Based on board pairings in chess-results.com, GM Wang will man Board 4 for Tianjin and GM So will handle Board 1 for Team Bank of Qingdao.

What a disappointment. (I hope chess-results erred.)

If I were the organizer of this event, I would pit the two No.1s on Board 1 to spice up the tournament.

Were the board pairings a team strategy? Probably. Perhaps, the Chinese are more fond of scores than of entertaining the fans.

OK, let them bore themselves to death with the team points. But they surely killed a pure entertainment.

Bangkal Non-Master Rapid Chess Tournament

I heard (although unconfirmed and unofficial) that the Office of Sangguniang Kabataan of Bangkal, Makati City will hold its 2009 edition of Bangkal Non-Master Rapid Chess Tournament this coming Saturday (May 9, 2009).

I tell you, Bangkal SK's version of rapid chess tournament marked a highly excellent impression on me.

Impressive indeed. It's well funded (in fact a very rich tournament for a barangay tournament) and well organized.

Last year's tournament was won by Malibay Chess Club's Merben Roque. And if my memory serves me right, it was Pasay City's Paulo Bersamina who took the title in the Kiddies Division.

I'll visit the venue this Saturday.

(NOTE: The photo above was taken during last year's event.)

Su Weili

Did you know Su Weili?

Hmmnnn, sounds familiar. I just found this name a little amusing when I used Babelfish.

So when GM Wesley So lost his Round 1 game in the ongoing China Chess League, the disappointment somehow subsided upon seeing this Su Weili.

Find it out, guys. Haha.

David Elorta

David Elorta. He is known as a "Giant Killer."

Well, his name fits him. David "the small" killed Goliath "the giant" with a stone throw.

I was informed that this player regularly beats well-known Filipino IMs and GMs in his lair in Guada (Makati City) in blitz games.

OK, blitz. But what about standard games?

I was able to peek on his game of standard chess only last year during the 3rd PGMA Cup.

Here's one of his games in that tournament:




I believe that our streets have a lot of the so-called GM-Killers. They are just out there waiting to strike anytime.

Meaning of life

I woke up today with a new discovery.

Never in my whole life have I opened my eyes in the morning and seen things from a new perspective.

I was one of those who searched for the meaning of life (corny, hehe).

But today when I woke up, it's as if it's only today that I started to live.

So what's the meaning of life? I just discovered that life is exactly how we live it. It is us who form its definition.

Life, as I discovered it today, is as meaningful as we live it.

I have my own meaning of it. And I just found it today.

I just want to thank God for all the blessings. Oh well, this blogger just turned 35 today.

GM Wesley So loses in Round 1

GM Wesley So (2641) lost his Round 1 game against GM Pengxiang Zhang (2638) of China in the ongoing 2009 Torch Real Estate Cup China Chess League Division A.

A heartbreaker indeed for the loyal fans of Wesley. Count me in.

As I said in my previous post, Wesley will have a tough battle in this tournament. True enough.

The tenacity of his character will be revealed in the remaining rounds. We'll see if he's resilient enough to face real strong opponents.

Good luck, Wes!!!

NCR Regional Eliminations

Thirty players out of 186 made it to the next qualifying round for the NCR Regional Eliminations in preparation for the upcoming Asian Indoors.

The three-day qualifying tournament was staged at the Victory Central Mall which promises to be a good venue for big chess events.

The top finishers:

1. Torres, Roberto 6.5

2. Aquino, Jose Jr. 6

3. Macala, Allan

4. Line, Michael 6

5. Garcia, Garry 6

6. Rodriguez, Christopher 6

7. Areque, Jerry 5.5

8. Arroyo, Christian 5.5

9. Garcia, Jan Emmanuel 5.5

10. Panlilio, Francis 5.5

11. Santos, Mar Anthony 5.5

13. Ramilla, Ramel 5.5

14. Turqueza, Mari Joseph 5.5

15. Diaz, Conrado 5

2009 Torch Real Estate Cup China Chess League Division A

GM Wesley So (2641) will face GM Pengxiang Zhang (2638) of China in Round 1 of the 2009 Torch Real Estate Cup China Chess League Division A.

Wesley is playing Board 1 for the Bank of Qindao Team which is seeded No.4 in a 1o-team chess event.

This will be a tough battle for the Philippine chess ace as he will face a number of super GMs in the top board in the coming rounds.

The list of strong players makes the event exciting to watch. Here are the top players who were delegated to play for different teams:

Chess as headline

It’s in all the newspapers.

Pacquiao – the best pound-for-pound fighter. All headlines in screaming fashion. Simply phenomenal.

It’s no longer an admiration. It’s more becoming of a fanaticism.

Now I dream of a day when all the media do the same accolade. But not about Pacquio or boxing.

I dream of a day when all the newspapers carry a headline about Philippine chess, just something like this: “GM Wesley So is World Champ!!”

To be the world’s best. A Filipino has already done it – in boxing. I don’t see any reason whey we can’t do it in chess, too.

Am I dreaming a dream?

2009 Palarong Pambansa Chess Results