April's last!

Hi there!

Oh no! I've opened my post with the usual hi there! greeting again. I told myself since this is April's last, I would try to veer away from the usual and prob'bly experiment on ways I have not tried before...

Like posting in Filipino?

Eh kung mag tagalog kaya ako hanggang wagas?

Or prob'bly post like an arrogant I-am-Me, nobody else is IMPORTANT?

And there goes another failed mission from the group who wanted to save Philippine Chess from mediocrity... and another one coming to save the scene...

Hay! Hay! Hay!

Why am I like this today? Feeling like I messed up with my sense of senselessness... Anyways here are some of the updates from The Weekender by Mr. Manny Benitez:

Season of fun for the youth starts Tuesday

CHESS is fun, and so is being young. Put them together and you’ll have an explosion of sheer merriment and joy for everyone.
Which is why starting on Tuesday, May 1, scores of youngsters escorted by their parents will be trooping to The Marketplace on General Kalentong Street in Mandaluyong for what can be the most important and joyful days for them during the summer holiday.

It is to be hoped that these boys and girls will be going there to have fun playing the royal game and not because they only wish to please their parents who may just be “dreaming dreams that they never dared to dream before,” to echo Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting poem.

The National Age-Group Championships for boys and girls will get under way on Tuesday, May 1, and end on Saturday, May 5.
The National Juniors (Under 20) also for both genders will begin on Sunday, May 6, and end on Thursday, May 10.

Hence it will be 10 days of fun and mental exercises for the youngsters who hope to be another Bobby Fischer or Judit Polgar.
Observers expressed the hope that there will be no hanky-panky among parents, some of whom want their children to win “by hook or by crook,” especially when big cash prizes are at stake.

Whether cash prizes are needed in such events remains to be seen. Most critics believe that the chance to represent the country is enough reward for the winners.
There have also been calls for the Age-Group contests to serve as qualifying tournaments for either the Asean or world youth competitions.
They also urged that only the winners can compete overseas so as to preserve the integrity of Philippine chess in the wake of cheating allegations.
They stressed the need for honesty on the part of the players, parents, arbiters, coaches and other tournament officials.

It was also observed that although age-group contests are now popular, many of the winners have performed poorly abroad because of lack of proper training.
Welcome the merry month of May! Remember, chess is fun, and so is growing up.

IM Gonzales grabs board one gold

By Oscar Gonzales

VETERAN GM-candidate Jayson Gonzales defeated seven board one players to romp off with the individual gold at the nine-round National Rapid Chess Tournament held last weekend at the Bulwagan ng Katipunan of Caloocan City Hall.

Gonzales, an international master who needs only one more norm to become a full-fledged grandmaster, scored 7.5 points from eight games in a near-sweep of the 26-team event won by JRR Foundation led by the country’s newest IM, Julio Catalino Sadorra.

Jayson’s lead was so big, he was declared board one champion before the ninth and final round

GM Joey Antonio took the silver and IM Sadorra the bronze.

GM Mark Paragua and 13-year-old IM Wesley So, among the other big guns on board one, failed to win a prize, although Paragua’s team finished second.
Paragua had four wins and four draws while IM So, the reigning national open champion, had four wins and two draws.

With Sadorra on top board, the JRR Foundation team fielded by Bro. Rolly Dizon of the De la Salle University System captured the first prize of P60,000 with a total 25 points, according to Philippine Chess, an Internet column of blogger Kiko Goodman.
Kiko said Sadorra had the support of Ted Ian Montoyo, Xavier Verdum and Verth Alora on boards two, three and four, respectively.
The cash prizes, trophies and medals were donated by Team Unity senatorial candidate and National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero Pichay and Caloocan Mayor Enrico Echeverri.

Gonzales, who had been inactive for four months, was an 11th-hour replacement of Fide Master Roderick Nava, who was indisposed last weekend.The veteran GM candidate said he accepted the challenge to prove he had not become rusty during his four-month layoff from active competition.

Jayson is the head coach of Far Eastern University’s chess team, last year’s UAAP champion.

Ironically, however, despite his winning the individual gold, FEU finished 10th among the 26 teams in the Caloocan Rapid..
Only IM Barlo Nadera held Gonzales to a draw in a Queen’s Pawn game as Gonzales toppled his top-board rivals one by one—NM Efren Bagamasbad in a Sicilian duel, IM Sadorra with the London System, IM Ronald Bancod in another Queen’s Pawn Opening-Torre Attack, IM Oliver Dimakiling in a Slav, GM Paragua with the Chigorin Defense, FM Julius de Ramos in an English game, and IM Richard Bitoon in another Sicilian duel, Taimanov Variation.

The other board winners were David Elora on board two, 8/9, Jojo Aquino on board three, 7.5/9, Mervin Lumidao on board four, 8/9, and Ernie Baltazar on board five, 4/6. Paragua’s team, Time Life A, finished in second place to Sadorra’s JRR, followed by IM Richard Bitoon’s Camanyugan Cagayan Norte in third, NM Ronald Llavanes’ Kawazaki Motors Corp fourth, NM Nelson Villanueva’s Fearless fifth, IM Dimakiling’s Young Veterans sixth, NM Rudy Ibañes’ Caloocan seventh, GM Rogelio Antonio’s Tagaytay eighth, NM Julius de Ramos’ Time Life B ninth, and IM Gonzales’ FEU 10th.

Gonzales’ winning the gold in Caloocan did not come as a surprise. It will be recalled that he defeated the young Chinese superstar, GM Wang Hao (2610), in blitz during the Dato Arthur Tan Open Malaysian Open in 2005, where he finished equal third in the rankings, just behind GMs Wang and Antonio, who took the first and second places.

The Filipino IM attained celebrity status when he won the 17th edition of the New York Masters, finishing ahead of five grandmasters.
Gonzales earned his first GM norm in the Calvia Open in 2004 but narrowly missed earning his second one later that year at the Calvia Olympiad, where he scored a high 8.5 points from 11 games. His second GM norm came when he snared the qualifying score in the second Datu Arthur Tan Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.

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Also included in TW is Chess Piece(CP) Column of The BANG, Mr. Bobby Ang, who generously shares 2 articles every issue. If you have noticed, I have not posted his columns here regularly for a particular reason, CP has an online version and I would rather direct my readers to that link and add traffic to it's site. At first I was doing this religiously but a chess blogger reminded me that this is one way of making enemies (or hurting a fellow blogger or writer) online. So, here is the link instead of Sir Bobby Ang's Chess Piece.

And before I forget, last saturday, Cubao Chess was featured in a prime-time national TV Program, XXX of ABS-CBN!!! The segment was called Cubao Chess Gang. Their modus operandi? C'mon, guess some more! Ouch!

That classic Mate in Two Chess Puzzle! A group of by-standers and on-lookers would encourage the poor victim. Only this time, they would target the victim's mobile phone and make it the "bet" of the game.

My wife and my 8 yr old Patricia were watching closely my reactions. I could only watch in dismay since it gives chess a bad publicity in the minds of the people. You know what? after the segment, Patricia asked me "What would you do Papa if you were the "kawawang lalaki"?

I was about to answer her when my wife blurted out "Papa will never go to such places just to play out his addiction!!!"

Whaaaat? hahahahahah! But honestly, my wife knows such modus and she asked me sometime ago (when it dawned on her that I'm sick of this thing called checkmate!!!) if I've ever been a victim. Her reply to my daughter was in a way my reply to her before, but of course without the addiction!

There were 6 members shown arrested and cases were filed. Robbery was one of them. Hay naku!

What else did I miss?

Ah yah! The National Age Group which runs from May 1 to 5. Tomorrow, we'll be hearing and seeing news about this event. There was a line from Mr. Benitez' article about the Age group which caught my interest. The one that says "Parents behavior during the tournament..."

I can relate to that! I've been a victim of this player's dad who happens to be a Lawyer (a frustrated chess player) he shouted at me in this Alabang Chess Club's Tournaments 3 years ago. He yelled and asked me if I was a parent and if not, I should leave the playing hall. The problem with that? I was not the only one there, in fact I was quietly watching the kids event (sorry but I am really intersted with the up and coming talents of our land) compared to the others who makes noises.

Anyways, that man was really something and he has made a name for himself in the chess community because in one of my chats with a fellow arbiter and friend, Daisy Reyes (of UE Chess Team), she told me that beware of that players father because he acts like your not suppose to breath air (to avoid making sound not noise) when his son is playing. Hay naku! You know who you are, teaching is more of modelling. You want your son to be like you? an _ _ _?

Oooppps! April's last!

Good luck to all the participants of NCFP National Age Group 2007.

See you there!