Senador rules Mayor Allen Singson Cup 2010 Candon Open

Mayor Allen Singson Cup 2010 Candon Open
Organizer(s) : Candon City Chess Club
Tournament director : Jerry Malamion
Chief-Arbiter : IA Willie Abalos
Site : Stern Mall
Date : 2009/03/14 to 2009/03/15
Rating-Ø : 1765

HIGHLIGHT: No.2 seed IM Oliver Dimakiling (playing White) defeated No.1 seed GM Rogelio Antonio (Black) in Round 5



FINAL RANKINGS (OPEN DIVISION)

Rk. Name Pts.
1 SENADOR Emmanuel 6
2 GM ANTONIO Rogelio 5.5
3 MAGA Mirabeau 5.5
4 TOLENTINO Rustum 5.5
5 IM DIMAKILING Oliver 5
6 IM NADERA Barlo 5
7 FM PACIS Adrian 5
8 LABUANAN Fidel 5
9 ALISANGCO Nicomedes 5
10 VILLANUEVA Nelson 5
11 ABELGAS Roel 5
12 AQUINO Jose 4.5
13 BAGAMASBAD Efren 4.5
14 FORONDA Mario 4.5
15 GATUS Edmundo 4
16 ROQUE Merben 4
17 TAMAYO Fernando 4
18 ADAYA Ronald 4
19 OGENA Redentor 4
20 FM ELORTA David 4
21 UMALOS Eduardo 4
22 VELASCO Ryan 4
23 MARIANO Benigno 4
24 VALDEZ Rogelio 4
25 PALALAY Polly 4
26 CABOSURA Rosulo 3.5
27 PANOPIO Rodolfo 3.5
28 SALBINO Benjie 3.5
29 DIWANAN Cromwell 3.5
30 ROSQUETA Joel 3.5
31 JACQUIAS Percival 3.5
32 DIGA Fred 3
33 PALAMING Rodney 3
34 GINES Noli 3
35 BIGORNIA Butch 3
36 LOCQUIAO Michael 3
37 ARROYO Cesar Julian 3
38 ABAYA Andres 3
39 MANADERO Ben 3
40 VEA Elmer 3
41 FIGUEIRES Rommel 2.5
42 PADILLA Daniel 2.5
43 MANZANO Floro 2.5
44 VINLUAN Bobby 2.5
45 VILLARUZ Marvin 2.5
46 VILLALOBOS Reynaldo 2
47 VARGAS Mark 2
48 TIBANGWA Marvin 2
49 QUITIOAN Enoc 2
50 INGEN Elpidio 2
51 VALDEZ Lando 2
52 PASTOR Warren 1.5
53 QUILOP Michael 1
54 LIM Learner 0.5
55 LOZANO Danilo 0.5
56 QUINES Edwin 0


FINAL RANKINGS (16-UNDER DIVISION)

Final Ranking after 5 Rounds
Rk. Name Pts.
1 DULAY Dave Patrick 4
2 CAJIGAL Jehiel Yikoh 4
3 BALBIN Allen Paolo 4
4 FAGON Romy 4
5 CALIVOSO Jerald Jasper 3
6 ZARZOSO Sydney Lloyd 3
7 BALBIN Jayson James 3
8 MEMBRERE Brena Mae 3
9 BARCENA Darwin 3
10 VALDEZ Jemima 3
11 LOPEZ Jaydee 2.5
12 DOMINNO Marvin 2.5
13 MEMBRERE Merlene 2.5
14 FABROS Arnel 2.5
15 PASCUA Jeralyn 2
16 NAUNGAYAN Dianne 2
17 MANZANO Floro Jr. 2
18 ORPILLA Patrick 2
19 MANZANO Jovy Flor 1
20 INGEN Elmar Jeremy 1
21 RUSIARA Allen 1
22 VALDEZ Ismael 0


FINAL RANKINGS (12-UNDER DIVISION)

1 LEMI Daniel John 5.5
2 LEMI Jehoshapat 5
3 PANDY Jesmon Ian 5
4 VINLUAN Brylle Gever 4.5
5 REYES Earvin John 4.5
6 SANCHEZ Alexandria 4.5
7 PANDY Saramae 4
8 BALBIN Philip Ian 4
9 LOPEZ Lord Sean 4
10 AGUETE Janleign 4
11 ROSQUETA Jomary 4
12 VALDEZ Juliemaiah 4
13 DAGUSEN Ritz Mia 4
14 CALAPARAN Louie 3.5
15 MACALANDA Richard 3.5
16 JACILDO Joel 3
17 QUTABANG Eugene Karl 3
18 GAGTO Nathalie 3
19 TERRE Mark Ronel 3
20 ABAYA Andr Errol 3
21 GAGTO Darwin 3
22 JUSTO John Vincent 3
23 GALIMA Cecille 3
24 VILLARUZ Alexandrei 3
25 DIWANAN Marjel Bea 2.5
26 VALDEZ Steven Angelo 2.5
27 CORTADO Royet 2
28 DELA CRUZ Khulene Lord 2
29 ABIOG Sandra 2
30 SUDAYON Angelique 2
31 UMALOS King 2
32 GAPATAN Christian Kyle 2
33 VALDEZ Gabriel 2
34 GAGTO Mitzi Joy 1
35 GAPATAN Christian Karle 1
36 GARABILES Venus 1
37 MANZANO Gracelee 0
38 VALDEZ Chariz 0
VALDEZ Charmaine 0
40 VALDEZ Sarah Jane 0

BOOM or BUST?

BY: ANTHONY NAVARRO, in photo, Chesss Windows Laguna Correspondent

(NOTE: The author's views are solely his, in his hope that the message get through to the chess stakeholders or authorities.)

During that sole,momentous meeting so far with Ed Pascual of FACM / BW and (Northern)Laguna chess stakeholders, which was just as recent as late February during the STCAA qualifiers,we were talking about the various chess groups pursuing their own projects. My own term for this in one of the emails were 'mushrooms' (mga kabute na nagsulputan).

Since then, we have seen since March literally an 'explosion' in chess sponsorships and projects if I may rattle off a few, we heard of the announcements and initial tournaments of the National Book Store, next editions of Dr Jose Leviste at the Ateneo, the Davis Cup,the forthcoming launch of PACE and the NCA / Bato Balani, aside from the NCFP-sponsored big tournaments, and current sponsors like Atty. Rellorcasa, Engr Dumadag, Shell Active and a bevy of politicos specially during this election campaign period.

In fact, I can still vividly recall in the First Saturday of March, there were 3 tournaments on that day and ALL 3 had kiddies categories, the NBS at Galleria, the Checkmate in St Francis Square and Dr. Bong Perez' First Saturday in Bicutan. The arbiters' groups, specially those in NCR, must be having even busier schedules, specially during weekends for these tournaments.

But let me be a positive advocate here and pose the question here, "is Philippine chess on the right path?" Hey, we may have the tournaments left and right, top and bottom but are our kiddies/youth getting the proper chess education which is the foundation whether they will progress far or not? Though the Philippines may have thrived or able to get by with an 'organized chaos' set-up, being up against organized,systematic and well-funded programs just looking at our ASEAN neighbors will eventually catch up with us, I think!

I would love to be proven wrong, but if we don't watch out, there could be a rude wake-up call as early as the ASEAN Age Group which we are hosting at Subic this June. Just some bullet points I took note in various interfaces / talks with chess personalities, as well as my observations:

* Per talks with our own GM who has a teaching track record, tournaments are not enough. The foundation is the proper chess education and training.

* In the last ASEAN Primary School competition in Jakarta in Q4 of last year, Philippines got no medal, not even a bronze medal. You can get detailed feedback from the coaches/parents who attended there but the stories I heard when they got back is there are tough, well-trained kiddies champs from Indonesia,Malaysia and Vietnam.

* Vietnam chess authorities commented to our GM that 'your Wesley So is good, but in (about) 5 years' time, we will produce at least TEN Wesley So's' ?!

Note : the current sensation Le I heard was a Viet prodigy together with Nguyen who swept ALL the gold medals in the last SEA Games hosted by the Phils (in Tagaytay). So, is Le just the tip of the iceberg? Will the Viets unravel their 'secret weapons' in the June Subic event?

* Even Singapore, we comment they got many of our IM's as teachers but they don't have good players. But as experienced by our GM, they just focus for a few years like in upper grade school and lower high school (which is the age group brackets!), then drop it when about to get into College. Chess is just hobby for them.

* As Ed shared, a well respected chess columnist comments that today's college varsity players are 'much weaker' than the varsity players in their time (about 20 years ago). This was seconded by an NM who shared during their time there were a lot more interschool competitions aside from the NCAA & UAAP, like the Buklod Bayan etc...

Lately, pronouncements of the launching of private institutions such as the PACE and National Chess Academy (NCA)/Bato Balani will somehow remedy the stalled DepEd 'chess in curriculum' program, though this will be a drop in the bucket vs the needed nationwide scale of a true grassroots development program. My observation though is the NCA Students Age Group qualifiers will end by mid-May and that's just a few weeks from the ASEAN Subic play dates, so probably there will just be cramming for the preparations as usual. Just to note we will be up against continuously running (for years now) programs and the current ASEAN top bets have been training for years already and yes with ALL the goodies, like foreign coach,softwares, foreign exposure.

As I've said I would love to be proven wrong, but it is better to raise the alarm bells now and not be totally surprised. We will always pick ourselves up from the stumbles the Pinoy way, but if this helps bring about some system or organization, then the time taken to write this was well worth it !

Not caring

BY: BOBBY ANG

(As published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, 22 March 2010)

Having written about the historic 1973 Leningrad Interzonal last week, it brought back some memories of a column I have always been wanting to write but have not found the right opportunity to do so. This may be it.

Most of us have seen First Knight, right? A retelling of the love story of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere starring Sean Connery, Richard Gere and Julia Ormond -- it is a great movie. In the opening scene Richard Gere (Lancelot) was making some money by challenging bystanders in a town square to beat him in swords for a wager. After a particularly brilliant display his opponent asked him to give a few pointers on swordsmanship. Richard Gere obliged:

(1) First you have to study the moves of your opponent and anticipate what he will do before he does it;

(2) Second, there is a moment in any sword fight which will make the difference between winning and losing -- you have to learn to wait for it; and most important,

(3) You must not care if you live or die.

Equating this to chess, you have to prepare for your opponents, you have to learn to identify that crucial point in the game where you have to concentrate all your resources for it will determine whether you win or lose (Kasparov made a similar advice in one of his lectures), and you must not care whether you win or lose the game -- no short draws, keep going at your opponent until he (or you) errs.

Ignacio Dee, one of our best chess journalists around (I feel a particular sympathy for him, for he, like me, did not content himself with writing about chess -- he actually captained our national team in some international competitions) called me up one day to ask what I felt about Wesley So’s occasional short draws in competition. His opinion was that this tendency is holding Wesley back in his chess development. Now, of course, writing about playing to win is much much easier than actually playing chess over the board, but I was of a similar mind -- Wesley is too young to be agreeing to short draws. Leave the conserving of energy to people like Eugene Torre who cannot sustain their stamina over the entire course of a tournament -- when you are 16 years old, full of energy and in good physical shape you should go for the throat in every game.

The greatest exponent of this approach is, of course, Veselin Topalov. Long after his opponent’s mind had already mentally chalked up the half point and is signing off with thoughts of going to bed, Topalov is still cooking up some obscure tactics and traps to defeat him.

During his peak years one of the greatest practical players was Anatoly Karpov. Alexander Roshal, one of the most respected Soviet journalists (may his soul rest in peace) once wrote that in his opinion the greatest chessplayer in history is Garry Kasparov, but the greatest player (without the chess in front) is undoubtedly Karpov.

Why does he say that? Well, Karpov does everything in his power to beat you. Aside from his chess technique, which is one of the greatest ever, he resorts to "tricks." One example: he will deliberately leave himself with only a minute or so for his last few moves before the time control at the 40th move. Usually this would be in a complicated position, and during this long think he would analyze everything out. Just when his opponent thinks that Karpov is going to lose on time he would suddenly blitz out his moves with high speed. The opponent, flustered, would keep pace and before he knows it would blunder everything away.

Karpov would even refuse a draw offer in an inferior position. He is completely aware of all his weaknesses, of course, but when he does not see a way for the opponent to make progress Karpov would continue playing on the theory that, being the better player, the longer the game the more chances his opponent has of erring. And it often works.

Anatoly Karpov tied for first in the 1973 Leningrad Interzonal to qualify for the Candidates’ matches, which in turn led to his claiming the world crown in 1975 with Bobby Fischer defaulted. The following game against the Czech Jan Smejkal was a crucial victory over a top contender.

Smejkal, Jan (2570) -- Karpov, Anatoly (2645) [B49]
Leningrad Interzonal (16), 25.06.1973
REQUIRES JAVA

2010 Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association (WVRAA) Chess tournament

BY: WILSON OTERO

Final results of the 2010 Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association (WVRAA) Chess tournament held in Kalibo, Aklan last March 13-19, 2010. Here are the names of the players who will represent Western Visayas in the 2010 Palarong Pambansa in Tarlac this coming April.





RECOMMENDED CHESS PLAYERS AND COACHES FOR THE 2010 PALARONG PAMBANSA

ELEMENTARY LEVEL

BOYS

1. OTERO, Lanz Renuel H.
SPED-Sto. Domingo E/S-Iloilo City
2. BAYOT, John Kenneth D.
San Dionisio Central School-Iloilo

Alternate
SARABIA, John Francis I.
SPED Training Center- Cadiz City

Coach
BATAN, Giovanni B.
San Dionisio Central School-Iloilo

GIRLS

1. SINORO, Krizzle S.
Payao E/S-Iloilo
2. HERRERA, Kristel Shayne A.
SPED Training Center- Cadiz City

Alternate
MARTINEZ, Erl Ulette P.
Tay Tung High School-Bacolod/NOPSSCEA

Coach
PAGUNTALAN, Pressyl S.
SPED Training Center- Cadiz City

SECONDARY LEVEL

BOYS

1. CAJERAS, Jerich
West Negros University-Bacolod/NOPSSCEA
2. PIMENTEL, Joel Jr.
St. Benilde School-Bacolod/NOPSSCEA

Alternate
PORRAS, Fritz Bryan P.
Goog Shepherd's Fold Academy-Guimaras

Coach
ALBAO, Jose Dante T.
West Negros University-Bacolod/NOPSSCEA

GIRLS

1. BINAN, Angelyn
Sagay Natl. High School-Sagay City
2. GAITAN, Aicyleen D.
St. JosephSchool-Jihas de Jesusw-Guimaras

Alternate
ANORAN, Karen Joy E.
West Negros University-Bacolod/NOPSSCEA

Coach
CANEDA, Joann B.
Sagay Natl. High School-Sagay City

GM ANTONIO BANNERS PICHAY AND DAVIS CHESS CUP

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

TWELVE-TIME NATIONAL OPEN champion Grandmaster Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. heads the list of cast when the Pichay and Davis Cup chess festival gets underway on March 28 at the Blue Wave Mall along Macapagal Avenue near Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

“I hope to do well in this event,” said the Philippine Army mainstay Antonio, the 2009 Vietnam Asian Indoor Games blitz chess champion who scored a total 8.5 points in nine games.

The one-day tournament, organized and sponsored by Davis de Leon and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) chairman and president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., offers a total pot prize of P100,000 in the four categories event according to tournament director Alex Dinoy.

Joining Antonio in the all Master Invitational Group A division knockout system format are fellow grandmasters (GMs) Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Mark Paragua and Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, who is fresh from winning the 2010 PSC Expo Rapid chess championships.

The Group B will be an Open category, Group C will be an under-20 tournament while Group D will be for players 12 years old and below. Deadline for list up is on March 25.

No entry fee will be charged for Group A participants while fees for Groups B and C are pegged at P300 each and Group D P250. Please email Alex Dinoy at alexandinoy@yahoo.com for complete details.

Top NCR Stars Dominate 5th Dr. Jose Leviste ISCF, Laguna Kids Put Up Decent Fight

Grade School Champion Jerad Docena, 2nd placer Daryl Samantila and
3rd placer Kenneth Baltazar.

I didn't have the best angle and limited time to shoot the photo, the 2nd to 6th placers

all with 5 points - Daryl Samantila, Kenneth Baltazar,PaUlo Bersamina, Gio Mejia, Jett Marcos

A beaming Timothy So Kua, HS Champ, obviously getting his champ's purse as well. This kid has been topping HS/ Juniors tilts like the CUC at Megamall. Hope to see him in Shell Active and non-masters circuit and then maybe become an NM first, then who knows? Another Super GM SO Kua?

The Laguna 'delegation' with Michelle Yaon having a warm-up with Jasper Marce. Her doting Dad Rey is watching, as well as Ian Forcado and Christian Michael Navarro.

Opening cermonies showing the spacious venue and cordoned off area. It became steaming hot a bit in the afternoon due to El Nino

Heated 5th round action, Christian is in table 5 for his litmus test vs Baltazar. Also in photo are Carlo Caranyagan and Jesca Docena (right side) and with back turned is Daryl

Samantila in the foregound.

PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS BY: ANTHONY NAVARRO (Chess Windows Laguna Correspondent)

Earlier in the week, we were mindset to play in the Rellorcasa Calabarzon leg to be held in Laguna, but it got re-scheduled again for the 2nd time. Since school activities were winding down, it was opportune time to catch the kids’ interest in chess for the summer.

The chess adventure started early Saturday night when my kid Christian indicated his intent to play (he has been hesitant to play in ‘big name’ tournaments), and immediately texted Laguna chess mates if they wanted to ride along. And so it was part of the planning,to attend the Saturday anticipated Mass, and waking up earlier than usual on a Sunday morning, take breakfast in a fastfood and then fetched chess scholar Jasper Marce (Grade 4 Student) in nearby Malitlit, Sta Rosa and then the industrious father-and daughter tandem of Rey and Michelle Yaon of Calamba. We expected no traffic on a Sunday and make it to the 1030am registration cut-off.

Having reached the Katipunan area without a hitch, we then made our way through the sprawling Ateneo Campus and started to ask around on where is the Grade School Cafeteria, and probably made 3 stops until we finally nailed it. Going inside, it was a spacious venue and the playing area was ready and we saw the usually bevy and buzz of chess players with their doting parents or guardians. Then later scurrying to make the registration, we saw Ian Forcado (Grade 6 graduating valedictorian,Sta Rosa’s Board 1 for STCAA) and his mom Elena. So this made for a ‘fantastic four’ compact Laguna contingent for this event. Rey went around and saw familiar chess parents and coaches, including Tanauan contingent and Palaro qualifiers.

The opening remarks were made by Ateneo Coaches Idel Datu and Rudy Ibanez, while I took note of the inspirational speech of Vice-Headmaster Mr. Salvador who cited a book by Malcolm Gladwell on ‘outliers’, and citing the exceptional cases of the Beatles, Bill Gates and Tiger Woods. I learned of the ’10,000 hour’ rule which essentially means putting in a LOT of hard work or practice in any endeavour you want to excel in. This is roughly 4 hours per day for 10 years.

The field was very strong, the Grade School category was graced by kiddies chess luminaries like Paolo Bersamina, Jerad Docena, Gio Mejia, Daryl Samantila, Stephen Rome Pangilinan,Kenneth Baltazar and Carlo Caranyagan. Wow, that’s an ALL STAR cast! Gio,Kenneth and Carlo are going to play in the Tarlac Palaro in April. The High School field had So Kua (Adamson, CUC Winner) Vince Medina (Shell Active champ),Marc Nazario (Peniel College),Karen Enriquez and of course Palaro qualifier Michelle Yaon with the Tanauan contingent parading the Romero siblings and Michael Manansala.

This was a 6 round Swiss event and we started to see marquee match-ups starting in the 4th round. A 7th round would have been more decisive as well, as we saw in the Grade School category, the top 6 finishers all had 5/6 ! The gallant Laguna triumvirate of Jasper Marca (Sta Rosa STCAA Alternate), Ian Forcado (Sta Rosa STCAA Board 1) and Christian Michael Navarro (Caritas Board 1) more than held their own against unknown (meaning they don’t have much NCR exposure) players. Ian got matched up in the very first round vs Jerad Docena, Jasper was not aware of the mechanics of claiming a draw while low on time, and Christian almost upset NCR qualifier Baltazar. This inspite of having just few sessions recently with a master-coach and not yet using chess engines.

The High School category was also very tough as attested by tournaments circuit veteran Michelle as most if not all of her opponents were varsity players from NCAA/UAAP schools, and she had to scrape through many of her games either through endgame tactics or pressuring the opponent on time. Michelle was in the running up to the final round, but had a heartbreaker vs Manansala, her Intertown teammate.

THE TOP FINISHERS / AWARDEES

GRADE SCHOOL
Champion Jerad Docena 5 Pts 18.5 (M-Buch)
2nd Daryl Samantila 5 16.5
3rd Kenneth Baltazar 5 15.0
4th Paolo Bersamina 5 14.5
5th Giovanni Mejia 5 14.0
6th Jett Marcos 5 12.0
7th Virgenie Ruaya 4.5
8th Jasper Marce 4.5
9th Carlo Caranyagan 4.0
10th Stephen Pangilinan 4.0 TOP Grade 1
11th Haince De Leon 4.0
12th Nathan Gajo 4.0
13th Dennis Gutierrez Jr 4.0 TOP Grade 2
14th Ian JL Forcado 4.0
15th Andrew Sopungco 4.0 Grade 2
16th Christian Navarro 4.0
17th Miguel Guerrero 4.0
18th Irvin Embalsado 4.0

HIGH SCHOOL
Champion Timothy So Kua 5.5
2nd Marc Nazario 5.5
3rd Vince Angelo Medina 5.0
4th Ali Guya 5.0
5th Michael Manansala 4.5
6th Gil Ruaya 4.5
7th Jean Enriquez 4.0
8th Giovanni Romero 4.0
9th Steven Dacanay 4.0
10th Mark Lao 4.0
11th Felipe Magdalaga 4.0
12th John Mark Dimaliwat 4.0
13th Steaven Fulcher 4.0
14th Michelle Yaon 4.0
15th Brian Carlo Cruz 4.0

Battle of Grandmasters 2010 canceled?

NOTE: This news is not yet confirmed. But according to Chess Windows regular contributor Marlon Bernardino, the BOGM 2010 has been canceled for lack of venue.

Let's listen to Marlon:

"THE Battle of the Grandmasters which is supposed to be held today, Tuesday, March 23 at the City State Tower Hotel in Mabini, Ermita, Manila has been canceled.

“Battle of GMs still no available venue,” NCFP events manager/ executive director Wilfredo “Willie” Abalos told this writer yesterday.

“Chairman (Butch) Pichay postponed this event and wait for the announcement for the exact final date. Maybe in May after Asian Continental in Subic,” added Abalos.

Super Grandmaster Wesley Barbasa So is the reigning two-time Battle of the Grandmasters champion."

Important Announcement about 2010 Olympiad

Last month, the FIDE released an announcement about the 2010 Olympiad. Let me highlight some important notes from the said announcement:

"3. Deadline for registration for teams and Congress participants is May 20th. Registration should be made electronically only, according to the instructions which will be a part of the official invitation. "

"8. Final compositions of teams + captains should be sent, also electronically, no later than July 15th and in case not all names were given before May 20th should include all details for visas purposes according to the list which will be included into the official invitation.

Please note – These dates/deadlines were approved by FIDE Presidential Board, and should be, like all other deadlines, strictly respected."

Relatedly, I conducted a survey last year on what the readers of this blog deemed the best scheme in composing the Philippine Team for the 2010 Olympiad.

The question in the survey was: "What do you think is the best way to form the RP Team which will represent the Philippines to the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Russia?" A total of 108 readers participated in the poll. Here is the result:

And so the readers spoke their mind. Based on my poll, they wanted that the rating-based system be used in selecting the members of the Philippine Team.

Whether the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) listen to the pulse of the readers is an interesting decision to watch out for.

Inspire

One of the missions of this blog is to inspire and move people. If you're not moved by this one, you're not human.

Battle of Grandmasters review

Let's review the results of the Battle of Grandmasters 2009 and who's in and who's out for 2010:

Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - MEN

Rk. Name Pts.
1 GM SO Wesley 9
2 GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr 7
3 GM TORRE Eugenio 6.5
4 GM PARAGUA Mark 6
5 GM GOMEZ John Paul 6
6 GM LAYLO Darwin 5.5
7 IM BITOON Richard 5.5
8 IM SADORRA Julio Catalino 5.5
9 IM NOLTE Rolando 4.5
10 GM GONZALES Jayson 4
11 GM VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura 3.5
12 IM DABLEO Ronald 3

OUT of BOGM 2010: GM Bong Villamayor and IM Julio Catalino Sadorra
NEW in the list: FM Haridas Pascua and NM Alcon John Datu


Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - WOMEN
Rk. Name Pts.
1 WFM CUA Shercila 8.5
2 WIM MENDOZA Beverly 8
3 WFM CUA Sherily 7.5
4 WNM FRONDA Jan Jodilyn 7
5 WNM BERNALES Cristy Lamiel 7
6 WNM RIVERA Daisy 6
7 WNM CUIZON Loreshyl 5.5
8 WNM CUNANAN Kimberly 4.5
9 WFM PERENA Catherine 4
10 WNM JOSE Rulp Ylem 3.5
11 WNM DOCENA Jedara 2.5
12 YOUNG Rida 2

OUT of BOGM 2010: WFM Sherily Cua, Kimberly Cunanan and Rida Young
NEW in the list: WFM Cherry Ann Mejia, Rulp Ylem Jose, and Mikee Charlene Suede

Battle of Grandmasters photos

These photos were taken last year as part of the BOGM 2009. (Source: Phoenix Petroleum website.)

Battle of Grandmasters Round 1

Hold it. Round 1 of the Battle of Grandmasters 2010 is yet to happen on March 23. What I am showing you here is the Round 1 game played between GM Bong Villamayor and GM Wesley So in last year's edition of BOGM.

This Round 1 total demolition of Wesley over Villamayor at the start of the tournament last year set the tempo of what to expect from BOGM 2009. Remember, Wesley had virtually defended his title with two more rounds to go in that tournament.

Can we see another demolition from Wesley this year? Only if NM Ronald Llavanez is included in the cast of BOGM 2010, then he might say: "No way, I'll beat him again." Llavanez beat Wesley in All In Sports-Expo 2010 Open Rapid Chess Championship staged by the Philippine Sports Commission last month.

Villamayor vs So
Battle of Grandmasters 2009
REQUIRES JAVA

Life-changing draw

BY BOBBY ANG

(As published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, March 19, 2010)

Leningrad Interzonal Leningrad, USSR June 3-27, 1973
Final Standings

(Top 3 qualify for candidates)

1-2. GM Viktor Korchnoi URS 2635, GM Anatoly Karpov URS 2645, 13.5/17
3. GM Robert Byrne USA 2570, 12.5/17
4. GM Jan Smejkal CZE 2570, 11.0/17
5-6. GM Robert Huebner FRG 2600, GM Bent Larsen DEN 2620, 10.0/17
7. GM Gennadi Kuzmin URS 2565, 9.5/17
8-10. GM Mihail Tal URS 2655, GM Svetozar Gligoric YUG 2595, GM Mark Taimanov URS 2595, 8.5/17
11-12. GM Miguel Quinteros ARG 2480, GM Ivan Radulov BUL 2510, 7.5/17
13-14. GM Wolfgang Uhlmann GDR 2550, IM Eugenio Torre PHI 2430, 7.0/17
15. IM Josip Rukavina YUG 2460, 6.5/17
16. GM Vladimir Tukmakov URS 2560, 6.0/17
17. GM Guillermo Estevez CUB 2385, 4.5/17
18. GM Miguel Cuellar COL 2400, 1.5/17

Today let us stroll down memory lane and recall one of the great tournaments of 37 years ago (good grief -- was it that long ago!? I was a small kid then and played through every game of that tournament as they came in through the newspapers) -- the 1973 Leningrad Interzonal.

Eugene Torre had won the 1972 Asian Zonal (at that time China and Oceania, which now have their own mini-zones, were still part of it) and represented the region. He arrived in Leningrad with his long hair and with bell-bottoms and, although the crosstable above won’t show it, made a great impression.

First, he felled the main favorite of the tournament, former world champion Mihail Tal, in the second round.

Tal, Mihail (2655) – Torre, Eugenio (2430) [A39]
Leningrad Interzonal (2), 04.06.1973
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Did you know that from July 1972 to April 1973, just before the Interzonal, Tal played a record 86 consecutive games without a loss (47 wins and 39 draws)? This was his first loss and destroyed the tournament for him. One more thing, after Leningrad, between Oct. 23, 1973 and Oct. 16, 1974, he played 95 consecutive games without a loss (46 wins and 49 draws), shattering his previous record. These are the two longest unbeaten streaks in modern chess history.

But Eugene’s draw in round 4 against Bent Larsen was a life-changer. Bent Larsen is a mountain of a chessplayer. He was a candidate for the World Chess Championship on four occasions: 1965, 1968, 1971, and 1977. He won three Interzonal tournaments: Amsterdam 1964, Sousse 1967, and Biel 1976 (the only one ever to do so), and was also among the favorites to win in Leningrad.

There was this interview recently where Larsen was asked "When did you understand that you wouldn’t get the title?"

The answer was: "Frankly, I don’t remember the date. Anyway, I didn’t think about it when Fischer defeated me (in their 1971 Candidates’ Match in Denver -- the score was 0-6!). Maybe it happened in 1973, when I was taking part in an Interzonal tournament in Leningrad. I felt nervous before the tournament. The beginning of the competition turned out to be successful for me. However, then I lost my energy and the hunger for battle -- I wanted to fight, but I couldn’t."

It could be because of this game with Torre.

Larsen, Bent (2620) – Torre, Eugenio (2430) [A27]
Leningrad Interzonal (4), 1973
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Larsen is a great chess journalist -- his writings were deep in substance and his style was easy reading and humorous as well. A lot of great authors came after him like Nunn, Miles, Soltis, Watson, to name just a few, but Larsen was the first. Larsen was one of seven top Grandmasters who wrote that very excellent 1974 book How to Open a Chess Game. You’ve got a copy of that book, right? Who can forget this passage:

"Now comes a shocker! Look at a Sicilian: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6. Almost everybody plays 3.d4, but isn’t this a positional error? I am not joking. I like my center pawns, and I like a d-pawn better than a c-pawn! I know that sometimes White sacrifices a knight on d5 or 36 and smashes Black before he can castle, but in those games where this has been done, haven’t improvements always been found for Black afterward? Well then, isn’t 3.d4 something like a cheap trap? I know it can be combined with purely strategical ideas, but I find it easier to discuss strategy when I have an extra center pawn!"

Bent Larsen, a great player, thinker and journalist. I wish him a happy 75th birthday.

PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE AGAIN: Battle of Grandmasters 2010 Survey

(NOTE: I committed a grave error. My apology. I forgot to include the name of WFM Chardine Cheradee Camacho in the list of choices in the survey. I'm really sorry to those who have already cast their votes. The count is back to ZERO. For this reason, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE AGAIN TO BE COUNTED.)

At the sidebar of this page, I put a poll on who you think will snatch the title in this year's edition of the Battle of Grandmasters in the Women's Division. Why a survey on the Women's Division and not the Men's? Of course, you know the obvious answer.

Please join the survey, it's just a matter of click. Our Pinay chess heroines always deserve the limelight.

Battle of Grandmasters 2010

And so (according to reports), the Battle of Grandmasters (BOGM) 2010, which was previously scheduled to be held in Dapitan from March 15 to 22, will now be staged at the City State Tower Hotel in Ermita, Manila from March 23 to 30.

The good news is that Phoenix Petroleum, Inc. agreed to sponsor the event for the second straight year. A project of this kind is livelier and richer with the support of the private sector.

Let's hope that Phoenix Petroleum make the BOGM a yearly project. If Shell is into the country's grassroots chess for the youth, Phoenix can take care of the country's top professional chess players. Thinking that there are private sponsors supporting the top-level and grassroots chess in the country is something assuring. Who will take care then of the middle, meaning the non-master tournaments? Any private commercial firm interested? Oh yes, Magnolia is there, but its support is very much limited in Paranaque.

Here are the BOGM 2010 casts:

MEN

GM Wesley So (2665) Two-time and defending champion
GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (2572)
GM Darwin Laylo (2527)
GMs Eugene Torre (2506)
GM Mark Paragua (2497)
GM Jayson Gonzales (2441)
IMs Ronald Dableo (2464)
Richard Bitoon (2458)
Oliver Dimakiling (2441)
Rolando Nolte (2420)
FM Haridas Pascua (2358)
NM Alcon John Datu (2220)

WOMEN

WFM Shercila Cua (defending champion)
WIM Beverly Mendoza
WFM Chardine Cheradee Camacho
WFM Catherine Perena
WFM Cherry Ann Mejia
Daisy Rivera
Christy Lamiel Bernales
Jan Jodilyn Fronda
Jedara Docena
Rulp Ylem Jose
Mikee Charlene Suede
Loreshyl Cuizon

So what are at stake at the BOGM 2010, aside from the cash prizes? Let me note some:

GM WESLEY SO - His 2700-mark campaign is certainly on the menu. Any draw will drag his Elo rating down, a win does not promise much incremental gain, a loss would be fatal.

GM ANTONIO - Now with 2572 Elo rating, a good campaign could boost his 2600-mark quest.

GM TORRE - A bad campaign could pull him out of the 2500-mark which he has preserved for more than 20 or 30 years

GM PARAGUA - A chance to get back to the 2500-mark

IM RONALD DABLEO - A chance to win precious Elo points to finally earn his full GM title. He needs 36 Elo points more.

IMs BITOON, DIMAKILING, NOLTE - I don't know if BOGM is a norm-producing tournament. If so, at stake for them is a GM norm.

FM PASCUA and NM DATU - An IM Norm?

For the women, WIM norms?

Candidly, the Battle of Grandmasters is an arena to produce more of the country's titled players. Is it good for the progressive development of Philippine chess? What's your take?