Marinduque chess

I have not been blogging for a few days since my family arrived here in Marinduque, my beloved province, for our Christmas vacation.

Vacation, that is.

As they say, nothing beats like home. The environment here is totally different from that of Manila. The breeze, green fields, the people. I really love to be here. The truth is, whenever I set my feet here in this beautiful island, I no longer want to go back to Manila.

And how could I forget one thing that really makes me merry? Chess, haha. I may not be blogging for the past few days but I’m busy playing chess here in my province.

In fact, I helped co-organize a mini chess tournament here. Fortunately enough, I just scored 1.5 points and failed to advance to the cross-over semi-final round. My visitor from Manila, Angelo Comendador a.k.a Angelofdeath, who will forever cherish his best achievement in chess by beating GM Eugene Torre in a simul exhibition, was not able to strut his ‘powers’ here, scoring 1.0 point to go home early with me. Oh yes, chess players in Marinduque are highly competitive, you know.

I have a lot of chess messages in my Inbox but I really don’t have the luxury of time to post them here. But I’ll do when I finally get the chance. I savour every second of my vacation time here in Marinduque.

Back to our mini-chess tournament, which I hope to co-organize again when we spend our Christmas vacation in December 2010, God willing. Only if I live here in my province, I think I could contribute more in promoting chess activities here. I hope and pray for that possibility to happen someday.

And so, after the knock-out stage following the cross-over semi-final round, Florence Pastoral emerged the champion of the mini-tournament which didn’t have a title yet. I hope that next year, our mini-chess tournament will already have a billing, something like 1st Rusticbull Chess Tournament, haha.

Final rankings (8 players):

Champion: Florence Pastoral
1st Runner-up: Sherwin Red
2nd Runner-up: Antonio Vizarra
3rd Runner-up: Rommel Revilla
Resty Par (Rusticbull)
Angelo Comendador (Angelofdeath)
Jane Rioveros (PUP varsity player)
Rolly Pelobello

A peek on 2009 Singapore Challenger games

Remember the Singapore Chess Challenge 2009 where Filipino campaigners displayed a rampaging performance of 1-2-4-5 finish?

I'm posting here the games of RP's reigning Boys Under-12 ruler Paulo Bersamina who placed second overall in that tournament.

I previously thought that this international tournament, which was participated in by 90 plus players from 11 countries, was just for kiddies and juniors. But when I saw the photos of the event (courtesy of my friend Lilet Bersamina), oh wow, only the RP's age-group rulers were the young players in that field!

Notably, Bersamina beat the tournament's top-seed, CM Gokhale Raghunandan (2147) of India, in the seventh round, to finish with 7.0 points in nine rounds.

Let's watch the games of Paulo:
REQUIRES JAVA

THE BEST SACRIFICE

I've been thinking of how chess is related to Christmas.

Then I thought of SACRIFICE.

John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Every time we commit a sacrifice over the board, let us remind ourselves that Somebody made the real sacrifice that made each of us a winner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

1st Mayor Jaraula Cagayan De Oro City Christmas Open Chess

Somebody texted me this info.

1st Mayor Jaraula Cagayan De Oro City Christmas Open Chess
DATE: December 28-30, 2009
VENUE: City Tourism Hall

PRIZES
OPEN
1ST - P25,000
2ND - P15,000
3RD - P10,000
4TH - P5,000
5TH - P3,000
6TH-10TH - P1,000 EACH

WOMENS
1ST - P5,000
2ND - P3,000
3RD - P2,000
4TH - P1,000
5TH-10TH - P500 EACH

KIDDIES (14 AND UNDER)
1ST - P3,000
2ND - P2,000
3RD - P1,000
5TH - P500
6TH-10TH - P200 EACH

ENTRY FEES
OPEN - P250
WOMENS - P100
KIDDIES - P50

BULACAN CHRISTMAS CHESS FESTIVAL

BY: RICHARD DELA CRUZ

OPEN AND KIDDIES U-14 CHESS TOURNAMENT
Tournament Date : December 27, 2009
Starting Time : 11AM! ( 1 day event )
Time Control : 20 mins each, play to finish.
Tournament Format : 7 round swiss system
Venue : SM CITY BALIWAG, BULACAN

The Tournament is OPEN to all Master, Non-Master and Unrated Players with NCFP Standard Rating of 2100 below as of October. 01, 2009.

This tournament will offer the following prizes:
OPEN SECTION:
Champion - P 5000.00 + Trophy
2nd - P 3,000.00 + Trophy
3rd - P 2,000.00 + Trophy
4th - P 1,000.00
5th - P 700
6th-10th – P 500 each
11th – 20th P 300 each
Top Local Player – P500
Top Senior - P 500
Top Women - P 500
Top Unrated - P 500
Top Junior - P 500

Registration Fee:
P 250 (Bulacan players ) , Others : P 300
KIDDIES U-14 SECTION:
Champion - P 2000.00 + Trophy
2nd - P 1,000.00 + Trophy
3rd - P 700.00 + Trophy
4th - P 600.00
5th - P 500
6th-10th – P 200 each
Category Winners:
Top lady, U- 10 & U -8 (CHESS MATERIALS) Registration Fee:
P 150 (Bulacan players ) , Others : P 200 For more details please contact the following: All Bulacan Chess Federation secretariat at 0910- 9318705 or at 0923-8120430

Narquingden D. Reyes

Featuring the games of Narquingden D. Reyes of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) who won the Gold Medal for Board 3, Seniors Division, NCAA 2009.

Narquingden scored 11.5 points in 12 games, and was the player who had the highest winning percentage point of 95.8 percent.

REQUIRES JAVA TO VIEW THE GAMES

NM SUELO RULES LA UNION CHESSFEST

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---FORMER Rizal Technological University (RTU) mainstay National Master Roberto Suelo Jr. captured the 2009 Valero Group La Union Chess Open title by battling a draw against ex-Adamson University bet Ryan Dungca in the sixth and final round over the weekend at the 2nd floor Municipal Hall of San Juan in San Fernando City, La Union.

The Dasmarinas, Cavite based Suelo, the 1996 Philippine Junior champion unbeaten in six games with a total 5.5 points on five wins and a draw to went home the top prize of P12,000 in the event organized by engineer Joseph Dumuk and Nelson Caroy in close cooperation with Municipality of San Juan and Rotary Club of San Juan.

Dungca, who hails from Pandacan, Manila, meantime scored 5.0 points and tied at 2nd to 4th placers along with local bets Mark Kevin Collado and Jestoni Arboleda.

NM Allan Macala of Davao City and Clarence Mallari of La Union shared 5th to 6th placers with 4.5 points each.

GM WESLEY SO TO PLAY IN CORUS B NEXT MONTH IN NETHERLANDS

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---ANOTHER new challenge await for RP’s brightest hope Wesley Barbasa So next month.

After a magnificent performance in this year’s World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia after subduing World No. 12 GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in Round 2 and World Chess Cup last year’s titlist GM Gata Kamsky of the US in Round 3, 16-year-old Bacoor Cavite whiz kid will compete with some of the world renowned players in the forthcoming 72nd Corus chess tournament, an elite event in the Fide calendar, will be held in Wijk Aan Zee, a North Sea resort in the Netherlands on January 15 to 31, 2010.

His run came to a halt when he was defeated by Russian super GM Vladimir Malakhov (ELO 2706) in the fourth round. He gained 15 points and his live rating is now 2655.

So’s fourth-round finish is arguably the country’s best showing in World Chess Cup history, surpassing the efforts of his compatriots GMs Rogelio Antonio, Darwin Laylo and Mark Paragua (who competed in the 2005 edition of the tournament).

Participants in Corus Group B (all GMs) are Ni Hua of China, Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany; Emil Sutovsky of Israel, Pentala Harikrishna of India, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania, Varuzhan Akobian of the USA, David Howell of England, Parimarjan Negi of India, Tomi Nyback of Finland, Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia, and Erwin l’Ami, Dimitri Reinderman and Anish Giri of the Netherlands.

There are three sections in tough Corus chess—A, B and C, according to chess columnist Frank “Boy” Pestano. “Wesley has been invited to play in Group B. To be invited to Corus is like to be invited to the White House.” He added.

So earlier said he will be working to achieve Hydra GM status by breaking the 2700 ELO barrier.

"I dream that sooner or later, I will come to the magical point 2700. I don't know how much time I will need for that," said the 2009 Corus Group C champion So, whose local and international campaign is being supported by NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. and Filway Marketings Inc. CEO/President Hector “Chito” Tagaysay.

Eugene Torre, the Asia’s First grandmaster who often compares Wesley So to Bobby Fisher, has stated for a local radio program, "The talent and skills are already there and he has proven that. This year could be a test of character and nerves for him because everybody knows him already."

In Corus Group A participants (all GMs) are Viswanathan Anand of India, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, Peter Leko of Hungary, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, Hikaru Nakamura of USA, Alexei Shirov of Spain, Sergey Karjakin of Russia (winner of Corus A last year), Leinier Dominguez Perez of Cuba, Nigel Short of England, Sergey Tiviakov of Netherlands, Fabiano Caruana of Italy (winner of Corus B last year), and Loek van Wely and Jan Smeets of the Netherlands.

Gelfand wins World Cup

By: BOBBY ANG

(Abridged version, as published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, December 18, 2009)

The Israeli GM Boris Gelfand, at 2758 the top seed among 128 players competing, lived up to his billing by defeating host player Andre Obodchuk (1.5-0.5), the tough Tajik Farrukh Amonatov (1.5-0.5), Judit Polgar (3.5-1.5), top Frenchman Vachier-Lagrave (4.5-3.5), Dmitry Jakovenko (3.5-1.5), Sergey Karjakin (2.0-0.0), and, in the finals, Ruslan Ponomariov 7.0-5.0.

Gelfand showed good form and opening preparation all throughout the competition -- he lost only one game, when he forgot just how dangerous an attacker Judit Polgar is:

Polgar, Judit (2680) vs Gelfand, Boris (2758) [C24]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.2), 28.11.2009
ANNOTATED GAME. REQUIRES JAVA





Lest the reader get the wrong impression, we should point out that aside from this mishap Gelfand showed tactical alertness on a very high level. Witness this crush of Sergey Karjakin.

Karjakin, Sergey (2723) vs Gelfand, Boris (2758) [C55]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (6.1), 06.12.2009
ANNOTATED GAME. REQUIRES JAVA





The game which I think represents best Gelfand’s style is the following, from the mini-match Gelfand vs Polgar. Judit came up with a novelty in a well-known position (10...Ne4), triggering some exchanges which should be good for Black. However, Boris put his finger on Black’s weakness, that White can easily put pressure on the d-file because of having more space, so he exchanges off the dark-squared bishops to win the square d6, and establishes a strong central position for his pieces. From this strength came sudden tactics and precise simplification to a won endgame. Polgar had no chance.

Gelfand, Boris (2758) vs Polgar, Judit (2680) [E15]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.1), 27.11.2009
ANNOTATED GAME. REQUIRES JAVA






Boris Gelfand is already 41 years old (born June 24, 1968 in Minsk, Belarus) but as you can see is not yet a spent force. He has qualified several times for the Candidates Tournaments for the World Chess Championship but the closest he ever got is joint 2nd place with Vladimir Kramnik (third after tie breaks) in the 2007 World Championships. I wonder if his luck is about to change.

LA SALLE TOPS JUNIOR PRADA CHESS MEET

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---THE La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) Chess Team reigned supreme in the recent 2009-2010 Private Schools Athletic Development Association (PRADA) Junior Chess championships was held over the weekend at the Marist School in Marikina City.

Playing under the watchful eye of head coach IA/NM Erwin Carag, the Green Archers composed by Jan Nigel Galan, Miguel Lahoz, Emmanuel Songcuya, Alfonso “Trio” and Antonito “Mikee” Ramos and AJ Mendonez scored 31.5 points to capture the crown in the junior division.

The Green Archers, who earlier settled a strong runner-up place in the Philippine Athletics Youth Association (PAYA) Junior Chess championships and satisfied third place finished in this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Junior Chess championships.

Running second was the Don Bosco Technological College (30.5 points) followed by Marist School (27.7 points).

Other participating School were Don Bosco Technological Insitute (23.0 points); Ateneo de Manila University (19.0 points); Lourdes School of Mandaluyong (16.5 points); Pasig City College (14.0 points); Notre Dame University (7.0 points); International School of Makati (7.0 points) and Brent International School (3.5 points).

Adjudged individual gold medalists were the following:
Board 1 Jan Nigel Galan of La Salle Greenhills (9/9); Board 2 Joaquin Ignacio Davila of Marist School (7/9); Board 3 Miguel Lahoz of La Salle Greenhills (8/9); Board 4 Amor Bueno of Don Bosco Technological Insitute (8.5/9); Board 5 Reginald Cruz of Don Bosco Technological College (9/9) and Board 6 Bryan Russel Cerrudo of Ateneo de Manila University (3/5).

Tournament arbiter is NA Jess Bermejo assisted by Danny Villanueva.

Jimson Bitoon

As promised in my previous post, I will feature here the games of individual gold medalists of the 2009 NCAA Chess Team Championships for you to have an idea on how good our young players are.

I already featured the games of Chester Brian C. Guerrero of Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL), Board 1 Gold Medalist, Seniors Division.

Now, let's look at the games of Jimson Bitoon of De La Salle-College Of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) who won the Gold Medal for Board 2, also in the Seniors Division.

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ANNOTATED GAME: Laylo vs Navara

BY: BOBBY ANG

(Abridged version, as published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, December 14, 2009)

The Philippines had three representatives to the FIDE World Cup: Wesley So defeated GMs Guseinov, Ivanchuk and Kamsky to enter the round-of-16 where he succumbed to Russia’s GM Vladimir Malakhov in the rapid tie-breaks. The other two Pinoys, GM Joey Antonio and GM Darwin Laylo, were both eliminated in the first round. However, with everybody concentrated on Wesley’s brilliant showing, no one has noticed that Darwin Laylo also put up a very good fight in the first round and should actually have won it if it were not for some bad breaks.

His opponent is the Czech GM David Navara (born March 27, 1985), rated 2707, which is more than 150 points better than Laylo’s 2552 -- in other words Navara is the heavy favorite to win. Let’s do a quick scan of the Czech’s credentials:

1. Navara has won several world championships in youth competitions and came to international attention when in 2001, at the age of 16, he got 7 of 9 in the European Team Championships.

2. His next accomplishment was 6th place in the 2004 Fifth European Individual Chess Championship in Antalya with 7.5 points (+5"2=5). Navara was leading for most of the tournament and only exhaustion pulled him back at the end.

3. To show you how tough he is, David Navara has performed very well in one-on-one matches against top-notch opposition. In Prague he drew with former world champion Anatoly Karpov (+0"0=2) in 2005 and Boris Gelfand (+1"1=2) in 2006 and won against Nigel Short (+3-0=3) in 2007.

In the first game Laylo, playing Black, essayed his favorite Scandinavian Defense but misplayed the attack to lose.

Navara, David (2707) vs Laylo, Darwin (2552) [B01]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.1), 21.11.2009
ANNOTATED. REQUIRES JAVA




The second game is where Darwin shone, as he played very aggressively, kept up the pressure on his foe, and crashed through with a series of well thought-out maneuvers.

Laylo, Darwin (2552) vs Navara, David (2707) [D85]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.2), 22.11.2009
ANNOTATED. REQUIRES JAVA




The regular match being tied, a series of 4 tie-break rapid games (25 minutes with 10 seconds increment per player) were contested. Laylo seemed on his way to a great upset when he got an overwhelming position in the 2nd game (or 4th if you count the first two standard games)

This disappointing turn of events broke Darwin’s back and he lost the next two games and was eliminated. Still, this showing against such a strong opponent marks Darwin out as another potential world-beater. Let us hope he continues to develop.

2009 Singapore Challenger photos

Roll out the red carpet and meet our new heroes once again. The 2009 Singapore Challenger Champion Jedara Docena and 1st Runner-Up Paulo Bersamina.

Mr. Ignatius Leong, General Secretary of the World Chess Federation, with Bersamina and Docena.

The victorious RP Team which made a 1-2-4-5 finish. Back row, from left: NM Wilfredo Neri, Paulo Bersamina, Mari Joseph Turqueza, and Jedara Docena. Front row: Jean Karen Enriquez, Mira Mirano, Jesca Docena, Jeth Romy Morado(?) or Mark James Marcellana(?), Stephen Rome Pangilinan, Samantha Glo Revita, Christy Lamiel Bernales, and NCFP Exec. Dir. Willie Abalos.

Linson and Paulo

Let the kids play. The youthful RP Team members play with each other at the Bishan Community Club, home of Singapore Chess Federation.

Challenger medalists from different federations.

Turqueza with the brainy and beautiful roses Jedara, Karen and Christy.

RP medalist girls with fellow medalists from other federations. Pinays Shania Mae Mendoza (next to Mr. Leong), Samantha (middle in white) , Mira (red) and Karen (long sleeve).

MJ with Pau.

Moms Tess Turqueza and Sally Bersamina with Samantha and Jesca (hugged).

Father Bong Pangilinan (light blue polo) with very young and promising son Stephen, together with Engr. Revita, NM-NA Neri and Mrs. Sally Bersamina.

NCFP Exec. Dir. Willie Abalos proudly singing "Green, Green Grass of Home" ala Pinoy Idol champion.

ATENEO WINS PRADA MIDGETS CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

The Ateneo de Manila University Grade School Chess Team. From left to right: Jett Cadawas-Marcos, Sam Fernandez, JV Cadawas-Marcos, Raphael Mondragon, Kiko Lopez, Lorenzo Marquez and coach NM Michael Gotel

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---THE Ateneo de Manila Grade School Chess Team, headed by coach NM Michael Gotel, scored 32.0 points to capture the crown in the 2009-2010 Private Schools Athletic Development Association (PRADA) Midgets Chess championships was held recently at the Marist School in Marikina City.

The Blue Eaglets is composed by JV and Jett Cadawas-Marcos, Raphael Mondragon, Kiko Lopez, Lorenzo Marquez and Sam Fernandez.

Marist School (29.0 points) and La Salle Greenhills (28.0 points) came in second and third, respectively. Other participating School were International School of Makati (19.0 points); Don Bosco Technological Institute (16.5 points); Pasig City College (16.0 points); Notre Dame University (15.5 points); Lourdes School of Mandaluyong (15.0 points); Don Bosco Technological College (3.0 points) and Brent International School (2.0 points).

It shall be recalled that the Blue Eaglets pawnpushers also won this year's Philippine Athletics Youth Association (PAYA) Midgets Chess championships last August 23 at the La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) campus in San Juan City.

Adjudged individual medalists were the following:
Board 1 - Giovanni Mejia of LSGH (9/9 for Gold Medal), Haince Patrick de Leon of MS (8/9 for Silver Medal) and Alfonso Secuya of DBTI (3.5/6 for Bronze Medal).

Board 2 – Dante Leonardo Verano of MS (8/9 for Gold Medal), Lorenzo Marquez of ADMU (7/8 for Silver Medal) and Luke Matthew de Leon of LSGH (7/9 for Bronze Medal).

Board 3 – Raul Sol Cruz of LSGH (8/9 for Gold Medal); Jett Cadawas-Marcos of ADMU (8/9 for Silver Medal) and Paul Carlo Relativo of MS (7/9 for Bronze Medal).

Board 4 – Raphael Mondragon of ADMU (7/7 for Gold Medal); Liam Ramos of ISM (5/7 for Silver Medal) and Alfred John Flores of MS (5/7 for Bronze Medal).

Board 5 – Sam Fernandez of ADMU (5/5 of Gold Medal), Diego delos Reyes of DBTI (4/5 for Silver Medal) and Rocky Navarro of ND (2/4 for Bronze Medal)

Board 6 – Andrei Joseph Policarpio of PCC (6/6 for Gold Medal); Kiko Lopez of ADMU (4/4 for Silver Medal) and Timothy San Juan of LSM (1/3 for Bronze Medal).

Filipinos dominate 2009 Singapore Challenger

Filipino campaigners in the 2009 Singapore Challenger chess tournament dominated this international event participated in by 91 participants from 11 countries with an emphatic 1-2-4-5 finish.

RP's reigning Girl Under-18 champion Jedara Docena beat Jung Young Hoon of Korea in the final round to rule the event with 8.0 points from seven wins and two draws.

Paulo Bersamina, the country's reigning Boy Under-12 ruler, beat tournament top seed CM Gokhale Raghunandan (2147) of India in the seventh round, then drew with compatriots Docena and Mari Joseph Turqueza in the eighth and ninth round, respectively, to emerge 2nd placer overall with 7.0 points.

RP's Boy Under-18 champ Turqueza and Girl Under-16 ruler Christy Lamiel Bernales finished the event with identical 6.5 points. Turqueza, however, was ranked No.4 and Bernales, No.5, due to tiebreak points.

Overall, the dominating peformance of the RP contingent reminds the chess world that the Philippines is still the No.1 chess nation at least in the ASEAN region.


FINAL RANKINGS

Rk. Name FED Pts.
1 Docena Jedara PHI 8
2 Paulo Bersamina PHI 7
3 CM Rezon Yanuar INA 7
4 Turqueza Mari Joseph PHI 6.5
5 Bernales Christy Lamiel PHI 6.5
6 Jung Young Hoon KOR 6.5
7 O`reilly Steven AUS 6.5
8 Arjun Vairavan SIN 6.5
9 Azarya Jodi Setyaki INA 6.5
10 Attwood James AUS 6.5
11 Yeoh Khay Guan SIN 6
12 Eng Andre Jerome SIN 6
13 CM Gokhale Raghunandan V IND 6
14 Pereira Johnharry SIN 6
15 Abalos Wilfredo PHI 5.5
16 Neri Wilfredo PHI 5.5
17 Neubronner Shannon Scott SIN 5.5
18 Yuliana Sentosa INA 5.5
19 Tan Kwang Yang Aaron SIN 5.5
20 Aron Teh Eu Wen MAS 5.5
21 Jean Karen Enriquez PHI 5.5
22 Tan Kwang Shing Bryan SIN 5.5
23 Roos Ezet RSA 5.5
24 Chan Cheng Hoong Joel SIN 5.5
25 Dennis Nigel W ENG 5.5
26 Kuan Julian HKG 5.5
27 Ang Keliang Albert MAS 5
28 Branzuela Bong SIN 5
29 Morado Jeth Romy PHI 5
30 Chang Cheng Hwee SIN 5
31 Limono Handjojo INA 5
32 Pangilinan Stephen Rome PHI 5
33 Mirano Mira PHI 5
34 Muhammad Firmansyah P INA 5
35 Aay Aisyah Anisa INA 5
36 Cheng Jun Yuan Ryan SIN 5
37 Revita Samantha Glo PHI 5
38 Ong Wah Peng John SIN 5
39 Sitorus Tromphin INA 5
40 Lindvall Per SWE 5
41 Ahmad Ismail MAS 4.5
42 Mukmin Panggabean INA 4.5
43 Chong Kwai Kun MAS 4.5
44 Yat Guo Jie MAS 4.5
45 Teng Kai Lee Eunice SIN 4.5
46 Jang Jaewon KOR 4.5
47 Tiong Jun Wei Jon SIN 4.5
48 Tan Jian Wen Wilbur SIN 4
49 Madhavan Olivia MAS 4
50 Tay Tze Kiat Jonathan SIN 4
51 Monica Putri Wigustira INA 4
52 Boey Jin Huey MAS 4
53 Luthfi Nurul Huda INA 4
54 Lai Rui Qian Amber SIN 4
55 Tang Hang Sing MAS 4
56 Mark James Marcellana PHI 4
57 Jee Kai Yen SIN 4
58 Jang Kyungsik KOR 4
59 Shania Mae Mendoza PHI 4
60 Zheng Junren SIN 4
61 Lau Xian Hui Rudolph SIN 4
62 Lum Miao Sen SIN 4
63 Yesayas Joel Augusto INA 4
Hii Kai Li Annabel SIN 4
65 Wong Chun Yan SIN 3.5
66 Woong Zhi Wei William SIN 3.5
67 Isa Aiman Zaki SIN 3.5
68 Lim Wan Yu Steffi SIN 3.5
69 Siew Kai Xin SIN 3.5
70 Docena Jesca PHI 3
71 Jee Kai Xin SIN 3
72 Chua Yu Hui SIN 3
73 Jung Min Jung KOR 3
74 Chew Clement SIN 3
75 Lim Peck Hwa SIN 3
76 Nistala Kameswara Rishi Yeshay SIN 3
77 Koh Zong Duan SIN 3
78 Doshi Devansh Sanjay SIN 3
79 Tan Wen Xin SIN 3
80 Pramod Hegde Rajath SIN 2.5
81 Aljunied Syed Muhd Asadullah SIN 2.5
82 Seo Jungmin KOR 2.5
83 Lee Jun Wei SIN 2
84 Low Yi Quan SIN 2
85 Aljunied Sharifah Safiyya SIN 2
86 Chua Xavier SIN 1.5
87 Tan Si Xian SIN 1.5
88 Tejaswini Reddy S IND 1
89 Datu Alcon John PHI 0
WCM Kadek Iin Dwijayanti INA 0
Ahmad Yahaya MAS 0
Charmaine S Perit PHI 0
Reddy Sushruta IND 0
Chandana Priya Reddy S IND 0

Barangay Wesley Christmas Party 2009 Inter-Club chess tournament

Members of the Meralco Chess Club, Philippine PARA Team, and Barangay Wesley converged last Saturday, December 12, in Meralco to celebrate the 1st Barangay Wesley Christmas Party Inter-Club chess tournament.

Using a five-board, double round-robin format, the tournament was held as a fund-raising activity for the benefit of the country's PARA Team members - all done for the the spirit of brotherhood and charity.

After a total of six rounds with 20-25 minutes allotted to each player per game (20 minutes for non-PARA players and 25 for PARA players), the Barangay Wesley Team A emerged overall champion with 18 points, followed by Meralco (15 points) Barangay Wesley Team B (14 points) and RP PARA Team (13 points).

Team Composition

Barangay Wesley Team A (Champion)

Nanobrain
Rusticbull
Fab11mt
Sheriff Arnold
Rey

MERALCO (2nd place)

Rolly Sol Cruz
Jay Dicen
Jonas Santiago
Ronald Rodriquez
Darryl
Jonathan Rivera

Barangay Wesley Team B (3rd place)

Pulsar
Jpsacristan
Spawn2
Epistle
Wordfunph

RP PARA Team (4th place)

Alexis
Francis
Canonigo
Abe
Sarmiento
Melchor

Indeed, it was fun and a blessed affair. We hope that we somehow made the members and families of the RP PARA Team feel the spirit of Christmas.









































NANOBRAIN, a generous sponsor/member of Barangay Wesley, wrote the perfect account of the whole activities.

He flawlessly put to life what transpired last Saturday, which made me post here his kibitzes at chessgames.com, the real home of Barangay Wesley.

Let's listen to Nanobrain (with minimal editing):

"December 12, 2009 at around 8:00 am, I was already at the Quezon City Hall to pick up two new neophytes applying for membership, , a Court Sheriff at Quezon City, and , a Clerk at the Metropolitan Trial Court of the same city. Rey's wife tagged along, to make sure her husband will be safe during our rigid initiation rites.

"It was past 9 am already when we arrived at the Meralco compound at the Ortigas Center, Pasig City. I've been holding office in that area for many years already but it was my first time to go inside the compound and inside the Meralco Building, the most imposing building in that area.

"The playing hall was actually a vast dining area of a canteen at the basement of the building. Bright, air-conditioned, relatively quiet, with hot, delicious, cheap food always available at the canteen. Among the first I met was . I heard he's about my age but he looked younger by many years as he's boyish-looking and physically fit. His fanaticism about the game is, I think, equal with that of guys like Timhortons, Wordfunph and Sugardom. Fab11mt was armed to the teeth. He had his laptop, camera, chess materials and a gun [for defensive purposes only, in case someone tries to rob him of his precious possessions] inside his big black bag. He wore a t-shirt with the logo of a recent tournament in the U.S. He showed us pictures of Wesley playing in the recent Spice Cup tournament and regaled us with chizmiz about the Spice Cup, which I can't write here as he swore us to secrecy before he shared them with us. He also told us about his long conversations with William So while they had a long drive in the U.S.

"There were four teams with five players and five boards in each of the six rounds. The teams played against each other twice: BW Teams A and B, the Meralco Team and the PARA Team composed of the blind, the partially-blind, those who pretend to be blind and a very friendly guy in a wheelchair.

"As fab11mt had already pointed our, his/our Team A [us two, Rusticbull, Rey and Sheriff Arnold] was the top scorer. This was strange to me when I first heard it because I was a witness as to how the Meralco Team clobbered us twice, the last one even an almost shut-out: 4-1 with rusticbull being the lone survivor of the carnage. Both my two losses were with black pieces against Meralco players, and both with my pet Scandinavian!

"Strangely, however, BW Team B always avenged our losses and, I suppose, by the same lopsided scores! Then, I thought of treating Team B to lunch so they couldn't find the nerve to win against us. During the two rounds our team met them over the board, the Team B players were like meek lambs being led to slaughter. I didn't see the other games but in my own, Pulsar didn't castle so I happily pinioned his king to death in its original square, while JPsacristan, in our game, blundered away his rook [on purpose, I suspect].

"Strange, too, was my game with a "blind" PARA player. We even had to use his special chess set/board [the one with holes in them], and he got 25 minutes to my 20 minutes because he was "blind"]. And he really looked blind because his outer eyes looked as if the pair had no eyeballs inside. I even offered him that I can vocalize my moves but he refused. During the game, however, he was not feeling the pieces with his hand. I make a move, he thinks for a while, then he makes his move, holding the intended piece with precision although I notice that he seemed to have difficulty inserting the pieces into the holes. I thought he somehow the pieces I make my moves with. Later, I came to learn that he really can see the board and the pieces. Some BW players told me he was only "partially" blind.

"After the games, we gave the PARA players 1k each [coming from the contributions of the 4 teams] and we said our goodbyes and exchanged our final greetings.

"Off we [the BW team members, except fab11mt who was fetched by his wife--proving that even if he love chess greatly, he loves his wife even more] went to Kapmigz's palace at Pasay City where the already tipsy [who didn't go to Meralco] awaited us.

"For those of you who have not seen it, let me describe to you Kapmigz's place. First, it's in a secluded area of the city. To find it, you have to know where the Chinese Temple is. Then before you can get inside, there's a labyrinth, then a very tall steel gate, like the one you see in the movies before you enter Dracula's castle. Inside kapmigz's 3-storey shindig was His Eminence, Kapmigz himself, surrounded by . . . He lives there by himself, with his loyal page from Bohol.

"And food and drinks galore! Angelofdeath was practically drinking an entire bottle of Chivas Regal with a straw! Giant prawns with a piece as big as a plate! Grilled arowanas! You know how much an arowana costs? A small one can fetch the price of several thousands of pesos already. And they are usually only for decorative/aquarium pieces only. But what kapmigz grilled for us were as huge as Jennifer Lopez's buttocks. And they were as delicious!

"Only I, spawn, Rey and the sheriff [a law enforcer so no hanky-panky for him] were well-behaved. We had our eyes only on our blitz games, our ears deadened by kapmigz's favorites songs, played in full volume, like by Lady Gaga.

"To those who could have attended but didn't, 'twas a BLUNDER you'll regret for the rest of your lives. Don't make the same mistake next year."