(IN PHOTO: NM Marlon Bernardino in a highly confident stance)
Final Standings:
4.5 points--- NM Mirabeau Maga
4.0 points--- RP and US Master Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr.
3.0 points--- NM Julius Sinangote, NM Efren Bagamasbad, NM Allan Macalla
2.5 points--- NM Ronald Llavanes
2.0 points--- Fide Master Randy Segarra, NM Ali Branzuela, RP six-time executive champion Dr. Jenny Mayor
1.5 points--- NM Ric Portagalera, NM Allan Sasot, Jerry Areque
NATIONAL MASTER (NM) Mirabeau Maga of Davao City ruled the 9th leg of the 2009 Philweb–Human Plus National Executive Grand Prix Active Chess Championships on Saturday at the Human Resources Conference Room, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Elliptical Road, Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City.
Maga scored 4.5points in the five-round Swiss System event to take the Group A Open Division crown by half a point and pocket the P5,000 champion's purse. RP and US Master Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr., a Bandera/ CDN sportswriter and radio commentator wound up solo second place with 4.0 points to receive the runner-up prize of P2,000.
National Masters (NMs) Julius Sinangote of Caloocan City, Efren Bagamasbad of Manila and Allan Macalla of Davao City finished with 3.0 points apiece to end up sharing third places to fifth placers, while Philippine Airforce bet NM Ronald Llavanes of Bicol finished with 2.5 points for solo sixth placers.
Other participants were Fide Master Randy Segarra (2.0 points), NM Ali Branzuela(2.0 points), RP six-time executive champion Dr. Jenny Mayor (2.0 points), NM Ric Portagalera (1.5 points), NM Allan Sasot(1.5 points) and Jerry Areque (1.5 points).
Ric dela Pena, meanwhile captured the Group B crown with 4.5 points while Ritchie Evangelista, Mark Oliver Ingcad, Ricardo Jimenez and Joel Cocjin tallied 4.0 points each to finished second to fifth placers.
Organized by the Philippine Association of Chess Executives (PACE), using the 25-minute time control format and hosted by DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, Director Nelia Manahan of Bureau of Agrarian Reform Information and Education (BARIE), DAR Employees Association president Nanette Pascual, DAR employee Lito Dormitorio and Philweb Corporation headed by lawyer Cliburn Orbe. By Marlon Bernardino
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Maga champ, Bernardino solo second in 9th Leg of Philweb executive chess
Saturday, October 17, 2009
GM Susan Polgar to visit the Philippines?
What about this!! GM Susan Polgar to visit the Philippines? Mere news of it can already excite the Filipino chess community.
1st Cabrido Memorial Chess
By: Marlon Bernardino
Reigning Philippine age-group champion Paulo Bersamina of Pasay City and Jett and JV Cadawas-Marcos of Cainta, Rizal lead the youth star quest for honors in the first NM Victor Cabrido Memorial Kiddie Chess Cup invitational tournament on October 18 at the Meralco Head office in Ortigas.
Other player’s who signified their intention to play are Rhal Sol Cruz of La Salle Greenhills, Jean Karen Enriquez and Darryl Samantilla of Adamson University, Jerad and Jesca Docena of Tagbilaran, Bohol, and Dennis Gutierrez of Pangasinan.
Cabrido worked for Meralco and was one of the pillars of the organizing group Meralco chess club. He also taught world champion Indian GM Viswanathan Anand of playing chess when the latter’s (Anand) based here in Manila in the 80’s.
The format of the five round Swiss-system preliminary round using the time control of 30 minutes with the top four players will face each other in the cross-over semi-final round (knock-out stage).
The top four players will be receiving medals plus cash prizes of P1,000, P500, P200 and P200, respectively.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Malibay Chess Club no more
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: This blog will no longer be known as a Malibay Chess Club blog soon and will transform as a personal chess blog of Rusticbull. Please watch out for further announcements.
GM Wesley So in Group B of Corus 2010
The country's No.1 chess player GM Wesley So will see action again in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands for the staging of the 2010 edition of the prestigious Corus Chess Tournament, this time in Group B.
Wesley was promoted to join Group B after winning this year's edition of Corus in Group C with a score of 9.5 points out of possible 13.0 for a whooping +7-1=5 performance.
Seeded No.4 for Corus 2010, GM Wesley So is listed together with heavy favorites GM Ni Hua (2692), GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2685), GM Emil Sutovsky (2676), Pentala Harikrishna (2673), and GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (2664).
With this very strong field, we are sure that GM Wesley will be in for a tough battle. His performance in this very strong tournament will test his true character, and we will see if GM Susan Polgar was correct by saying that he is "The Real Deal."
But knowing that he had already played - and defeated - Group B's top seed for 2010, GM Ni Hua, Wesley sniff a bit of confidence in this tough field.
He also stands to be "at home" with the field with the presence again of GM Anish Giri (2553) of the Netherlands and GM David Howell (2624) of England, his groupmates in Group C early this year. In their previous encounters, Wesley drew with Giri and beat Howell.
GM Wesley So in Group A in Corus 2011? Possible, of course! But first, he needs to prove that he's indeed "The Real Deal" in next year's Corus Group B.
Jedara Docena to carry RP flag in World Juniors (Women)
As of today (October 16), Jedara Docena (1987) stands as the lone Filipina entry in the Women’s Section of the World Junior Chess Championship which is scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 21 to November 4.
Docena is RP's reigning Under-18 Girls champ who ruled this year's 2nd National Age Group Championships (NAGC) in her age category by 1.5 points-margin off the closest pursuer.
Her rampage in the 2nd NAGC got an early round scare, though. She lost her Round 1 assignment to the lowest seed, unrated Jennifer Aquino.
As if awakened like mad by that stunning loss, she recovered her good form and routed all her opponents in the remaining rounds to capture the championship.
Let's just hope and pray that her campaign in this year's WJCC materialize. Since this young girl will carry the Philippine flag, it is only imperative that the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) fully support her battle for the country's name and honor.
Other than the NCFP, let's hope that generous benefactors come to this young girl's rescue.
Let's watch one of Docena's games. This one was played against equally talented but much younger opponent Mikee Suede in the Women's Section of the "8th Asian Continental Chess Championship" early this year in Subic.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Emir Gamis aka "Pulsar" beats GM Jayson Gonzales
(IN PHOTO: "Pulsar" in deep-concentration mode that made him win.)
You read the title just right. Emir Gamis aka Pulsar, a Barangay Wesley citizen, beat GM Jayson Gonzales during the latter's fund-raising simul exhibition in Meralco recently.
We can now ask him how it feels beating a GM, knowing that not all chess addicts have the chance to achieve what he had just accomplished.
"This is the first time I won against a GM, although this is just a simul. I'm happy for this, of course," said Pulsar.
"I am glad that I now have a treasured story to share with my grandchildren in the future," he added.
Ah, that's it. Each of us chess addicts would like to have a good chess story of ours to remember and tell over and over again. Beating a GM, I think, would be among the best stories of them all.
But of course, beating a GM is just the secondary beauty that Pulsar experienced during GM Gonzales' simul.
The real essence - that really made him a genuine winner - was his voluntary and warm support to a social cause.
Let's watch his winning game:
The longest game in the 4th PGMA Cup
If you'd remember, I already posted here the shortest decisive game played in the 4th PGMA Cup which only lasted for 18 moves.
Now, the turn for the longest one. It was between GM-elect Ronald Dableo vs GM Merab Gagunashvili in a Board 5 encounter in Round 2. This battle was just a move shy off 100 moves!
Dableo gained 7.0 Elo points from this game. Let's watch the hardly fought battle:
Muelmar “Toto” Magallanes: A story of heroism
The touching story below was brought to our attention by Mr. Rogelio Mina aka "BW-Rogermoore," one of our readers. He writes:
"In Chess sacrifice or sacrifices are spectacular move to gain victory. In real there are heroes that sometimes go unnoticed when the one who did it is ordinary or common people. Like our Lord Jesus Christ he sacrifice His life for us to be saved. Here is a touching story of a young lad who lost his life for others to be saved."
The Young Carpenter Hero of Bagong Silangan
By: Francis Pasion and JD Buena
From the Brown Raise Movement website
Ondoy was not all flood, losses and deaths.
Ondoy (Ketsana) was also about life and heroism. The young 18-year old carpenter who braved the rampaging floods of Ondoy to save the lives of 32 people one at a time is a humbling story. And like all other news about Typhoon Ondoy, the name of this modern-day hero faded into oblivion as celebrities were given more segments in our local news broadcasts. Unknown to most of us, there are true heroes in our midst that make the Filipinos a noble race indeed.
The name of the young man is Muelmar “Toto” Magallanes.
His name came from “Samuel,” the name of his father and “Maria,” the name of his mother. The family lives in a place called Bagong Silangan near Batasan, Commonwealth. Being the fourth of the seven the Magallanes family, “Toto” as his family would call him, only finished 1st year High School and refused to continue because he wanted to help out in his family’s livelihood. At eight years old, he was already putting food on the table mainly through his tremendous help in his father’s livelihood. Like a Paciano to a Pepe, he also wanted to give his siblings a chance to have a better education. Instead of spending money on himself, he would spend it on his younger sister who wanted to become a doctor and the other siblings who have dreams of their own. The father, Mr. Samuel Magallanes is a construction worker while his mother Mrs. Maria Magallanes is a housewife.
When the team of Brown Raise went to the place where Muelmar’s remains were located in order to interview the family, we were so shocked to find out that the evacuation center where the people eat, drink and sleep and the coffins of the dead flood victims were all together under one covered basketball court . There were just three or four coffins when we arrived because according to our source, the other nine corpses have already been buried the other day. So you could just imagine how unthinkable it was if there were actually more coffins inside the already full-packed “evacuation center.” We know that this is a time of crisis and lack of decent conditions, but this should also be the best time to treat our fellow Filipinos with respect.
We first interviewed Muelmar’s mother.
His mother would say that as a young boy Muelmar never asked her for money that exceeded two pesos. At times the mother would push Muelmar to accept the money but he would refuse it, saying he still has enough. Later on, the mother would find out that every midnight, Muelmar would consistenly work an extra mile by transporting the neighbor’s pig to its new owner so that he could earn money of his own. He wanted to stand on his own two feet and be able to actively help the dire needs of their poor family. Even then, at a young age, he already had a high sense of dignity and hardwork.
People around him have noticed his uncanny ability to leave what he’s doing just to answer the needs of others. “May pagkapilyo, pero matulungin,” his mother would say. When his parents asked him to do something and he had a prior commitment to help a neighbor, he would prioritize the latter knowing that he is needed more by his neighbor than by his family.
The first time that the flood swept Bagong Silangan was in 2003. He saved many lives. Since he was an expert swimmer, his parents were at peace in seeing their son help other people. But little did they know that what would happen six years later would change their lives. From then on, Muelmar’s urge to help, gained more and more intensity in him as he found out that to help others without getting anything in return was really the best reward he could receive.
He was also a constant confidant to his siblings especially to the older ones. Even if Muelmar was younger, His Kuya Jufran would recount that Muelmar was an inspiration to him.
That fateful day of September 26, 2009 started like a normal rainy day. As people recount in Bagong Silangan, no one expected the rush of flood that would come sweeping the entire barangay without warning. Only fifteen minutes were needed and the flood with the murky mud it brought, paralyzed the entire barangay as many began to save their belongings in an ever increasing strong current. By 11:30 AM, the water already reached their windows. Muelmar seemed excited as his father asked his help to bring the family to safety.
As his mother was the last person in the family he carried to safety, Muelmar suddenly said, “Ma, dito muna ako.” Suddenly his father asked him to carry the Orocan container and some clothes to the roof. This he did with ease, but then he walked away. His father said, “Saan ka pupunta? Tulungan mo muna ako dito.” But he seemed to not hear his father’s question as he already heard a cry of help from the back of their house—from a neighbor who couldn’t go down anymore and was trapped on the roof between the raging rapids of the flood. There was a 7-month-old baby with the neighbor. He used styrofoam as a plank so that the baby and the mother could hold on to something. The current was too strong and the baby accidentally slipped and sunk in the flood. Muelmar immediately plunged into the depths so that the baby could be saved. That was his first rescue.
Muelmar, with his eldest brother Jufran tied some bamboos together and made it a raft so that they could rescue other neighbors needing help. Muelmar would always, if need be, plunge into the depths of the murky water and swim against the current just to carry the bamboo raft to the next roof where neighbors waited for rescue. His arms were full of bruises from the floating yero.
All in all he saved 7 families and a group of 18 children with their mothers trapped on the rooftops. It is safe to say that he saved even more than 30 people, contrary to the news reports. A young man, in the prime of his youth, already saving many lives!
Muelmar, in his young age never forgot the heroism he longed for in childhood, of sacrificing his own life to save his neighbors. Witnesses say that in extreme exhaustion, he rested for awhile on a rooftop unaware that a hollow-block wall taken by the strong current of the flood came smashing towards him. He went missing until the flood subsided and his body was found covered by thick mud.
He was a hero in the midst of the storm. Mrs. Magallanes and the family are so proud of Muelmar’s heroic deeds. But during our interview, one of the cries of his mother’s heart was “pero kahit hindi na sya itratong hero… basta bigyan lang ng normal at tamang libing.” Mrs. Magallanes shared with us in tears that her son will be buried in layers of boxes that the government provided, and her son will be on top. “Mahirap, sa taas pa, ang taas taas” she adds. It was still bearable but her next statement was really heart-breaking. Mrs. Magallenes said “at pagkatapos ngthree years, tatanggalin na duon yung kanyang bankay… hindi na namin alam kung saan ilalagay…” I was shocked and said to myself “WHAT!?” In the news ontelevision and newspapers, he is being hailed as a hero but here’s how we treat our heroes! It’s really hard to understand. Mr. Magallanes went to his crying wife and put his hands on her shoulders to calm her. He shared that on their own they can’t afford to buy a cemetery lot for their son, but he’s still hoping and looking for one so that his son can have a normal and simple burial. Muelmar’s mother is not asking for celebratory gunfire, many flowers or a grand hero’s burial… just a simple burial, just a normal burial.
Many would have cringed at losing their lives and houses, but Muelmar Magallanes courageously saved many without hesitation. It is a selfless act of a hero, so rare in our times in a person so young—18 years old—yet it shows what we Filipinos are truly really made of.
The flood may have washed away homes, dreams and hundreds of lives, but it revealed the real gems of our country, the simple people, the insignificants—true heroes who do not long for acclaim but let their hearts be exposed to the strong currents of the flood to save lives at the expense of their own.
Muellmar Magallanes, your name may not be remembered by many, but we shall remember you as a glowing firefly amidst the rushing flood bringing light not only to those you have saved but to millions of Filipinos here in the country and abroad. The place where you come from is a prophecy that a new hero for these times had been birthed for the coming generations to remember, in a place called Bagong Silangan– the new rising of a new day of more Brown Raise Filipinos.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Obientag
Oh, where has all the food gone? Obientag, a Barangay Wesley (BW) citizen, deeply ponders on what kind of typhoon hit his plates during the staging of GM Jayson Gonzales' fund-raising simul in Meralco. Hehe!! Beside him is the laptop which he uses to kibitz on the BW page. Kidding aside, behind the smiling face of this big man is a kiddie and generous heart which can surely touch those who come close to him. The Barangay Wesley is fortunate to have a citizen like him.
WGM Krutika Nadig fans
I'm sure, fans of Indian WGM Krutika Nadig, who participated in the 4th PGMA Cup and 5th Pichay Cup, have their own stories and imagination to tell about their admired beautiful chess player.
But all I can say is that all their stories will somehow point to this line: "Chess is beautiful."
Joshua Bersamina, a University of the Philippines (UP) student, looks like he is prepared to go to India, hehe.
Malibay Chess Club members Angelo Berico (left) and Harrell Abedin "kidnapped" this beauty along the corridor of LWUA Bldg (venue of the 5th Pichay Cup) to have their photo taken with her - to brag about it among co-members at the Club.
Another Malibay Chess Club member made a very brave move just to have his photo taken beside WGM Nadig even while games were ongoing during the 4th PGMA Cup at the Duty Free Fiestamall in Parañaque.GM Jayson Gonzales simul
The Philippine chess community is blessed to have institutions and individuals who shared their time, resources and skills for the sake of others much especially during times of needs.
Thanks to GM Eugene Torre, GM Joey Antonio and GM Jayson Gonzales who pitched in their support to the fund-raising projects hosted by the Meralco Chess Club.
MCC has already organized three fund-raising chess simuls this year, first with GM Antonio, then with GM Torre, and most recently with GM Jayson for the benefit of blind and handicapped players and lately for the sake of the members of the local chess community who were affected by typhoon Ondoy.
No matter how small the help being extended, what really matters is the HELP that is DONE. Remember, the smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.
We hope to see more GMs in Meralco in the near future - of course, as always, for a good cause.
PLEASE CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE (MORE PHOTOS TO COME)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Shell Active video
I took this video from the second floor of SM Megamall during the second day of the 17th Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship (SNYACC) grand finals.
