Sunday, October 31, 2010

18th Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship 2010 Juniors Division results

BY: ALEXANDER DINOY

Organizer(s) : Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation
Tournament Director : Alexander Dinoy
Chief or supervising arbiter : IA Gene Poliarco
Arbiter : IA Rolly Yutuc, IA Erwin Carag, FA Domingo Oga, NA Raul Cruz
Rating-Ø : 1776
Date : 2010/10/23 To 2010/10/24



FINAL RANKINGS

Rank Name Pts Res. BH. SB. Fide vict
1 SALCEDO III Richelieu 7 1 49½ 37.50 33½ 5
2 ANDOY Jerwell 7 0 50½ 37.50 38 7
3 NEBATO Sheider 6 0 52 32.50 33 5
4 RAPANOT Alfred 6 0 49½ 30.00 32 4
5 TURQUEZA Mari Joseph 6 0 48½ 30.00 31½ 5
6 PEREZ Adrian 6 0 45 25.50 32 5
7 LAGULA Mc. Dominique 6 0 42 27.00 30 6
8 CHAVEZ JR. Antonio 5 0 43½ 18.50 28 5
9 ALBELAR Kritz 5 0 39 18.00 21 5
10 SALGADOS Lenon Hart 5 0 37 17.50 23 5
11 PEREZ Douglas Diego 5 0 33½ 15.00 22 5
12 LEYSON Philip John 0 36½ 12.75 19½ 4
13 PARONDO JR. Rolly 4 0 45 17.00 24 4
14 FIEL Yves Christian 4 0 41 13.00 24 4
15 MERCADO Jayson 4 0 39 15.00 22 4
16 MEDINA Vince Angelo 4 0 38 15.50 20 4
17 CRISTOBAL Kristian Paulo 4 0 34 9.00 16 4
18 OCIDO Michael 4 0 33 11.50 14 4
19 SILVEDERIO John Michael 1 33½ 9.25 16 3
20 MIRANO Kevin 0 42 16.25 19½ 3
21 TUBOG JR. Erwin 3 0 38 8.50 14 3
22 ANDOY Jester 2 1 38 8.00 11 2
23 RUELO Bernardo 2 0 32 5.50 10 2
24 TORRES King James 0 32 3.75 6 1

18th Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship Kiddies Division results

BY: ALEXANDER DINOY

Organizer(s) : Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation
Tournament Director : Alexander Dinoy
Chief or supervising arbiter : IA Gene Poliarco
Arbiter : IA Rolly Yutuc, IA Erwin Carag, FA Domingo Oga, NA Raul Cruz
Town : Event Center, SM Megamall
Rating-Ø : 1530
Date : 2010/10/23 To 2010/10/24



FINAL RANKINGS

Rank Name Pts Res. BH. SB. Fide vict
1 NAOLA Christian 7 0 49 36.75 36 6
2 MEJIA Giovanni 0 51 37.00 34½ 6
3 DOCENA Jerad 6 0 45½ 28.25 27 4
4 BALBONA Felix Shaun 6 0 44½ 27.00 35 4
5 EVANGELISTA Paul Robert 6 0 41½ 25.00 28 6
6 LITERATUS Austin Jacob 0 46 24.50 27 5
7 BATUCAN John Ray 0 45 25.00 29½ 4
8 PASON Allan 0 37½ 20.75 24½ 5
9 LABOG Marc Kevin 5 0 48½ 24.75 28 3
10 BALTAZAR Melwyn Kenneth 5 0 43 20.50 25 5
11 VILLARIN Jazrelle 5 0 34½ 17.50 21½ 4
12 SEVILLANO Rhenzi Kyle 0 48 20.00 28 4
13 CASTRO Jose Carlo 0 40½ 18.75 19 3
14 OTERO Lanz Renuel 0 34 14.00 22½ 4
15 CASIANO Paul Benjamin 4 0 40 16.00 22 4
16 MIRANTES Raymondwil 4 0 39 14.50 20 4
17 PRADO Dave Mar 4 0 38 11.25 17½ 3
18 MAGDALAGA Felipe 0 40 11.50 21 3
19 PANGILINAN Stephen Rome 0 36½ 10.00 15½ 3
20 MENDIOGARIN Jhoemar 3 0 36 6.75 13½ 2
21 ANDADOR Lyzter Franz 3 0 35 10.75 16½ 2
22 IBAOC Tristan Frech 3 0 33 8.75 11½ 2
23 DADOLE Earl Cedric 0 33½ 6.50 12 2
24 LIM Alson Vincent 1 0 32½ 3.75 5 0

PACE Kiddies 13th Leg winners

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

Bryan Barcelon (upper photo) of University of the East (UE) and Shannon Mark Danielle Aguimbag of Saint John of Beverley School in Novaliches clinched the championship in their respective divisions of the 13th leg of Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence (PACE) Kiddies (Under-16) Chess Championship at 2nd Floor PACE HQ 56 Mindanao Ave., Project 6, Quezon City on Saturday.

Barcelon bested Marc Christian Nazario of University of the Philippines (UP) and Clifford Gobsilin of San Isidro National High School in Antipolo, Rizal in the tie break points to win the coveted title in this event, hosted by two-time Olympian member GM Jayson Gonzales and supervised by National Association of Philippine Chess Arbiters (NAPCA) headed by Boyet Tardecilla.

The triumvirate (Barcelon, Nazario and Gobsilin) tallied 5 points apiece in the six round Swiss-tournament which attracted 31 players.

Seven year old Aguimbag (lower photo) won the gold in the 8 and under category while ten year old Francelouis Changco of Jose Rizal Elementary School and 9 year old Allen Lark Petalver of Letran Manila dominates the 10 and under divisions.

Aguimbag, Changco and Petalver, playing under the guidance of National Master (NM) Edmundo Gatus.

The Grand Finals gets underway on November 27 and 28 at the same venue.

Meanwhile, everything is ready to resume the opening 13th Leg PACE Active Open Chess Championship (2100 & Below PACE Rapid Rating) on November 6, Saturday 10:30am.

For registration please look for Gina Kobayashi at (02) 473-7008, 0916-6169586, 09198277179.

Friday, October 29, 2010

"Blackie" Wesley

This time, it's not just the flag. Now, it's the name GM Wesley So AND the Philippine flag.

Didn't this photo come in Black and White, the colors of chess? As I see it though, it is the most colorful photo the SPICE CUP 2010 has taken yet. Did you see the red, the blue, and the white? (Photo source: susanpolgar.blogspot.com)

If we saw the wise and calm Wesley in Round 1, we saw the wise and violent Wesley in Round 2. Violence bears fruit in sports, doesn't it?

The persistence to excel, the hunger for victory, we saw it in Wesley in Round 2. Aside from violence, hunger is good, too, in sports, for hunger breeds determination.

Forgive my being chesspatsy, but as I understood the GM Eugene Perelshteyn-GM Wesley So encounter, Wesley effectively defined what "time" means in chess. Simply, Wesley taught us how to essay a beautiful zugzwang. More than that, I learned that zugzwang is best danced out with the waltz.

And yes, why the title "Blackie Wesley"? Doesn't it sound like a name for a dog? No, no. It's just that Wesley seems to redefine the color of chess nowadays. What's the definition? Black means blood for Wesley.

GM Eugene Perelshteyn-GM Wesley So
Round 2 SPICE Cup 2010 US
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Thursday, October 28, 2010

1.d4 draw for GM Wesley in Round 1 of 2010 Spice Cup

What a wonderful sight! It's the flag - the Philippine flag. The beauty of it is that it is displayed there as a symbol of excellence, thanks to GM Wesley So who continues to play with the Philippine flag beside him in international tournaments.

In this photo (source: susanpolgar.blogspot.com), GM Wesley was playing White against GM Alexander Onischuk of the US in Round 1 of the 2010 Spice Cup Group A at Texas University in Lubbock, Texas.

The game started with 1.d4. Based on my own observation as a Wesley die-hard fan - and as a chesspatzer who gets so much satisfaction from seeing brilliant sacrifices and bloody skirmishes - I could say that the 1.d4 opening for Wesley with White means he plays not to lose. Wesley seems to be a complete matador now with 1.d4 when he plays White. He's simply hard to beat when he opted to play 1.d4 nowadays.

But playing not to lose is totally a different color from playing to win. The former belongs to the wise and calm while the latter, to the wise and violent.

I prefer to see the latter. Sports is a world of violence and of the unquenchable will to win.

Good luck, Wesley!! Thanks for continuing to wave the Philippine flag!!

GM Wesley So vs GM Alexander Onischuk
Round 1 2010 Spice Cup USA
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Pinoy Chess Tactics No.2

I will start to feature a series here which I wanted to call "Pinoy Chess Tactics." I have two goals in mind. First, I would like to hone my tactical skills as I do my blogging. I wish, too, that you, my dear readers, improve your tactical vision as you visit my blog. Second, since I will exclusively feature tactics of Filipino chess players only, this will highlight and celebrate the Filipino talent in the world of chess.

If you noticed, I titled this post as "Pinoy tactics No.2." So where's the Pinoy Tactics No.1? Actually, the Pinoy Tactics No.1 was the previous post "Kiddie Wesley tactics."

Here is today's Pinoy Tactics, which was essayed by the country's No.2 strongest player today, GM Rogelio Antonio Jr.

This game was played between GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. and GM Dao Thien Hai in the 11th round of the 2nd Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysian Open in 2005. This position was reached after Black's 18...Bg7 move.

Guess GM Joey's 19th move. Analyze the position first and guess for the move before clicking the single-move play button (second button from right).

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Biñan advances 3 chess bets to provincial meet

BY: ANTHONY NAVARRO (Chesswindows Laguna Correspondent)

The Unit 1 Meet was conducted last October 22 and 23 among champion athletes from Binan,Cabuyao and San Pedro who hurdled their respective Cluster Meets. The various sports events included in the Palaro were assigned in various venues in the host town of Cabuyao, with both Elem and HS Chess designated at the Cabuyao Elem School.

In the Elementary Boys Division, it was a round robin format with 60 minutes time control. It turned out to be tightly contested since both Binan (Christian Michael Navarro and Tetsuo Otsuka Jr) and Cabuyao (Brothers John Mark and Jaypee Corteza) bets and San Pedro's Jhoebert Mavire showing competitive form. After the first day of action after 3 rounds, John Corteza, Otsuka and Mavire were tied with 2 points each while Christian and Jaypee Corteza had 1.5 points each. Christian dropped a crucial 3rd round match to the elder John Corteza after pressing the attach but faltering in a rook and pawns endgame. Both of the Caritas Don Bosco School (CDBS) bets had to win their 2 remaining games in order to advance. Tournament Manager was Alfonso Jairus Ani of Cabuyao, assisted by Binan's Gerry Morales and DepEd officials.

In day 2 of action, in the 4th round Christian upended San Pedro's Mavire with the black pieces, while Tetsuo hacked out a draw with Jaypee Corteza after being a pawn down. At that point, John Corteza had the solo lead with 3 points while Christian and Tetsuo had 2.5 points while Jaypee Corteza and Mavire had 2 points. It all boiled down to the final round match between John Corteza and Tetsuo as Christian had a walkover win in the final round over the no-show Ambayec of San Pedro. Tetsuo eventually succumbed, thus it was finalized that John Corteza and Christian Michael Navarro would advance and represent Unit 1 in the Provincial Meet to be scheduled on Nov 17 & 18 at Sta Cruz, Laguna.

In the Elementary Girls Division, Mia Salvador of OLLES School, Bgy Malamig,Binan was dominant with 5/5 performance. Fighting for second were Cabuyao's Charmaine Mangga and San Pedro's Faustina Tating who both finished with 3 points, but Charmaine got 2nd place by virtue of 'winner over the other' rule. Mia's Coach Rowena Bederico would accompany them to Sta Cruz Provincial Meet.

In the HS Boys Division, Lorenzo 'Jolo' Lat of CDBS swept all his matches for another 5/5 performance and get the first slot followed by a Cabuyao bet. Teammate Culili was derailed in the final round to finish with 3 points. Caritas Coach Vic Vargas will accompany the team.

In the HS Girls, top favorite Ana Tambol of Cabuyao advanced.

Overall, Cabuyao had 4 bets while Binan had 3 (Lat,Salvador,Navarro) and San Pedro had a lone representative in chess for the Provincial battles ahead. Is is now busy time to prepare the documentations required in the provincial capital of Sta Cruz. Host for next year's Unit Meet will reportedly shift back to San Pedro. Binan will still join this Unit Meet, as separate City Meet requirements will still not be in place.


Elem Boys 2nd placer Christian Michael Navarro of Caritas Don Bosco School (CDBS) Binan with Coach / Dad Tony, Tournament Manager (TM) Alfonso Jairus Ani and DepEd Binan official Gerry Morales (red shirt)


Elem Boys Champion John Corteza with his Coach Lyn Malacas and chess playing dad, TM Jairus Ani and Cabuyao officials.


Elem Girls Champion Mia Salvador of OLLES School,Bgy Malamig,Binan 2nd placer Charmaine Mangga of Cabuyao and 3rd placer Faustina Tating of San Pedro with their parents, Coaches and DepEd officials.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

GM Wesley in SPICE Cup 2010

For the second time, GM Wesley So will play in GM Susan Polgar's SPICE Cup invitational tournament - still (I believe and forever hopeful) with the Philippine flag beside him.

The 2010 SPICE Cup was reportedly a record-breaker, being the highest rated international invitational event in the history of American chess. This will be a Category 16 tournament (Elo Ave. of 2631). For Wesley to be invited in such a field - for the second year in a row at his very young age - is already a remarkable feat.

This double round-robin tournament, which will be held from October 28 to November 7 at the campus of Texas Tech University in the US, will use the following point system:

- No draw offer before move 30
- Win = 3 points, draw = 1 point, and loss = 0 point

GM Wesley is rated No.3 in this highly competitive field:

Seedings:

No.1 GM Zoltan Almasi (HUN) 2707 (#1 in Hungary on the current LIVE rating list)
No.2 GM Alexander Onischuk (USA) 2688 (#3 in the U.S., former U.S. #1 and Champion)
No.3 GM Wesley So (Philippines) 2668 (#1 in the Philippines)
No.4 GM Georg Meier (Germany) 2659 (#2 in Germany)
No.5 GM Ray Robson (USA) 2539 (Youngest American GM)
No.6 GM Eugene Perelshteyn (USA) 2528 (winner of 2007 SPICE Cup)

Still remember SPICE CUP 2009? That could be the worst showing of GM Wesley So in all tournaments he participated in. He finished last with 4.5 points in 10 rounds after erecting a +0-1=9 performance. Yes, he didn't win even a single game in last year's edition of SPICE CUP, where he was seeded No.2. More painful, he tasted his lone loss against the lowest-seeded participant in the 6-man field, that was to GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (2585) of Norway.

Hopefully in this year's edition of the SPICE CUP which is getting stronger every year, GM Wesley improved on his last year's showing and win the Cup - to the delight of his legion of fans and for the honor of the Philippine flag.

Monday, October 25, 2010

GMs So, Gomez top Asian Games tune-up

(Photo source: NCFP)

The tune-up event for the RP Men's Chess Team members (plus IM Oliver Barbosa) which was staged at the LWUA Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City in preparation for the 2010 Asian Games was over.

Tournament details:
- 10 rounds, double round-robin
- two formats were used: standard and rapid (25 minutes, 5-second increment)
- 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 point for a loss



Final rankings:

Rank

Name

Points

1

GM Wesley So

17

2

GM John Paul Gomez

17

3

GM Darwin Laylo

13

4

GM Joey Antonio

12

5

IM Oliver Barbosa

10

6

GM Eugene Torre

6



HIGHLIGHTS:

- GM Wesley So tasted his lone loss against IM Oliver Barbosa
- GM Wesley and GM John Paul posted similar scores (four wins, 5 draws, 1 loss)
- GM Antonio had two losses (against JP Gomez and GM Darwin)
- GM Torre suffered six losses

Chuckie’s masterpiece

BY: BOBBY ANG

(As published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, 25 October 2010)

I saved the best for last.

GM Vassily Ivanchuk, or "Chuckie" (in photo) as he is affectionately called, is a consummate team player. He has played in every Olympiad since 1988, twice for the Soviet Union (1988 and 1990, for the latter he was top board since Karpov and Kasparov were still involved in their Seville world championship match) and after that for Ukraine. He played top board since 1990 except for one time in 2002 when Ponomariov, being the reigning world champion, naturally was put before him.

Ivanchuk just loves chess and so usually shows up to play every single round -- no prima donnas about whether he is black or white, no sitting down to avoid an awkward opponent, no qualms about playing even though a bad result would bring down his rating.

In the just-concluded Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad Ivanchuk carried Ukraine to its second championship. He played 10 games, winning seven (Ahmed Abdul Sattar, GM Colin McNab, GM Alexander Beliavsky, GM Ivan Sokolov, GM Peter Leko, GM Baadur Jobava and GM Vachier-Lagrave), drawing two (GMs Kramnik and Gelfand) and losing one (GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov) for 8/10, the equivalent of a 2890 performance rating.

His game against the French Champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was a real fight which took place in the opening, middle game and end game before he finally nailed the full point on the 91st move. It has been called a masterpiece, more so because of the tough and ingenious resistance of his opponent. I should point out that Vachier-Lagrave is a brilliant tactician who combines this gift with a stubborn resourcefulness and together these two traits have enabled him to turn the tables on many of his less wary foes.

A lot of us have gotten used to playing games over the computer. I request the reader to give this game respect. Today is a holiday. After voting in the barangay elections you should lock yourself in the study, bring out your tournament-sized chessboard with the wooden (not plastic!!!) pieces and slowly set up the starting position. Make sure that all pieces are in the middle of the squares. The knights, of course, are the only pieces which you can point at the opponent, so ensure that they face forward, their fierce expressions glaring at the army across the board. Close your eyes. Imagine yourself to be William Wallace, peering at the combined forces of John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham. Aagh, Cressingham, eager for a quick victory, had unwisely ordered a direct attack. Take a deep breath, open your eyes, deploy your cavalry, Nf3. The battle begins.

Ivanchuk, Vassily (2754) -- Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (2721) [A15] 39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (10), 01.10.2010
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Mayor Lenlen Alonte-Naguiat Chess Tournament

BY: ANTHONY NAVARRO (Chesswindows Laguna Correspondent)

While the LSMS was going on at Brent on 2 Saturdays last Oct 2 and 9, we heard of this tournament in Binan from Bal Corpuz of LCA and though we wanted to maximize participation of the Caritassys players in rare Laguna tourneys, the kids were tired and quarterly exams were scheduled the following week. And so, the Mayor Lenlen Alonte-Naguiat Chess Tournament organized by Gerry Salando in cooperation with the Laguna Chess Association (LCA) got underway at the Binan Elementary School last October 10 / Sunday. It attracted more than 50 players in the Open section and understandably only 13 for the Kiddies U-12, so the format was pegged at 7 rounds and 5 rounds Swiss system respectively.

The Open section was a virtual who's who in Laguna chess and it was fun to watch the action when as early as the 3rd round, the heavyweights started to meet each other, with the likes of Penero,Panopio,Visca,Merano,Vargas,Legaspi in attandance. Former Sta Cruz ace Arnel Penero who is now Calamba-based rekindled his old,deadly form to remain undefeated and finish with 6/7, punctuated with a crucial 6th round win over now townmate Panopio, and preserving the solo win with a final round draw utilizing Alekhine's Defense versus Binan's Ramos who placed second with 5.5 pts. Jayson Visca of Binan/UE came from behind and ambushed erthswhile early leader Panopio in the last round to secure a top five finish also with 5.5 pts. Rounding up the top 5 were Calamba's Gary Legaspi at 3rd and Coach Ricky Merano of Binan at 4th place.

In the kiddies U-12, Santa Rosa's Jasper Marce bucked an earlier 3rd round loss to townmate Janelle Basbas to extract a hard-earned endgame victory vs previously unbeaten and an overconfident Jhoemar Mendiogarin of Calamba. However, Calamba's Gonzales also won his last round game vs Basbas to create a 3-way tie at the top with 4 pts each and allow Mendiogarin to still escape the top spot, with the 3 of them sharing the cash prizes for the top 3 places. Messages have been sent, and these 3 kiddies players are projected to advance to the regional STCAA level sometime in Jan/Feb next year to be hosted by Rizal.

Final round7 action in the Open section pitting Binan's Elbin Ramos (5 pts) against Calamba transplant Arnel Penero (5.5 pts) which ended in a draw.


Final Round5 Action in Kiddies U-12. At Board 1 in foreground is Calamna's Jhoemar Mendiogarin (4pts) with the white pieces playing against chess ward Sta Rosa's Jasper Marce (3pts). At board 2 is Calamba's Vladimir Gonzales vs Sta Rosa's Janelle Basbas. Jasper and Vladimir won that resulted in a 3 way tie for first with 4 pts each.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

16th Asian Games preparations

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) is holding a 10-round, double round-robin tournament for the RP Men's Team in preparation for the country's participation in the 16th Asian Games which will be held in Guangzhou, China from November 12 to 27.

The six-man tournament is being participated in by GM Wesley So, GM Joey Antonio, GM John Paul Gomez, GM Darwin Laylo, GM Eugene Torre, and IM Oliver Barbosa. Except for Barbosa, the rest will represent the Philippines in the quadrennial regional meet.

Here are the highlights of their performance after five rounds:
- GM Laylo beat GM Antonio and GM Eugene Torre
- GM So beat GM Torre and IM Barbosa
- GM Antonio and IM Barbosa are still winless
- GM Torre and IM Barbosa already suffered three losses

Here are the games:
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