Chess exposure

It's typical for us Filipinos to spend the weekends with our family.

But this coming weekend will be more than typical for my family. God permitting, we will be spending our weekend at SM Megamall -- not to shop (hehe, no budget for that) -- but to expose my two kids, aged 4 and 5, to the real world of chess.

As you know, the grand finals of the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship will be held this coming weekend in Megamall.

Time for my kids to see the faces of our young heroes, of the young Filipino chess warriors who endlessly bring honor to this totally sick country.

And may my two kids be inspired and eventually enter the truly beautiful and mystifying world of chess.

See you in Megamall this weekend!

(In photo are my two makulit kids, KC and LK.)

Events to watch out for

Aside from the fast approaching Dresden Olympiad which will kick off on November 12, there are other international chess events where our Filipino woodpushers can showcase their talents.

Here are the other international chess events (just in case you still don't know):

1st Korea Open Chess Tournament
29 November to 5 December 2008
Seoul, Korea

Asian Junior & Girls Under–20 Chess Championships
5-14 December 2008
Chennai, India

4th ASIAN SCHOOLS CHESS FESTIVAL
Categories for Open & Girls under 7, 9, 11, 13 & 15
8-15 December 2008
Colombo, Sri Lanka

5th SINGAPORE CHESS FEST 2008
9-15 December 2008
Singapore

KL Chess Open 2008
15 – 21 December 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Cherry Ann Mejia

I've already featured two of the three wonder girls who brought home the historic first medal for the country in WYCC.

Now, it's only fitting to focus the spotlight to the remaining girl.

Introducing . . . Cherry Ann Mejia who, together with Chardine Cheradee Camacho and Jan Jodilyn Fronda, won the team bronze medal in the Girls 14 category in WYCC 2008.

What highlighted Mejia's peformance in that event was her smashing victory over her Round 8 opponent in the name of Avital Haitovich of Israel.

The No.61 seed and FIDE-unrated Mejia shamed the No.26 seed and FIDE-rated Haitovich (1926) in a disastrous endgame.

Notably, Mejia's rating performance in the tournament rocketed to 1836.

Let me show you why I termed it a disastrous endgame for her opponent:

[Event "World Youth Chess Championships 2008"]
[Site "Vung Tau city"]
[Date "27.10.2008"]
[Round "8.21"]
[White "Haitovich,Avital "]
[Black "Mejia, Cherry Ann"]
[Result "0-1"]

Position after 25.Qb5

Black to move. Mejia executed the recommendation of Fritz 11. Can you find the move?

Watch the full game here. (No java needed. Simple graphics.)
Watch the full game here. (Java needed. Better graphics.)

Here is Mejia's overall performance in WYCC 2008.

A brilliancy by Jan Jodilyn Fronda

Of the so many games played by members of the RP Team to the recently concluded WYCC 2008, I pick one of the games of Jan Jodilyn Fronda as my favorite (out of those that I have replayed only).

Well, Jodilyn Fronda was one of the best performers of our team -- being one of the trio (together with Cheradine Chardee Camacho and Cherry Ann Mejia) who won the historic first medal won by the Philippines in WYCC for the Girls 14 category.

If there's a brilliancy award in WYCC 2008, I would definitely nominate Fronda's Round 9 game. Here's why:

[Event "World Youth Chess Championships 2008"]

[Site "Vung Tau city"]

[Date "28.10.2008"]

[Round "9.12"]

[White "Bayarmaa,Bayarjargal"]

[Black "Fronda,Jan Jodilyn"]

[Result "0-1"]

Position after 35.Rc8. Actually, Fronda was already winning at this stage. Fritz 11 evaluated the position at (-8.59). But wait, there's a brilliancy that served as an icing on the cake in this particular game.

Black to move. Fronda GOT the recommendation of Fritz 11 for Black's 35th move. Can you guess the move that improved Black's positition to (-12.16, Depth = 17/38, 666 kN/s)?

Watch the full game here. (No java needed. Simple graphics.)

Watch the full game here. (Java needed. Better graphics.)

Here is Froda's performance in WYCC:

Chinese style

Something caught my attention while browsing through the lineups of top-seeded participating federations to the Dresden Olympiad on chessresults.com.

The lineups of the No.3 seed Chinese federation for men and women teams seem very simple and straightforward.

Well, what do I mean by that?

I am particularly referring to board assigments -- that is, who will man which board?

The simplicity comes this way: China's highest rated participating player is assigned to man Board 1. The next second highest rated participating player takes Board 2, and so on.

The same scheme goes with its women team, where China's highest rated participating female player -- the sensational 14-year old Hou Yifan -- takes Board 1.

Very straightforward, indeed. No ifs, no buts. Just plain and simple fighting stance. Best foot forward.

Walang ka-ek-ekan. Walang arte. Meet the opponents head on. Strength versus strength.

Chinese wisdom? I don't know. Does strict discipline (read: Communism) have something to do with it?

As for the Team Philippines, the lowest rated participating player for the Dresden Olmpiad, in the name of GM Bong Villamayor, will man Board 1.

Strategy? It's like this -- try to draw top boards and collect points from the lower boards since the Dresden Olympiad will use the match point system.

One step backward, two steps forward? Isn't this strategy supposed to be a Chinese one?

Oooopss -- a history was made!

A regular reader of this blog alerted me. Our reader said:

"Sana inilagay mo rin na nakakuha ang RP team ng Bronze medal courtesy of camacho, fronda and mejia sa Girls 14-under, a first in the World Youth para sa Pilipinas."

OH YES! I missed that one.

I checked the official website (here) and indeed, the triad of Chardine Charadee Camacho, Jan Jodilyn Fronda, and Cherry Ann Mejia in the Girls 14 category won a bronze medal for Team Philippines.

Wow! That's history!!!

That was the first ever medal won by the Philippines in WYCC (individual and team categories).

That first ever team bronze medal put the Philippines in Rank No.14 out of 70 federations.

Congratulations to Camacho, Fronda and Mejia!!! Time to celebrate.

A salute to Chardine Cheradee Camacho

We congratulate and salute 14-year old Chardine Cheradee Camacho for making the best finish among 18 RP Team members to the just concluded World Youth Chess Championship 2008 in Vietnam.

In fact, Camacho narrowly fell short of making a Philippine record -- being the first Filipino ever to win a medal in WYCC.

She finished 5th overall in the Girls 14 Category out of a total of 79 players.

A job well done, indeed!

To showcase her tactical prowess, let's see her performance in one of her games.

[Event "World Youth Chess Championships 2008"]
[Site "Vung Tau city"]
[Date "20.10.2008"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Ambanwela,Lumbini"]
[Black "Camacho,Chardine Cheradee"]
[Result "0-1"]

Position after 28.Bxf3

Black to move. A basic tactical motif will make Camacho a piece up. Find the move.

Position after 34.Kh1

Black to move. Camacho is already a piece up. But find the move that led to the complete annihilation of her opponent.

Congratulations, Chardine.

Watch the full game here (No java needed. Simple graphics.)
Watch the full game here (Java needed. Better graphics.)

Marinduque

It's so heartwarming to know that this blog has a regular reader from Marinduque. I just want you to know that I am a pure Marinduqueño -- very proud to be one.

Right now, I'm working here in Makati and living with my wife and two kids in Malibay, Pasay City. But once I and my family permanently settle in Marinduque, I hope I would be able to revolutionalize chess development in my beloved province.

Just a few more years to wait for -- and hopefully, back to where I came from.

Have any idea where in the world is Marinduque? Please click here

Chess Olympiad 2008

Event: Chess Olympiad 2008

Site: Dresden, Germany

Venue: Congress Center

Date: November 12 to November 25, 2008

No. of Teams: Men (157)

No. of Teams: Women (119)

Total No. of Teams: 276

No. of Players: Men (784)

No. of Players: Women (593)

Total No. of Players: 1,377

Top Seed Teams

RP Team (Seeded No.38)

Individual seedings of RP Men's Team players out of a total of 784 players:

-- GM Wesley So (No. 86)
-- IM John Paul Gomez (No. 202)
-- GM Darwin Laylo (No.219)
-- GM Jayson Gonzales (No.254)
-- GM Bong Villamayor (No.257)

Interestingly, GM Villamayor (the lowest seeded RP Team member) will man Board 1.

RP Women's Team (Seeded No.51):

RP falls short of historic medal in WYCC 2008

The Philippine contingent to the World Youth Chess Championship 2008 in Vietnam narrowly missed a chance to bring home a medal in the conclusion of the event.

Chardine Cheradee Camacho's loss in the final round in the Girls 14 category shut the country's last hope of winning the historic first medal in WYCC.

Still, Camacho emerged as the best Filipino performer out of 18 Filipino participants in WYCC 2008.

Overall, 17 out of 18 members of the Philippine team surpassed their initial tournament seedings -- already an indication of a job well done!

We salute all our young participants who did a lot of sacrifices – particularly missing their families for almost two weeks – for the sake of our country.

Congratulations! We are proud of you!

Here is the FINAL overall performance of RP members (I ranked them according to their final rankings in their respective age categories) :

Camacho poised to make history

Chardine Cheradee Camacho (Girl 14) is poised to snatch the first ever medal for the Philippines in the World Youth Chess Championship after piling up 7.5 points after 10 rounds in WYCC 2008.

Camacho is now in the third spot going into the last round. If she wins in Round 11, the final round, she will make history as the first ever Filipino to win a medal in this highly regarded tournament.

But Camacho needs to climb hills and mountains to reach for glory as she is paired against the No.2-seeded player WFM Meri Arabidze (2182) of Georgia in the final round.

Let's all pray for our girl, for our hope, for our pride as a nation.

Jedara Docena (Girl 16) is also within striking distance as she is ranked 5th going into the last round. Let's pray for her, too.

Anand defends title

Reigning world champion GM Viswanathan Anand ably defended his title against challenger GM Vladimir Kramnik with a score of 6.5 against 4.5 after 11 rounds of play.

Some trivial facts:

-- 4 decided games (2 wins for each color)

-- 7 draws

-- TEN 1.d4 openings and ONE 1.e4 opening

-- a total of 390 moves in 11 games

-- average of 35 moves per game

-- shortest game finished in 24 moves

-- longest game finished in 47 moves

Openings used:

Round 1. D14 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation (D14)

Round 2 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch (E25)

Round 3 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran (D49)

Round 4 Queen's Gambit Declined (D37)

Round 5 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran (D49)

Round 6 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation (E34)

Round 7 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Dutch (D19)

Round 8 Queen's Gambit Declined (D37)

Round 9 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav (D34)

Round 10 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights (E21)

Round 11 Sicilian, Najdorf (B96)

Another trivial fact: Anand is from Asia.

To view all games, click here

Can you beat an 8-year old kid?

No doubt, young chess players nowadays are a much improved bunch of players, thanks to technology and involvement of supportive parents.

In chess tournaments with age categories, we come so used to seeing terms like “Open 8,” “10 Under,” “Girl 14” even without realizing the abilities of players under those categories. This is especially true in the old days when there was no Internet yet to replay chess games online.

But the global chess landscape has improved much since time immemorial. Nowadays, with the power of information and communications technology, we can witness how our young mind warriors execute their plays.

Can you beat an 8-year old tournament player? Can you beat, for instance, Kyle Ochoa, one of the country’s bet in World Youth Chess Championship 2008 in the Open 8 category?

Let’s watch him play and decide for ourselves. See this one and be amazed!

[Event "World Youth Chess Championships 2008"]

[Site "Vung Tau city"]

[Date "23.10.2008"]

[Round "5"]

[White "Ho,Men-Wei"]

[Black "Ochoa,Kyle"]

[Result "0-1"]

Position after 21.Bd3

Black to move. See how Ochoa, an 8-year old player, unleashed his prowess in this game.

See the game here (no java needed)

Or here (java needed, more beautiful graphics)

Young heroes

More prayers are needed for all our young mind warriors who are now fighting in Vietnam for the country’s honor.

At their tender age – especially those aged 8 to 10 – they sacrifice the warm embrace of their beloved parents in the chill of long, long nights.

Surely, they are our heroes. Win or lose. Medal or no medal.

To hell with those whoever proposed and implemented the idea of not allowing the parents of these young kids to be with them during the time of one of the most important times of their battles.

Medal hopes now slim

The country’s three young hopefuls to land a medal in the WYCC 2008 have been trimmed to only one (just my own opinion) after eight rounds of play.

Kyle Ochoa (Open 8) and Chardine Cheradee Camacho (Girl 14), among the country’s hopefuls after seven rounds, seemed to blow apart their chances after losing and securing a draw, respectively, in the 8th round.

Ochoa was ranked 4th and Camacho, 7th, in their respective age categories entering the 8th round. The loss and the draw, respectively, seemed costly as their chances of snatching a medal are now falling out of reach.

Entering the 9th round, Ochoa fell to 10th place overall (but tied at 4th with 5.5 points) while Camacho dropped to 9th place overall (but tied at 4th with 5.5 points). They still have a chance, I guess, but very slim.

So now, the country’s brightest chance of winning a medal rests on the shoulder of Jan Emmanuel Garcia (Open 14) who inched up to 5th place after piling up 6.0 points after eight rounds. He is tied at 3rd place with three others.