Here's The Weekender:
NO FILIPINO ENTRY AS DEADLINE FALLS
20 key players sign up for 2nd GMA Cup
TWENTY key players from China, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Iraq have signed up as of this week for the Second President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Cup, scheduled to be held from November 21 to 28, it was learned yesterday.
Unfortunately, however, not a single Filipino player has signified his or her intention to compete either in the P600,000 Challenge or US$40,000 Open, which will take place at the Duty Free Mall within the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Deadline for registration fell on October 31.
The countries that have expressed their intention to send their players to Manila were China, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Iraq.
Although India has not yet made known its plans, official sources from the National Chess Federation of the Philippines said its top female player, GM Humpy Koneru (2606), had given her word she would play at the GMA Cup.
According to the list given to The Weekender by Pat Lee of the NCFP secretariat, China is sending the largest contingent—13 players.
They include three male grandmasters (Ni Hua, Li Chao and Li Shilong), three women grandmasters (Zhang Jilin, Wang Yu and Gu Ziaobing), two WIMs (Huang Qian and Kuang Yihui), one Fide master (Wu Xibin), three untitled male players (Zhou Weiqi, Yu Lie and Shen Siyuan) and one untitled female player (Xu Tong).
Most likely FM Wu and the four untitled players are to play in the Challenge, not the Open, because their names were listed separately.
Indonesia indicated that it was sending four players, but only Tirto was named.
Singapore is sending four players led by GM Zhang Zhong, formerly of China, who started playing under the Singaporean flag in the Dato Arthur Tan Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur last August.
The three other Singaporeans are all women—WGM/IM Li Ruofan and WFMs Victoria Chan Wei-Yi and Liu Yang.Indonesia .
Only two Vietnamese are expected to take part, but both are GMs: former zonal co-champions, Dao Thien Hai and Nguyen Anh Dung.
Iraq submitted the names of IM Saad Abdullah Sarsam, FM Noah Ali Hussein and untitled Dilshad Emadal-din Muhamad.
The Challenge champion will receive P50,000 and the Open champion $6,000.
Deadlines for the payment of registration fees for both Challene and Open were supposed to fall on October 31.
Those who signed up for the Second GMA Cup are expected to also compete in the Prospero Pichay Cup, which will be held from December 1 to 7, presumably in the same venue.
UNIVERSITY GAMES IN THE GRASSROOTS
FEU romps off with men’s diadem, UNO Recoletos with women’s crown
FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY romped off with the men’s diadem and the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos-Bacolod with the women’s crown in the Philippine University Games (UniGames) held from October 23 to 25 in Bacolod City, reader National Arbiter Kim Dumdum, tournament director, reports.
The University of St. La Salle in Bacolod hosted the event, now on its 11th year.
FEU captured the men’s championship with 13 match points and a team score of 20.5, followed by the College of St. Benilde and the University of the East as first and second runners-up, respectively.
St. Benilde had 11 match points and a team score of 18 while UE garnered 10 match points and a team score of 17.
A total of 15 institutions of higher learning nationwide competed in the men’s event.
De la Salle University-Taft Avenue took the fourth place, followed by the host University of St. La Salle, University of San Agustin, West Negros College, Xavier University, Rizal Technological University, Central Philippine University, Foundation University, Mindanao State University, Holy Name University, Negros Oriental State University and Broken Shire College, in that order.
On board one, FEU’s FM Roderick Nava took the gold, NM Edcel Montoya of RTU the silver and Danny Maersk Mangao of USLS the bronze.
UE’s Jason Visca won the gold on board two, Silverio Abasolo of Xavier U the silver and Celton Francis Sembrano the bronze.
On board three, the winners were Lutic Magdalaga of FEU (gold), Michael Joseph Pagaran of Holy Name U (silver) and Jimson Bitoon of CSB (silver)
Board four medals went to Menard de Ocampo of CSB (gold), Joebert Antonio of Foundation U (silver) and Mark Gustilo of CPU (bronze).
On board five, Rene de Chavez of FEU, Aaron Rivas of UE and Brian Revin Vasallo of DLSU got the gold, silver and bronze, respectively.
With the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos as champion, the first and second runners-up in the women’s division were De la Salle University—Taft and Holy Cross of Davao College.
They were followed by University of St. de La Salle-Bacolod, Xavier University, West Negros College, Rizal Technological University, Silliman University, University of San Agustin, Central Philippines University, Holy Name University and Negros Oriental State University.
WNM Aices Salvador of DLSU-Taft ran off with the gold on board one among the women, with Annie Montales of WNC getting the silver and Christine Espinosa of USLS the bronze.
On board two, Jennifer Nacion of UNO-Recoletos, Josella Uy of WNC and Irish Hope Isel of HCDC won the gold, silver and bronze, respectively.
Board three winners were Joyce Mariano of CPU (gold), Marie Angeles of DLSU-Taft (silver) and Sittie Halia Sabu of Xavier U (bronze).
Rodina Familiaran of USA won the gold, Mary Grace Tambasen of UNO-R the silver and Raquel Damalerio of HNU the bronze on board four.
Winners on board five were Cherry Guimarangan of UNO-R (gold), Maria Regina Cinco of USA (silver) and Marie Chris Jurban of HCDC (bronze).
The Philippine UniGames was launched in 1996 as a yearly event for students at the tertiary level nationwide.
The idea was conceived by Bro. Rolando Dizon and Roger Banzuela, both of De La Salle University, according to NA Dumdum, who said they invited him to assist them in organizing the national event.
It has always been held in Bacolod City, except on two occasions when De La Salle U-Dasmariñas in Cavite and the Foundation University in Dumaguete City hosted it.
The Philippine Sports Commission helps in the funding of the event.
NA Dumdum is a regular reader of The Weekender, one of hundreds or even thousands of Filipino players in the country and overseas who subscribe to the newsletter for free.
FOR NON-MASTERS RATED 1950 AND BELOW
CAAP rapid tourney at QMC plaza
THE Quezon Memorial Circle Chess Plaza will host the 1950 and below Non-Masters Rapid Tournament on Saturday, November 17, under the auspices of the Chess Arbiters Association of the Philippines (CAAP).
CAAP public relations officer Alfredo V. Chay, who is also an officer of the QMC Chess Plaza management committee, said the seven-round tournament will get under way at 9 a.m.
He urged participants to register at the plaza half an hour before the games begin. It is open to all untitled players rated 1950 and below.
Time control will be 25 minutes per player.
Cash prizes will go to the winners, with the champion getting the lion’s share of P4,000 and the first to third runners-up P2,000, P1,000 and P500, respectively. Those finishing in fifth to tenth places will get P300 each.
Printed copies of the latest issue of The Weekender will be distributed to the 11th to 20th places.
Special category prizes of P500 each will go to the Top Kiddie (12 years old and younger), Top Lady and Top Senior (aged 50 years and older) players.
Meanwhile, it is all systems go for the National Chess Federation of the Philippines’ Chess Arbiters Seminar to be held next weekend, November 17-18, on the fourth floor of the Perez Bldg., corner Doña Soledad and Australia Streets in Parañaque City
The seminar will be held under the joint auspices of the NCFP and the National Association of Philippine Chess Arbiters (NAPCA) and is part of the chess development program launched by NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. and secretary general Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
The seminar will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday it will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
NCFP director and tournament committee chairman Willy Abalos and NAPCA chairman Rommel Tacorda will be in charge of the seminar. Abalos is an international arbiter and Attorney Tacorda a Fide arbiter and instructor.
Salvador beats Vuelban, takes fifth slot in Rome festival
IN an all-Filipino duel, IM Roland Salvador outwitted his compatriot, FM Virgilio
Vuelban, in the ninth and final round of the Eighth Hotel Petra Festival in Rome.
With his win, Salvador tied for fourth to seventh places with Hungarian GM Csaba Horvath and two others.
Vuelban’s loss sent him skidding down to the 16th slot.
Russian GM Oleg Korneev took the top prize, with fellow Russian GM Vladimir Burmakin in second place and Serbian GM Miroljub Lazic in third.
It was not yet known whether Salvador, who settled for the fifth slot, had earned his third and final GM norm for him to capture the coveted title.
His game versus Vuelban was not yet available when this report was filed. One of his finest efforts was in the second round against an Italian player.
• S. Palermo – R. Salvador (2456)
Rd. 2, Petrafest, Rome 2007
Sicilian Pelikan and Sveshnikov (B33)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 Bg7 11.c3 f5 12.Bd3 Ne7 13.Nxe7 Qxe7 14.Qh5 d5 15.exf5 16.0–0 Be5 17.Rae1 Bb7 18.f3 0–0–0 19.f6 Qe6 20.fxe4 dxe4 21.Bc2 Rd2 22.Re2 Rxe2 24.Qxe2 Bc7 25.Bb3?? Qe5 26.g3 Bb6+ 27.Kg2 e3+ 28.Kh3 Be4 29.Bxf7 Bd3!
0–1
The Weekender was able to track down the story, thanks to a tip last week from reader John Manahan, who has been feeding my newsletter with vital bits of information about tournaments around the world.
N.C.F.P. EXECUTIVES & PROFESSIONALS RAPID SERIES
Early qualifiers for Grand Finals listed
EARLY qualifiers for the Grand Finals of the NCFP Executives and Professionals Challenge in the New Year were announced yesterday during the seventh leg of the Saturday series at the Greenhouse Grille on Matalino Street in Quezon City.
Yesterday’s tournament was sponsored by Cebu sports patron and former Philippine Chess Federation president Matias “Bombi” Aznar.
Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, NCFP chairman, and QC Reginal Trial Court Judge Hilario Laqui played the ceremonial opening moves in the presence of, among others,
GM Eugene Torre, IM Rudy Cardoso and NCFP directors Ed Madrid, Benguet Gov. Raul “Rocky” Molintas, retired general Art Carrillo and Jess Torre.
As announced by GM Torre, the qualifiers from the previous legs were:
• First leg—Dr. Jenny Mayor, Atty. Samuel Estimo, Nick Nisperos, Albert Rivera, Severino Balgan Jr., Engr. Efren Bagamasbad and Christopher Castellano.
• Second leg—Atty. Jose Aspiras, Ray Marras, Atty. Quirino Sagario, Dante Zuñiga, Stewart Manaog, Joselito Obrero and Dennis San Juan.
• Third leg—Ed Aspiras, Marlon Bernardino Jr., Mark Quejada, Engr. Octavio Canta, Isidro Erispa, Willy San Juan and Bro. Leo Ricaña.
• Fourth leg—Dino Ballacer, Engr. Mario Rebano, Butch Villavieja, Lito Dormitorio, Romeo Talavera, Heber Bartolome and Dr. Jun Rodriguez.
• Fifth leg—Ramel Ramilla, Engr. Dennis Gutierrez, Roland Barnon, John Geronimo, Ruben Medina, Neil Alisangco and Noel Garcia.
• Sixth leg—Dr. Johnny Corrales, Ricky Navalta, Rey Urbiztondo, Ceferino Gonzales Binahon Fundador Jr., Lazaro Niduaza and Emil Cabagay.
Prizes include home appliances, trophies, medals and tickets to the Grand Finals.
For further details, interested parties may contact GM Torre at 0922-8822870, NCFP director Sammy Estimo at 0915-9360354 or Dr. Jenny Mayor at 0919-4782209 or 7049775.
Meanwhile, Rolly J. Cruz of the Meralco Club said he and other club officers and members plan to join the next leg of the Saturday series.
The Meralco and Transco Clubs are set to clash shortly.
World’s strongest players invited to Corus tournament
FOURTEEN of the world’s strongest grandmasters, led by reigning champion Viswanathan Anand of India, have been invited to compete in the main event of the annual Corus tournament, which gets under way in the first week of the New Year in the Dutch resort of Wijk aan Zee.
As a sidebar, four of the world’s oldest titans led by two-time world title challenger GM Viktor Korchnoi of Switzerland will also be battling it out in Wijk aan Zee. With Korchnoi are veteran GMs Lajos Portisch of Hungary, Jan Timman of The Netherlands and Ljubomir Ljubojevic of Serbia.
The names of the other players in the Corus main event read like the “Who’s Who” of world chess.
They are in the order of their current Elo ratings: GMs Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, Peter Leko of Hungary, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teimour Radjabov, both of Azerbaijan, Levon Aronian of Armenia, Boris Gelfand of Israel, Michael Adams of England, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Judit Polgar of Hungary, Eljanov Pavel of Ukraine and Loek van Wely of The Netherlands.
The Corus tournament is one of the strongest in the world and is the premier event of the New Year.
At 2801, the Indian wizard, world No. 1 Anand, is the top seed, with his rival since their 1987 encounter for the world junior crown, Ukrainian icon Vassily Ivanchuk, as the second seed.
Ivanchuk has posted the best record over the past year.
PINOY DEBACLE IN MACAU
Where Pereña shone as the lone star
I HATE to use “debacle” or “disaster” for the nth time but it sums up best the results of the chess events in the Asian Indoor Games in Macau for Filipino fans.
Why? The Philippines as a team failed to win any medal in any event. Individually, only Woman National Master Catherine Pereña won a medal—the bronze in Rapid!
The Weekender resolved the issue with the help of reader John Manahan, who furnished the newsletter with the proper references.
Besides the bronze, Pereña’s stunning win over Indian megastar Humpy Koneru, a full-fledged grandmaster, in Rapid was the only consolation for Pinoy fans.
Because of her phenomenal victory, Pereña qualified for the semifinal where she faced Koneru’s compatriot, IM Harika Dronavali.
In their first duel, Dronavali took Pereña’s measure, but in their second encounter, NM Pereña battled her to a draw.
This enabled the stouthearted 21-year-old female player from Albay to snatch the bronze.
Pereña, a University of the Philippines student at Diliman, told journalist Ignacio Dee in a telephone interview that she is taking a five-year course in human kinetics and plans to study medicine after finishing her undergraduate studies at the state university.
She also plans to compete in an international event in Indonesia in the New Year and try to earn her third and final IM norm.
To give readers a clearer look at the Asian Indoor Games in Macau, The Weekender is reproducing the results of the various chess events, both in team and individual standings.
Here are the final team standings:
• Rapid after six rounds—1. India, 6.0 match points; 2.. Vietnam, 4.0; 3. Iran, 4.0; 4. Philippines, 4.0; 5. China, 4.0; 6. Indonesia, 3.0; 7. Qatar, 3.0; 8. Mongolia, 3.0; 9. Kazakhstan, 3.0; 10. Malaysia, 3.0; 11. Jordan, 3.0; Japan, 3.0.
• Standard after six rounds: 1. China, 5.0 match points; 2. India, 4.0; 3. Vietnam, 3.0 match points plus two ties; 4. Malaysia, 4.0; 5. Kazakhstan, 4.0; 6. Indonesia, 4.0; 7. Philippines, 3.0; 8. Mongolia, 3.0; 9. Iran, 3.0; 10. Iraq, 3.0; 11. Jordan, 3.
• Blitz, after nine rounds—1. China, 8.0 match points; 2. India, 6.0; 3. Kazakhstan, 4.0 plus four ties; 5. Malaysia, 5.0; 6. Philippines,4.0; 7. Indonesia, 4.0; 8. Qatar, 4.0; 10. Jordan, 4.0; 11. Japan, 4.0.
No Filipino was named among the five best players in each event.
The final individual standings (Best Five) in each category:
• Rapid after six rounds—1-2. GM Ngoc Truong Son and WGM Nguyen Thi Than An, both of Vietnam, 5.5 each; 3-5. GMs Bu Xiangzhi of China and Krishnan Sasikiran of India and his compatriot, IM Harika Dronavali, 5.0 each.
• Standard after six rounds—1-2. GM NI Hua and WGM Hou Yifan, both of China, 5.5 each; 3-5. IM Harika Dronavali of India, WIM Siti Zulaikha of Malaysia and former women’s world champion GM Zhu Chen of Qatar and formerly of China, 5.0 each.
• Women’s Blitz after nine rounds—1-2. GMs Zhu Chen of Qatar and Humpy Koneru of India, 7.5 each; 3-5. WFM Pham Bich Ngoc of Vietnam, WIM Sukandar Irina Kharisma of Indonesia and WGM Zhao Xue, 6.0 each.
• Men’s Blitz after nine rounds—1-2. GMs Krishnan Sasikiran of India and Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazakhstan; 3-5. GMs Bu Ziangzhi of China, Ehsan Meradiababdi of Iran and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, 17, of Vietnam.
• Team Blitz after nine rounds (individual gold, both genders)—1-5. WGM Hou Yifan of China, GMs Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia, Ehsan Meradiabadi of Iran and Zhe Chen of Qatar, and untitled Ruan Lufei of China, 8.0 points each.
• Medal Statistics, Final Ranking after nine rounds—1. China, two gold, one silver, two bronze; 2-3. India and Vietnam, one gold, one silver, one bronze each; 4. Qatar, one gold; 5-6. Indonesia and Qatar, one silver each; 7. Kazakhstan, one bronze.
The Weekender had no way of knowing why the Philippines was not listed in the final rankings.
Luckily for The Weekender, reader John Manahan found a database containing AIG games, Standard category, while surfing on the World Wide Web.
It looks like there were no game-scores in either Rapid or Blitz as there was no electronic equipment for automatic recording of moves available in Macau’s International Shooting Range, which served as the venue for all the chess activities in the Asian Indoor Games.
Chardine Cheradee Camacho was the only Filipino player to be named Best Player in Macau—in Standard for posting a 100 per cent score, winning both games she had played for the team.
As reported last week, another Filipino girl, Jane Erlane Salvador, also topped the list but, like Camacho, played only two games, winning both. Salvador, however, represented Macau, not the Philippines. Tsk-tsk.
Chardine Cheradee is a 15-year-old girl from La Union who has had intensive and exclusive tutoring in chess for several years as a child.
Like Pereña, both girls brought honors to the country as the best of the lot. Unlike Camacho who won both games fair and square, one of Salvador’s wins was due to her Japanese opponent being disqualified, probably due to a misdemeanor like having a cell phone while at play.
In her first win, with Black against a Mongolian amazon in a 71-mover, Camacho (Black) emerged a pawn down after mid-game skirmishes, but when the game ended, she was a pawn and bishop up.
• S. Otgonjargal, MGL (2168) – C.C. Camacho, PHI (2094)
Rd. 4, Sicilian Najdorf (B90)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.0–0–0 Qc7 10.g4 Ne5 11.g5 Nfd7 12.f4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Qxc4 14.Qf2 b5 Equalizing 15.Nb3 b4 If 15...Qc7 16.f5 16.Rd4 Qc6 17.Rxb4 a5 18.Ra4 Bd8 19.Rd1 e5 20.Qd2 Ra6 21.Qd5 Bb7 22.Rc4 Qxd5 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.Rxd5 a4 25.Nd2 h6 26.Nf1 26.fxe5 hxg5 27.Rxd6 Rxd6 28.exd6 Rxh2 gives White the edge hxg5 27.fxg5 Rh3 28.Kd1 Ke7 29.Rd2 Ke6 30.Ng3 g6 31.Rf2 f6 32.Rc8 Be7 33.gxf6 Bxf6? Fritz suggests 33...Nxf6 34.Re2 34.Rc7?? Missing 34.Re8+! Kf7 35.Rd8, and White has all the play Bh4 35.Rg2 Nf6 36.Nf1 Nxe4 37.Rxg6+ Bf6 38.Ng3 Nxg3 39.hxg3 Kf5 40.Rg8 Ke4 41.Ke2 d5 42.c3 42.Bg1 was the equalizer Rh2+ 43.Bf2 Rb6 44.Rg4+ Kf5 45.Rb4 Rxb4 46.cxb4 e4 47.Kf1 If 47.Rc5 Ke5! e3 Another missed opportunity: 47...Rh1+ 48.Kg2 Rb1! 48.Bxe3 Rxb2 49.Rf7 Rxb4 50.Bd2 Rb1+ 51.Ke2 Ke6 52.Ra7 Rb2 53.Kd3 Rxa2 54.Ra6+ Kf7 55.g4 Ra3+ 56.Ke2 d4 57.g5 Bg7 Not 57...Be5 58.Bb4 Rg3 59.g6+ Kg7 60.Rxa4! 58.Ra7+ Best was 58.g6+!, says Fritz: 58...Ke8 59.Ra8+ Kd7 60.Ra7+ Ke6 61.Rxg7 Kg6 59.Ra6+ Kf5 60.Ra7 Be5 61.Rh7? Missing 61.Bb4!? Rg3 62.Rxa4 Rxg5 63.Kd3! Rg3! Black is now way ahead 62.Ra7a3 62...d3+ was stronger, e.g., 63.Kf2 Bd4+ 64.Kxg3 Bxa7! 63.Kd1? Ke4 64.g6 Bd6 65.g7 Kd3 66.Be1 Rg1 67.Rd7 a2 68.Ra7 Bb4 69.Kc1 Bxe1 Overlooking 69...Bc3 70.g8=Q Rxe1#! 70.g8=Q Rxg8 70...Ba5+! was best: 71.Kb2 a1=Q+ 72.Kb3 Rb1#! 71.Rxa2 Bc3!
Black resigns rather than be mated: 72.Rg2 (just to delay mate)Rxg2 73.Kb1 Re2 74.Kc1 Re1#! 0–1
• C.C. Camacho PHI (2094) – P.S. Ghader,IRI (2173)
Rd. 6, Symmetrical English (A32)
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Ndb5 0–0 7.Bf4 Na6 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 d5 10.cxd5 exd5 11.e3 Nc5 12.Be2 Be6 13.0–0 Rc8 14.Rc1 a6 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bh4 Ncd7 17.Bf3 Qa5 18.Qd2 Rc4 19.Bg3 Rfc8 20.Rcd1 Piling it on the isolated d5-pawn b6 Missing the equalizing 20...Qb6 21.Nxd5 Bxd5 22.Bxd5 21.h3 Ne4 22.Nxe4 dxe4 23.Qxa5 bxa5 24.Be2 R4c6 Finally, Black has equalized 25.Rd4 f5 26.Ra4 Rc2 Fritz suggests 26...Rb6, e.g., 27.Rxa5 Rxb2 28.Bxa6 Rc5 29.Rxc5 Nxc5! 27.Bxa6 Ra8 28.Rxa5 Nc5 29.Bd3 exd3 29...Rxa5 was stronger, e.g., 30.Bxc2 Nd3 31.Bxd3 exd3 30.Rxa8+ Kf7 31.Be5 31.Bd6 was more precise, e.g., 31…Ne4 32.Bb4 d2 33.Rf8+, with White way ahead Ne4? Fritz suggests 31...d2 32.Ra7+ Ke8 32.f3 Nd2? Missing 32...d2 33.Rd8 Rc1 34.fxe4 Bc4 35.Rxd2 Rxf1+ 36.Kh2 fxe4! 33.Rd1 Nc4 34.Bd4 d2 35.Kf2 g5 Not 35...Nxb2 36.Bxb2 Rxb2 37.Rd8, and White surges ahead 36.Ke2 36.Ra7+ makes it even easier for White, says Fritz: 36...Ke8 37.b3 Nb2 38.Bxb2! f4 36...Nxb2 37.Bxb2 Bc4+ 38.Kf2 Rxb2 boosts White’s lead 37.b3 Nd6 38.Rxd2 Rc1 39.Ra7+ Ke8 40.Bf6 Rc6 41.Re7+!
After 41.Re7+!
Double attack, and that bishop must fall, prompting Black to resign. 1–0
Another female player who flickered in the Philippine gloom in Macau was WFM Sheerie Joy Lomibao (see also page 12, Pinoy Gems with a History), who outshone her male compatriots by getting the highest spot among Filipino players in Standard—No. 35, a rung above the country’s foremost prodigy, 14-year-old IM Wesley So, 36th Our national team got off to a flying start on Day One by shutting out Brunei in the first round, 4-0, but losing to India, 1-3, in the second, shutting out Malaysia in the third, 4-0, losing to Kazakhstan in the fourth, 1.5-2.5, shutt5ing out Japan, 4-0 in the fifth, and crushing Mongolia, 3-1, in the sixth.
On our team were GM Joey Antonio and NM Ronald Nolte for the men and WNMs Pereña and Sherily Cua, with IM So replacing Antonio in the fourth to sixth rounds. In turn Antonio replaced NM Nolte on second board.
In the fourth, Wesley beat Kazakh GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev,.but was held to a draw in the sixth by Mongolia’s Gundavaa Bayarsaikhan.
Although it was a team match, the extended individual rapid contest was based on the match results. And because of its round-by-round seesaw pattern, only Pereña qualified for the semifinals where she was paired against India’s IM Dronavali.
The midstream change of players on boards one and two (So replacing Antonio on board one and Antonio replacing Nolte on board two from the fourth to sixth rounds) resulted also in neither one of them reaching the semifinals.
The Philippine team, however, wound up in fourth place in Rapid, just one step short of a medal. India captured the gold, Vietnam the silver and Iran the bronze.
Among the men, GM Joey Antonio had the highest individual ranking—No. 6 in blitz after nine rounds. He headed a four-man batch of 5.5-pointers (see previous page for the Top Five in Blitz).
Below him on tiebreak were 7. FM A. Samhouri of Jordan, 8. GM Wu Shaobin of Singapore, and 9. Gillani Taveer Mohay, an untitled player from Pakistan.
The Standard was made up mainly of IM So, IM Ronald Bancod, WNM Pereña and WFM Sheerie Joy Lomibao, with Cheradee Camacho as reserve and GM Antonio playing one game to let IM Bancod take a rest.
Antonio drew his only game in Srandard.
• A. Ismagambetov, KAZ (2480) – R. Antonio Jr,PHI (2540)
Rd. 5, Caro-Kann, Advance Variation(B12)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nc3 e6 5.g4 Bg6 6.Nge2 Ne7 7.Nf4 c5 8.h4 cxd4 9.Nb5 Better than 9.Qxd4 Nbc6 10.Qd1 Nxe5! Nec6 10.h5 Be4 11.f3 Bxf3 11...Nxe5 12.fxe4 dxe4 13.c3 Nf3+ 14.Kf2! favcors Black 12.Qxf3 Nxe5 13.Qe2 Not 13.Qf2 Nbc6 14.Nd3 Nxg4! Nbc6 Equalizing 14.c3 14.h6 g5 15.Nh5 d3 16.cxd3 Qa5+ 17.Nc3 d4 18.Nf6+ Kd8! favors Black dxc3 15.bxc3 Bc5 16.Be3 Fritz suggests 16.Nd3 Nxd3+ 17.Qxd3, with equality Bxe3 17.Qxe3 a6 18.Na3 Qa5 19.Nc2 d4! Not 19...Nxg4 20.Qg3 Nge5 21.a3! 20.Qg3 d3 20...Rd8! was better 21.0–0–0 Qxa2! 21.Bxd3! Qxc3+ 22.Ke2 Rd8 23.Rac1 Nxd3 24.Nxd3 Qc4 25.Rhd1 0–0 26.Ne3 Fritz suggests 26.h6, with equality Qxa2+ 27.Kf1 Nd4 28.Qf2 Qa5 29.Rc5 Restoring the equilibrium Qa4 30.h6 gxh6 31.Qf6 Nc6 32.Rh5 Qe4 33.Qxh6 f6 34.Nf2 Qg6 35.Qf4 Rxd1+ 36.Nexd1 Stronger than 36.Nfxd1 f5 37.Nf2 fxg4 38.Qxg4 Qxg4 39.Nexg4 Kg7! Ne5 Putting pressure on the isolated pawn and aiming for Nc6-e5-f7-g5 37.Ne3 If 37.Nc3 Kg7, with equality Nf7 37...b5 should be considered 38.Qb4= b5 39.Rc5 Ng5 40.Rc6 Ra8 41.Nc2 41.Rb6 keeps the balance, says Fritz Rf8 41...f5! keeps Black in the game 42.Nd4! White now has the edge h5 43.gxh5 Qxh5 44.Nxe6 Nxe6 45.Rxe6 Qd5 46.Rxa6 Qc4+ 47.Qxc4+ bxc4 48.Rc6 Kf7 49.Ke2 Rb8 50.Rxc4 Rb5 51.Ke3 Re5+ 52.Kf4 Kg6 53.Nd3 Rh5 54.Rc6 Rh4+ 55.Kf3 Ra4 56.Nf4+ Kg5 57.Nd5 Ra5 58.Ne3 Rb5 59.Rc8 Kg6 60.Ke4 Rb4+ 61.Kd5 Rb5+ 62.Kc4 Rb1 63.Rg8+ Kf7 64.Ra8 Kg6 65.Nd5 Rc1+ 66.Kd4 Rd1+ 67.Kc5 Rc1+ 68.Kd6 Rd1 69.Ra2 Re1 70.Rf2 Kg5 71.Rxf6 Ra1 72.Ke5 If 72.Rf8 Rd1! Ra5 72...Re1+ should keep Black in the game, says Fritz: 73.Kd4 Rd1+ 74.Ke4 Rxd5, with equal chances 73.Rf2 Kg4 74.Rd2 Ra8 75.Nf6+ Kf3 76.Rd3+ Ke2 77.Rh3 Kd2 78.Ne4+ Kc2 79.Rc3+ Kb2 80.Rc6 Ra1 81.Nd6 Kb3 82.Nf5 Re1+ 83.Kd5 Rh1 84.Nd4+ Kb2 85.Rc2+ Kb1 86.Rg2 Rh8 87.Kc4 Rc8+ 88.Kd3 Rh8 89.Nb5 Rh3+ 90.Kc4 Kc1 91.Nd4 Rh8 92.Nf5 Rc8+ 93.Kd3 Kb1 94.Ne3 Rh8 95.Kc3 Rc8+ 96.Nc4 Rc7 97.Rg8 Ka2 98.Rb8 Ka1 99.Rb6 Rc8 100.Rb7 Rc6 101.Kb3 Rh6?? Best was 101...Rc8, but White would still be way ahead 102.Nd2??
Missing 102.Rd7! Rh3+ 103.Kc2 Rh7 104.Rxh7 Ka2 105.Ra7#!,, and a draw was agreed on White’s offer. ½–½
Standard team led by So shut out Nepal, 4-0, which only had two male players and no female, in the opener. On first board, So started well by beating his first opponent, but only managed to draw his subsequent games and lost to Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami in the sixth round.
In the second round, however, the Philippine team bowed to India, 0.5-3.5, with only So holding his ground.
Against Qatar in the third, the team could not make any headway and settled for a draw, 2-2. This was followed by the team’s second win, against Mongolia, 2.5-1.5.
But then, two straight team losses took place—1-3 against Kazakhstan in the fifth and 1.5-2.5 against Iran in the sixth.
Against Kazakhstan, only Camacho won while Pereña drew her game as both IMs So and Bancod lost.
Wesley was clearly not in top form in Macau, apparently caused by too much exposure since July when he won the “Battle of Champions” held by Shell to commemorate the 15th anniversary of its National Youth Active Chess Championship for junior players aged 20 and below and kiddies aged 14 and younger.
Over the past two or three months alone, he competed in four major tournaments—the National Team Selection Tournament in Mandaluyong and Tagaytay, Youth Olympiad in Singapore, Asian Individual Championship in Cebu and World Juniors in Yerevan.
He finished second to IM Bancod in the National Team Selection and took the gold as Best Player in the Under-16 Olympiad. However., he failed to win a key slot in the Asian championship but earned his second GM norm in Yerevan.
Observers, however, believe that the country’s foremost child prodigy is suffering from over-exposure to competitive chess and needs to recover his strength first before plunging into tough tournaments in the local circuit.
As in other sports, peaking and pacing, as well as psychological factors, play a key role in a chess player’s performance.
Meanwhile, the Philippines will host two major international open tournaments shortly—the Second Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Cup Challenge and Open from November 21 to 29 at the Duty Free Festival Mall at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and the Third Prospero P:ichay Jr. Cup from December 1 to 7 .
• W. So (2531) – K. Shrestha (2149)
Rd. 1, King’s Gambit Declined (C30)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.f4 Fritz suggests 5.Nf3 d6 6.Nf3 a6 7.Nd5 Be6 7...Bg4 8.c3 should equalize 8.Nxf6+ gxf6 9.f5 Bxc4 10.dxc4 h5 11.c3 a5 12.a4 If 12.Qe2 Rg8! Qe7 13.Qe2 Qf8 14.Bd2 h4 15.h3 Qg7 16.0–0–0 0–0–0 17.Nh2 Qf8 18.Kb1 Kb8 19.Ng4 Qe7 20.Be1 Rdg8 21.Rd3 Rg7 22.b3 Kc8 23.g3 hxg3 24.Rxg3 Rgh7 25.Rd3 Rg7 26.h4 Rhg8 If 26...Rgh7 27.Ne3! 27.Rg3 Nb8 28.h5 Nd7 29.h6 Rh7 30.Bd2 Qf8 31.Qg2 Rgh8 32.Rh4 c6 33.Nh2 Kc7 34.Rg7 Better than 34.Rhg4 Rxh6 35.Bxh6 Qxh6 Qb8 35.Kc2 b5 36.cxb5 cxb5 37.axb5 Qxb5 38.Qf1 38.Rxh7 was playable, e.g., 38…Rxh7 39.c4 Qb7, and White is way ahead Qxf1 Best was 38...Qc6!? 39.Qc4 Rxg7 40.hxg7 Rxh4, reducing White’s lead 39.Nxf1 White surges ahead Kd8 40.Rhg4 Ke7 41.Rxh7 Rxh7 42.Rg8 Bf2 43.b4 axb4 44.cxb4 d5 45.exd5 Nb6 46.Kd3 Nxd5 47.Nh2 Bh4 48.Ng4 Bg5 49.Bxg5 fxg5 50.b5 Kd7 51.Rg7 Rh8 52.Nxe5+ Ke7 52...Kc7 was better, but it wouldn’t alter the course of the game: 53.Nxf7 Rf8 53.Ng6+!
Black resigns in the face of certain defeat: 53…Kf6 54.Nxh8 Kxf5 55.Nxf7! 1–0
• E. Ghaem Maghami (2591) – W. So (2531)
Rd. 6, 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.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qd3 Be4 12.Qe3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 c6 14.Qb3 Qxd4 Black has equalized 15.Qxb7 Ra7 16.Qb3 Nd5 17.Rd1 Qe5 18.Bxe7 Nxe7 19.Qc3 Qxc3 Not 19...Qxe2?? because of 20.Bf3 Nd5 21.Rxd5 Qxf3 22.Qxf3 cxd5 23.Qc3! 20.Nxc3 Rb7 21.Rd2 Nd7 22.b4 Nd5 23.b5 axb5 24.axb5 cxb5 24...Nxc3? loses, e.g., 25.bxc6 Rb4 26.Rxd7! 25.Nxd5 exd5 26.Bxd5 Rc7 27.Rb2 Rc5 28.Be4 Ne5 29.f4 Nc4 30.Rb4 g5 31.Ra7 gxf4 32.gxf4 Re8 33.Bd3 Re6 34.Rb7 Rb6 34...Nd6 should be tried, e.g., 35.Rb8+ Kg7 36.e4 Rg6+!, and Black equalizes 35.Rxc4 bxc4 36.Bxh7+!
36…Kxh7 37.Rxb6 c3 38.Rb1 c2 39.Rc1 Kg6 40.Kf2 Rc8 41.Kf3 Rh8 42.Rxc2! Rxh2 43.Rc6+ Kg7 44.e4 Rh1 45.e5 Ra1 46.Kg4 Ra4 47.Kg5 Ra1 48.Rc7 Rg1+ 49.Kf5 Kg8 Fritz suggests 49...Re1!, reducing White’s lead 50.Kf6 Rg6+ 51.Ke7 Ra6?? 52.f5 Ra8 53.Kf6 Ra6+ 54.e6 fxe6 55.Rc8+ Kh7 56.fxe6! The end.1–0
CELL PHONE BEEPS UNLUCKY 13TH FOR I.M. YOUNG
Ray Robson, 13, tops North Am
WATCH OUT for this 13-year-old American wonder boy from Florida!
Ray Robson topped the Sixth North American Fide Invitational Tournament in Chicago, finishing with a strong 7/9 ahead of his nine older and higher-rated rivals that included three international masters, four Fide masters including himself, a woman IM and a National Master.
Known as the “Florida Hurricane,” Ray who earned his FM title at the age of 12 achieved an IM result in Chicago.
One of Ray’s victims was Chicago-based Filipino IM Angelo Young, who forfeited his game when his cell phone’s alarm system sounded off on the 13th turn of his Sicilian duel with Ray, who had White.
As a result, IM Young lost the game and all hope of bagging a major prize. He ended up in a tie for fifth to eighth places with IM Stephen Muhammad, FM Igor Tayganov and Dale Haessel. They had 4.0 points each.
Young settled for sixth place on tiebreak.
In the eighth round, the young Robson outwitted the top favorite in the 10-player field, Italian-American IM David Vigorito.
Vigorito finished in second place, half a point behind Robson, who went through the event undefeated. In third place was FM Mehmed Pasalic.
Bringing up the rear were FM Albert Chow, 3.5, and WIM Ludmila Mokriak, 1.5.
Young Robson earned his 7.0 points from five wins and four draws.
One of Ray’s toughest fights was against IM Muhammad.
Here is the score, with notes by a US Chess Federation analyst.
FM Ray Robson, 13,
• S. Muhammad (2384) – R. Robson (2368)
Rd. 2, 6th North American FIDE Invitational, Chicago 2007
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.e4 b4 10.e5 bxc3 11.exf6 Nxf6 12.bxc3 Bd6 13.0–0 0–0 14.Bg5 c5 15.Rb1 Qe7 16.Ne5 Rfd8 17.Bf3 Bxe5 18.Rxb7 Qe8 19.Qe2 Bd6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Bh5 Rd7 22.Rxd7 Qxd7 23.Qg4+ White's clearly better, and after Black's next, he's winning. Kf8 [ 23...Kh8] 24.Qe4 White picks up a very useful pawn, but it's not over yet. Rb8 25.Qxh7 cxd4 26.cxd4 Rb7 27.h4 Qa4 28.Rc1 Qd7 29.g3 Rb8 30.d5 Be5 31.Re1 Rb2 32.Qh8+ White's still winning after the queen check, but he missed an elegant way to finish the game immediately: 32.Rxe5! fxe5 33.d6!! Ke7 33.Qg8 Qxd5 34.Qxf7+ Kd6 35.Qf8+ [ 35.Rc1 was best, keeping Black's king in the box and getting the rook into the attack with tempo - 36.Qc7# is the threat.] Kc7 36.Rd1 Bd4 Now Black's pieces look rather menacing, and it's now anyone's game. 37.Rc1+ Kb6 38.Qb8+ Ka5 39.Qc7+ Ka6 40.Rc6+? What could be more natural? Unfortunately for Muhammad, Black's slippery king survives this final attacking flurry, leaving his own monarch helpless against Robson's beautifully placed pieces. [ 40.Rf1! leaves White with some advantage. Bb6 41.Qc8+ Kb5 42.a4+ Kb4 43.Qf8+ Kb3 44.Rxb6+ axb6 45.Bg6 Qf3!
White's attack is over, he's behind in material, and worst of all, mate is inevitable. A close scrape for the youngster! 0–1
A new Bobby Fischer in the making?
My thanks to reader Hugo Villanueva of California!
EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Russia sweeps rivals in both genders
RUSSIA has demonstrated once again its supremacy in this game of kings by winning the men’s and women’s European Team Championships in Crete, Greece.
Among the men, Russia scored an impressive 8.0 match points from nine rounds to finish a full two points ahead of its closest rivals, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet satellites, which had 6.0 each.
Armenia took the silver on tiebreak and Azerbaijan the bronze.
Among the women, the Russians also dominated the event, finishing with 6.0 match points from nine rounds, a full point ahead of its six rivals.
Poland and Armenia wound up as the first and second runners-up on tiebreak over Ukraine, Georgia, Slovenia and Hungary, all of which also were on the fringes of the defunct Soviet Union.
Except for Israel and France in the men’s division, all the top 10 teams in both sexes came from Eastern Europe.
The top 10 men’s teams and their scores in match points: 1. Russia, 8.0; 2-3. Armenia and Azerbaijan, 6.0 each; 4-10. Poland, Ukraine, Israel, Bulgaria, Slovenia, France and Hungary.
The seven had 5.0 match points each, except Ukraine, which had 4.0 but made up for it by having 4 ties and only one loss.
The top 10 women’s teams and their scores in match points: 1. Russia, 6.0; 2-7.Poland, Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, Slovenia and Hungary, with 5.0 each; 8-10. Romania, Croatia and Azerbaijan, with 4.0 each.
Three other countries from Western Europe that had 4.0 each joined them on 11-13: Germany, Netherlands and France.
Four-time Russian champion Peter Svidler emerged as the best player with a phenomenal performance Elo rating of 2989, followed by his compatriot, Alexander Morozevich, with 2855.
Others among the top 10 were Michael Roiz of Israel, 2855, Michael Adams of England, 2800, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, 2798, Veselin Topalov, 2797, David Navara of the Czech Republic, Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain, 2782, Etienne Bacrot of France, 2781 and Evgeny Alekseev of Russia, 2760.
One of Svidler’s finest games was his ninth-round win over Bulgarian star Ivan Cheparinov, the second of Topalov in his world title fights.
• P. Svidler (2732) – I. Cheparinov (2670)
Rd. 9, ETCC, Crete 2007
Sicilian Scheveningen, Keres Attack (B91)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.g4 If 7.Bd3 e5 8.Nf3 Be7 h6 8.Bg2 e5 9.Nf5 g6 10.h3 10.Nxh6 was better, e.g., 10...Bxh6 11.Bxh6 Nxg4 12.Bc1 Rxh2 13.Rxh2 Nxh2 14.Qd3 gxf5 11.exf5 Nc6 12.Qe2 Qa5 13.0–0–0 Bd7 14.f4 Rc8 15.Kb1 Nb4 16.a3 Rxc3 17.axb4 Qxb4 18.fxe5 Ba4 19.e5xf6 Bxc2+ 20.Qxc2 Rxc2 21.Kxc2 dd5?? This causes even greater problems, says Fritz, noting that 21...Qb5 was better, e.g., 22.Bd5 Rh7, and White’s lead is reduced 22.Rxd5 Qa4+ 23.Kb1 Bb4 24.Bc5 Qb3 25.Re5+ Kd8 26.Bxb4 Qxb4 26...Kc8 won’t be of much help: 27.Rc1+ Kb8 28.Bd6+ Ka8 29.Rc7 Qd3+ 30.Ka2 Qxd6 31.Rxb7 Qxe5 32.Rb5+ Ka7 33.Rxe5, and White is winning 27.Rc1!
The end: 27….Qd6 28.d5! 1–0
Hosted by the Greek Chess Federation, this year’s edition of the European Team Championship was held from October 27 to November 7 at the Creta Maris Conference Hotel in Crete.
The leading teams come from Eastern European countries, most of which were within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union.
Russia which formed the core of the communist empire retained its supremacy in chess after the Soviet collapse in 1991, with most of its satellites regaining their political independence.
PINOY GEMS WITH A HISTORY
Sheer joy watching her play
ONE female player who has been the national team’s mainstay in two successive Olympiads but was assigned only to one of the three chess events in the Asian Indoor Games in Macau is 28-year-old Woman Fide Master Sheerie Joy Lomibao.
It’s no pun when I say it’s a joy watching Sheerie play because she is a picture of concentration at the board.
In the 36th and 37th Olympiads held in Calvia, Spain and Turin, Italy, respectively, Lomibao delivered the points from her board one position.
At the AIG, she even emerged as the top Filipino scorer in Standard at 35th place, one rung higher than that of IM Wesley So. Lomibao had 3.0 points from five games as against So’s 3.0 points from six games that earned him the 36th spot.
Sheerie Joy and Woman National Master Catherine Pereña complemented each other and between them enabled their team to finish with decent results.
They showed their toughness at the Calvia Olympiad three years ago where they had no reserve player, according to journalist Ignacio Dee. On the third board then was rookie Lortzel Quizon.
In fact, at the Turin Olympiad, the women’s team for the first time topped Group C, outshining their male compatriots. On third board was Sherily Cua, who had a rich harvest of points.
• S.J. Lomibao (2089) – S. Zulaikha Siti (2162)
36th Olympiad, Calvia 2004
Vienna Game (C28)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.f4 5.Nf3 is the usual continuation d6 6.f5 Na5 7.Bg5 c6 8.Qf3 b5 9.Bb3 Bb7 10.g4 Nxb3 11.axb3 Qb6 12.Nge2 Nd7 13.h4 h6 14.Bd2 0–0–0 15.Nd1 b4 16.Ne3 d5 17.0–0–0 a5 18.Ng3 a4 19.bxa4 Bxe3 20.Qxe3 d4 21.Qe1 b3 21...c5 may be tried 22.Ba5 Qc5 23.Rh2 Rhe8? Fritz suggests 23...Rdg8 24.Kb1 Missing 24.g5!?, e.g., 24…Rh8 25.Bxd8 Kxd8 Nf6 25.cxb3 Nxg4 26.Rc2 Qe7 27.Rdc1 27.Bxd8 Rxd8 28.Rdc1 Qxh4 should boost her lead Kd7 27...Rd7 was more precise 28.b4 28.Bxd8 was the booster shot, e.g., 28...Rxd8 29.b4! Rb8 29.Rc5 Rec8 30.b5 Qxh4 31.Bb6 Qg5? 31...Ke8 was the better riposte 32.Ba7 Fritz prefers 32.Qa5 Ra8 33.bxc6+! Ra8 33.Qa5 Qd8?? 34.bxc6+!
Decisive. It’s now just a matter of time before Black surrenders.
34…Bxc6 35.Qa6 Rxa7 36.Qxa7+ Rc7 37.Qb6 Qa8 38.a5 Rc8 39.b4 39.a6 Nf2 40.Rxe5 Qb8 41.Rxc6 Qxb6 42.Rxb6! was playable Qb7 40.Rxc6! 1–0
• S. Connolly (2027) – S.J. Lomibao (2163) [B06]
37th Olympiad, Turin 2006
Modern Defense (B)6)
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 Nd7 5.Qd2 a6 6.Nf3 b5 7.a4 b4 8.Nd5 c5 9.Be2 9.dxc5 dxc5 10.Bf4 Ra7 Bb7 10.Qd3 10.a5 is bad: 10…e6 11.Nb6 Nxb6 12.axb6 Qxb6! Rc8 10...e6 11.Bg5 f6 12.Nf4! favors White 11.Nd2 11.a5! should be examined more closely, says Fritz e6! 12.Nf4 12.Nc4 may be stronger: 12…Bf8 13.dxc5 exd5 14.Qd4! e5?? Missing 12...cxd4 13.Bxd4 e5!, and Black is way ahead 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Qb3 Nf6 15.f3 0–0 16.0–0 d5 17.exd5? 17.Rad1!, and the balance is kept Nxd5! 18.Kh1? c4!
19.Bxc4 Nxe3! 0–1
• Q. A. Safar (1545) – S.J. Lomibao (2186)
AIG Macau, 2007
Slav Defense (D10)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Bf4 Nc6 5...Qb6 6.Qd2 would have equalized, says Fritz 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.Bb5 e6 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.Ne5 Qc7 11.Rc1 0–0 12.0–0 h6? 12...Bxe5 was better13.Bxc6 bxc6 14.Na4 14.Nb5 should give White a boost: 14...cxb5 15.Rxc7 Bxc7 16.Qxb5! Ne4 15.Rxc6 Qe7 16.Qd1 Bxe5 17.Bxe5 Qg5 18.Bf4 Qg6 19.f3 Nf6 20.Nc3 h5 21.Qe1 Rfc8 22.Rxc8+ Rxc8 23.Qg3 Qh7 24.Bg5 Ne8 25.Qe1 Nd6?? Best was ¹25...Bd3! 26.Rf2 Missing 26.e4! Bd3 27.Bf4 Nc4 28.Nd1 Qf5 29.b3 Na3 30.Nb2 30.Bd6 would have given White the chance to surge Bb5! 31.Bd6 Fritz suggests 31.h3! Nc2 32.Qd2 Again missing the best move, 32.Qc1! Nxe3! 33.Qxe3??
33...Qb1+ 34.Nd1 Qxd1+ 35.Rf1 Qxf1#! 0–1
GAMES OF GIFTED KIDS
Adly, modern Egypt’s pride
IF there is anything that Egypt can be proud of besides its ancient pyramids, historic past and the key role it plays today in Middle East diplomacy and politics, it is the trailblazing world junior champion, Egyptian Grandmaster Ahmed Adly.
Nobody else in the world can lay claim to the many “first’s” that Adly has accomplished in his young life.
Consider these:
• First Egyptian under-20 champion of Africa—in 2001.
• First Egyptian to earn IM and GM norms that year.
• First Egyptian to finish third in the world under-18 championship—in 2004.
• First Egyptian to qualify for the world championship—also in 2004.
• First Egyptian to become a grandmaster—in 2005.
• First player from Egypt—and from Africa, too—to become world junior champion, circa 2007.
Adly first caught the attention of Filipinos last month when he outplayed IM Wesley So in the World Junior Championship in Yerevan, Armenia right on the day the Philippines’ foremost child prodigy turned 14.
From that day on, there was no stopping Ahmed Adly from capturing the world junior crown in this game of kings!
Born on February 19, 1987, Ahmed proved to be a very precocious child in chess, with his games recorded internationally starting in 2001 when he was only 14—a record that Wesley has surpassed because the Filipino wunderkind was only 13 when a game of his in Bad Wiessee caught the attention of Russian analysts for its creativity.
Actually, there is nothing spectacular about Adly’s style of play except for its tenacity and high degree of accuracy, as his games as an adolescent would show.
• A. Adly (2209) – I. Chahrani (2358)
Golden Cleopatra Open, Cairo 2001
Dutch Defense (A20)
1.d2-d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 g6 4.b3 Bg7 5.Bb2 d5 6.Be2 0–0 7.0–0 Ne4 8.Ne5 Nd7 9.f3 Nd6 10.Nd3 e6 11.Nd2 Bh6 12.f4 Ne4 13.Nxe4 fxe4 14.Nc5 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Bg7 favors Black Nxc5 15.dxc5 Bg7 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Qd4+ Qf6 18.c3 Bd7 19.g4 b6 20.Rc1 Kg8 21.b4 If 21.Qxf6 Rxf6 22.g5 Rf8! b5 Equalizing 22.a3 c6 23.Kg2 Qxd4 23...e5 was more precise 24.cxd4 a5 25.Ra1 Ra7 26.a4 axb4 27.axb5 Rxa1 28.Rxa1 cxb5 29.Bd1 g5 29...Bc6 may be tried 30.fxg5 Bc6 31.Ra6 Rc8 32.h4 e5 33.dxe5 Be8 34.Bb3 Rxc5 35.Rf6!
Black resigns instead of prolonging his agony: 35…Kg7 36.h5! 1–0
• M. Molla (1942) – A. Adly (2448)
African Ch, Nigeria 2003
Queen’s Gambit Declined, Cambridge Springs (D52)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.Nf3 c6 6.e3 Qa5 7.Bxf6 Nxf6 8.a3 Ne4 9.Rc1 Nxc3 10.Rxc3?? 10.Qd2 could have kept the equilibrium Bxa3! 11.Nd2 Of course not 11.bxa3 because of 11…Qxc3! Bxb2 12.Rb3 Bc3 13.cxd5 exd5 14.Bd3 Bb4 15.Ke2 f5 Missing his best shot, 15...Bg4+16.Nf3 0–0 17.g3 Bd6 18.Qb1 Qc7 19.Rc1 Qf7 20.Kf1 Qh5 21.Be2 Qh6 22.Kg2 g5 23.Rg1 f4 24.exf4 gxf4 25.gxf4 Rxf4 25...Bxf4 26.Kh1+ Kh8 was playable 26.Kf1+ Kf8 27.Ng5 Bf5 28.Bd3 Qxh2 29.Rb2 29.Rg2 offered the last chance for counterplay: 29...Qh1+ 30.Rg1 Bh3+ 30.Nxh3 Qxh3+ 31.Ke2 Re8+ 32.Kd2 Rxd4 33.Rxb7 Bf4+ 34.Kc3 Be5 35.Kd2 Qh6+ 36.Kc2 Black resigns. 0–1
• J Strauss (2110) - Ahmed Adly (2218) [B24]
Biel 2001
Closed Sicilian
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.Be3 b6 6...d6 7.Nf3 should equalize 7.f4 Ne7 Equalizing 8.Qe2 0–0 9.Nf3 d5 10.Nd1 Ba6 11.Ng5 11.e5 should not be overlooked, says Fritz h6 12.Nh3 c4 13.0–0 Nb4 13...cxd3 may be tried 14.Qd2 cxd3 15.cxd3 15.Qdxb4 dxc2 16.Re1! was playable Nxd3 16.f5 exf5 17.Bxh6 dxe4 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Qc3+ f6 20.Ng5? Qd6 21.Nh3 Rc8 22.Qd2 Qc5+ 23.Ne3 Nd5! The clincher, and Black resigns. 0–1
MY FAVORITES
Bogoljubow, dynamic player…
PLAYERS who wish to master the dynamics of chess should study the games of Ukrainian-Soviet-German icon Efim Bogoljubow, one of the six leading players in the 1920s.
Bogoljubow is regarded by historians as one of the greatest masters of the 20th century, and one of the few classical greats who actually received the grandmaster’s title—in 1951, barely a year before his death.
Born in 1889 in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, he grew up to become a leading player, particularly in the 1920s when he captured the Soviet crown twice.
Along with several masters of the period, he was playing at Mannheim in Germany when World War I broke out in 1914 and he and the rest of the players were interned by the German imperial army under Bismarck.
It was during his Mannheim internment that Bogoljubov mastered the dynamics of chess and proceeded to win almost all the tournaments held in their prison camp..
Thus, at the end of the war, he emerged as one of the strongest players in the world. He challenged world champion Alexander Alekhine twice, in 1929 and 1934, but lost both times. In tournaments, however, he won first prize a number of times ahead of Alekhine and the rest of the great players of that era.
He was known for his highly dynamic play and was wont to conduct operations in both wings, K-side and Q-side, almost at the same time, switching suddenly and frequently from one flank to the other.
• A. Alekhine – E. Bogoljubov
St. Petersburg, Russia 1913
Ruy Lopez, Classical Defense (C64)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nge7 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 a6 9.Ba4 d5 10.exd5 Qxd5 11.Nc3 Qe6+ 12.Kf1 Qc4+ 13.Kg1 0–0 14.d5 Rd8 14...Na7 should not be overlooked, says Fritz 15.Qe1 Bg4 Not 15...Nxd5? because of 16.Bb3 Qc5 17.Bxd5! 16.Bb3 Qf4 16...Qb4 17.dxc6 Bxf3 18.gxf3 Nxc6 19.Qe4 17.dxc6 Bxf3 18.Qxe7 Bxc6 19.h4 Rd2 20.Rf1 20.Ne2 Qf5 21.Qe3 was playable Re8 21.Qg5 21.Qc5 is stronger: 21…Bxg2 22.Bxf7+ Kxf7 23.Qh5+ g6 24.Qxh7+ Kf6 25.Kxg2 Qg4+ 26.Kh2 Rxf2!
22.Bxf7+?? A blunder made in a desperate effort to avert mate Kh8! 23.Rd1 23.Bc4 is not the saving move, notes Fritz: 23...Qxg5 24.Rxf2 Re1+ 25.Bf1 Qe3! Qxf7 24.Rd2 24.Rh3 offered the last hope: 24...h6 25.Qg4 Rxg2+ 26.Qxg2 Bxg2 27.Kxg2! h6 25.Rxf2 Re1+ 26.Kh2 Qxf2 27.Qg4 Bxg2! The persuader, and White resigns: 28.Rxe1 Bf3+ 29.Kh3 Bxg4+ 30.Kxg4 Qxe1! 0–1
The following is his most famous game that shows his highly dynamic style of play.
• E. Bogoljubov – J. Mieses
Baden-Baden 1925
1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.0–0 Bd6 6.c4 c6 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.Qc2 Ne4 9.Kh1 Qf6 10.Bf4 Bxf4 Better than 10....dxc4 11.Nxe4 fxe4 12.Bxd6 exf3 13.exf3, which gives White the edge 11.gxf4 Qh6 Not 11...dxc4 12.Nxe4 fxe4 13.Ng5! 12.e3 Ndf6 Fritz suggests 12...0–0 13.Rg1, with equality 13.Ne5 Nd7 13...Nxc3 14.bxc3 0–0 15.cxd5 exd5 16.c4 favors White 14.Rg1 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.f3 is good for White Nxe5 Equalizing 15.dxe5 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Bd7 If 16...0–0 17.Bf3 17.Rad1 17.cxd5 exd5 18.c4 dxc4 19.Qxc4 gives White the edge b5 18.Qb2 0–0 19.Qa3 Rfd8 20.cxb5 cxb5 21.Qa6 Qh5 Fritz suggests 21...Kh8! 22.Bxd5 exd5 23.Rxg7+! Kxg7 24.Qf6+ Kg8 25.Rg1+ Qg4 26.Rxg4+ fxg4 27.f5 Rdc8 28.e6! Surging ahead Bc6 29.Qf7+ 29.Qe7!? might be the shorter paths, says Fritz: 29...Kh8 30.f6! Kh8 30.f6 Rg8? 31.Qc7 Rac8 31...Raf8 lis a fruitless try to alter the course of the game, says Fritz: 32.f7 Be8 33.Qe5 Rg7 34.Qb8!, winning 32.Qe5 d4+ 33.Kg1 Bd5 33...Rcf8 offered the last chance for counterplay: 34.f7+ Rg7 35.cxd4 b4, but White is way ahead 34.f7+ Rg7 35.Qxd5!
Clinching the point: 35…h6 36.Qe5! 1–0
CHESS MAGIC
…with amazing wizardry
THE wizardry of GM Efim Bogoljubow never ceases to amaze me. But then, his dynamic style is conducive to producing magical games that feature the fantastic use of combinations in achieving tactical objectives and the ultimate goal of victory.
By the very nature of the game, Bogoljubov could pull off most of his magical gems when facing weak opponents but not when playing against his peers. Nevertheless, even against his peers, he sometimes managed to pull off what we today call a “swindle.”
Here is one of his last miniature gems, carved just a few months before his death at a simultaneous exhibition against amateurs in his adopted country, Germany.
• Efim Bogoljubov - NN
Germany 1952
Classical French, Alekhine-Chatard (C13)
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 4...dxe4 is the move leading to equality, e.g., 5.Nxe4 Nbd7! 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4 0–0 7.Bd3 c5 Trying to unravel the pawn chain a la Nimzowitsch 8.Nh3 cxd4?? Losing the thread of the position. Best was 8...Re8, e.g., 9.Bxe7 Rxe7 10.dxc5 Nc6!, with equal chances 9.Bxe7! Qxe7 10.Bxh7+ A deflecting sacrifice that at the same time breaches Black’s home defense lines Kxh7 11.Qh5+! Kg8 12.Ng5!
Threatening mate even if Black sacrifices his queen, e.g., 12..Qxg5 13.hxg5 f5 (creating a flight square for his king) 14.g6! and there’s nothing Black can do to stop 15.Qh7# or 15.Qh8#! 1–0
Here is another sample.
• E. Bogoljubov – N. Muller
Triberg 1934
Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation (C68)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.d3 Qe7 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Bxc5 Qxc5 9.Qd2 Bg4 10.d4 Qb4 10...exd4 was the refutation, e.g., 11.Qxd4 Qxd4 12.Nxd4 0–0–0, with equal chances 11.Nxe5 0–0–0 12.0–0 12.f3 Be6 13.0–0–0 Nd7 was playable Rxd4? 12...Bh5 was better but it would also give White a big boost :13.f3 Rxd4 14.Qe3 13.Qe3 13.Qg5 was stronger, e.g., 13…Qc5 14.Qxg7 Qxe5 15.Qxh8+ Rd8 16.Qg7 Be6 14.Nd5! Qc5? 15.Qxd4!!
A killer move, says Fritz.
15...Qxd4 16.Ne7+ Kb8 17.N7xc6+! bxc6 18.Nxc6+! 1–0
Fortunately for chess fans of later generations, many of his gems were recorded for posterity. Here is a sample of one gem that he produced while being held captive by the Germans at the outbreak of WWI.
• E. Bogoljubov – C. J. Margot Carls
Mannheim 1914
Gruenfeld Defense (D93)
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 g6 5.Bf4 Bg7 6.e3 0–0 7.Qb3 Qa5 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.0–0 dxc4 10.Bxc4 b6? 10...Nb6 would allow Black to play on 11.Bxf7+! Rxf7 12.Ng5 Nd5 13.Nxf7 Kxf7 14.e4 e6 14...Bxd4 15.exd5 Nc5 favors White 15.exd5 exd5 16.Ne4 Bxd4? If 16...Nf6 17.Nd6+ Kg8! 17.Nd6+ Kg8 18.Qh3 Qa6 9.Qe6+ Kh8 19...Kg7 is not the saving move, says Fritz 20.Nf5+! gxf5 21.Bh6+ Kh8 22.Qe8+ Nf8 23.Qxf8#! 20.Nf7+!
Black resigns in the face of mate: 20…Kg8 21.Nh6+ Kg7 22.Qf7+ Kh8 23.Qg8#! 1–0
The perceptive reader will notice that there is a common characteristic of Bogoljubow’s brilliancies. And this is his devil-may-care manner of executing his combinations, taking great risks just to achieve his objective.
Amazing wizardry of the man, indeed! Sheer magic…
BOBBY ANG’S BUSINESSWORLD COLUMN, CHESS PIECE (1)
Polugaevsky Gambit
29th Arco di Trento
20-28 October 2007
Final Top Standings
1-4 GM Jacob Aagaard SCO 2535, Tervel Serafimov BUL 2379, IM Aleksandar Wohl AUS 2415, GM Igor Naumkin RUS 2487, 7.0/9
5-9 IM Roland Salvador PHI 2456, IM Paolo Vezzosi ITA 2323, GM Miroljub Lazic SRB 2493, FM Virgilio Vuelban PHI 2410, FM Alessio De Santis ITA 2367, 6.5/9
Total of 107 players
ROLAND SALVADOR missed his 3rd and final GM norm in the Arco di Trento Open. He got off to a great start with five straight wins, including a slam-bang cliffhanger with GM Lazic:
Lazic,Mir (2493) - Salvador,R (2456) [A12]
Open A Arco di Trento ITA (5), 24.10.2007
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 d5 3.e3 Bg4 4.Bb2 Nbd7 5.Be2 e6 6.c4 c6 7.0–0 Bd6 8.d4 Ne4 9.Ne5 Bxe2 10.Qxe2 Qc7 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Nxd7 Qxd7 13.f3 Ng5 14.e4 0–0–0 15.e5 Bc7 16.Nd2 f5 17.b4 Ne6 18.Nb3 Bb6 19.a4 a6 20.Qc2 Kb8 21.f4 g5 22.fxg5 f4 23.Qd3 Rhg8 24.Bc1 Rdf8 25.b5 Nxg5 26.bxc6 Qg4 27.Ra2 Nh3+ 28.Kh1 f3 29.g3 Qh5 30.Nc5 Bxc5 31.dxc5 Rxg3 32.Rb2 Rg7 33.Qxa6 Rg1+ 34.Rxg1 Nf2+ 35.Rxf2 bxa6 36.Rg5 Qh4 37.Rg3 Qxa4 38.Bh6 Rf5 39.e6 Qa1+ 40.Rg1 Qe5 41.e7 Kc7 42.Bg5 Rxg5 43.Rxg5 Qxg5 0–1
A sixth-round draw with Aagaard followed by two straight losses to GM Naumkin and IM Wohl took him out of the GM hunt.
But I don’t think it is such a great tragedy, since an examination of his games show a continuous upward trend in his chess powers. One very conspicuous difference between the Roland Salvador now and before is in the area of the chess openings – he used to rely exclusively on his aggressive and high-quality middlegame skills, but now we see him playing the latest trends in modern chess theory.
Let us follow the following game, which might have some theoretical significance.
Salvador,Roland (2456) - Vezzosi,Paolo (2323) [E17]
Open A Arco di Trento ITA (4), 23.10.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.c4 e6 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0–0 0–0
This position is known to be very solid for Black. After 7.Nc3 Ne4! White does not have any advantage at all - the draw percentage is very high here. This is what I am talking about - if you don't mind unclear pawn sacrifices then you don't have any opening problems. Roland Salvador clearly subscribes to this theory, for now comes ...
7.d5!? exd5 8.Nh4
The Polugaevsky Gambit, named after its inventor and popularizer Lev Polugaevsky who introduced it against Viktor Korchnoi in their 1980 Buenos Aires Candidates' Match and scored a great victory. Later on its reputation became even more enhanced when Kasparov adopted it in his world championship clashes with Karpov. We do not see it as often now, but this is not because of any questions as to soundness but rather the Queen's Indian with ...Ba6 instead of ...Bb7 became popular.
Before Polugaevsky’s discovery, 8.Nd4 was the continuation, and in fact it looks much more logical – it is not desirable to centralize one’s pieces? The disadvantage is that there is no pressure on d5, and after Black's paradoxical move 8...Bc6!, he forces a resolution in the center and Black is ok.
8...c6 9.cxd5 Nxd5
Also possible is 9...cxd5!? 10.Nc3 Na6 11.Nf5 Nc7 12.Bf4 d6 White has a slight edge, but no more. Not a lot of black players, though, are willing to play a long and protracted defense with little chances of active play.
10.Nf5
White does not have any direct threats and is down a pawn, but the second player has difficulty developing the queenside pieces. On the other hand White has good prospects of an attack with his e- and f- pawns together with the powerful knight on f5.
10...Nc7
The knight retreats to a square from which it can support the ...d7-d5 push Normal moves like 10...Nf6 are not so good because it leaves a target for the advance of the e-pawn. For example 11.e4 d5 12.Nc3 dxe4 13.Bg5!? h6 (13...Bc8 14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Nxe4 Nbd7 16.Nxf6+ Nxf6 17.Bxc6 White is still better, and he has restored material equality. Splosnov,S (2355)-Staszewska,A/ Suwalki 2000 1–0 (53)) 14.Bf4 Ba6 15.Re1 Bb4 16.Qb3 Bxc3 17.Qxc3 Qd3 18.Nxh6+ Sturua,Z-Kengis,E/ URS 1981 1–0 (43).
A bit of a historical footnote: In the stem game described in the note to white's 8th move, Korchnoi played 10...Bc5 and was destroyed with 11.e4 Ne7 12.Nxg7! Kxg7 13.b4 Bxb4 14.Qd4+ f6 15.Qxb4 c5 16.Qd2 White had a very strong initiative. Polugaevsky,L-Kortschnoj,V (12)/ Buenos Aires m 1984 1–0 (73).
11.e4 d5 12.Re1
This quiet developing method has proven to be difficult for Black to deal with. Here are some samples of recent disastrous defeats here:
Mamedyarov showed that White had a serious advantage after 12...dxe4 13.Nc3 Bc8 14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Nxe4 The game finished off as follows: 15...Ne6 16.Qh5 Mamedyarov,S (2728)-Jakovenko,D (2671)/ Fuegen 2006 1–0 (23);
1)
12...Bc5? is even worse - it is refuted by 13.b4! Qf6 (13...Bxb4 loses immediately:
14.Qd4 Qf6 15.Qxb4 Qxa1 16.Bb2 and wins. Take note that 16...Qxa2? is impossible because of 17.Ne7+ Kh8 18.Ng6+ hxg6 19.Qxf8+ Kh7 20.Qxg7#) 14.bxc5 Qxa1 15.Bd2 Qxa2 Schebler,G (2474)-Hübner,R (2637)/ Germany Bundesliga 2005 1–0 (27). The fastest way to victory now is 16.Qg4 g6 17.Ne7+ Kg7 18.Qf4+- Ne6 19.Qh6+;
2)
12...Ne6? is not the solution either. After 13.exd5 cxd5 14.Nc3 Bb4 15.Qg4 Bxc3 16.bxc3 White's attack is well under way. In fact, there is an immediate threat of Rxe6 followed by mate on g7.
12...Bf6
The latest theoretical survey in New in Chess Yearbook points to 12...Re8 and the text as Black's best chance for equality.
13.e5 Be7 14.Qg4 g6
After 14...g6 White has to watch out for the possibility of ...Bc8.
15.Bh6 Re8 16.Nxe7+ Qxe7 17.Bg5
Another idea is 17.Nd2 with the idea of Nf3 and possibly Ng5.
17...f5 18.Qh4 Qf7 19.Nd2 Nd7 20.Nf3 Ne6
Vezzosi has defended well and withstood the first onslaught. He is a pawn up and could get a pawnroller started up in the c- and d- files. White's chances lie exclusively on finding a way to continue the kingside attack.
21.Bh6 Ndc5 22.Ng5 Qe7 23.Rad1 a5 24.f4 Ba6 25.Re3 d4?
[25...Ne4 is better, exchanging off at least one piece pair]
26.Ree1 Rac8 27.g4!
This move is possible because of Black's inaccuracy on the 25th move. Now 27...Nxf4 is met by 28.gxf5 Nxg2 29.Kxg2 gxf5 30.Rxd4 and White has a big plus.
27...fxg4 28.Qxg4 Bd3 29.Rxd3 Nxd3 30.Rf1 Nxg5 31.Bxg5 Qf7 32.Bf6
The immediate threat is Be4 and f4-f5.
32...Rc7 33.Qg3 Nc5 34.f5 Rcc8 35.Rf4!
After 35.Rf4 Now the game finishes in a time scramble.
35...Nd7 36.fxg6 hxg6 37.Rg4 Nxe5 38.Bxe5 1–0
I feel that now, more than ever, the grandmaster title for Roland Salvador is just around the corner. Let us all wish him good luck.
Reader comments and/or suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com.
This column was first published in BusinessWorld on November 5, 2007.
BOBBY ANG’S BUSINESSWORLD COLUMN, CHESS PIECE (2)
King Hunt
TODAY let us forget all of those “heavy” topics (exposition of chess principles, future prospects of Philippine chess, etc...) and just have fun. Let’s look at King hunts.
The first King Hunt I ever saw was from my childhood. This was in the early 70s where almost every chess book you see in the stores are authored by either Fred Reinfeld or Al Horowitz. The Horowitz book “Golden Treasury of Chess” gave the following fascinating game:
Hoffman,Alexander - Petrov,Alexander [C54]
Warsaw m Warsaw, 1844
Our hero in this game, Alexander Petrov (1794–1867) was a great chess player and teacher. He wrote the first Russian manual entitled (translated) "The Game of Chess Systematized, with a Supplement containing Philidor's Games and Annotations to Same". He also analysed with Carl Friedrich von Jaenisch the opening that later became known as the Petroff Defense or Russian Game (C42 according to Encyclopedia of Chess Openings).
At the time of the following game Warsaw was still part of the Russian Empire and had a reputation as one of the top cultural and chess centers of the world. Alexander Hoffman was among Warsaw's (and therefore the world's) top players then.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 Ne4?
This game was played more than 160 years ago, so we shouldn't be too critical of the handling of the opening moves. Nowadays we know that best here is 6...d5 7.Bb5 Ne4
8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 0–0 Black is ok.
7.Bd5!
Forcing Black to sacrifice his knight for dubious compensation. However, given those swashbuckling times, I have no doubt that Petrov’s intention was really to give it away when he played 6...Ne4.
7...Nxf2 8.Kxf2 dxc3+ 9.Kg3 cxb2 10.Bxb2 Ne7 11.Ng5? Nxd5 12.Nxf7
The idea is that 12...Kxf7 is met by 13.Qxd5+ followed by 14.Qxc5.
12...0–0! 13.Nxd8
Now here is where the fun begins.
13...Bf2+ 14.Kh3 d6+ 15.e6 Nf4+ 16.Kg4 Nxe6 17.g3
[17.Nxe6 Bxe6+ 18.Kh5 Rf5+ 19.Kg4 h5+ 20.Kh3 Rf3#]
17...Nd4+ 18.Ne6 Bxe6+ 19.Kh4 Nf5+ 20.Kh3 Ne3+ 21.Kh4 Ng2+ 22.Kh5 g6+ 23.Kg5 Be3# 0–1
Liked that? Here is something from more recent times. Vadim Zvjaginsev (pronounced Zwaginsev) is one of the leading exponents of the Mark Dvoretsky chess school.
Although he has not yet broken into the ranks of the chess elite, he is known as an original thinker and fiery attacker. He is known for two things. In 1997, during the Groningen (FIDE) World Championship, single-handedly eliminated the American contingent by defeating in consecutive rounds GMs Joel Benjamin, Grigory Kaidanov and Yasser Seirawan before losing to fellow Russian GM Alexey Dreev in round 4.
Another trademark of his is 1.e4 c5 2.Na3!? with which he has good results. Take a look at this attacking effort.
Cifuentes Parada,Roberto (2535) - Zvjaginsev,Vadim (2585) [D45]
Hoogovens op Wijk aan Zee (1), 01.1995
1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 b6
The move 6...Bd6 has been played thousands of times in this position. The move played in the game owes its popularity to Alexey Dreev.
7.Be2 Bb7 8.0–0 Be7 9.Rd1 0–0 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Qc7 12.Nc3 c5 13.d5 exd5 14.cxd5 a6 15.Nh4! g6 16.Bh6 Rfe8 17.Qd2
White threatens both d5-d6 and Nf5.
17...Bd6 18.g3 b5!
The intention is to answer 19.Nf5 with 19...b4.
19.Bf3 b4 20.Ne2 Ne4?! 21.Qc2 Ndf6 22.Ng2! Qd7 23.Ne3 Rad8 24.Bg2?
Would you believe that this move is a mistake? Better is 24.Rac1! with an unclear position.
24...Nxf2!
First Black gives up a knight.
25.Kxf2 Rxe3!
Then the exchange.
[26.Kxe3 Ng4+ 27.Kd2 Nxh6 White has king safety issues]
26...Ng4+ 27.Kf3 Nxh2+ 28.Kf2 Ng4+ 29.Kf3 Qe6! 30.Bf4 Re8 31.Qc4 Qe3+!!
Now the queen is given up.
32.Bxe3 Rxe3+ 33.Kxg4
The other knight also has to go.
33...Bc8+ 34.Kg5 h6+! 35.Kxh6 Re5 0–1
The winner of the next game is Hikaru Nakamura, who has broken the record of Bobby Fischer by earning, at the age of 15 years and 79 days, the International Grandmaster title. This was 3 months younger than Fischer. His stepfather is the famous chess author Sunil Weeramantry.
Nakamura is known as an aggressive player whose relentless determination and tactical excellence make him a dangerous opponent for anybody. Lately Hikaru has been on a roll, he won the Casino de Barcelona Tournament (October 18-26, 2007) with 7/9 a point clear of Cuba’s Lenier Dominguez and followed it up by winning the Corsica Masters Rapid Tournament ahead of Karpov, Kasimdzhanov and Bareev.
In the following game he defeats the Russian-Polish GM Michal Krasenkow, another great player.
Krasenkow,Michal (2668) - Nakamura,Hikaru (2648) [A14]
Casino Barcelona ESP (2), 19.10.2007
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0–0 0–0 6.b3 a5 7.Nc3 c6 8.d4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 b6 10.e4 Ba6 11.Nd2
I am not a fan of this move. The position on the board is similar to the Queen's Indian, and if we are to follow the theory of that opening White should go for e4-e5 at the first opportunity. In fact, I think 11.e5 Ne8 12.Ne2 is a much better way to continue.
11...c5!
A well-timed strike in the center, attacking white's d-pawn.
12.exd5
[12.e5 is not so attractive anymore. After 12...Ng4 13.h3 cxd4 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.hxg4 dxc4 16.Nxc4 b5 Black is more than OK]
12...cxd4 13.Nb5 exd5 14.Nxd4 Rc8 15.Re1 b5 16.Bb2 Re8 17.Qd1 bxc4 18.bxc4 Qb6!
Nakamura also sees possibilities of a king hunt.
19.Rb1 dxc4! 20.Nc6? Rxc6 21.Bxf6?
After 21.Bxf6 Completely overlooking Black's combination.
21...Qxf2+!! 22.Kxf2 Bc5+! 23.Kf3
[23.Kf1 is not the cure. Black wins with 23...c3+! wins, but not 23...Rxf6+?? 24.Bf3 c3+ 25.Kg2 White escapes]
23...Rxf6+ 24.Kg4 Ne5+! 25.Kg5
Or 25.Rxe5 Bc8+! and wins.
25...Rg6+ 26.Kh5 f6 27.Rxe5 Rxe5+ 28.Kh4 Bc8! 0–1
Reader comments and/or suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com.
This column was first published in BusinessWorld on Friday, November 9, 2007.
Ponomariov leads pack in ‘Chess Champions League’
FORMER world champion Ruslan Ponomariov led the field after six rounds of play in the six-GM “Chess Champions League—Playing for a Better World” in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain.
Ponomariov, the youngest world champion (at 18 in 2002) in chess history, had 4.5, a full point ahead of his closest rivals, Livier-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.
Behind them were Judit Polgar of Hungary with 3.0, ex-champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia with 2.0 and ex-champion Rustam Ksimdzhanov of Uzbekistan, 1.5.
FROM MY SWIVEL CHAIR
Sharing news and views
ON page 3 of this issue, there is a news report from reader Kim Dumdum about the UniGames, an annual event usually held in Bacolod where chess players from universities and colleges all over the country meet and match wits for three days each year.
The reader is also invited to read page 4, where there are both local and foreign stories. The local one is about the forthcoming CAAP tournament for non-masters to be hosted by the QMC Chess Plaza. It came from Alfredo V. Chay, who is helping promote the circulation of my newsletter.
Chay is CAAP PRO, an officer of the QMC plaza management committee that I head and, above all, a regular reader of The Weekender.
Tucked into the tournament story is the reminder that an arbiters seminar is to be held next weekend at the Perez Bldg. in Parañaque City to be conducted jointly by the NCFP and NAPCA as an offshoot of the Fide seminar held in Cebu during the Asian Championship in September.
Like Chay, IA Willy Abalos and FA Rommel Tacdac are regular readers of The Weekender who love sharing the news with the rest of its readers.
Below that story is the one about IM Roland Salvador finishing among the top 10 players who competed in the Hotel Petra Festival in Rome. The Weekender was able to find the website thanks to regular reader-contributor John Manahan, who has also helped us overcome certain technical difficulties in interpreting the news.
This is why The Weekender has been able to put in perspective the results of chess competitions during the Asian Indoor Games in Macau (see pages 6 to 9).
On page 10, the exploits of 13-year-old Ray Robson of Florida in the North American Fide Invitational held in Chicago last week are also put in perspective, thanks to the information forwarded to The Weekender by Hugo Villanueva from California.
My point is, readers are now actively helping gather the news and put together a newsletter that truly shares their news and views with Filipino players throughout the world about the game.
The Weekender’s future is assured. I am confident that it will effectively promote sharing of the news and views among Filipino chess players worldwide, to the end that a strong Filipino community will emerge in Caissa’s realm.
That will be the first step towards producing the First Filipino World Champion.
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AS of today, no Filipino has signed up yet for the Second GMA Cup, which will get under way in the middle of next week. Don’t be awed by the ratings of your foreign rivals, guys and gals. Let’s show ’em what the Pinoy and Pinay can do!
The Weekender
Quezon Memorial Circle
Quezon City
Manuel O. Benitez
Editor & Publisher
Alfredo V. Chay
Circulation Manager
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Published every weekend
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