Pinoys in the Philippine Open '07

Hi there!

Philippine Open 2007, as what we've read from the papers (a day late) are well dominated by the Chinese visitors. As most observers in the NCFP Forum would say:

"Chinese GM's can beat us anytime of the day" - handlename: chesstrainer

And another one says

"...the Chinese players is way above the level of chess played here. Maybe once in a while, a win or two will appear but overall they are just too strong for Filipinos to handle. They are dominating the international tournament circuit nowadays...Hey guys those 2600+ SuperGM ratings are hard earned and it shows on the way they play and conduct themselves in tournament" - handlename: darkthought

But the observation which striked me most was darkthought's last post. He lamented on the performance of our young IM's hoping to get a GM norm. We have IM's Oliver Dimakiling (Champion in the recent Iligan Open) and Whiz Kid Wesley So. Scratched from the tournament were IM's Darwin Laylo and Ronald Dableo. They were not allowed to join or register although they presented a Temporary Restraining Order. These 4 young IM's hopefully, will get their GM titles in time. As for the Darwin and Ronald, they would have to wait for 6 months-1 year.

On the bright side, a Singapore-based Filipino FIDE Master will be getting his 1st GM norm (we have to confirm/clarify this) though.

Anyways, here's darkthought's post:

"BTW, GM norm quest of our International Masters is stalled anew, as IM Dimakiling nor Wesley So, even if they win their last round assignment can produce a GM performance. IM norms on the otherhand are within reach of NM Bagamasbad and Ernesto Fernandez. A draw would be enough for them to get the norm. FM Julio Catalino Sadorra is the last and only hope of the Philippines to get the elusive GM norm! A win against GM Zhang Zhong would be enough to get the GM norm! IM norm for this Singapore base woodpusher is already secured prior to round 9"

Aside from them, we saw our top 3 chessers, GM's Joey, Eugene and Mark trail closely behind by a point the tournament leaders (our Asian bros Chinese). It is a good sign for Mark to perform well again on this level. At the start of the tournament, I was hoping he would to take away all those doubts (there would always be) and try to establish his reign once again .

Here's something that escaped my head until now, where is our GM candidate Jayson Gonzales? IM John Paul Gomez? did they join this event?

For the other tournament dubbed as Philippine Challenge, The names Julius Sinangote and Branzuela Ali tops the chart.

As for the Tournament Evaluation (all events, seminars and lectures ought to be evaluated right? professionalism is guarded by a concrete and constant method of evaluation)

Media and Marketing aspect? NEEDS IMPROVEMENT! as a Special Needs teacher, we were trained to always look at the situation in a positive light. Instead of saying FAILED, use the term NEEDS IMPROVEMENT. This way, its a win situation where the failed student will focus on improving!

A lot of people are saying that this tournament is a great one. With the players and games played it should be. But we don't have any copy of the games. Tsk! Tsk!

We are still on the road to become a professional federation. But hopefully, we don't stop there, on the road. We should reach our destiny! That is to be a PROFESSIONAL FEDERATION FOR CHESS IN THE PHILIPPINES. Programs, directions, people handling it's ways.

Got a question here...

Do we have our own (truly our own) NCFP office? or we are borrowing a space from Congressman's Office?

Still a long way and we better be ready for the challenges that lay ahead in our quest for the first Filipino World Chess Champion.