Round 1 shocker

IM Catalino Sadorra (2431) suffered a first-round shocking defeat in the hands of a lower rated Jonathan Koh (2155) of Singapore at the start of the 5th Singapore International Chess Festival 2008.

Updated Round 1 pairings

Please disregard the previous post with the title "GM Paragua in early debacle." The updated list showed that GM Paragua was already paired for Round 1 on Board 5 against a beautiful lady.

The previous post was based on the earlier pairings posted by chessresults.com.

GM Paragua in early debacle

GM Mark Paragua, the highest rated Filipino campaigner in the 5th Singapore Masters International Open Tournament 2008, was not paired in Round 1 – an early debacle that could surely affect his campaign in the said event.

The six other Filipino campaigners (Bitoon, Sadorra, Ballecer, Yap, Luis, Mercado) did not encounter the same problem.

I suspect that Paragua was not able to attend the required meeting for all participants prior to the tournament proper to be allowed to have a pairing in Round 1.

As the tournament’s rulings stipulated, all participants who did not attend the required meeting will only be paired starting Round 2.

Click here for Round 1 pairings.

GM Jayson Gonzales campaigns in Spain

GM Jayson Gonzalez has piled up 3.0 points after four rounds of the III Open Internacional Ciutat De Pala Trofeo Iberostar that is taking place from December 6 to 14 at the Aparthotel Iberostar Royal Christina in Spain.

Seeded No.17, Gonzales is now tied at 9th place with 23 other 3.0 pointers. He is in 27th place using the tie break system.

Gonzales is the lone Filipino campaigner in this event which drew 128 players from 26 countries.

Here is the official site of the event.

Hou Yifan and Wesley So

Chinese Hou Yifan is now the youngest female grandmaster, making it as the 11th youngest grandmaster in history.

Hou achieved the feat at her age of 14 years, 6, months, and 1 day.

The Chinese girl wonder’s ascension to the list of chess prodigies did not alter our very own GM Wesley So’s ranking as the 7th youngest. GM Wesley got this elite honor at his age of 14 years, 1 month, and 28 days in 2007.

GM Wesley So is so far the only Filipino chess player who made it to the top 20 chess prodigies in the history of chess – a distinct achievement indeed.

Manny Pacquiao Open International Chess Cup?

We all know that Manny Pacquiao is highly fond of sports – chess included.

We also know the fact that Pacquiao is so involved into sports not only as a player but as a supporter in terms of financial support.

For instance, he likes and plays billiard. There’s now a Manny Pacquiao Cup International 9-Ball Open.

He likes and plays darts. The Manny Pacquiao P2-M International Darts Classic was already realized.

He likes and plays basketball. There’s already such a thing as Manny Pacquiao Cup Invitational Basketball.

He likes and plays chess. Logic follows . . .

If Shell Pilipinas stages its own international chess championship (hopefully), plus the very possible Manny Pacquiao Open International Chess Cup, it would be a great boost to our local players.

Perhaps, a single word is enough to convince Manny Pacquiao.

What if the likes of GM Wesley So, GM John Paul Gomez, Cherdine Cheradee Camacho and other young world-class players flock to Pacquiao and convince the great Filipino boxing hero to be a Philippine chess hero this time?

Asian Junior Chess Championship 2008

The Asian Junior & Girls Under–20 Chess Championships is now running in Chennai, India (Dec.5 to Dec.14).

The Philippines did not send even a single participant to this event.

The reason may be that the event is so insignificant it doesn't deserve any attention.

Another reason may be the perennial lack of funding. I really don't know why.

And also, I just wonder why this event is called the "Asian Junior Championship." The participants are mainly Indians and some participants are from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

Does this event derve to be called an Asian Junior Championship?

7 Filipinos to join Singapore Masters

Seven Filipinos have registered to participate in the 5th Singapore Masters International Open Tournament 2008 which will kick off on December 9 up to December 15.

The seven Filipino participants (as of December 5):

SNo.8 GM Mark Paragua (2526)
SNo.18 IM Richard Bitoon (2439)
SNo.19 IM Julio Catalino Sadorra (2431)
SNo.23 Dino Ballecer (2410)
SNo.29 Kim Steven Yap (2386)
SNo.30 IM Chiong Luis (2361)
SNo.42 Levi Mercado (2257)

The tournament is a 53-man strong field which, notably, is dominated by Vietnamese players numbering to as many as 11.

GM Kuzubov Yuriy (2622) of Ukraine is the No.1 seed.

1st Korea Open Chess Tournament

IM Catalino Sadorra (2431) and IM Oliver Dimakiling (2448) placed 8th and 13th respectively in the 1st Korea Open Chess Tournament that was staged by the Korea Chess Federation from December 1 - 5, 2008.

Sadorra piled up 6.0 points and Dimakiling, 5.5 points after nine rounds. They were the only Filipinos who participated in the tournament which drew 47 players from different countries.

An untitled Chinese player Yang Kaiqi (2429) topped the event after posting 6.5 points.

Here is IM Sadorra's performance:

Here is IM Dimakiling's performance:

Jose Rizal and chess

Was Dr. Jose Rizal, national hero of the Philippines, the first chess master in the country?

I came across a historic account about Rizal that he was a chess master.

The account reads:

Tomas Arejola says that "such was his punctuality and his enthusiasm for study that he would abandon any ceremony, no matter how important it might be, if the hour he had previously arranged had arrived, and go home to his books. A certain hour of the day he played chess (at which he was a master.) But even though the moment of most intense interest had come, such as being able to checkmate the king or queen, if the clock marked the time his schedule said he should do something else, he would get up and leave, and no pressure from his friends could persuade him to change his mind." Source: joserizal.info

Just in case you're wondering why I post this blog, it's simply because December 30 (Rizal Day) is near.

Rizal's Chess Set. You may note that it was designed for travel with holes put in the board to hold the chess pieces securely.

Jan Jodilyn Fronda

I've already posted a few notes about the promising Filipina teenager Jan Jodilyn Fronda whithout her photos though.

So here are her pictures, and see the angelic face that can unleash deadly tricks -- over the board.

Funding

I totally disagree that money is the root cause why Philippine chess does not progress.

Money is just one of the key requirements to advance any sports project. Chess, basketball, billiards, boxing, etc., they all need money to thrive.

But it's not only MONEY that is all needed. MONEY is just a tool, not the end goal.

If we are to put MONEY first as a requirement in starting a sports project -- a community chess development, for instance -- nothing truly constructive can happen.

A mindset which says that it all boils down to budget equates to a bureaucratic, lazy, passive attitude. That's the reasoning of rotten, traditional bureaucrats and politicians.

Pera muna bago ang proyekto? This paradigm is totally screwed and pathetic.Budget does not just come. We must work for it!

The chess community should be able to show first that it is worth spending for before asking for funding.

(I originally posted this blog in the Philippine Chess Forum. I just wanted to share it with you here.)

Shercila Cua

Shercila Cua started strong in Dresden Chess Olympiad, but somehow lost her momentum in the course of the tournament to finish her crusade with a 4/9 performance.

Her 4.0 points came from a 3-2-4 (win-draw-loss) record.

Alarmingly, her rating is in a steep downtrend from a maximum of 2244 Elo points (April 2006) to a minimum of 2154 (October 2008).

We wish her good luck in her future endeavors.

Here is a tactic that she successfully used to score her first full point in the very first round of the Dresden Olympiad.

White to move. Position after 19. . . Bc6. A simple tactic won a pawn for Cua and ultimately the game.

Watch the full game here.

Parents' role

A friend lent me a book titled “How Life Imitates Chess” written by Garry Kasparov.

Sharing a book is one of the best gestures to contribute to mankind. It’s a long held wisdom that knowledge must be shared.

The very first pages of the book already offer ideas really worth pondering on.

Take for instance the great role that parents play in developing the attitude of kids toward chess.

Kasparov put it very plainly:

“I worked hard because my mother taught me to.”

A very simple statement. A statement usually ignored. But once we pause and pay attention to this idea, and internalize it, and understand why Kasparov emphasized it, only then can we realize its true essence.

Attitude can be taught! And the best time to mold the iron rod is when it’s still hot.

Docena, Suede, Bersamina

Jerad Docena topped the Kiddies Division of the Theree-Age Category 3rd Burol Main 1950 below Chess Tournament staged by the Dasmarinas Chess Association (DCA).

Mikee Suede bagged the second top honor, who I guess is related to a cute lady Akiko Suede.

The third place went to Paulo Bersamina, who could have topped the Kiddies Division if not for a loss against the eventual champion Docena.

In their previous match, Bersamina beat Docena in the grand finals of the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship. (Photos taken during SNYACC 2008. I have no photo of Mikee.)