We have The Weekender for today plus NM Marlon Bernardino's report on FEU's try at the World Inter Varsity Chess in Kuala Lumpur.
Let's get it on:
FEU WOODPUSHERS VYING WORLD INTER-VARSITY CHESS IN KL
BY: MARLON BERNARDINO
THE Far Eastern University chess team will represent the Philippines in the World Inter-Varsity Chess Team Championship on Dec. 4-12 at the University of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Tamaraws ruled this year's University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) chess team competitions with plenty to spare and capped their remarkable season with a dominating performance in the Unigames in Bacolod City.
FIDE Master Roderick Nava, a national team standout, will spearhead the campaign of the men's team.
The other members of the powerhouse squad are Christian Arroyo, Lyndon Sombilon, John Ranel Morazo, Luffe Magdalaga and James Bulicatin.
"We have a very good chance to win the title especially in the men's. All my players are board medalists in local inter-varsity competitions," said head coach and International Master Jayson Gonzales.
Gonzales, the country's top scorer in the 2004 Chess Olympiad, will be assisted by National Master Alex Milagrosa.
Ronna Reigner Senora will be the skipper of the women's team, which also includes Cherlyn Guiang, Lovelyn Medina, Jenny Rose Palomo and Nikki Jimenez.
All women players booked a top 10 finish in their respective brackets in age-group competition.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) headed by Butch Pichay is supporting the campaign of the Tamaraws.(MARLON BERNARDINO).
First, the UAAP next the World, hoepfully!
And on with Mr. Manny Benitez' TW:
The Chess Plaza Weekender
Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007
Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City
Vol. II No. 24
Veterans top CAAP rapid joust at QMC Plaza
EXPERIENCE prevailed over youth in the rapid tournament organized by the Chess Arbiters Association of the Philippines at the Quezon Memorial Circle Chess Plaza in Quezon City yesterday.
All three major prizewinners were veteran campaigners in a non-masters tournament that drew 73 players dominated by youngsters, mostly high school and college students.
After seven rounds, undefeated veteran Clemente Valledor (1932) captured the plum with 6.5 points from six wins and one draw.
His two runners-up, Ritchie Evangelista (1922) and unrated Danny Fadriquela, took the second and third prizes.
Alfredo V. Chay served as tournament director while Milo Samaniego acted as chief arbiter with the assistance of Gatz V. Luz, Joel Tatad and Ferdie Bonifacio.
The CAAP will hold its next tournament, a “three in one” event, on December 1-2 at the Ramon Magsaysay High School in Cubao, just across Edsa from the Nepa Q Mart.
Wesley set to seek GM title in Second GMA Cup Open
BACOOR wonder boy Wesley So will compete in the Second President Gloria Macapagal Cup Open, his mother has told The Weekender in an email.
As of yesterday, only two Filipinos—IM Richard Bitoon and Fide Master Oliver Barbosa—had signed up for the Open and eight others for the Challenge even as the number of foreign players rose to 28.
Those who have signed up for the Challenge division are Merben Roque, David Elorta, Rainer Labay, Ivan Gil Biag, Stewart Manaog, Ibaryu Andante, Ricson Yeo and Gerson Bitoon.
The official deadline for non-Filipinos to register for the GMA Cup Challenge and Open, which gets under way on Thursday, fell on October 31. Filipino players may sign up on the eve of the tournament.
Registration is free for the Open to grandmasters and players rated 2450 and above.
Those who sign up after the deadline will have to pay double, according to published regulations for the event.
Most of the participants from overseas are expected to fly in on Wednesday, November 21. Games begin on Thursday.
China, ranked No. 8 in the world, is sending the biggest delegation of players—13 in all, led by 24-year-old super GM Ni Hua, who ranks No. 5 in his country.
The Chinese players registered in two batches. With Ni were two other GMs, Li Chao (2548) and Li Shilong (2509), ranked No. 9 and No. 15, respectively.
Others in the first batch were WGMs Zhang Jilin, Wang Yu and Gu Xiaobing and WIMs Huang Qian and Kuang Yihui.
In the second batch were FM Wu Xibin, Zhou Weiqi, Yu Lie, Shen Siyun and Xu Tung.
Indonesia is sending six players, namely, IM Tirto, Taufik Halay, Nathaniel Ivan Situru, Surya Wahyudi, WIM Irine Khariama Sukandar and Farid Firman Syah.
Vietnam is sending only two players, GMs Dao Thien Hai and Nguyen Anh Dung, while Iraq is sending three, namely, IM Saad Abdulla Sarsam, FM Noah Ali Hussein and Dilshad Emadal-din Muhammad.
IM So, who turned 14 while playing in Yerevan, earned his first GM norm in Bad Weissee in German’s Bavaria last year and his second norm in the 2007 World Juniors. He is the youngest Filipino ever to earn an IM norm and to play in the World Olympiad—at the age of 12 in Turin last year.
Among those expected to join before the GMA Cup Open gets under way are GMs Joey Antonio, Eugene Torre and Mark Paragua.
The country’s newest grandmaster, Darwin Laylo, is flying to Khanty-Mansiysk in northern Russia where he will compete for the World Cup with 127 others led by world No. 2 Vassily Ivanchuk.
GM-elect Laylo—his new title, earned when he finished seventh in the Asian Individual Championship last September, has yet to be ratified by Fide—has been paired against French GM Etienne Bacrot Most of the foreign players competing in the 2nd GMA Cup Open are expected to stay on for the Prospero Pichay Jr, Cup..
Q.C. INTER-BARANGAY TEAM TILT
All roads will lead to Amoranto sports complex Dec. 14
FOUR weeks from now, all roads in Quezon City will lead to the Amoranto Sports Complex for the Inter-Barangay Team Chess Championship.
The holding of the event, the biggest in the city this year, has been assured with the handover of the sponsorship check by QC Ciouncilor and Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton to National Chess Federation of the Philippines executive diorector Samuel Estimo recently.
Estimo and Inton announced that the Inter-Barangay Team competition will be held from December 14 to 16. Inton wants all 144 QC barangays to take part in the championship, the biggest chess event in the city.
FM Molina, 7 rated RP players in UAE’s FCPL
FIDE MASTER Tony Molina and seven rated Filipino players—Danny Baltazar, Augusto Marcial, Antonio Marbella, Ernie Yap, Antonio Molina Jr., Abdulla Tato and 13-year-old Axel John Valerio are members of the Filipino Chess Players League in the United Arab Emirates, FCPL secretary general Emmanuel Marbella reports.
PHILIPPINE OLYMPIC FESTIVAL GRAND FINALS
Mariano, Alvarez shine in Open
VISAYAS representative NM Cesar Mariano of Iloilo City and Bicol player Ezralyn Alvarez of Naga City captured the gold in the Boys and Girls Open, respectively, in the Philippine Olympic Festival Grand Finals held from Monday to Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate.
The two champions led a field of 72 players who trooped to the RMSC’s badminton court from all over the country.
In the Girls’ Open, Kathryn Manaog of Laguna took the silver and Janilyn Buenaventura of Naga City the bronze, while in the Boys’ Open, Johnel Balquinos of Misamis Oriental took the silver and Ivan Gil Biag of Cavite the bronze.
Besides the Open tournament, competitions were also held for two age groups—under 20 and under 14—of both genders, made up of the six winners from each of the regions that held Olympic Festivals from March to October.
In the Under 20 Boys, Sheider Nebato of General Santos City took the gold, with the silver going to Allen Mirano of Iloilo Province and the bronze to Rommel Llavanes of Naga City.
In the Under 20 Girls, Andrea Ibañez of Muntinlupa City won the gold, Lovelyn Medina of Cavite the silver and Emerlinda San Andres of Naga City the bronze.
Nigel Valenzuela of Laguna romped off with the gold in the Under 14 Boys, Vince Angelo Medina of Cavite City with the silver and Lennon Hart Salgados, the 2007 Shell Kiddies champion, the bronze.
On the distaff side, Jan Jodilyn Fronda of Manila walked off with the gold in the Under 14 Girls, Cherry Ann Mejia of Taguig City with the silver and Marie Antoinette San Diego of Cavite with the bronze.
The Olympic festivities started last March in Vigan in the Northern and Central Luzon regions, Southern Luzon in Naga City, National Capital Region in RMSC, the Visayas in Iloilo City and Mindanao and Sulu area in Cagayan de Oro.
The nationwide Olympic Festival was held under the auspices of the National Olympic Committee led by chairman Jose Cojuangco Jr., a former congressman from Tarlac.
The Weekender thanks Ilann Perez and Patrick Lee of the NCFP secretariat for the news, as well as Iggy Dee for the tip-off.
Roxas City to host blitz knockout tournament in December
A BLITZ knockout tournament for players from Region 6, dubbed the Gov. Victor A. Tanco Chess Marathon Grand Prix will be held on December 8 at the Gaisanomarketplace on San Roque Extension, Roxas City, reader Kim Dumdum reports from Bacolod City.
A total of 64 players from all over the Western Visayas will start the one-day marathon, with the opening-round games to be played from 9:45 a,m. to 10:06 a.m. The second round will follow at 10 a.m. and end at 10:30 a.m.
In case of a tie from the Circle of 64, a sudden-death playoff will be held from 10:35 a,m. to 10:44 a.m.
The 32 winners in the first round will then battle it out from 1 a.m. to 1:20 a.m., and then from 11:25 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. In case of a tie, the playoff will be held from 11:50 a.m. to 1:59 a.m.
After an hour noon break for lunch, the Circle of 16, consisting of the qualifiers from the Circle of 32, will then play each other from 1:10 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and again ifrom 1:35 p.m. to 1:55 p.m., with the playoff to be held from 2:0p.m. to 2:09 p.m.
The quarter finals, known as the Circle of Eight beczuse it consists of the eight winners in the Circle of 16, will then be held from 2:25 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. and then from 2:50 p.m. to 3:10 p.m., with the tiebreaking playoff to b e held from 3:15 p.m. to 3:24 p.m.
The semifinal, called the Circle of Four, will follow a six-minute break. It will be held friom 3:40 to 4 p.m., and then 4:05 p.m. to 4:25 p.m., with the tiebreaker held from 4:30 p.m. to 4:39 p.m.
The knockout tournament will culminate in the Circle of Two, when the winning finalists will fight for the first prize. The loser will get the second prize.
Blitz is the speediest version of the game.
Interested parties may contact Eduard Basilonia at cell phone 0921-7748 or fax (036) 621-4905, or NM Francis Jocson, cell phone 0928-211-2515.
VIEWED FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.
Wesley ‘strongest 14-yr-old in world’
AN AMERICAN chess and music lover who works in the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, believes that Filipino wonder boy Wesley So is the strongest 14-year-old player in the world today.
In his latest survey of “Young Superstars,” Bill Harvey of Alexandra, Virginia, who works as a librarian, plays the trumpet as a hobby and writes about chess at www.wtharvey.com, has made this conclusion after compiling an impressive databank about Wesley.
I agree with him and will even dare go beyond that by saying that I believe Wesley has the makings of a world champion—but only if he builds the necessary foundation now for a lifetime career in chess and follows a strict regimen to achieve his goal under a competent manager/coach..
Here is what Harvey has compiled about Wesley in his latest posting:
“Wesley So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino chess International Master who was the youngest member of the national men’s team to the Chess Olympiad (2006 - Turin, Italy) at the age of 12. He also holds the record of being the youngest National Open Chess Champion, in the last December 2006 tournament as well as the youngest National Junior Open Chess Champion last May 2007. As of October 2007, his elo rating is 2531 making him ranked 3rd in the Philippines behind Joey Antonio and Eugenio Torre. With that rating, he is the strongest chess player in the world in his age group and younger. Wesley So won the World Under 16 Team Championship Board 1 gold medal with a score of 9.5 out of 10.
“So got his second Grandmaster norm in the 2007 World Junior Chess Championship in Armenia, just needing one more norm to be accorded the title of Grandmaster. He got his first GM norm in the Offene Internationale Bayerische Schaha Meisterschaft, Bad Wiessee, Germany.
Other achievements include:
2005 Jul 18-29 World Youth Chess Championship, Belfort, France. Equal first.
2006 Apr22-May02 8th Dubai Open Chess Championship, Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamadan Ak Maktoum Cup, Dubai, UAE where he earned his 1st IM norm.
2006 Jun 05-11 2nd San Marino Open Internationale de Scacchi, San Marino Republic Award: Best Under 16 player. He earned his 2nd IM norm.
2006 Aug 20-28 3rd IGB Dato Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship, Kuala Lumpur Award: Best Under 16 player. And earned his 3rd IM norm.
2006 Oct 08 Title awarded by FIDE: International Master.
2006 Oct 20-28 III Festival de Ajedrez Open Internacionale, Calvia Spain Award: Best Under-16, Blitz.
2006 Nov 17-23 1st President GMA Cup International Chess Tournament, Paranaque, Manila Award: Top Juniors, 3rd. Tied for 6th place.
2007 May 06-09 - National Juniors Open Chess Championship. Marketplace, Kalentong. Champion.
2007 Jun 18-20 - Shell Battle of Champions, 15th Anniversary. Megamall, Ortigas. Champion.”
Apparently, Bill Harvey was guided by the column of Bobby Ang in BusinessWorld on November 2, “Talent is not enough,” and carried by The Weekender on November 4.
Here is the list of the world’s strongest 14-year-olds with IM Wesley So at the top with his current Elo rating of 2530. It is based on the October 1, 2007 rating list issued by Fide:
1 IM Wesley So PHI 2531
2 GM Parimarjan Negi IND 2514
3 WG Hou Yifan CHN 2502
4 IM Yaroslav Zherebukh UKR 2450
5 SP Sethuraman IND 2427
6 IM Sanan Sjugirov RUS 2422
7 FM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan ARM 2389
8 FM Ilya Nyzhnyk UKR 2377
9 Nils Grandelius SWE 2377
10 FM Oliver Mihok HUN 2371
The Weekender agrees with the assessment of Harvey and Ang and has in fact faithfully reported his exploits over the past years.
It has even boldly predicted once that Wesley has the potential to become world champion, especially after his magnificent performance in the World Under-16 Olympiad in Singapore two months ago.
The way he solved the foregoing problems in actual play shows he has a clear vision of the board, clearer than players his age or even older possess.
However, there seems to be some misunderstanding about our candid reportage on the performance of IM So in the World Juniors in Yerevan as well as in the Asian Individual Championship in Mandaue City in Cebu.
To put it simply, his performance in both events was nothing less than disappointing. It was a big letdown for fans, considering what he actually has achieved in other international competitions like Bad Wiessee, Turin and Singapore.
No, nobody has forgotten that Wesley achieved his best record when he was only 12 and 13 years old. Over the past two or three months his performance for some reason has sharply fallen.
He has not yet gotten out of the doldrums, as clearly shown again in Macau.
Of course each player goes through the same rough ride in his or her career every now and then. Even the greatest masters had their off-season stretches. But his has been a long stretch
What most players and their parents forget is that when a player goes abroad representing his country, they are expected to do their best, not their worst, not just for the country’s sake but for their own sake and ratings as well.
Offhand, The Weekender believes that Wesley over-exposed himself to tough competitions. In less than half a year, he has taken part in six major tournaments—Shell’s Battle of the Champions, National Team Selection preliminaries, National Team Selection finals, World Youth Olympiad, Asian Individual Championship, World Juniors and then the Asian Indoor Games in Macau.
This is what happened to the current world champion, Vishy Anand, in the late ’80s, when he went through the same rough patch because of over-playing.
Perhaps Wesley should reread Botvinnik’s One Hundred Selected Games so he would learn how not to “lose the zest for the battle.”
My thanks to Mrs. So and Engr. Joselito Marcos for the article.
2ND MIKHAIL TAL IN MOSCOW
Kramnik takes solo leadership
FORMER world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia has taken the solo leadership in the ongoing Mikhail Tal Memorial Tournament, with Norwegian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen and two-time junior champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan breathing down his neck.
The tournament, held in memory of the greatest attacking player of the 20th century (1936-92), started on Friday last week and ends on Monday in Moscow (Tuesday in Manila). The games are played in the historic Central Chess Club, now named in honor of the longest-reigning Soviet world champion, the late Mikhail Botvinnik.
Latvian GM Tal reigned as world champion from 1960 when he beat Botvinnik in a world title match, until 1961, when Botvinnik regained the crown from him in a return match.
In the current Tal Memorial Tournament, Kramnik assumed the helm as early as the fifth round when he scored his second win, with White against Alexei Shirov, who now lives in his native Latvia but still plays under the Spanish flag.
Kramnik’s first win was in the third round—against Peter Leko, the early tournament leader who drew first blood by beating Shirov with White in the opener.
Also in the third round, Mamedyarov and Carlsen were to have joined Leko in the lead after whipping world No. 2 Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine and Russian superstar Dmitry Jakovenko, respectively—Mamedyarov with White and Carlsen with Black.
With his loss, Leko slid down the standings.
Ironically, however, there have been too many draws in a tournament held in honor of the ferocious master of the attack who seldom fought for a draw in his highly colorful career.
• P. Leko (2755) – A. Shirov (2739)
Rd. 1, Ruy Lopez, Archangelsk and Moller Defenses (C78)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 If 8.d4 Bb6 Rb8 8...Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 equalizes 9.d4 Bb6 10.Na3 0–0 10...b4 11.Nc4 bxc3 12.bxc3 Nxe4 was playable. 11.axb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Bg4 12...Nxe4? won't work: 13.Bd5 Nxc3 14.bxc3, and White takes a quantum leap 13.Bc2 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nh5 15.f4 Nxf4 16.Bxf4 exf4 17.Qg4 Qf6 18.b4 Ne7 19.Na3 Ng6 20.Nc4 Bxd4 21.cxd4 Qxd4 22.Na5 Qd2 23.Bb3 Ne5 24.Nc4 Nxg4 24...Qxf2+ 25.Rxf2 Nxg4 26.Rxf4 Rxb4 27.Rxg4 Rxb3 28.Ra7 gives White the edge 25.Nxd2! White surges on. Rxb4 26.Rfc1 Ne5 26...c5 27.Bd5 boosts White’s lead. 27.Rxc7 g5 28.Bd5 g4 29.Nc4 h5 29...Nxc4 will benefit White: 30.Bxc4 Kg7 31.h3 gxh3 32.Ra6! 30.Nxe5 dxe5 31.Re7!
The end: 31…Kg7 32.Rxe5! 1–0
• S. Mamedyarov (2752) – V. Ivanchuk (2787)
Rd. 3, Semi-Slav Defense (D43)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 5...dxc4 6.e3 should equalize 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 Nd7 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 g6 10.0–0 Bg7 11.Qc2 0–0 12.Bb3 Qe7 13.Ne4 e5 Equalizing 14.Nc3 a5 15.a3 Kh7 16.Rfe1 b6 16...f5 17.e4 keeps the balance 17.Rad1 Bb7 18.d5 Rac8 19.d6 A passed pawn must be pushed Qe8 20.h4 f5 21.e4 f4 22.Na4 Bf6 23.g3 Bd8 23...fxg3 24.fxg3 Ba6 25.Re3! favors White 24.Kg2 Rf6 Fritz suggests 24...fxg3, e.g., 25.fxg3 Ba6, with equal chances 25.g4 Ba6 26.g5 Rf8 27.gxh6 Kxh6 28.Rg1 c5 29.Bd5! A classical outpost for the bishop b5 30.Nc3 b4 31.Ne2 Nb6 32.Kh2 Rh8 33.Bf7 Qxf7 34.Nxe5 Qe8 35.Nxg6 Nd7?? A mistake. Better was 35...Rg8 36.Nexf4 Qf7 36.Nexf4 Ne5 37.d7!
Decisive,with a double attack on g6.
37...Nxd7 38.e5! Qxe5 If 38…Nxe5 39. Nxe5 Qxe5?? 40 Qxg6#! 39.Nxe5 It’s all over: 39…Nxe5 40.Rd6+! Bf6 41.Rxf6+ Ng6 42.Qxg6#! 1–0
Reports from Moscow indicated that it was 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen, the youngest in the 10-player field, who caught the attention of Russian fans because of his ability to escape with draws in several tough scrapes.
After five rounds, the Norwegian wonder boy stayed half a point behind solo leader Kramnik, who had 3.5 from two wins and three draws.
Carlsen tied with Mamedyarov for second to third with 3.0 each, from one win and four draws each.
• D. Jakovenko (2710) – M. Carlsen (2714)
Rd. 3, Nimzo-Indian Defense (E20)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 0–0 7.Bg2 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Qb3 Qa5 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.0–0 Bxc3 13.bxc3 13.Bxc3 would have allowed Black to restore the balance: 13…Nxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxc3 15.bxc3 Ba6 Ba6 14.Rfd1 Qc5 14...Rab8 15.c4 Qc5 16.Qa4 Qxc4 17.Qa3 would lead to equality 15.e4 Bc4 16.Qa4 Nb6 17.Qb4 Qh5 18.Bf4 18.Be3 Be2 19.Rd2 Rfb8 would benefit Black. c5 19.Qb2 Rad8 20.Re1 Rd7 21.h3 h6 22.a4 Ba6 23.Qa2 Rfd8 24.a5 Nc4 25.Bf1 Fritz says 25.e5!? be considered e5 26.g4 Qg6 27.Bxc4 exf4 28.Bd5 f3 29.c4 h5 30.Kh2 Qf6 31.Rg1 31.Qa3 could help Black, e.g., 31…hxg4 32.Rg1 Qd4 33.Rxg4 Bxc4 hxg4 31...Qf4+ would benefit White, says Fritz: 32.Kh1 Bxc4 33.Qxc4 Rxd5 34.Qc3 Qxe4 35.gxh5 32.Rab1 32.Rad1 was stronger: 32…Rb8 33.Qa4! Bxc4 Black is way ahead 33.Qxc4 Qf4+ 34.Rg3 Rxd5!
Eliminating a guard.
35.Qxd5? Rxd5 36.exd5 c4 37.Rd1 37.Rb2 doesn't change anything: 7...Qd4 38.Rc2 Qd1, with Black way ahead c3 38.d6 c2 39.Rd3 Qc4 40.Re3 Qc6 Fritz cites a mating line: 40...Qf1 41.Re8+ Kh7 42.Re2 c1=Q 43.Re1 Qxf2+ 44.Kh1 Qfxe1+ 45.Rg1 Qxg1#! 41.Rd3 Qc5! Clinching the point: 42.Re3 c1=Q! 0–1
Kamnik joined Carlsen and Mamedyarov at the helm in the third round after beating Leko, then surpassed them in the fifth after defeating Shirov to score 3.5 from two wins and three draws.
• V. Kramnik (2785) – P. Leko (2755)
Rd. 3, Open Catalan (E05)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Ra7 11.Rc1 Be4 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.e3 Qa8 14.Qd1 b4 15.Qf1 Bd5 16.Be1 Rc8 17.Nbd2 Na5 18.Ne5 c5 19.dxc5 Bxc5 20.Nd3 Bf8 21.Bxd5 Nxd5 22.e4 Nb6 23.Rxc8 Qxc8 24.Nf3 Qb7 25.Nxb4 25.Bxb4 Bxb4 26.Nxb4 Qxe4 leads to equality Qxe4 26.Qd3 Qxd3 27.Nxd3 Nac4 28.b3 Nd6 29.Rc1 Nd5 30.Rc6 Nf5 31.Ba5 Ra8 32.Nfe5 Nfe7 33.Rd6 Nf6 34.b4 Ned5 35.Rc6 Be7 36.a4 g6 36...Ne4 37.b5 axb5 38.axb5 Rxa5 39.Rc8+ Bf8 40.Nd7 37.Nc4 Kf8 38.Nc5 Bxc5 39.bxc5 39.Rxc5 would favor Black, e.g., 39…Ne4 40.Rc6 Nec3 Ke8 40.f3 Ng8 If 40...Nd7 41.f4! 41.Nb6! White now has the edge Nge7 42.Rd6 Rb8 43.Nxd5 Nxd5 44.Rxa6 Rc8 45.Bb6 Nb4 46.Ra7 Nc6 47.Rb7 Ra8 48.Rc7 Nd4 49.a5 Nxf3+ 50.Kf2 50.Kg2 was more precise Nxh2 51.c6 Ng4+ 52.Kf3 Nf6 53.Rb7 Nd5 54.Ke4 Fritz suggests 54.Bc5!, e.g., 54…f5 55.Rxh7 Rxa5 56.Bd6, and White has a distinct advantage Nb4 55.c7 Rc8 56.Kd4 Kd7 56...Nc6+ would boost White’s lead: 57.Kc5 Kd7 58.a6! 57.Kc5 Nc6 58.a6 h5 59.a7 f5 60.a8=Q!
Black may resign now.
60...Rxa8 61.c8=Q+! Kxc8 62.Kxc6! The clincher: 62…Ra1 63.Rc7+ Kb8 64.Rg7 Rc1+ 65.Bc5 Rxc5+ 66.Kxc5, etc. 1–0
• V. Kramnik (2785) – A. Shirov (2739)
Rd. 5, Closed Catalan (E06)
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.Qc2 dxc4 7.Qxc4 a6 8.Bf4 Bd6 9.0–0 b5 10.Qc2 Bb7 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nb3 Be4 13.Qd2 Qe7 14.Rfc1 Rfc8 15.Bxd6 cxd6 16.Qa5 Rcb8 17.Nbd2 Bd5 18.Rc2 Qd8 19.Qxd8+ Rxd8 20.Rac1 Nb6 20...Bxa2 21.b3 Bxb3 22.Nxb3 would give White tremendous advantage 21.Ne1 Rac8 22.Nd3 Rxc2 22...Bxa2? won't work, e.g., 23.b3 a5 24.Rxa2 Rxc1+ 25.Nxc1, and White surges on 23.Rxc2 Rc8 23...Bxa2? leads to nothing, says Fritz: 24.b3 Bxb3 25.Nxb3! 24.Rxc8+ Nxc8 25.Nb4 Bxg2 26.Kxg2 a5 27.Nc6 a4 28.e4 Ne8 28...Kf8 29.f3 would have restored the balance 29.Kf3 Kf8 30.Ke3 Nc7 31.Kd3 Ke8 32.Kc3 Na6 33.Nb4 Nc7 34.Nf1 Kd7 35.Ne3 Ne7 36.g4 g5 37.Nd3 f6 38.f4 gxf4 38...f5 would also lead to equality, says Fritz: 39.exf5 Ncd5+ 40.Nxd5 Nxd5+ 41.Kd2 gxf4 42.Ke2 exf5 43.gxf5 39.Nxf4 e5 40.dxe5 fxe5 Equalizing again 41.Nfd5 Ncxd5+ 42.exd5 Kc7 43.g5 Kb6 44.b4 axb3 45.axb3 Regaining the lead Ka5 45...Ng6 46.Ng4 Kc5 47.Nf6 b4+ 48.Kd3 Nf4+ 49.Ke4 also gives White the edge 46.h4 Ng6 47.h5 Nf4 48.g6! Decisive. White is now ahead. hxg6 49.h6 g5 50.h7 Ng6 51.Kd3! The persuader: 51…Kb4 52.Ke4 Kxb3 53.Kf5! 1–0
‘CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS’
Topalov captures crown
BULGARIAN superstar Veselin Topalov kicked off his comeback for the world crown with an impressive victory in the “Chess Champions League” earlier this week in the Spanish city of Vitoria Gastiez, The Week in Chess Internet magazine reports.
The former world champion outplayed Hungarian wonder woman Judit Polgar with Black in the 10th and final round in a highly dynamic Sicilian Najdorf duel that saw him take the lead early on.
Topalov (Elo 2769) garnered 7.0 points from five wins, one loss and four draws for a phenomenal performance Elo rating of 2837.
In their final game, Polgar sacked a pawn early on for greater mobility of her pieces, but Topalov with dynamic play soon gained great positional advantage to be able to keep his pawn edge intact.
When she toppled her king in surrender on the 35th turn, she was still a pawn down and her bishop, which was bearing down on Black’s K-side on the long diagonal, appeared paralyzed.
Polgar had beaten the former world champion the first time they met in the fourth round.
Each combatant had played 10 games in the nine-round tournament, with each round seeing three games.
Polgar was in the running for first prize when she played her final game against Topalov. Her loss sent her down to fourth place.
Early leader Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine, also a former world champion who had been leading almost all the way until Topalov unseated him in the ninth, took the second prize. He finished with 5.5, 1.5 points behind the Bulgarian champion.
Ponomariov (2705), who became the youngest world champion at 18 in early 2002, had three wins, two losses and five draws for a performance rating of 2732.
Romanian superstar Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu, who was the last-minute substitute for ailing ex-world champion Alexander Khalifman of Russia, took the third slot. Khalifman took ill as he was about to fly to Spain and had to undergo surgery, according to Chessbase News.
Nisipeanu (2668) and Polgar (2708) had the same score of 5.0 but the Romanian won on tiebreak. He had one win, one loss and eight draws for a performance rating of 2708 while Polgar (2708) had three wins, three losses and four draws for a performance rating of (2700).
Behind Polgar were two other former world champions—Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan and the famous Anatoly Karpov of Russia, who ended up in the basement.
Kasimdzhanov (2690) had 4.5 points from two wins, three losses and five draws for a performance rating of 2668, while the winless Karpov (2670) had 3.0 points from six draws and four losses for a 2559 performance rating.
Topalov, who lost his crown to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in their world title reunification match in September last year, is scheduled to play against the winner of the World Cup next year. The winner will face the winner of the match between Viswanathan Anand of India, the current champion, versus Kramnik.
The annual World Cup is part of the world championship cycle under the auspices of the World Chess Federation, better known as Fide, the acronym of its original French name.
The “Chess Champions League—Playing for a Better World” is part of a fund-raising campaign to help people in the poorest region of the Congo in Africa.
Topalov was the top favorite at the start, with Polgar, as the second seed and Ponomariov as the third seed.
Topalov and Ponomariov started strong by beating their first-round adversaries, Polgar and Karpov, respectively. Both had the disadvantageous black pieces in carving out their wins.
Black’s knights starred in the exciting duel between Polgar and Ponomariov, while Topalov’s win over Karpov was clinically neat but dull.
• Ju Polgar (2708) – R. Ponomariov (2705)
Rd. 1, Ruy Lopez, Archangelisk and Moller Defenses (C78)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 8...Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.g4 should equalize 9.d4 Bb6 10.Be3 0–0 10...Nxe4? fails because of 11.Bd5 Nxd4 12.cxd4, and White surges on 11.Nbd2 Bg4 11...b4 12.Qc2, also restores the balance 12.Qc2 Re8 13.axb5 axb5 14.Rfe1 Bh5 15.dxe5 dxe5 16.h3 Bxe3 17.Rxe3 Ra8 18.Rd1 Qb8 19.Bd5 Qb6 20.b4 Rad8 21.Ba2 Na7 22.Nf1 Rxd1 23.Qxd1 Bg6 24.Ng3 Nc8 25.Nf5 If 25.Nh4 Nd6, with equal chances Bxf5³ 26.exf5 e4 27.Nd4 Nd6 28.g4 28.Rg3 c5 29.bxc5 Qxc5 boosts White’s lead c5 29.bxc5 Qxc5 30.Nb3 If 30.Bb3 h6 Qe5 31.Qd4 Fritz suggests 31.Nd4!? Nd5 31...h5 was best 32.Qxe5 Rxe5 33.Nd4 hxg4 34.hxg4 Nxg4, with Black way ahead 32.Re2 32.Rg3 e3 33.Qxe5 Rxe5 34.fxe3 Ne4 also favors Black Nxc3 33.Rc2 e3 33...b4 34.Qxe5 Rxe5 35.Nd4 gives Black overwhelming advantage 34.Qxe5 Rxe5 35.fxe3 If 35.Kf1 b4, and Black is ahead Rxe3 36.Nc5 Kf8 37.Kg2 Ke7 38.Bb3 h5 39.gxh5 39.Rd2 will also benefit Black Nxf5 40.Rd2 Nd6 41.Rd3 Rxd3 42.Nxd3 Nf5 43.Nb4 43.Kf2 Kf6 favors Black Nd4 44.Nd5+ 44.Ba2 leads also to a Black surge, 44…Nxa2 45.Nxa2 Kd6! Nxd5 45.Bxd5 b4!
The persuader: 46.Be4 b3! 0–1
Topalov followed up his win over Karpov with another win, this time over Kasimdzhanov in the second round, while Ponomariov was held to a draw by Nisipeanu.
• V. Topalov (2769) – R. Kasimdzhanov (2690)
Rd. 2, Queen’s Indian Defense (E15)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Ne5 Ne4 10.0–0 Nxc3 11.Nxc3 0–0 12.Rc1 Bb4 13.e3 Qe7 14.Re1 f6 15.Nd3 Ba3 16.Rc2 dxc4 17.bxc4 Bxc4 18.Nb1 Bb5 19.Nxa3 Qxa3 20.Nf4 Re8 21.Qh5 Nd7 22.Bxc6 Bxc6 23.Rxc6 Qxa2 24.Rc7 Re7 25.Rec1 e5 26.Qf3 Rd8 27.Nd5 27.Qd5+ Qxd5 28.Nxd5 favors White Rf7 Equalizing 28.Nc3 Qb3 29.Rb1 Instead of 29.Rxa7 exd4 30.Ra8 Rxa8 31.Qxa8+ Rf8 32.Qd5+ Qxd5 33.Nxd5 d3! Qe6 30.d5 Not 30.Rxa7 exd4 31.Ra8 Rxa8 32.Qxa8+ Rf8! Qe8 31.Rxa7 f5 32.Kg2 Ra8 33.Rc7 Nc5 33...e4! 34.Qf4 Rf6 equalizes 34.d6 Don't underestimate that pawn, Fritz warns e4 35.Qd1 Nd3 35...Nd7 36.Nd5 Rd8 37.Ra1 gives White the edge 36.Qb3 Rd8?? Better but not enough to alter the course of the game was 36...g6, e.g., 37.Qd5 Rb8 38.Rxb6 Rxb6 39.d7! 37.Ra1 37.Re7 was best to clinch the point:37...Qf8 38.Ra1!, and wins Kf8 38.Rxf7+ 38.Nd5 Nc5 39.Qxb6 boosts White’s lead Qxf7 39.Qxb6 Rc8 39...Qf6 40.Ra6 Rd7 also helps White 40.Ne2 Qh5?? Hastening his own demise: 40...Re8 was better but it favors White 41.Nd4 Nxf2 42.d7!
Black resigns to avoid mate: 42.d7 Rb8 43.Qxb8+ Ke7 44.d8Q+ Kf7 45.Ra7+ Kg6 46.Qbd6#! 1–0
But in the third, Ponomariov quickly caught up with the Bulgarian by downing the 56-year-old Karpov, who became the whipping boy of his younger rivals. Karpov had battled Polgar to a draw.
Meanwhile, Topalov had his first draw in the third round, this time with the Romanian, Nisipeanu.
The fourth proved to be Topalov’s undoing as he succumbed to the tactical prowess of Polgar.
• V. Topalov (2769) – Ju Polgar (2708)
Rd. 4, Petroff Defense (C42)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.Nc3 Bf5 9.Re1Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 0–0 12.Rb1 Rb8 13.c4 Bf6 If 13...Re8 14.Bd2 14.c3 dxc4 15.Qxc4 Qd7 16.Bf4 Rbd8 17.h3 Better than 17.Rxb7 Na5 18.Qb5 Nxb7 19.Qxb7 Qa4! b6 18.Re4 Na5 Fritz suggests 18...Ne7! 19.Qxc7 White is now ahead Qd5 20.Rbe1 Nc4 21.Qxa7?? Letting the wind out of his own sails Best was 21.Ne5 Bxe5 22.dxe5, and White has the edge Ra8 22.Qc7 Bd8 23.Re5 Bxc7 24.Rxd5 Bxf4 25.Re2 Ra3 26.Rc2 Rfa8 27.Kf1 Kf8 Not 27...Rxa2?? because of 28.Rxa2 Rc8 29.Rd7!, and White surges on 28.Ke2 Rxa2 29.Rxa2 Rxa2+ 30.Kd3 Nd2 31.Ne5 Bxe5 32.Rxe5 Nb3 33.c4 Na5 33...Nc1+ 34.Ke4 Re2+ 35.Kd5 Rxf2 was playable 34.c5 Nc6! The clincher: 35.Rh5 bxc5 36.Rxc5 Ne7! 0–1
It’s amazing how Judit Polgar could win most of her games with Black. In fact , before toppling Topalov with Black from his No. 1 perch in the fourth round, she had also defeated with the same color another ex-world champion, Kasimdzhanov, in the third.
• R. Kasimdzhanov (2690) – Ju. Polgar (2708)
Rd. 3, Closed Ruy Lopez (C92)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a4 Na5 13.Bc2 b4 14.Bd3 d5 15.exd5 15.dxe5 is weaker, says Frit: 15…dxe4 16.exf6 Qxd3!; 15.Nxe5 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Rxe4 Bxe4 18.Bxe4 Rxe5 19.Bxa8 bxc3 20.bxc3 c6! exd4 Not 15...Nxd5 16.Rxe5 Rxe5 17.Nxe5, and White has the edge 16.c4 Better than is 16.Nxd4 Qxd5 17.Bf1 Rxe1 18.Qxe1 Re8 c6 17.dxc6 Rxe1+ 18.Qxe1 Bxc6 19.Qd1 g6 20.Ne5 Bb7 21.Ndf3 Nd7 22.Bg5 Qc7 23.Nxd7 Qxd7 24.Ne5 Qd6 25.Ng4 Bg7 26.Nh6+ Kf8 27.Bd2 Re8 28.Rc1 Qc5 29.Qg4 Nc6 30.Qf4 Ne5 31.Be4? 31.Bf1 was the rescuing move g5!
32.Qf5 Not 32.Qxg5 because of 32...Bxe4 Bxe4 33.Qxe4 Bxh6 34.h4 If 34.Qxh7 Bg7! Ng6 35.Qb7 35.Qd5 loses to 35…Qxd5 36.cxd5 Re2 37.Bxb4+ Ke8 38.hxg5 Rxb2! a5 36.Qb5 Re5! If 37.g3 f6! 0–1
Judit, however, appears to find it difficult to fight younger players, and lost twice to Ponomariov who, at 24, is seven years younger than she.
In the seventh round, she beat the 56-year-old Karpov also with Black.
• A. Karpov (2670) – Ju. Polgar (2708)
Rd. 7, Queen’s Indian Defense (E17)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 0–0 7.Qc2 Nc6 8.e4 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.e5 Ne4 11.0–0 Nb4 12.Qb1 c5 13.Be3 Qd7 14.Rd1 Rad8 14...c4 would have equalized 15.dxc5± Nxc5 16.a3 Nba6 17.b4 17.Ng5 Bxg5 18.Bxg5 d4 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.Bxd8 gives White the edge Ne6 18.Ra2 Nac7 19.Rad2 Rfe8 20.Qb3 Qc8 21.Nd4 Bf8 22.f4 g6 22...Nxd4 23.Bxd4 Be7 24.Be3 favors White 23.h4 23.Qa4 Nxd4 24.Rxd4 was also playable Ng7 24.Bf2 Qa8 25.Ndb5 Nxb5 26.Nxb5 Ne6 27.Bxd5 Rxd5 28.Rxd5 Bxd5 29.Qxd5 Qb8 30.Qe4 Qc8 31.Rd3 31.Nxa7 was stronger: 31…Qa6 32.Nc6! Qc2 32.Re3 Qc1+ 33.Kg2 Rd8 34.Nxa7 White is now way ahead Rd2 35.Nb5 Qb2 36.Qf3 Qc2 37.Rc3 Qa2 38.Kf1 Qb1+ 39.Be1 Nc5 40.Qe3 Rh2 41.Rc1?? A blunder. Best was 41.Kg1!,. Qb2! 42.Bf2 Ne4!!
Lovely, a sacrifice to clinch the point.
43.Kg1 Of course not 43.Qxe4 because of 43...Qxf2#! Nxf2! 0–1
After this win, Polgar closed in on the lead and could have topped the tournament had she won her last game against the Bulgarian. Although she had White, this was not to be. She lost and wound up in fourth place.
• Ju Polgar (2708) – V. Topalov (2769)
Rd. 10, Sicilian Najdorf (B90)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 Missing the equalizing 8...d5, e.g., 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 9.Be2 Nbd7 10.0–0 Rc8 11.Qd2 Be7 12.a4 Nb6 13.a5 Nc4 14.Bxc4 Rxc4 15.Qd3 Qc8 16.Na4 Rxc2 Black has equalized 17.Nb6 Qc7 18.Rfc1 Rxc1+ 19.Rxc1 Qb8 20.f4 0–0 Also playable was 20...Bd8 21.fxe5 dxe5 22.Nc5 Bxb6 23.axb6, with equal chances 21.f5 Bd7 22.Bg5 Bc6 23.Qe2 Qd8 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.Rd1 Bg5 26.Nc5 Bf4 27.Nd3 Qg5 28.Nxf4 Qxf4 29.Re1 g6 30.Qd3 gxf5 31.Qxd6 fxe4 Not 31...Bxe4 32.Nd7 Rc8 33.Nf6+ Kh8 34.Nxh5! 32.Nc4 Re8 33.Ne3 Qg5 34.Qc5 Fritz suggests 34.b4! f5 35.Nc4 e3!
The winning stroke.
36.Nxe3 f4 37.Qc4+ Kg7 38.h4 Qg6 39.Nd5 Qe6 40.Nb6 Qg4 41.Nd5 Qxh4 42.Re2 Qg4 43.Rd2 Qe6 44.Qc5 Qd7 45.Rd3 Qf7 46.Qd6 Qg6 47.Qc7+ Kh6 48.Nxf4 exf4 49.Qxf4+ Kh7 50.Rg3 Rf8 51.Qe5 Rf5 52.Qc7+ Qf7 53.Qd6 Rd5 54.Qb8 Rxa5 55.Qd8 Rd5 56.Qh4 Rf5 57.Kh2 Qf6 58.Qc4 Rg5! 0–1
SWEET REVENGE IN TRANSATLANTIC DUEL OF WITS
Texas varsity beats Belgrade U
IN A transatlantic duel of wits between the strongest varsity teams in the Americas and Europe, Texas University at Dallas triumphed over University of Belgrade last weekend, 11-5, from eight wins, two losses and six draws for TUD.
It was sweet revenge for the Texans, who lost by a narrow margin last year to the Serbs, 8.5-7.5, in the First Transatlantic Cup.
The TUD and UB varsity teams are the strongest on either side of the Atlantic.
Costa Rican GM Alejandro Ramirez, 19-year-old TUD student who gained fame four years ago when he became the youngest GM in the Americas at 15, led the victorious American team.
He is majoring in quantum physics in Texas University at Dallas and is said to be keen also on languages and literature.
In the 2002 Olympiad, Ramirez battled Russian superstar Alexander Morozevich to a draw and is currently rated at 2507.
The Internet Chess Club provided the conduit for the varsity Dallas-Belgrade varsity match, complete with giant video screens for spectators on either side of the Atlantic.
On the American side, the match captured the usual university campus atmosphere, with an all-girls cheering squad performing onstage to inspire the TUD players. In fact, the TUD campus report said the presence of the cheer leaders was a major factor for the Texans’ victory.
Texas University at Dallas has hired former women’s world champion Susan Polgar, who resides in New York, as its head coach.
TUD is reputed to be the strongest team not only in the United States but also in the two Americas, while the Belgrade varsity team is said to be the strongest in all of Europe.
Belgrade is the capital of Serbia. It used to be the capital of the old Yugoslavia, which before its breakup in a genocidal civil war of the early 1990s, was known as the country with the highest number of grandmasters per capita in the world.
Ramirez is said to have become interested in chess after watching the movie, Searching for Bobby Fischer.
He enrolled in Texas University at Dallas four years ago to become a physicist but has vowed to make chess his career.
Here is how he outplayed his GM rival from Belgrade in the Second Transatlantic Cup.
• Alejandro Ramirez – Veljko Jeremic
2nd Transatlantic Cup, Dallas 2007
Nimzo-Indian, Rubinstein and Huebner variations (E41)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.0–0 e5 9.Nd2 0–0 10.Re1 If 10.d5 Ne7 Qe7 10...Re8 11.Rb1 would have equalized 11.d5 Nd8 12.e4 Ne8 13.Nf1 g6 13...f5 14.exf5 Bxf5 15.Bxf5 Rxf5 16.Ng3 favors White 14.Rb1± Ng7 15.Rb2 f6 16.Ng3 Nf7 17.f3 f5 Black is trying to unravel the pawn chain, Fritz explains 18.f4 Qf6 18...exf4 19.exf5 Qh4 20.fxg6 fxg3 21.hxg3 Qxg3 22.Re3 should restore the balance 19.Rf2 Best was 19.exf5 gxf5 20.Qc2! exf4 20.Bxf4 g5 21.Bxd6 Fritz suggests 21.e5! as possibly be a viable alternative: 21...dxe5 22.Be3, and the position is well balanced Qxd6! Better than 21...Nxd6 22.e5 Qh6 23.exd6, which gives White the edge 22.exf5 Ne8 22...Qh6 must definitely be considered, says Fritz: 23.f6 Ne8 23.Ne4! Restoring the equilibrium Qc7 23...Qb6 24.f6 g4 25.Bb1 boosts White’s lead 24.f6 24.Qh5 was more precise, e.g., 24…Ne5 25.Qxg5+ Kh8 26.Bb1 Ne5?? Missing 24...g4!, with equal chances 25.Nxg5 Nxf6 Not 25...Bg4 26.f7+!, and White surges ahead 26.d6!
Decisive, threatening a deadly discovered attack with a check if the queen takes the pawn, and at the same time zooming in on h7.
26...Qg7 27.Rxe5 h6 27...Bg4 won’t do because of 28.Qe1 h6 29.Nh7 Nxh7 30.Re7! 28.Nh7! Black resigns in the face of certain defeat: 28…Bg4 29.Qe1 Nxh7 30.Re7! 1–0
PINOY GEMS WITH A HISTORY
Laylo’s moment of truth nears
ON Saturday next week, November 24, the Philippines’ newest grandmaster, Darwin Laylo, 27, will face French GM Etienne Bacrot, 24, to compete for the right to go to the next round of the World Cup in the Russian city of Khanty-Mansysk.
It will be the first time for a Filipino player to take part in the World Cup, and in winter at that in freezing Siberia!
Laylo, of suburban Marikina, will be going there not only properly attired in clothes warm enough to withstand the Siberian cold but, as he is wont to do when entering a tournament, also armed with that fighting spirit and gutsy style of play he is noted for in his tropical homeland.
That self-same fighting spirit and indomitable will to win should carry the day for Darwin, one of the most spirited players we know on the board.
Darwin will be facing one of the world’s strongest and most famous prodigies, who became the world’s youngest GM in 1997 at the age of 14 years and two months. Five-time French champion Etienne Bacrot was once ranked No. 5 in the world at 2718 but is currently No. 23 at 2695.
One known fact about Bacrot that should benefit Laylo is that the Frenchman is now no longer as focused on chess as he was before. Lately, the Frenchman has been lured to the poker tables of the world’s glittering casinos where he earns more money than what he can earn as a topnotch GM.
In other words, the Bacrot of today is a far cry from the Bacrot of 10 years ago.
GM-elect Laylo, currently rated 2509, is No. 5 in the Philippines. His performance in the Asian Individual Championship in Cebu, where he earned his third and final GM norm and qualified for a slot in the World Cup, the only Filipino to do so, guarantees, however, that he will put up a good and gallant fight.
Some of his finest games in major global events like the Olympiad show that fighting spirit and gutsy style of play should carry him up to greater heights.
D Laylo (2406) - D. Mieles Palau (2476)
Rd. 6, 37th Chess Olympiad, Turin 2006
Colle System (D04)
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.Be2 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.dxc5 Qa5+ 7.Nbd2 Qxc5 8.c4 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nbd7 10.b4 Qc7 10...Qd6 11.Bb2 should equalize 11.Bb2 The best e6 12.Rc1 Bxf3 Equalizing 13.gxf3 More accurate than 13.Qxf3 Bxb4 14.Qe2 Qd6! Bxb4 14.Bxe6 Qd6 Not 14...fxe6 because of 15.Rxc7 15.Bxd7+! Kxd7 16.Rc4 Qxd2+ 17.Qxd2+ Bxd2+ 18.Kxd2 Now neither side can do castling. Rac8 If 18...Ke6 19.Rc5 19.Rb4 b6 20.Rg1 Rhg8 21.Rf4 Ke6 22.Rg5 h6 23.Re5+ Kd6 24.Ref5 Rgd8 25.Ke1 Rc2 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Rxf6+ Kc5 28.a3 Instead of 28.Rxh6 Rdd2 29.Rh5+ Kd6 30.Rd4+ Rxd4 31.exd4 Rxa2, when Black equalizes Ra2 29.R6f5+ Kc6 If 29...Rd5 30.a4! 30.Rc4+ Kb7 31.Rxf7+! White has gained tremendous advantage Ka6 32.Kf1 32.Ra4+ was playable: 32…Kb5 33.Raxa7 Ra1+ 34.Ke2 Ra2+ 35.Kf1 Ra1+ 36.Kg2 Rg8+ 37.Rg7 Rxa3 38.Rxg8 and White is way ahead h5 If 32...Rxa3 33.Rg4! 33.f4 33.Ra4+! was best: 33…Kb5 34.Raxa7 Ra1+ 35.Kg2 Rg8+ 36.Rg7 Rxa3 37.Raf7 Rxg7+ 38.Rxg7 Rdd2 34.Kg2 Rxf2+ 35.Kg3 Rfe2? 35...Rg2+ should have been tried. 36.Rc3! Re1 37.Rh7 Kb5 38.Rxh5+ 38.Rxa7 seems even better, Fritz notes.Ka4 39.Rd5 Rg1+ 40.Kh4 Rg7 41.Rg5 Rh7+ 42.Rh5 Rf7 43.f5 b5 44.e4 Re2 45.Rg5 a5 46.Rgg3? Missing the decisive 46.Rg4+! Re7?? But Black fails to find the best continuation: 46...b4 47.Rc4 Kb5! 47.Rce3!
White’s pawn superiority prevails, and Black resigns. 1-0
• H. Taufik (2264) – D. Laylo (2328)
Rd. 8, 36th Olympiad, Calvia 2004
Slav Defense (D15)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 a6 5.c5 Nbd7 6.Bf4 Nh5 7.Bd2 Qc7 8.e3 g6 9.Na4 Bg7 10.Bc3 0–0 11.Bd3 Rb8 12.Qc2 Nhf6 13.0–0 e5 14.dxe5 Ng4 15.h3 Ngxe5 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Bd4 Re8 18.Nc3 Bxh3 19.gxh3? Fritz suggests 19.Bxe5, e.g., 19...Rxe5 20.gxh3 Rg5+ 21.Kh1, with equality Nf3+! Black seizes the initiative with a check 20.Kg2 Nh4+ 21.Kh1 Bxd4 22.exd4? Nf3 23.Kg2 Qh2+ 24.Kxf3 Qxh3+ 25.Kf4 Re6 26.Bf5 Rf6 27.f3 27.Rad1 offered the last chance for counterplay, Fritz notes Re8!
The persuader, sealing off the enemy king’s escape route, and White resigns. 0–1
GAMES OF GIFTED KIDS
America’s ‘Ray of Hope’
RAY “FLORIDA HURRICANE” ROBSON may only be 13 years old, but he has crammed into his young life honors that most players have never won.
Born on October 25, 1994, Ray started winning honors at the age of nine in early 2004 when he defeated his first National Master-opponent.
Since then, according to Wikipedia, he has won seven national scholastic titles, finished among the top 10 in the annual World Youth (Age Group) Championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and tied for first place in the 2005 and 2006 Pan American Championships.
Moreover, he finished among the top 10 in the 2005 and 2006 World Open held yearly in Philadelphia. His excellent performance there enabled him to enter the US Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma this year, making him, at the age of 12, the youngest player ever in the premier US national event.
This year his most outstanding performance yet has been to capture the Sixth North American Fide Invitational Tournament held in Chicago, as reported in last Sunday’s Weekender..
Despite being the youngest and lowest rated in the 10-player field, Ray went through the nine-round event undefeated to finish with a convincing 7/9 score, a full point ahead of the top favorite, Italian-American IM David Vigorito, whom he outwitted when they met.
Chicago-based Filipino IM Angelo Young was one of Ray’s victims there. IM Young had to forfeit his game after the alarm system in his cell phone sounded off while he was playing Robson.
Ray’s potential rival when he reaches adulthood is Fabiano Caruana, the Italian-American prodigy , who at 15 is the youngest GM in both the United States and Italy, his ancestral homeland.
By a strange coincidence, both were born in Florida and are homegrown American players. But while Fabiano Caruana has chosen to live in Italy, Ray prefers to live in America.
Chances are that 10 years from now, they will be the main rivals for the US or even world crown. In recognition of their rare gifts, their games are already, even now, found in anthologies.
• R. Robson (2135) – M. Ginsburg (2378)
34th World Open, Philadelphia 2006
Sicilian Kan (B42)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0–0 Qc7 7.Qe2 d6 8.c4 Nbd7 9.Nc3 Ne5 10.f4 Qc5 11.Be3 Neg4 12.Nxe6!
A cheap shot, maybe, but not when it’s a 12-year-old doing it.
12…Qh5 13.Nc7+ Kd8 14.h3 Kxc7 Black is behind in development, says Fritz. 15.Nd5+ 15.hxg4 Nxg4 16.Nd5+ Kb8 17.g3! should give White the edge Nxd5 Equalizing 16.cxd5 Nf6 17.Qc2+ Kd8 18.Bb6+ Ke8 19.Rae1 Nd7 20.e5 dxe5 21.Bc7?? Giving Black counterplay Best was 21.Qa4! Bd6 22.fxe5, and White is winning f6 21...Bc5+ was the saving resource, e.g., 22.Kh2 Be7, equalizing 22.d6 g5? Weak. 22...Be7 was better but it also gives White tremendous advantage 23.fxe5 Bh6 24.exf6+ Kf8 25.Bd8 Black resigns. After 25…Ne5 26.Rxe5!, and wins. Fritz cites this mating line: 25.Bb8 Ne5 26.Qxc8+ Qe8 27.d7 Kf7 28.dxe8Q+ Rxe8 29.Bc4+ Re6 30.Qxe6+ Kg6 31.Qe8+ Nf7 32.Qxf7#! 1–0
• C. Airapetian (2180) – R. Robson (2293)
Rd. 4, US Ch., Stillwater 2007
Sicilian Rossolimo (B52)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 9.0–0 0–0 10.f3 Rc8 11.b3 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Of course not 13.cxd5 because of 13...Rxc3! e6 14.Bh6 exd5 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.cxd5 Qxd5 17.Ne2 Qe5 18.f4 Qe3+ 19.Kh1 Nc6 20.Rf3 Qe7 21.f5 Rd8 22.Qc2 Kg8 23.f6 23.fxg6 hxg6 24.Raf1 Rd6 leads to equality Qb4 24.Rc3 Rd6 25.Rf1 Rad8 26.Qc1 Rd2 27.Rc4 Qd6 28.Nc3 Qd3 29.Re1 Qc2 Not 29...h6 30.Rce4! 30.Ne4 Qxc1 31.Rcxc1 Rxa2 32.Nd6 h5 Not 32...Rxd6 because of 33.Re8#! 33.Nxb7 Rb8 34.Nc5 Nd4 35.Red1 Rb4 36.h3 Kh7 37.Rc3 37.Rc4! was best, e.g., 37…Rxc4 38.bxc4, equalizing g5 38.Rcd3 If 38.Rc4 Rxc4 39.bxc4 Ne2! Nf5 39.Rf1 Kg6 40.Rdf3 Nh4 41.Rg3 Nf5 If 41...Rb5 42.Ne6 42.Rc3 42.Rgf3 Nd4 43.Re3! was playable h4! 42...Kxf6 43.Nd3 Rd4 44.g4 hxg4 45.hxg4 Rxg4 46.Rc6+ Kg7 47.Rxf5 would have restored the balance 43.Nd3?? 43.Kh2 was better Ng3+!
44.Kg1 Re4 45.Nc1 Rd2 46.Rxg3 46.Rc7 offered White’s last hope for counterplay hxg3 47.b4 Rxb4 48.Re1 Rb1 49.Kf1 Rf2+ 50.Kg1 Rc2 51.Nd3 Rxe1+ 52.Nxe1 Rc1 53.Kf1 a5 54.Ke2 Rxe1+! The clincher: 55.Kxe1 a4! 0–1
MY FAVORITES
Najdorf, mid-game master…
MIGUEL NAJDORF, the strongest grandmaster in Argentina for many years, is one all-time great whose greatest strength lay in his mastery of middle-game tactics.
Born in Poland to Jewish parents on April 15, 1910 and baptized as Mierczyslaw Najdorf, he rose rapidly in Polish chess and represented his homeland at the biennial Olympiad three times in the 1930s. He was in Argentina playing at the Olympiad when World War II broke out.
Aware of the anti-Semitic purges by Nazi Germany under Hitler, Najdorf decided to remain in Argentina where five years later he became an Argentine citizen, and also changed his first name to Miguel, the Spanish equivalent of the English Michael or Russian/Slavic Mikhail.
• M. Najdorf – M. Botvinnik
Groningen 1946
Classical Nimzo-Indian (E35)
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 c5 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Nd2 Bd7 9...Nbd7 10.Qd3 should equalize 10.Nb3 Qa4 11.Qb2 Na6 12.e3 Fritz suggests 12.Nxc5, e.g., 12...Nxc5 13.dxc5! c4 13.Nd2 0–0 14.Be2 White is behind in development, notes Fritz Not 14.Qxb7?? because of 14...Rfb8 15.Qxa8 Rxa8 b5 15.Bd1 Qa5 16.Bc2 Rfe8 17.0–0 Rab8 18.Nf3 Qc7 19.Ne5 Be6 20.f3 Nc5 21.Bd2 Na4 22.Qc1 Rb6 22...Nc5 23.Be1 Rbc8 24.Qb1 should restore equality 23.Qe1 Nd7 24.Qh4 Nf8 25.e4 f6 26.Ng4 Ng6 27.Qh5 Qf7 If 27...Bf7 28.e5 28.Rae1 Rbb8 29.Ne3 Ne7 30.Qh4 f5 30...h6 31.Qg3 gives White the edge 31.g4 f4? 31...Ng6 was the correct reply: 32.Qh5 f4 33.Nxd5 Bxd5 34.Qxd5 Qxd5 35.exd5 Nb6, and White’s lead is reduced 32.exd5! With this move, Black surges ahead Ng6? 32...fxe3 33.Qxh7+ Kf8 34.dxe6 Qxe6 35.Rxe3 Qg8 boosts Black’s lead 33.dxe6 Rxe6 Not the greedy 33...Nxh4?? because of 34.exf7+ Kxf7 35.Nxc4 bxc4 36.Rxe8 Rxe8 37.Bxa4!, and White soars 34.Bxg6 hxg6 34...Rxg6 won’t work: 35.Ng2 Rf6 36.Re5! 35.Ng2 Rbe8 If 35...Rf6 36.Re5! 36.Rxe6 Rxe6 37.Nxf4 Rf6 37...Qe7 changes nothing, e.g., 38.Qxe7 Rxe7 39.Nxg6! 38.Qg5 Missing his best shot, 38.Nh3!: 38...g5 39.Nxg5! Nxc3 39.Bxc3 39.Re1 seems even better, says Fritz: 39...Rxf4 40.Bxf4Rxf4 40.Kg2!
Black resigns. 1–0
• Bent Larsen – M. Najdorf
18th Olympiad, Lugano 1968
Bird’s Opening (A03)
1.b3 c5 2.Bb2 e6 3.f4 d5 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Be7 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.a4 0–0 8.0–0 Nc6 9.Qe2 a6 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.Ne5 Rc8 12.a5 Nd7 13.Nxc6 Rxc6 14.d3 c4 15.bxc4 dxc4 16.d4 Nf6 17.c3 b5 18.axb6 Qxb6 19.Ba3 19.e4 gives Black a chance to equalize: 19…Nxe4 20.Qxe4 Qxb2 21.Qxc6 Qxa1 Bxa3 20.Rxa3 Nd5 21.Re1 Qb7 22.Qc2 Rb6 23.Nd2 Rb2 24.Qc1 Rb8 25.Ra5 Of course not 25.Nxc4?? because of 25...Rxg2+! 26.Kf1 Rxh2! f5 26.h3 Not 26.Nxc4, either, because of 26…Rb3 27.Qa1 Rxc3 28.Rxd5 Rxc4, with equal chances h6 26...g5 boosts White’s lead: 27.fxg5 f4 28.Rxd5 exd5 29.exf4! 27.Kh1 Restoring equality Nf6 28.Re5! Also interesting is 28.Kh2!?, with equality Ra2 The best 29.Rg1 Qf7 30.e4 Fritz suggests 30.Nxc4!? as worth considering, e.g., 30...Ne4 31.Rxe4 fxe4 32.Qd1! Rbb2! Black surges on 31.Nxc4 Rc2 32.Qe3? Wrong. Correct was 32.Qe1 Qh5 33.Qg3 Nxe4 34.Rxe4 fxe4 35.Nd6, although Black would still be way ahead Nxe4 33.d5 Better than 33.Rc5 exd5 33...Qg6 makes it even easier for Black, says Fritz: 34.Qf3 Rf2 35.Rxe4 Rxf3! 34.Nb6 34.Rxe4 won’t improve anything Rxc3 34...Qg6 keeps an even firmer grip: 35.Re8+ Kh7 36.Qf3! 35.Qd4 35.Rxe4 offered the last chance: 35...Rxe3 36.Rxe3! Qh5 36.Qxd5+ Kh7 37.Qxa2 Rxh3+!
Decisive.
38.gxh3 Qxh3+ 39.Qh2 Nf2#! 0–1
Actually, he was a player underrated even by chess historians simply because he did not win the world crown nor was he ever regarded as a serious contender.
Even his world record of playing 45 games in a simultaneous blindfold exhibition in 1947, in which he won 39, lost two and drew four, is not mentioned in such authoritative books as the Oxford Companion in Chess or in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on the World Wide Web.
Harry Golombek’s Encyclopedia of Chess just glosses over it in one sentence.
The Oxford Companion, however, grudgingly states that Najdorf should have taken the place of Reuben Fine when the American decided not to compete in the 1948 World Championship, which was eventually won by Soviet icon Mikhail Botvinnik, whom Najdorf defeated the first time they met in 1946.
All this—the failure of chess critics to fully appreciate Najdorf’s contributions to the game—stems from circumstances surrounding his life and career. Simply put, his timing off the board was off.
CHESS MAGIC
…and immortal wizard
IT’S simply amazing how the late Polish-born Argentine Jew Miguel Najdorf wove fascinating magic into his combinations on the board.
He was only 19 years old in his native land when he produced what to many collectors believe to be the most sparkling gem of the 20th century, a win with Black against a certain Glucksberg—by the sound of his name most likely a Polish Jew like Najdorf—in Warsaw 1929.
Here is Najdorf’s finest magical gem, what his fans call the “Polish Immortal”:
• Glucksberg – M. Najdorf
Warsaw 1935
Dutch Defense (A85)
21.Kxg4 Safest but still losing, according to Fritz, was 21.Ke3 Bxd1 22.Rxd1 Qxg3+ 23.Kd2 Nxf4 24.Bxh7+ Kh8 25.N1f3 Qg2+ 26.Kc3 Ne2+ 27.Kc2 Nd4+ 28.Kb1 Nxf3 29.Nxf3 Kxh7 30.Ng5+ Kg6 31.a4, prolonging White’s own agony Ne5+! 22.fxe5 h5#! Whew! 0–1
Most of Najdorf’s brilliancies occurred in his youth, as in the following game that took place a year before his immortal game.
His incredible wizardry was particularly manifested in his magical use of the knight, as in the following game that he carved in the Olympiad against the English champion.
• C.H. Alexander – M. Najdorf
Rd. 9, Sixth Olympiad, Warsaw 1935
Sicilian, Maroczy Bind (B38)
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bg7 7.Be2 0–0 8.0–0 Nc6 9.Be3 Bd7 10.h3 Rc8 11.Rc1 a6 12.Qd2 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Bc6 14.Qe3 e5 15.Bb6 Qe7 16.Rfd1 Fritz suggests 16.b4!? Nd7 Equalizing 17.Ba5 If 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 Rc6!? Qh4 18.Qg3 If 18.Ra1 Bh6 19.Qd3 Nc5 20.Qxd6 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Qxe4!? Qxg3!
An early queen swap to double White’s pawns and allow his own pieces greater leeway.
19.fxg3 Bh6 20.Rb1 Be3+ 21.Kh1 Bd4 22.g4 If 22.Bf3 Nc5 23.Rbc1 f5 24.exf5 gxf5! Bxc3 23.Bxc3 Nc5 24.Bf3 Bxe4 25.Rbc1 Rfd8 26.Rd2 Bxf3 27.gxf3 Kf8 28.Rcd1 Ke7 29.Bb4 Rc6 30.b3 Rd7 31.h4 Ne6 31...b5!? should be tried, says Fritz 32.Rd5! Nf4 32...f6 may be better: 33.g5 Nf4 34.gxf6+ Kxf6 35.Rxd6+ Rdxd6 36.Bxd6 b5! 33.R5d2?? Missing his best shot,33.Rxe5+!, e.g., 33...Kd8 34.Ra5! Ke6! 34.Kh2 d5 35.cxd5+ Rxd5 36.Kg3 f5 37.Ba3 b5 38.Kf2 h6 38...fxg4 39.fxg4 Rc3 40.Rxd5 Nxd5! Gives Black tremendous advantage 39.Bb2 Rcc5 40.Rxd5 Nxd5 41.Rd2 b4 42.Ke2 h5 43.gxh5 gxh5 44.Kf2 Nf4! The persuader, and Black resigns: 45.a3 a5! 0–1
Here is another magical gem that he won against a virtual unknown in his native Poland.
• M. Najdorf – Pilz
Warsaw 1934
Classical Nimzo-Indian (E38)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 Bxc5 6.Nf3 d5 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.e3 0–0 9.Bxc4 Nbd7 10.0–0 h6 11.Bh4 Qa5 12.a3 Be7 13.b4 Qb6 14.Rfd1 a5 15.Rab1 Stronger was 15.Na4 Qa7, and White would have the edge. axb4 16.axb4 Kh8 Not 16...Bxb4? because of 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Qb3, and White surges ahead 17.Nb5 Nb8 18.Bg3 Na6 19.Bd6 Ng8? If 19...Nd5 20.Bxe7 Nxe7, and White has the edge. 20.Ne5! Dominating the center g6 If 20...Rb8 21.Qe4! 21.Bxe7 21.Nxg6+! keeps an even firmer grip, says Fritz: 21...fxg6 22.Qxg6 Bxd6 23.Rxd6 Nxe7 22.Rd6 Nc6 23.Nxg6+!
Destroying the pawn shield.
23...fxg6 23...Kg7 won’t stop the invasion: 24.Nxf8 Kxf8 25.Qh7!, and wins. 24.Qxg6 Naxb4 24...Qd8 offered the last chance for counterplay: 25.Rxd8 Rxd8, and White stays way ahead. 25.Qxh6+ Kg8 26.Rxe6! Bxe6 27.Bxe6+! Rf7 28.Qg6+ Missing the mating line 28.Nd6 Qc7 29.Nxf7 Qxf7 30.Qg6+ Kh8 31.Bxf7 Ne5 32.Qh6#! Kh8 29.Bxf7, and Black resigns in the face of overwhelming odds, e.g., .29…Ne7 30.Qxb6! 1–0
BOBBY ANG’S BUSINESSWORLD COLUMN, CHESS PIECE (1)
UAAP Wars
1 Far Eastern University. 35.5/48
Bd01 NM Roderick Nava 9.5/12
Bd02 Christian Arroyo 4.0/8
Bd03 Lyndon Sombilon 6.5/8
Bd04 John Ranel Morazo 4.5/8
Bd05 Luffe Magdalaga 5.5/6
James Bulicatin 5.5/6
2 De la Salle University, 29.0/48
Bd01 IM John Paul Gomez 10.0/12
Bd02 Paolo Lorenzo Bautista 4.0/10
Bd03 Emmanuel Emperado 9.0/12
Bd04 Revin Briam Vasallo 2.5/8
Bd05 Virgilio Legisma 3.5/6
Franz Jerome Chua
3 University of the East. 27.5/48
Bd01 Eugene Pimental 4.5/11
Bd02 Nelson Mariano III 9.5/12
Bd03 Jayson Visca 5.0/10
Bd04 Aaron Krishna Rivas 5.5/10
Bd05 Amram Ezra Rivas 3.0/5
4 University of the Philippines. 27.0/48
Bd01 Andrew dela Rosa 0.0/2
Bd02 Leo Daylo Jr 5.5/12
Bd03 Emmanuel Rey Mariano 8.5/12
Bd04 Pedro Bernard Templo 9.5/12
Bd05 John Finly Dacanay 5.5/10
5 University of Santo Tomas. 22.0/48
Bd01 Dan Mark Cahigan 0.5/5
Bd02 Vic Niel Villanueva 10.5/12
Bd03 Gerald Ferriol 5.0/12
Bd04 Lemuel John Bermas 2.0/9
Bd05 Leonides Usman 4.0/10
Bd06 Jonathan Tiu
6 National University. 20.0/48
Bd01 Reggie Mel Santiago 4.0/11
Bd02 Willard Turda 2.0/6
Bd03 Gerry Paul Nudalo 7.0/10
Bd04 Christian Cagadas 2.0/7
Bd05 Donn Johnson Fabian 4.0/8
Bd06 Niel Bryan Javier 1.0/6
7 Ateneo de Manila University. 7.0/48
Bd01 Enrique Daniel Santos 1.5/6
Bd02 Ronald Rickle Tong 0.0/9
Bd03 Pierre Alberto Martinez 0.5/7
Bd04 Ace John Dimasuhid 1.0/5
Bd05 John Robin Buenavista 2.0/11
bd06 Eduardo Macabulos 2.0/10
Most Valuable Player: IM John Paul Gomez
Rookie of the Year: Nelson Mariano III
Individual Results:
Bd01 IM John Paul Gomez DLSU (gold) NM Roderick Nava FEU (silver)
Eugene Pimentel UE (bronze)
Bd02 Vic Neil Villanueva UST (gold) Nelson Mariano III UE (silver)
Christian Arroyo FEU (bronze)
Bd03 Lyndon Sombilon FEU (gold) Emmanuel Emperado DLSU (silver)
Gerry Paul Nudalo NU (bronze)
Bd04 Pedro Bernard Templo (gold) John Ranel Morazo (silver)
Aaron Krishna Rivas UE (bronze)
Bd05 Luffe Magdalaga FEU (gold) Virgilio Legisma DLSU (silver)
John Finly Dacanay UP (bronze)
Bd06 James Bulicatin FEU (gold) Eduardo Macabulos ADMU (silver)
Neil Bryan Javier NU (bronze)
THE Tamaraws from FEU could not be denied. Sporting a National Master on top board and a balanced line-up, they took the lead starting round 10 after a 4-0 shutout of Ateneo. In the next round, after a 4-0 whitewash over the Bulldogs of National University, they were already 3 points ahead of the field. In the last three rounds they pulled away further with 3-1 victories over UST, UE and UP. The final margin of 6.5 points over second-placed De la Salle left no doubt as to who was the deserving champion this year.
The FEU top gun, FIDE Master Roderick Nava, represented the country in the 2005 World Junior championship in Istanbul and he is already knocking on the door to become one of the top players in the country. I have noticed that in recent tournaments his name has always been among the top finishers.
What impresses me most about Roderick is his drive – during the 2001 Age Group Championships he scored 8 straight wins and had already assured himself of the gold medal when his last-round opponent exchanged off most of the pieces on the board and offered a draw. His position was not advantageous in any way but all the same Nava refused the draw and buckled down to grind out a difficult endgame victory. He just had to have the win.
His hard work, killer instinct plus supportive parents make it easy for me to believe that Nava will soon be representing our country in the chess Olympiads. In the following game he runs roughshod over the UP top board.
[FEU] FM Nava,Roderick (2351) - [UP] dela Rosa,Andrew [A84]
2007 UAAP Chess [Seniors] UE Briefing Room (5), 25.08.2007
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.d4 e6 4.Nc3 f5 5.g4!?
Typical of Nava - no half measures.
5...Nf6
Accepting the gambit is dangerous. Anyway Black cannot hold the pawn and soon White will have the attack at no material investment. For example 5...fxg4 6.Ne5 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 (7...Nbd7 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Nxg4) 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.0–0–0 Nxe5 10.dxe5 Nd7 11.Bf4 Bg5 12.e3 0–0 13.Bd3 h6 14.Ne2 Kh8 15.h3 with a strong initiative. Kogan,A (2483)-Aalders,H (2105)/ Andorra 2000 1–0 (34).
6.gxf5 exf5 7.Bg5 Bb4 8.Qb3 Na6? 9.Bxf6 gxf6
[Otherwise he loses a pawn to 9...Qxf6 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Qxd5]
10.e3 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Qb6 12.cxd5 Qxb3 13.axb3 Nc7 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.Rg1 Be6 16.c4 Kf7 17.Bd3 Ne8 18.Ra6 Bd7 19.Nh4 Nd6 20.d5 Rhb8 21.dxc6 Bc8 22.Ra3 Rb4 23.Kd2 Ne4+ 24.Bxe4 fxe4 25.Ng2 Rb6 26.Nf4 Rxc6 27.Ne2 f5 28.Kc3 a5 29.Nf4 Bb7 30.Rd1 Rc7 31.Rda1 Rc5 32.Kd4 Rc7 33.Rxa5 Rd8+ 34.Kc3 Kf6 35.Rb5 Rf7 36.Rb6+ And wins. If the Black king goes to g7 or g5 then 37.Ne6+ wins a rook.
36...Rd6 37.Rxd6+ Kg5 38.Rg1+ 1–0
Everybody expected La Salle to give FEU a run for their money, but this never happened. Their top board IM John Paul Gomez and Emmanuel Emperado on 3rd did their share, but their teammates could not produce points. John Paul was the only International Master in the field. He is a three-time national Junior Champion, winning his first crown at the tender age of 14. He represented the Philippines in the 2001 World Junior Championship in Athens and again in 2006 in Yerevan. As early as five years ago John Paul was already playing in the Philippines Grand Finals against the likes of Eugene Torre and Joey Antonio for the right to call himself Philippine Champion.
John Paul is so far above his collegiate rivals that he usually registers a clean sweep - several years ago when he was representing La Salle Zobel in the High School section all the points in the team were his – everybody else had 0. Although John Paul’s effort this year was not enough to lead La Salle to the championship, he had the consolation of being named Most Valuable Player, winning the gold medal for top board and defeating Nava in their head-to-head duel.
[DLSU] IM Gomez,John Paul (2469) - [FEU] Nava,Roderick (2351) [B07]
2007 UAAP Chess [Seniors] UE Briefing Roonm (9), 08.09.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Ne2 0–0 6.Nbc3 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Be3 Na6 10.h3 Ne8 11.f4 Nec7 12.0–0 b6 13.e5 Rb8 14.a3 Bf5 15.Rfc1 f6 16.g4 Be6 17.b4 Nd5 18.Bf2?!
Of course, 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bxd5+ Rxd5 20.exf6 exf6 21.bxc5 leads to equality, but John Paul wanted more and as a consequence winds up in an inferior position.
18...fxe5 19.Ne4 Nxf4 20.Bf1 c4 21.N2c3 h6 22.b5 Nc7 23.a4 Rd4!
Black is winning, but now John Paul starts to fight back.
24.a5 bxa5?
Better would have been 24...Nxb5 25.Bxd4 Nxd4.
25.Rxa5 Kf8 26.Nc5 Bc8 27.Rxa7 Ne8 28.Bxd4
White has managed to win the exchange under favorable circumstances. The tables have turned.
28...exd4 29.N3e4 d3 30.cxd3 Bd4+ 31.Kh1 cxd3 32.Rd7! Be5 33.Bxd3 Nxd3 34.Rxd3 Nd6 35.Kg1 Ke8?
Another mistake. Black is falling apart - there is no reason for him not to take the b5-pawn.
36.Nxd6+ Bxd6 37.Na6 Bxa6 38.bxa6 Ra8 39.Ra1 Kd7 40.Kf2 Ke6 41.Ke3 h5 42.g5 Be5 43.Ra5 Ra7 44.Ke4 Bc7 45.Ra4 Bd6 46.Rb3 Ra8 47.Rb7 Bh2 48.a7 Bg1 49.Ra6+ Kf7 50.Rf6+ 1–0
If any of our readers wants to have a copy of the games from UAAP all you have to do is email me, and I will send a pgn (portable game notation) file over. This is basically a text file with pre-set game headers and is the universal notation – all chess programs (fritz, genius, chessmaster, for example) should be able to read the file. The usual protocol is to save the pgn on your hard drive, making sure to remember in what folder/directory it is. Then open your chess program and do “file open” and point it to the pgn. That should work.
Or you can simply use your word processor (notepad, wordpad, Microsoft word, etc etc) to open the file. This will allow you to see the moves and you can play it over the board.
Readercommentsand/orsuggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
This column was first published in BusinessWorld on Monday, November 12, 2007.
BOBBY ANG’S BUSINESSWORLD COLUMN, CHESS PIECE (1)
NCAA Wars
1 College of St. Benilde (CSB). 37.0/48
Bd01 Karina Reyes
Bd02 Jimson Bitoon (9.5/12)
Bd03 Andrew Delfin (8.5/12)
Bd04 Menard de Ocampo (10.0/12)
Bd05 Renie Malupa (9.0/12)
2 Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL), 32.5/48
Bd01 Jesus Alfonso Datu (7.0/11)
Bd02 Ryan Mendoza (7.5/12)
Bd03 Lehi Dan Laceste (9.0/12)
Bd04 Bon Mark Garcia (3.0/5)
Bd05 Michael Andrew de Leon (6.0/8)
Bd06 Randolph Pascua
3 San Sebastian College – Recoletos (SSC-R). 32.5/48
Bd01 Joseph Mercado (4.0/7)
bd02 Jose Nino Ocampo (6.5/11)
bd03 Edilberto Labuac Jr (4.5/8)
bd04 Luke Farre (8.5/11)
bd05 Anselmo Mercado (8.0/10)
4 Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT). 30.5/48
Bd01 Julius Joseph de Ramos (10.0/12)
Bd02 Oliver Revalo (0.5/2)
Bd03 Jose Marie dela Pena (7.5/12)
Bd04 Adrian Perez (8.5/12)
Bd05 Ronald Jay Mayuga (4.0/10)
5 San Beda College (SBC). 16.0/48
Bd01 Glenn Paul Mendoza (3.5/12)
Bd02 Joey Angelo Mendoza (6.5/12)
Bd03 Jomar Cawili (5.0/12)
Bd04 Emmanuel Caparas (1.0/3)
Bd05 Leonard Bunag (0.0/9)
6 University of Perpetual Help Dalta (UPHD). 16.0/48
Bd01 John Miller Salinas (4.5/12)
Bd02 John Hector Calma (3.0/10)
Bd03 Rod Elvin Virrey (2.0/9)
Bd04 Bryan Arboladura (1.0/3)
Bd05 Mark dela Cruz (3.5/9)
Bd06 Paolo Hipolito (2.0/6)
7 Jose Rizal University (JRU). 3.5/48
Bd01 Rowel Macabenta (0.5/8)
Bd02 Marlon de Jesa (1.0/11)
Bd03 Lester John de Fiesta (0.0/11)
Bd04 Harold Zabala (2.0/11)
Bd05 Ron Michael Arellano (0.0/7)
Most Valuable Player: IM Menard de Ocampo (CSB)
Gold medalists:
Bd01 Julius Joseph de Ramos (MIT)
Bd02 Jimson Bitoon (CSB)
bd03 Lehi Dan Laceste (CSJL)
Bd04 Menard de Ocampo (CSB)
Bd05 Anselmo Mercado (SSC-R)
Bd06 Paolo Hipolito (UPHD)
IN the 2000s Letran fielded possibly the strongest high school team ever – it had Julius Joseph de Ramos, John Paul Gomez (although for a year or two only), Oliver Barbosa, Von Arbie Barbosa, Vic Neil Villanueva and Jerommel Gabriel. I am not exaggerating – this team was strong from top to bottom, and we could have fielded them to the World Under-16 Team Championships and they would have given a good accounting of themselves.
And that is a HIGH SCHOOL team. In the colleges we have the powerful La Salle dynasty with Oliver Dimakiling (now an IM and closing in on the GM title), the Aton brothers (Ariel, Arnel and Irvin, two of whom are twins although I don’t remember which), UE with its Marianos and Lagutins, UST with Roland Salvador and Bitoon. On the NCAA side there is a similar dynasty of the San Sebastian Stags with Darwin Laylo (now a GM) and Ronald Dableo (now IM needing one more norm for the GM). All of them awesome players.
Those days have passed. You read in the papers now about how Philippine chess is deteriorating, and we have to “reunite” the NCFP and all kinds of nonsense. In my opinion, and there are many who would agree, the NCFP has gone through some rough times but is now genuinely trying to improve the situation. But solutions only give results several years down the line. The poor results lately of our national teams should not be blamed on the current NCFP leadership, but on the previous one.
What we need at present is a “Right Now” plan. We have to revitalize collegiate chess. Both of the major leagues have lost one member – Adamson did not field a chess team in the UAAP, and Philippine Christian University disbanded their chess team. The teams remaining have problems fielding a six-man squad. Look at the chess being played in secondary and tertiary levels – they are a far cry from the general level displayed seven years ago.
Revitalize high school and college chess. The only good thing we’ve got going now is the Shell National Active competitions, but it has also lately suffered from a shrinking budget. We have got to make it really a high profile event. Three years ago the Finals of Shell were held in the SSS Canteen under international tournament conditions, complete with wallboards, stewards, arbiters and bulletins. In-between rounds GMs Eugene Torre and Bong Villamayor went over the highlights of the previous rounds with all the players, the game being broadcast onto a giant screen and gave instructional pointers on opening, middlegame and endgame. At the end of the tournament, after all of the winners were announced, there was a free dinner for all the players, coaches, parents and officials sponsored by the Philippine Chess Society. The organizers promised that in the following year there would be an even bigger venue and play would be online so people can follow the games over the internet. You know what? This was where Wesley So was “discovered”. Where are we now with the Shell Active competitions?
Pascual Laboratories used to sponsor the Glutaphos National Inter-Collegiate Championship in November-December every year. This was with the generous support of the Greenhills Chess Club ran by Atty. Yoyong Rodriguez (+) and Jimmy O’Hara. But they were not given the respect due them by the Federation, and so they withdrew support.
In the 1970s the Federation had the National Students’ Competition which was also a nationwide talent search with a grand finals in Manila. This was the launching pad of the careers of Rico Mascarinas, Lito Maninang, Glenn Bordonada, Cesar Caturla, Roger Abella, Roger dela Vega and many more. Where is it now?
There was also the Pepsi-sponsored junior tournaments. They even printed the chess pieces on the underside of the bottle caps so budding players who do not have the money to buy chess sets could collect the caps and play chess on improved boards. That was an awesome idea.
If the NCFP wants to bring 3 international tournaments a year to the Philippines, that would be great. But unless we start promoting chess in the schools, then all we can expect from these international events is merciless beatings for our players, and all the prize money going to the Chinese, Russians, Vietnamese, Indonesians, etc etc ... everybody but the Pinoy.
[UPHD] Salinas,John Miller - [MIT] De Ramos,Julius Joseph [C18]
2007 NCAA Chess (SENIORS) SM Manila (10), 26.08.2007
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4
White can choose between the text, 7.h4 and 7.Nf3, but definitely Qg4 is the most dangerous for Black.
7...Qc7
Nowadays 7...0–0 is the main arena.
8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2
Euwe's 10.Kd1 has almost disappeared from tournament praxis. Some hint might be taken from the following game: 10...dxc3 11.Nf3 Nbc6 12.Ng5 Qxe5 13.Qxf7+ Kd7 14.Bf4 Qd4+ 15.Ke1 e5 16.Be3 Qg4 17.Be2 Qf5 18.g4 Qxc2 19.Nh7 Kc7 20.Nf6 Rd8 21.Bf3 d4 22.Bxc6 dxe3 23.Qxe7+ Kxc6 24.Qxd8 Qxf2+ 0–1 Busquets,L-Ivanov,I/ Irvine op 1997.
10...Nbc6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Qd3 dxc3
This is the critical position for the evaluation of this whole line of defense. White has a dangerous passed h-pawn and the two bishops, but Black has a hefty lead in development and a more secure king.
13.Nxc3?!
Most people take with the queen.
13...a6 14.h4?! 14...Nf5 15.Rh3
Otherwise ...Nxe5! is strong
15...Nce7 16.a4 Bc6 17.h5 0–0–0 18.h6 Rg6 19.h7 Rh8 20.Bd2
The pawn has been stopped and now Black's counter-attack kicks in.
20...d4 21.Ne4 Nd5 22.c3 dxc3 23.Nxc3 Nb4 24.Qb1 Nd4 25.Nb5?
[Probably 25.Kd1 is best here]
25...Nbc2+ 26.Kd1 axb5 27.axb5 Nxa1 28.b6 Ba4+
What White overlooked.
29.Ke1 Ndc2+ 30.Kf2 Qc5+ 31.Be3 Nxe3 32.Rxe3 Nc2 0–1
If any of our readers wants to have a copy of the games from NCAA all you have to do is email me, and I will send a pgn (portable game notation) file over. This is basically a text file with pre-set game headers and is the universal notation – all chess programs (fritz, genius, chessmaster, for example) should be able to read the file. The usual protocol is to save the pgn on your hard drive, making sure to remember in what folder/directory it is. Then open your chess program and do “file open” and point it to the pgn. That should work.
Or you can simply use your word processor (notepad, wordpad, Microsoft word, etc etc) to open the file. This will allow you to see the moves and you can play it over the board.
Reader comments and/or suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com.
This column was first published in BusinessWorld on Friday, November 16, 2007.
FROM MY SWIVEL CHAIR
No, Bobby, unity calls not ‘nonsense’
Bobby Ang in his Friday column in BusinessWorld dubs the repeated calls by The Weekender for unity within the NCFP hierarchy in the face of repeated failures of Filipinos to win in major international tournaments “all kinds of nonsense.”
I am mystified, to say the least, that a guest columnist would make it a habit to criticize the official stand of the very newsletter that carries his column regularly under an arrangement thought to be of mutual benefit.
Nevertheless, I believe it is a legitimate dissent in the exercise of one’s freedom of expression.
Lest readers get confused, however, I must emphasize that there is indeed a rift within the NCFP board itself, one reason for its failure to hold elections over the past two years as mandated by its own charter. As far as I can tell, it has not met since it decided to ban certain players for alleged game-fixing.
The cleavage in the hierarchy has naturally affected players and arbiters alike. The results of the Asian Indoor Games in Macau have dramatized the mediocre performance of our players, who won no team medal and only one individual medal, the bronze in rapid of WNM Catherine Pereña.
Why, even Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore won team medals in Macau! Why not the Philippines?
Aribters are in disarray and I understand there has been a dispute over the fees of those who officiated at the Asian Individual Championship in Cebu.
Right now, there are two organizations of arbiters—the Chess Arbiters Association of the Philippines and the National Association of Philippine Chess Arbiters.
As a result, only a few of the arbiters, usually belonging to NAPCA, get involved in NCFP activities.
The NCFP rift even now threatens the Second GMA Cup and the Third Pichay Cup, both of which are international open tournaments.
As of this writing, only a handful of local players have signed up for the GMA Cup Challenge and Open. It would be absurd to have more foreign players than locals in an event on home turf, indeed!
No, Bobby, calls for unity are not “all kinds of nonsense.” It is such a dismissive attitude that has led to the virtual hibernation of organizations like, say, the Philippine Chess Society.
Let’s not be delusional about the state of affairs of Philippine chess these days. Instead, let’s help restore harmony within its ranks. Unity is what is needed.
Let The Weekender not fall into the same trap by being as fractious as the rest.
Chess quote
“Chess is everything - art, science, and sport.”
—Anatoly Karpov
==== The Weekender
Quezon Memorial Circle
Quezon City
Manuel O. Benitez
Editor & Publisher
Alfredo V. Chay
Circulation Manager
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