The Weekender

Hi guys!

Here's our TW from Mr. Manny Benitez for the year 2008:

The Chess Plaza Weekender
Sunday, 6 January 2007
Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City
Vol. II No. 30

‘I’LL PLAY SLAMBANG CHESS VS JOEY’

Torre off to Asean Masters with So

By Marlon Bernardino

WITH their upcoming P1.2 million rematch more or less assured by pledges of support from Quezon City officials and business entities, Asia’s trailblazing grandmaster, Eugenio Torre, has vowed to play aggressively against GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio.

“Kailangang mas agresibo tayo (I have to play more aggressively),” he said, adding that he would play “slambang chess”.

Torre, 56, made his vow in an interview with NBN4 TeleDyaryo Sports host Sam Refran last Friday.

He was interviewed before his trip to Indonesia with 14-year-old GM-elect Wesley So to compete in the inaugural Asean Masters Circuit in Tarakan, which begins on Tuesday, January 8, and ends on January 20, a Sunday.

Torre said his participation in the inaugural Asean Masters would be part of his preparation for his match against Antonio, who beat him by one point in their 1998 Philippine Independence Centennial Match sponsored by the Land Bank in Makati City.

Antonio chimed in: “Naglalaro ako sa ICC (I play regularly at the Internet Chess Club).”

He revealed that he works out at the gym and plays basketball as part of his preparations for their return bout.

Antonio is also scheduled to leave the country this week for Thailand where he will serve as head coach of the Philippine paraplegic chess team, the defending champion in the annual Asean ParaGames.

Councilor Inton praised GMs Torre and Antonio for their contributions to Philippine chess, saying that both grandmasters have a large following in the country and abroad.

He revealed that the Quezon City government under Mayor Sonny Belmonte was fully behind the return bout between two of the country’s leading players.

At least two business entities have pledged support too for the match. These are the New San Jose Builders, Inc. under president Jerry Acuzar and Eurotel.

Inton publicly thanked both firms, particularly Acuzar of New San Jose Builders, for their support.

If the Antonio-Torre match pushes through, the winner will get P800,000 and the loser P400,000.

(Journalist Ignacio Dee reports that the agreement has been drawn up but has yet to be signed.—Ed)

It will be a 12-game match to commemorate the World Championship Match between titleholder Anatoly Karpov of the then Soviet Union and his challenger, Viktor Korchnoi of Switzerland..

The match was held in Baguio City in 1978, a year after Korchnoi defected from the Soviet Union.

Antonio is currently the country’s No. 1 player with 2529 and Torre No. 4 with 2519.

IM So, who is just waiting for the official Fide confirmation of his GM title, earned when he achieved his third GM result in the Prospero Pichay Cup International Open early last month, is No. 2 with 2526.

GM Mark Paragua occupies the third slot with 2521.

Below Torre are.GM-elect Darwin Laylo (2508), Rogelio Barcenilla (2503), IMs Joseph Sanchez (2492), Oliver Dimakiling (2484), John Paul Gomez (2469), and Roland Salvador (2462).

In 11th to 20th are IMs Jayson Gonzales(2455), Ronald Dableo (2452) and Rolly Martinez (2447); GM Nelson Mariano (2447), NM Dino Ballecer (2434), GM Buenaventura Villamayor (2425), IMs Julio Catalino Sadorra (2423), Barlo Nadera (2417) and Rico Mascariñas (2416); and NM Rolando Nolte (2412).

Pichay warns:
‘Keep games clean, or else…’

CHESS CZAR Prospero Pichay Jr. has warned players to keep their games clean or he would impose stiff sanctions, including a lifetime ban on “recidivists.”

He issued the warning in talks to individual players as well as in brief remarks at the 2nd Rizal Day Executive Rapid Chess Tournament held at the Lunera last Sunday (see results on page 4 and comment on page 20).

He said he would punish erring players regardless of their rank and title if they get involved in game-fixing.

“Even grandmasters will be punished,” he warned.

Pichay pledged to give all-out support to Philippine chess until it regains its premier position in Asia. This includes an incentives program giving P30,000 a month to any player who attains an Elo rating of 2600 and above.

83RD YEAR CELEBRATION OF OLDEST TOURNAMENT
Azeri GM leads in Hastings Congress

AN unheralded grandmaster from Azerbaijan entered the penultimate ninth round of the Masters Open at the helm of a field of 103 players in the 83rd Hastings International Congress on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in the famous beach resort.

GM Nidjat Mamedov (2575) seized the lead in the eighth round when, playing Black, he outwitted English GM Mark Hebden in a thrilling endgame.

Mamedov had 6.5 points, half a point ahead of GM Boris Chatalbashev of Bulgaria and Vadim Malakhatko of Belgium, the previous tournament leader, IM Simon Williams of England and GM Milos Pavlovic of Serbia.

According to The Week in Chess (Twic), Williams had a good chance of becoming England’s newest grandmaster after he battled Malakhatko to a draw with White in the eighth round.

Behind the leaders were 12 titled players (mostly grandmasters and international masters) led by English GM Nicholas Pert.

Hastings is the world’s oldest and once most prestigious tournament. It is also the only major chess event straddling both the old year and the new, having started on December 28 and set to end today.

Its best known tournament was that of 1895 won by American genius Harry Nelson Pillsbury despite the presence of world champion Emanuel Lasker and his predecessor, Wilhelm Steinitz, recognized in history as the first world champion.

Winning a won game is said to be one of the most difficult tasks. Here is how Mamedov did it with Black.

55...b1=Q!? 55...Qb6!? seems even better, says Fritz: 56.Qe1 Qc6 57.Qd2 Qxg2+ 58.Qxg2 Nxg2 59.Kxg2! 56.Qxf6+ Kg8 57.Qe6+ Kf8 58.Qc8+ Fritz says 58.Qf6+ won’t improve anything, e.g., 58...Ke8 59.Qc6+ Kf7 60.Qd5+ Ke7 61.Qe5+ Kd7 62.Qd5+ Kc7 63.Qf7+ Kb8 64.Qe8+ Ka7 65.Qd7+ Qb7 66.Qd4+ Q1b6 67.Qxh4 Qf2, and wins Kf7 59.Qc7+ Qe7 59...Qe7 60.Qc4+ Kg7 61.Nh5+ Kh7 62.Ng3 Qb2 63.Qd3+ Kh8 64.Qf1 Qf7 65.Qe2 Qxe2 66.Nxe2 Qf2 67.Nf4 Nf3+ 68.Kh1 Qe1#! 0-1


NCFP poll in Tagaytay

IT’S now official: the NCFP will hold its board election on January 19 at Tagaytay City’s Convention Center. This was announced by president Butch Pichay and secretary general Bambol Tolentino.

NAVA, PALOMO BAG GOLD MEDALS IN MALAYSIA
FEU sweeps Asean World Varsity joust

WITH Fide Master Roderick Nava and Jenny Rose Palomo setting the pace, Far Eastern University captured the 12th Rakan Muda General Asean Chess Challenge of the World Inter-University Championships held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

FM Nava won the individual gold on tiebreak over IM Shojaat Gharehgardeh of Iran’s Azad Islamic University while Palomo took the individual women’s gold.

Yet another FEU stalwart, James Bulicatin of Team B, grabbed the individual men’s bronze.

Far Eastern University had two teams when it represented the country in Kuala Lumpur as 2007 champion of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

The National University of Singapore took the second prize in the team competition on tiebreak, with FEU’s Team B seizing the third prize. The two runners-up had 25.5 points each, with NUS having 212 tiebreak points and FEU Team B 200.

Behind the three top teams were University of Colombo Team A, University of Malaya Team A, India’s PTVA, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, Iran’s AIU, University of Malaya Team B, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris Team A (Malaysia), and University Islam Antarabangsa (Malaysia), in that order.

Behind Palomo in the individual women’s competition were Thi Minh Hien Ho of NUS, second prize, and Nur Shazwani Zulkafli of UMA, third prize. Palomo had 7.5 as against the 7.0 points earned by Thi, who won on tiebreak, and Nur.

Nava and Palomo who had 7.5 points apiece from seven wins, one loss and one draw, received 1,000 ringgit (Malaysian dollars) each.

Nava’s only loss was to fellow FM Hong Nguyen Li of NUS in the fourth round. Palomo bowed to Dawn Hai Sau Mun of NTA in the opener.

Both prizewinning FEU teams had IM Jayson Gonzales as head coach and NM Alex Milagrosa as assistant coach.

Gonzales is also one of the country’s leading players. He has earned two GM norms and needs only one more to get the coveted title of International Grandmaster.

The FEU head coach thanked the university’s athletics director, Mark Oliver Molina, and National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero Pichay Jr. for their “unwavering support.”

He described 2007 as the best year yet for FEU chess, saying that “we are very happy because we won three major tournaments, here and abroad.”

During the year, FEU, which is based in Manila, had won the UAAP in Manila and UniGames (University Games) in Bacolod City before sweeping the 12th GACC in Kuala Lumpur.—Marlon Bernardino

2ND RIZAL DAY EXECUTIVE RAPID AT LUNETA
Castellano captures P7,000 plum

YOUNG but experienced campaigner Christopher Castellano (2057) outraced all his rivals to capture the P7,000 top prize with a perfect 6.0 points from six games in the 2nd Rizal Day Executive Rapid Tournament held by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines last Sunday.

Among his rivals in the 30-man field were some of the leading national masters.

Tied for second to third a full point behind him were two other “young but experienced” players, Gary Legaspi (2092) and Ritchie Evangelista (1922).

Legaspi took the title on tiebreak but the two pocketed P4,000 each as his share of the combined second and third prizes totaling P8,000.

The three winners also received a trophy each besides their cash prizes.

Six other runners-up went home P1,167 richer plus a medal each after tying for the fourth to ninth prizes totaling P7,000 (increased by P2 for equal sharing)..

The six were Butch Villavieja (2083), Richard Villaseran (1922), Verth Alora (2011), Ric Portogalera 2068), Jenny Mayor (2068) and Jun Rojano (1935). They had 4.0 each.

With 3.5 each, Dennis San Juan (2068) and Anatoly Guaniezo (1815) pocketed P500 each as their shares of the P1,000 10th prize. San Juan landed the 10th berth on tiebreak.

The rest of the 30-player field: Mario Rebano (1990), Manuel Morato (unrated), Willie Abalos (2008), Romel Tacorda (1810), Junrie Salubre (183), Lito Dormitorio (1818), Ricardo Jimenez (1924), Stewart Manaog (2187);

Orlando Pascual (1773), Roberto Grepo (2086), Gerry Yulo (1827), Efren Bagamasbad (2187), Reinhard Orth, Ben Valeroso, Mark Blanco, Rolando Radoc, Ceferino Gonzales, Eduardo Santos (1633), and Antero Pobre.

With P20,000 at stake, the event was sponsored by the Tagaytay City government under Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who is also NCFP secretary general.

Guest speaker was NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., a former congressman representing the lone district of Surigao del Sur.

Fide Arbiter Patrick Lee served as chief arbiter, with the assistance of FA Ilann Perez. Both are members of the NCFP secretariat under Mayor Tolentino.

The Luneta Chess Plaza, which is the first plaza of its kind in the country, served as the venue for the Rizal Day Executive Rapid.

Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the national hero, was known to have been a chess player of no mean ability.

The Spanish colonial authorities had him executed on December 30, 1896. His two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, sparked the Revolution of 1896 under Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros.

Phil Artists to hold tourney on Jan 19 at QMC Chess Plaza

THE Philippine Artists Chess Tournament will be held on January 19 at the Quezon Memorial Circle Chess Plaza in Quezon City.

The tournament will start at 10 am, according to a press release from the Philippine Artists, a chess club that has been in existence since 1978.

At stake is a trophy executed by noted sculptress Impy Pilapil.

The tournament is by invitation, but artists who like to play chess and chess players who dabble in art are welcome to join, says the club in its press statement.

For inquiries, interested parties may call Odette Alcantara, president of the Philippine Artists Chess Club, at 647-1181 or Ignacio Dee at 0918-942-2705.

‘WHY WERE WE PUNISHED?’
Barcenilla breaks his silence

AFTER seven years of silence, GM-candidate Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla has come out to set the record straight about the 2000 ruling by the World Chess Federation denying him his third—or even fourth—GM norm and, consequently, the title of International Grandmaster.

It will be recalled that Banjo, as his friends and fans call him, topped the Jack Collins Memorial GM Tournament at the Marshall Chess Club in New York in June 2000 thereby earning his final GM norm and the title.

The World Chess Federation, however, rejected his application for the GM title later that year on the ground that the Collins Memorial did not meet the requirements for awarding a GM norm because it was similar to a Scheveningen type of tournament, formulated to make it easier for a GM candidate to get a norm.

He said there was no rule at the time that the Scheveningen was no longer a valid basis for awarding a GM norm.

What was approved by Fide in Doha, Qatar, was the rule that a Scheveningen-type tournament could not serve as basis for a GM norm award if it included unrated players.

“You can check the lineup (of the 2000 Collins tournament) and you will see that we were all rated players,” he told The Weekender in an email conveying his “Happy New Year” greeting.

“Why were we (players) punished? Why not just the organizers? Why not approve our applications since we won the tournament?” Banjo asked in his email.

The organizers had advertised it as a GM tournament.

Since then, he has concentrated on making a living and Dame Fortune has smiled on him and his wife, nee Lilibeth Lee and their family (she is the daughter of Antonio Lee who, contrary to what I had earlier head, is very much alive and is doing all right in Iligan City).

The Barcenillas now live in Arizona where they run four homes for the elderly and, I gather, live quite comfortably like any prosperous American family—with three cars, including a brand-new 2007 Lincoln Navigator!

Like Josh Waitzin of Searching for Bobby Fischer fame, Banjo has switched from chess to the martial arts and is now a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

But unlike Waitzin who has given up on chess, Banjo still dreams of playing as a GM. “I am now a GM, but not in chess. You see,” he joked in the vernacular, “I am now a GM—the general manager of our company!”

Levity aside, Barcenilla holds an enviable track record and impeccable credentials in chess: an International Master with two GM norms, a current Fide rating of 2503 and USCF rating of 2560.

His earliest achievement: first prizes in the national kiddies and under-16 age group in 1985.

Among other first prizes he won before he and his wife migrated to the United States: Philippine Juniors in 1986 and 1989, Asian Juniors, 1989 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and 1990 in Kerala, India; Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, 1990 and 1991; and Philippine National Championship in 1996.

In other words, he has been national kiddies champion, national under-16 champion, two-time national junior champion, two-time Asian junior champion, two-time Malaysian Open champion, and two-time national champion, as gleaned from the records posted on the Net.

Banjo was also the first Filipino to win the silver in the World Juniors. This was in 1991 in Romania.

In team events, Banjo first played in the 1998 Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Greece, the second time in 1992 in Manila and the third time in 1996 in Yerevan, Armenia He also won the board one gold playing for the Philippines in the 1991 Asian Team Championship in Dubai, UAE.

In the US he has consistently topped tournaments.

By his account, Barcenilla has won four GM norms—first in the 1993 Invitational GM Tournament in Jakarta, second at the 1996 Olympiad in Yerevan, Armenia, third in 1998at the Subic Bay Management Authority GM Tournament in Zambales, and fourth in the Jack Collins Memorial in mid-2000

Now, who says that Banjo should not be a grandmaster? Who says that he is not a victim of injustice perpetrated by chess leaders of his time?

WHEN RUSSIAN TITANS CLASH, FIREWORKS ERUPT
Morozevich, the gutsiest gladiator

AT 30, world No. 4 Alexander Morozevich has emerged as the most tenacious fighter among the global megastars by capturing the 60th Russian Championship Superfinals despite a draw and a loss at the start and another loss towards the end of perhaps the toughest tournament on this planet.

It could be the toughest not because of the Elo ratings or the obstacles to be hurdled in the format but because the tournament put together some of the world’s toughest warriors from the No.1 chess superpower.

Their ratings do not tell the whole story, but their individual styles of play speak volumes.

In fact, I found it difficult to select the most sparkling games simply because almost every decided game seemed to be a candidate for selection. That’s how tough Russian super GMs can be.

This is true in both the men’s and women’s divisions where a dozen of the nation’s gutsiest gladiators from either gender fought over 11 rounds in a double all-play-all event.

Morozevich began with a far from tame draw, an exciting battle of wits spanning 53 moves. He had Black against another superstar, Dmitry Jakovenko, last year’s top favorite in the same event but was overtaken and outraced by Russia’s fastest-rising young star today, Evgeny Alekseev.

Let’s start with the two losses of the champion, who garnered 8/11 points, a full point ahead of first runner-up Grischuk, the “other Alexander,” who was just half a point ahead of Evgeny Tomashevsky.

Morozevich’s first loss took place in the second round, to a virtually unknown GM.

A. Morozevich (2755) – N. Vitiugov (2594)
Rd. 2, Sicilian Taimanov (B48)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3² e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.f3 If 8.a3 b5! Ne5 9.0-0-0 Bb4 10.Nb3 b5 11.Kb1 Nc4 12.Bxc4 bxc4 13.Nc1 Rb8 14.Ka1 0-0 15.Bf4 e5 16.Bg5 Ne8 17.N1e2 d6 18.a3 a5 19.Qc1 19.Rb1 Be6 gives Black a chance to equalize Be6! 20.Na2 f5 Not 20...Bc5 21.Be3! 21.Nec3 21.axb4 axb4 22.exf5 Rxf5 could help Black Qb7 If 21...fxe4 22.fxe4 Bc5 23.Be3! 22.Rhf1 Fritz suggests 22.Be3! instead Bc5 23.Rfe1 f4 24.Re2 Rf7 25.Bh4 Qa7 26.Rde1 26.Qd2 might benefit Black: 26…Be3 27.Qe1 Rfb7! Rfb7 Black is now way ahead 27.Nd1 Nc7 28.Bf2 Bxf2 29.Rxf2 Rxb2! A sacrifice of the exchange that Morozevich had least expected..

30.Qxb2 If 30.Ndxb2 Qxf2! Rxb2 31.Kxb2 Nb5 32.c3 Qb6 33.Kc1 Nxa3 34.Rb2 Nb5 35.Kb1 Qc5 36.h3 Bd7 37.Ree2 Kf7 38.Red2 Bc6 39.Nc1 Ke7 40.Ra2 Qa7 41.Ne2 Nc7 42.Nb2 Bb5 Fritz prefers 42...Qc5! 43.Nc1 43.Nd1 Bd7 helps Black Ne6 43...Ke6! was even stronger 44.Ra3 Qb6 45.Nd1 [45.Ka2 Nc7 46.Re2 Bd7 Nc5 45...Bc6+ seems even better 46.Rb2 a4 47.Rb4 47.Ka2 Nb3 48.Ne2 d5 49.exd5 Qg6 Nb3 48.Ne2 Qc5 49.Ra2 d5 50.exd5 Qxd5 51.Nf2 Bd7 51...a3!? makes it even easier for Black, says Fritz: 52.Rxa3 Qd2 53.Ra2 Qe1+ 54.Kb2 Qxe2+! 52.Kb2 Nc5 53.Ka3 Na6 54.Rab2 Nxb4 55.cxb4 Bf5

56.Nc3 Qd4 57.Nfd1 Kd8 58.b5 Kc7 59.Kxa4 e4 60.fxe4 Bxe4 61.Kb4 g5 62.Ra2 h5 63.Ra6 Bxg2 64.Rh6 g4 65.hxg4 hxg4 66.Ka5 Kc8 68.b6 68.Na4 doesn't improve anything Bf3 69.Rc7+ Kd8 70.Na4 Qxd1 71.Nc5 Qe1+! 0-1

His second loss was in the ninth round, with White to Alexey Dreev, one of Russia’s titans.

A. Morozevich (2755) – A. Dreev (2607)
Rd. 9, Classical Sicilian (B56)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3² Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 0–0 9.Qd2 a5 10.Bb5 Be6 11.0–0 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.Qxd5 Bxd5 15.Rfd1 Bxb3 16.axb3 Nd4 17.Bd3 Bc5 18.Kf2 b6 19.Rac1 Rac8 20.Bc4 b5! 21.Bd5 Rfd8 22.Bb7 Rb8 23.Be4 Restoring the balance g6 24.Ra1 f5 25.Bd3 Bb6 26.Ra2 Fritz prefers 26.c3!? f4 27.Bxd4 exd4 28.Ke2!, with equality Kg7 27.g3 b4 28.Re1 Rbc8 29.Bc4 f4 30.gxf4 exf4 31.Bxd4+ Rxd4 32.Kf1 Rd2 33.Re6 Missing his best shot, 33.Re2! Be3! Black surges ahead 34.Rxa5 Rxc2 35.h4 Rd8 36.Rd5 Ra8 37.Rd7+ Kh6 38.Ba6 Rf2+ 39.Ke1 Rxb2 40.h5 Rb1+ 41.Ke2 Rb2+?? Fritz suggests 41...Rxb3!, e.g., 42.hxg6 Rb2+ 43.Ke1 hxg6, and Black is winning 42.Ke1 Rxb3 43.hxg6 hxg6 44.Rdd6 Rb1+ 45.Ke2 Rg1 46.Kd3 Rb8 47.Ke2 b3 48.Bd3 Rg8 49.Re5 Ra8 Clinching the point: 50.Ra6 Rd8 51.Rxe3 fxe3! 0–1

In a tournament where everybody is almost as strong as everybody else, it is next to impossible to post more than two successive wins. Only a Fischer or a Kasparov could do that in the recent past.

Morozevich, however, did it with a phenomenal run of six straight wins over his rivals—a very rare feat in Russia where highly rated players are almost a dime a dozen.

After losing to Nikita Vitiugov in the second round, Morozevich wasted no time in trying to jump back into the bandwagon, which he did almost with ease and decidedly with élan.

His first win was with Black in the third round against Evgeny Tomashevsky (2646), currently No. 14 in his homeland despite the slight drop in his rating to 2644 on the list issued on January 1.

E. Tomashevsky (2646) – A. Morozevich (2755)
Rd 3, Reti Opening (A09)

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.g3 c5 3...Nc6 4.d3 would have equalized 4.e3 4.d3 Nd7 allows Black to equalize Nc6 5.exd4 cxd4 6.Bg2 e5 7.0–0 f6 7...d3 8.Re1 f6 9.Nc3 also keeps the balance 8.d3 Nge7 9.a3 Prophylaxis a5 10.Nbd2 Ng6 11.h4 Be7 12.Re1 0–0 13.h5 Nh8 14.Nh4 g5 14...Be6 was best, e.g., 15.f4 Qd7 16.Qf3, with equality 15.hxg6 hxg6 16.Be4 f5 17.Bxc6 If 17.Bd5+ Kg7! bxc6 Equalizing 18.Nhf3 Nf7 19.Nxe5 Nxe5 20.Rxe5 Bd6 21.Re1 c5 22.Nf3 Kg7 22...f4!? is an interesting idea, says Fritz: 23.Ne5 fxg3 24.fxg3 Qf6, with equality 23.Bg5 Qc7 24.Nh4 24.b4 Bb7 25.bxc5 Bxc5 keeps the balance Rf7 25.Qe2 Bd7 26.f4 Rh8 27.Kf2 Qb7 28.Rab1 Rh5 29.Nf3 Bc6 30.Rg1 Fritz prefers 30.Bh4!?, equalizing Rf8 31.Nh4 Rxg5!:

32.fxg5 f4 33.g4 Re8 34.Qd2 Re3 35.b4 Qe7 36.bxc5 Qxg5 37.Rh1 Bxh1 38.Rxh1 Bxc5 39.Qd1 Qe7 40.a4 Rg3 41.Ng2 Bb4 42.Rh2 Qe5 43.c5 f3 44.Nh4 Qf4! 0–1
What gives Morozevich an advantage over his rivals is his ability to play either color with aplomb.
In fact as can be readily seen, he lost both times with White and recovered quickly with Black in the third and fourth rounds.
In the fourth round, however, he won again with Black against A. Rychagov putting himself in the lead

A. Rychagov (2528) – A. Morozevich (2755)
Rd 4, Queen’s Indian (E15)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bg2 Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Bd6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Nc3 Re8 11.Re1 Bb7 12.Rc1 a6 13.Nh4 Qd7 14.Rc2 Ne4 15.Qc1 Nc6 16.Nf3 Nb4 17.Rb2 a5 18.a3 Na6 19.Rc2 f6 20.Bf4 Bf8 21.Na4 Qb5 22.Qb2 c5 23.Nc3 Nxc3 24.Rxc3 a4 25.Qc2 axb3 26.Rxb3 Qa4 27.Qb1 c4 Fritz suggests 27...Rad8! instead, although White is still a bit ahead 28.Rxb6 Bc6 29.Qf5 Rad8 30.Nd2 Ba8 31.Re6 Rxe6 32.Qxe6+ Kh8 33.Nb1 Nb8 34.Bxb8 34.Nc3!? Qxa3 35.Rc1 is best Rxb8 35.Bxd5 35.Nc3 is still the best Bxd5 36.Qxd5 Qc2 37.Kg2 h6 38.Qf7 Kh7 39.a4 Qe4+ 40.f3 Qxd4 41.Rc1 Rb2 42.Qe6 42.Qxf8 leads to mate: 42...Rxe2+ 43.Kh3 Qf2 44.Qh8+ Kxh8 45.Nc3 Qg2+ 46.Kh4 f5 47.h3 Qxf3 48.g4 Rh2 49.gxf5 Rxh3#! Bc5 42...Bb4 43.a5 keeps the balance 43.Qxc4 Qf2+ 43...Qxc4!? should be tried, e.g., 44.Rxc4 Rxe2+ 45.Kf1 Rf2+ 46.Ke1 Bb6! 44.Kh3± Rxe2 45.Qd3+ g6 46.Rxc5 Qxh2+ 47.Kg4 Re7 48.Qd6?? Missing 48.Nd2! h5+! 49.Kf4 Qe2 50.Rc3 Kg7!

Morozevich’s most crucial game thus far came in the seventh round when he outplayed his namesake and closest rival, Alexander Grischuk.

A. Morozevich (2755) – A. Grischuk (2715)
Rd. 7, 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 6.e3 Bf5 7.Bb5 e6 8.Qa4 Qb6 9.Nf3 Be7 10.Ne5 0-0 11.Bxc6 Not 11.Nxc6? bxc6 12.Bxc6 Qxb2! Rfc8 12.0-0 12.Bb5 a6 13.f3 axb5 14.Qxb5 Qxb5 15.Nxb5 Rc2 favors Black bxc6 13.Rfc1 c5 14.dxc5 Rxc5 15.b4 Rcc8 16.a3 d4 16...Nh5 17.Qd7 Qd8 18.Qxd8+ Bxd8 19.g4 Nxf4 20.exf4 leads to equality 17.exd4 Qxd4 18.Nc6 Qd7 19.b5 Bf8 20.Qa6 Bc5 21.Rd1 Bd3? 21...Qe8 would allow Black to play on 22.Bg3 Ng4 23.Qa4 f5 24.h3 24.Qb3 should benefit White f4 24...a6 is bad: 25.hxg4 axb5 26.Ne5 bxa4 27.Nxd7 Bxf2+ 28.Bxf2 Rxc3 29.Bd4!, and White surges on 25.Bh4 Nh6? 26.Ne4 Bf8 27.Qb3! Black resigns: 27…Qd5 28.Qxd3 Qxd3 29.Rxd3. 1-0

After his seventh-round loss to Morozevich, first runner-up Grischuk settled for a draw against Konstantin Sakaev in the eighth and posted two wins in succession—against Artyom Timofeev in the ninth and Andrey Rychagov in the 10th, both times with Black.
In the 11th and final round, however, Grischuk could not make any headway against four-time national champion Svidler and they agreed to a peaceful ending after 39 moves of an English Opening.
This assured Grischuk of the second prize, a full point behind champion Morozevich.

A. Timofeev (2637) – A. Grischuk (2715)
Rd 9, Caro-Kann, Advance (B12)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Be3 e6 5.Nd2 Nd7 6.c3 f6 7.Ngf3 Bg6 8.h4 Bh5 9.Be2 Ne7 10.Bf4 Qb6 11.0–0 11.Qb3 Qxb3 12.axb3 c5 allows Black to equalize Bf7 Fritz prefers 11...Qxb2!?, e.g., 12.Rb1 Qxa2 13.Rxb7 Bg4, with equal chances 12.b4 Qd8 13.Re1 f5 14.Ng5 Bg8 15.h5 h6 16.Nh3 g5 17.hxg6 Nxg6 18.Be3 Bf7 19.g3 If 19.a4 Rg8 Be7 20.f4 20.Bh5!? was better a5 21.a3 b5 Not 21...h5 because of 22.Nf3! 22.Nb3 22.a4 axb4 23.cxb4 bxa4 24.Rxa4 Rg8 favors Black a4 23.Nc5 Nb6 24.Kf2 Nc4! 25.Rh1 Qc7 26.Bh5 Rg8 27.Nd3 0–0–0 27...Nxe3 is dubious, e.g., 28.Kxe3 Rg7 29.Kd2 28.Ng1 Nh8 Better than 28...Nxe3 29.Kxe3 Nh8 30.Ne2! 29.Qf3 29.Bf3!? should be considered—Fritz 29...Bxh5 30.Rxh5 Nf7 If 30...Bf8 31.Ke1! 31.Ne2 Rg4 32.Ra2 Rdg8 33.Nb2 If 33.Ke1 Qd8! Bf8 34.Nxc4 dxc4 35.Rd2 Qd7 36.Ke1 Nh8 37.Bf2 Qd5 38.Ng1 Ng6 39.Qxd5 cxd5 Better than 39...exd5 40.Rxf5 Kd7 41.Nf3, which boosts White’s lead 40.Nf3 Ne7 41.Ke2 Kd7 42.Nh2 Rxg3 43.Bxg3 Rxg3 44.Rc2 Rg2+ 45.Kd1 Rg1+ 46.Ke2 Rg2+ Best was 46...Ra1! 47.Kd1Restoring the balance Rg1+ 48.Ke2 Ra1 49.Rh3 Rxa3 50.Rg3? 50.Nf3! was best Nc6! 51.Kf2 Not 51.Nf3 Bxb4! 52.Rg7+ Be7!, and Black surges on Bxb4! 52.Rg7+ Not 52.cxb4 because of 52...Rxg3! Be7 53.Nf1 b4 54.Ke3 54.Ng3 offers a small chance: 54...b3 55.Rc1, but Black is way ahead Ra1 55.cxb4 Rxf1 56.b5 Nb4 56...Re1+ might be quicker: 57.Kd2 Nxd4 58.Kxe1 Nxc2+! 57.Rf2 57.Rc3 offers a slim chance Rxf2 58.Kxf2 a3 59.b6 a2 60.b7 Nc6 60...Nd3+ and Black has prevailed, e.g., 61.Kg2 Kc7 62.Rxe7+ Kb8 63.Re8+ Kxb7 64.Re7+ Kb6 65.Rxe6+ Kb5 61.Rg1 Kc7 0–1

Morozevich demonstrated an unshakable determination to win by bouncing back from his second defeat in the ninth round: he first settled for a draw in the penultimate 10th and then won his 11th and final game.

This enabled him to finish one full point ahead of Grischuk, who managed only to draw his final game after two straight wins.

A. Morozevich (2755) – E. Inarkiev (2674)
Rd 11, Ruy Lopez, Archangelsk and Moller Defenses

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.a4 b4 7...Nxe4? is worthless because of 8.axb5 Nb4 9.Nxe5, and White is way ahead 8.d4 d6 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8+ Bxd8 12.f3 Be7 13.Be3 Bd6 14.Nd2 a5 15.Rfc1 Ke7 16.c3 bxc3 17.Rxc3 If 17.bxc3 Bd7 Bd7 Black has equalized 18.Bc4 Rhb8 19.b3 Rb4 20.Kf2 Rab8 20...Rb7 21.Rd1 should keep the balance 21.Ke2 Rd8 22.Nb1 Nh5 23.g3 g6 23...c6!? is an interesting alternative, says Fritz 24.Rd3 Ng7 25.Nc3 Bc6 25...c6 26.Bg5+ f6 27.Bxf6+ Kxf6 28.Rxd6+ Ke7 29.Rad1 would have reduced White’s lead 26.Nd5+ Bxd5 27.Rxd5 27.exd5?! Rbb8 helps Black Ra8 28.Bc5 Ne6 29.Bxb4 Bxb4 30.Rd3 Nd4+ 31.Kf2 Bd6 32.h4 h6 33.Kg2 c5 34.Rf1 Rg8 35.f4 Rg7 36.Rc3 f6 37.Rf2 Kd8 37...f5 can be met by 38.Re3 Kf6 39.fxe5+ Bxe5 40.h5 gxh5 41.exf5 38.Bd5 Rc7 39.Rc1 Ke8 40.Rcf1 Ke7 41.h5 gxh5 42.Rh1 Kd8 43.Rxh5 Rg7 44.Kh3 Rh7 45.Rh4 45.Bc4 Kd7 boosts White’s lead Ke7 45...exf4 46.gxf4 h5 47.Kg2 would benefit White 46.Rg4 h5 47.Rg8 h4 48.f5 hxg3+ 49.Kxg3 Bc7 50.Rg2 c4? 50...Kd7 51.Kf2 Bd8 52.Rf8 would also benefit White 51.Bxc4 51.bxc4 might be quicker, says Fritz Rh1 51...Bd6 would help White, e.g., 52.Kf2 Bc5 53.R2g7+ Rxg7 54.Rxg7+ Ke8 55.Ke1! 52.Rg7+ 52.Kf2 and White can already relax, according to Fritz Kd6 53.Rf7 Bd8 54.Kf2 Nc6 55.Rgg7 Rc1 56.Rd7+ Kc5 57.Rd5+ Kb4 58.Rb7+! The clincher: 58…Ka3 59.Rd6 Rc2+ 60.Ke3! 1–0

The race for the top among the dozen Russian women was much closer than among the men, with four of them finishing in a tie for first to fourth with 7.0 points apiece from 11 games.

European women’s champion Tatiana Kosintseva captured the women’s plum on tiebreak, winning by a very narrow margin after a few scary rounds where she was struggling in the middle of the tournament.

She had five wins, two losses and four draws, as against second prizewinner Elena Tairova, who had six wins, three losses and two draws, third prizewinner Evgenija Ovod, who had four wins, six draws and one loss, and fourth prizewinner Ekaterina Korbut, who like Tatiana had five wins, four draws and two losses.

Tatiana, however, won against higher-rated opponents, a fact that determined her premier position.

All four winners are full-pledged international masters, which is slightly higher than the title of woman grandmaster (WGM).

WGM Natalija Pogonina finished in fifth place with 6.0 points, winning on tiebreak over Tatiana’s elder sister, Nadeshda, who took the sixth slot. Pogonina had four wins, three losses and four draws while Nadeshda had three wins, six draws and two losses.

Tatiana K proved steadier than her rivals, and most of her games sparkled.

But it was WGM Pogonina, 22, who caught the attention of spectators with her spectacular wins in the first three rounds enabling her to grab the lead early on.

N. Pogonina (2462) – E. Kovalevskaya (2448)
Rd. 3, Philidor Defense (C41)

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Re1 c6 8.a4 b6 8...Qc7 9.a5 would have equalized 9.b3 a6 10.Bd3 Re8 11.Bb2 Bf8 12.Ne2 exd4 13.Nexd4 Ne5 14.h3 Nxd3 15.Qxd3 c5 16.Nf5 d5 16...Rxe4 17.Ne3 Bb7 18.Rad1 leads to equality 17.exd5 Bxf5 18.Qxf5 Qxd5 19.Qf4 Re4 20.Qc7 Qe6 20...Qd7 21.Qxd7 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Nxd7 23.Rd1 would benefit White 21.Rxe4 Nxe4 22.Re1 Re8 23.Qb7 f5 24.Ng5! Re7 25.Qxa6 Qd5 26.Nxe4 Rxe4 27.Rxe4 Qxe4? 27...fxe4 was best but White would still win 28.Qe2 28.Qxb6+- Qe1+ 29.Kh2 f4 30.Qc6 Qxf2 31.Qd5+ 31.Qe6+ was much stronger, e.g., 31…Kh8 32.Qg4!, and White surges on Kh8 32.Qf3 Qxc2 33.Qxf4 Kg8 34.Qc4+ Qxc4 35.bxc4 Bd6+ 36.Kg1 Kf7 37.Kf2 g6 38.Ke3 Ke6 39.Ke4 Bc7 40.Bc3 Bd8 41.a5 Kd6 42.a6 Kc6 43.a7 Best was 43.Ke5!? Kb7 44.Kd5 Bb6 45.a8=Q+ Kxa8 46.Kc6 Ka7 47.Be5 Ka6 48.Bd6 Ka5 49.Bxc5 Bd8 50.Kd7 Bh4 51.Bd6! The persuader, and Black resigns because she has to give up her bishop if she wants to stop White’s isolated passed pawn on c4 from becoming a queen. 1–0

Here is what I consider to be Tatiana Kosintseva’s best effort in the Superfinals:

T. Kosintseva (2492) – T. Shadrina (2379)
Rd 10, Sicilian Scheveningen, Keres Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.g4 h6 7.h3 a6 8.Bg2 Qc7 9.Qe2 Nc6 10.Be3 Ne5 11.f4 Nc4 12.0-0-0 Bd7 Black is behind in development, Fritz notes 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.Bc1 b5 15.Rhe1 Be7 16.e5 dxe5 17.fxe5 Nh7 18.Nd5 Fritz suggests 18.Rd3, keeping the balance Qd8?? Ruining her position. Better was 18...exd5!? 19.Bxd5 Nf8! 19.Nf5 exf5 20.gxf5 0-0 20...Bxf5 21.Nf6+gxf6 22.exf6 Be6 23.Rxd8+ Bxd8 would boost White’s lead 21.f6 Bc5 22.Be4 Best was 22.fxg7!? Re8 23.Qh5!, and White is way ahead g6 23.e6?? This hands over the advantage to the opponent, according to Fritz fxe6?? Black lets it slip away: 23...Bxe6 24.Ne7+ Bxe7 25.Rxd8 Bxd8 26.Bxg6 Bxf6, with equality 24.Qg2 Rxf6?? 24...g5 would save the game, Fritz notes: 25.Bxh7+ Kh8 25.Nxf6+! White surges ahead Qxf6 26.Rf1 Qg7 27.Rxd7! Sealing Black’s fate.
27...Qxd7 28.Qxg6+ Qg7 29.Qxe6+! 1-0

17TH PAMPLONA INT’L MAGISTRAL IN SPAIN
Vallejo 1st, Wang Yue 2nd
SPANISH superstar Francisco “Paco” Vallejo Pons (2660) captured the title with China’s Wang Yue (2703) in second place in the 17th Pamplona International Tournament held from December 21 to 29 in Spain.

Both winners went through the event undefeated, with Vallejo collecting 4.5 points from two wins and five draws and Wang 4.0 from one win and six draws.

With global megastar Alexei Shirov (2739) back in his homeland of Latvia despite still playing under the Spanish flag, Vallejo now dominates Spain’s chess scene and is the reigning national champion.

In Pamplona, Wang, who topped last year’s Philippine Open in Subic, won on tiebreak over Baadur Jobava of Georgia, who landed the third slot with the same score from two wins, four draws and one loss.

Three other grandmasters tied for the fourth to sixth slots with 3.5 points each—Sergei Movsesian of Slovakia, Alexander Beliavsky of Slovenia and Ibragim Khamrakulov of Spain.

Actually, Khamrakulov scored the most wins—three—among the winners, but he also had three losses and a draw to finish with the same score as those of Movsesian and Beliavsky, a former world title candidate.

In seventh and eighth places were IM Maxim Rodshtein of Israel and GM Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia. Rodshtein had 3.0 points from one win, four draws and one loss, while Sargissian had 2.0 from four draws and three losses.

Here’s is Vallejo’s finest effort.

I. Khamrakulov (2604) – F. Vallejo Pons (2660)
Rd 1, Giuoco Piano (C54)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 a6 6.0–0 Ba7 7.h3 d6 8.Bb3 h6 9.Be3 g5 10.Bxa7 Nxa7 11.d4 Qe7 12.Nbd2 g4 13.hxg4 Nxg4 13...Bxg4 14.Ba4+ c6 15.Bb3 would have equalized 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.g3 Rg8 16.Qe2 Bd7 17.Rfd1 0–0–0 18.Nc4 h5 19.Ne3 Kb8 19...Nxe3 20.Qxe3 Nc6 21.Qh6! would benefit White 20.Nf5 20.Nd5!? must be considered, says Fritz: 20...Qc5 21.Rd2, with equality Bxf5 21.Rxd8+ Qxd8 22.exf5 Qf6 23.Re1 Re8 Instead of 23...Qxf5 24.Nxe5 h4 25.Nxg4 Rxg4 26.Qe8+ Nc8 27.Qxf7, which favors White 24.Qc4 Re7 Better than 24...Qxf5 25.Qxf7 Qc8 26.Qxh5!, and White has a clear edge 25.Nh4 If 25.Qb4 Nc8 Nc8 26.Qd5 Nd6 27.Bc2 Qh6 If 27...Qg7 28.Qd2! 28.f3 28.c4!? might be a viable alternative, Fritz notes Nf6 29.Qd1 Re8 30.Kf2 Rg8 31.Qc1 31.Qe2 Nd7 boosts Black’s lead Qg7 32.Rg1 e4 33.Qd1 exf3 34.Qxf3 Re8 35.Kg2 Qg5 36.Kh1? Re3 37.Qg2 Nde4 38.Nf3 Qg4 39.Bd1 Qxf5 40.Rf1 Qg6 41.Rg1 41.Kg1 was necessary, says Fritz: 41...Ng4 42.Bc2 Ng4 42.Rf1 Qd6! The end: 43.Kg1 Nxg3! 0–1

Wang Yue, the first Chinese player to break through the 2700 barrier, played solidly as this game would show.

Wang Yue (2703) – S. Movsesian (2670)
Rd. 6, Queen’s Gambit Declined (D38)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 0–0 7.e3 c5 8.dxc5 Nbd7 9.Rc1 Qa5 10.a3 10.Bxf6 Nxf6 11.Bd3 Qxa2 could favor Black Bxc3+ Equalizing 10...Bxc5? doesn't work because of 11.b4 Bxb4 12.axb4 Qxb4 13.Qd2, and White is way ahead 11.Rxc3 Ne4 12.b4 Nxc3 13.Qa1 Better than 13.bxa5 Nxd1 14.Kxd1 Nxc5 and Black surges ahead Qa4 14.Qxc3 a5 15.b5 Nxc5 Missing his best shot, 15...b6!? 16.cxb6 Nxb6 16.Qxc5 Bd7 17.Be2 Rfc8 18.Qxd5 Rc1+ 19.Bd1 Qxb5 20.Qxb5 Bxb5 21.Nd4 Bd7 21...Ba4!? 22.Ke2 Ra1 reduces White’s lead 22.0–0 Rac8 23.Bf3 Kf8 24.Bxb7 R8c3 25.a4 Bxa4 26.Bd8 Bb3 27.Nxb3 27.Bxa5? Bc4 28.h4 Rxf1+ 29.Kh2 Rcc1!, and Black is way ahead Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 a4?? 28...Rxb3 29.Bd5 Rb5 benefits White 29.Nd4 Rc5 30.Bb6 Re5 31.Ba6 31.Bc7! makes it even easier for White a3 32.Bc4! It’s all over: 32…Ke8 33.Nc2! 1–0

HARMONIE IN GRONINGEN
Greeks rule the roost, Adly 4th

FIVE grandmasters—two Greeks, a Dutchman, the world junior champion from Egypt, and a Georgian international master—finished in a tie for first to fifth places with 6.5 each in the Harmonie A Tournament hosted by the Dutch city of Groningen during its 10-day chess festival last month.

The five winners were GMs Stelios Halkias (2589) and Dimitrios Mastrovasilis (2559), both of Greece; GM Ernst Spike (2539) of the host country, The Netherlands; GM Ahmed Adly (2494), the reigning world junior champion from Egypt; and IM Davit Lobzhanidze (2489) of Georgia.

Harmonie A was the main event of the yearly Groningen Festival, which was held from December 21 to 30, attracting 50 players from all over The Netherlands, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Li Shilong (2509), a Chinese grandmaster who took part in the Philippine Open in Subic last April and landed as one of the top prizes with 6.0 points, finished in Groningen with the same score—6.0—as two others to tie for sixth to eighth places. Strange coincidence, indeed!

With Li in the same 6.0-point bracket were GM Hristos Banikas (2591) of Greece and IM Michael Hoffmann of Germany (2471). Li had been an early leader, reaching the third round with a perfect 3.0.

Below them were five 5.5-pointers led by Dutch GM Friso Nijboer (2559).

Nine others led by Dutch GM Dimitri Reinderman (2510) and IM Amon Simotuwe of Zambia (2446) trailed behind them.

The festival was held from December 21 to 30 in the Dutch city of Groningen.

S. Halkias (2590) - Heemskerk (2233)
Rd. 3, Queen’s Gambit Declined (D55)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.d4 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.e3 0–0 8.Rc1 c6 9.Bd3 Nd7 10.0–0 dxc4 11.Bxc4 e5 12.h3 exd4 13.exd4 Nb6 14.Bb3 Re8 15.Re1 Bf5 16.g4 16.Rxe8+ gives Black a chance to equalize: 16…Qxe8 17.Qd2 Qd7 Rxe1+ Seizing the initiative 17.Qxe1 Bd3 If 17...Bg6 18.Ne4! 18.Ne5 Bxe5 19.dxe5 c5 Missing 19...Qh4 20.Kg2, with equality 20.Qe3 c4 21.Bd1 Qe7 22.f4 f6 23.e6! Watch out for this pawn, which drives a wedge into the center f5 24.Bf3 Rd8 25.Re1 Bc2 If 25...Rf8 26.a4! 26.Bg2 26.g5 was stronger., e.g., 26…hxg5 27.fxg5 Bd3, and White would have a clear advantage Kh8 If 26...Bd3 27.g5! 27.g5! hxg5 If 27...Kh7 28.Qf3 28.fxg5 28.Qe2 Bd3 29.Qh5+ Kg8 30.fxg5!, and White surges ahead Rd6?? Better but not quite enough was 28...Bd3, with White still having the edge 29.Qe2! Winning Be4 30.Nxe4 fxe4 31.Qh5+!! Black resigns in disgust as he sees the futility of further resistance. 1–0
Although Li took only his share of the sixth to eight prizes combined, he played what I think was the most fascinating game as far as tactics, based on White’s back-rank weakness, are concerned.
W. Spoelman (2445) - Li Shilong (2509)
Rd. 6, Sicilian Taimanov (B48)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 f5 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qd2 If 7.Ndb5 Qb8! Bb4 8.f3 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 0-0 11.c4 d5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.e5 Better than 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Bd2 Bf5! Nd7 14.f4 Nb8 14...Qxc2 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 would have equalized 15.Bd3 Nc6 15...Rd8!? is worth looking at, says Fritz 16.Qxd5 White now has a distinct advantage Nb4 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qe4+ Bf5 19.Qxb4 Qxc2 20.0-0 Not 20.Qxb7 Qc3+ 21.Kf2 Qc2+ 22.Ke1 Rab8! Rfd8 21.Rac1 21.Qxb7? won't work because of 21...Be4 22.Rf2 Qxf2+ (22...Bxb7? looks very tantalizing, but 23.Rxc2 Rd3 24.Bc5!) 23.Kxf2 Bxb7!, and Black surges ahead Qxa2 22.Qxb7 a5 23.Qf3 Kg8 24.Bb6 Rdc8 25.Bc7 Not 25.Ra1 Qc4! Qb2 Restoring the equilibrium 26.Qf2 Qb3 27.Bd6! 27.Bb6 Rxc1 28.Rxc1 a4 leads to equality a4 28.Ra1 a3 Don't underestimate that pawn 29.Qa2 29.Qf3 Qxf3 30.Rxf3 a2 would have equalized again Qb6+ 29...Qb7!? was also playable: 30.Rf2 Rc3! 30.Qf2 Qb3 31.Qa2 31.Qf3 Qxf3 32.Rxf3 a2 equalizes Qd3 31...Qb7 32.Rf2! favors White (Not 32.Bxa3 Rc2 33.Qxc2 Bxc2!) 32.Rfd1 Not 32.Bxa3?? Rc2 33.Qxc2 Qxc2! Qe4 33.Re1 Not 33.Qf2 Rc2 34.Re1 Qb7! Qb7 34.Re2 34.Bxa3?? would be a blunder: 34...Rc2 35.Qxc2 Bxc2!, and Black wins Be6 34...Rc3 35.Qd2 Rc2 36.Qxc2 Bxc2 37.Rxc2 favors Black 35.Qb1 Qa7+ 36.Kh1 a2 37.Qg1 Qb7 Not 37...Rc6 38.Rb2! 38.f5 Restoring the balance Bc4 39.Rd2 Qe4 40.f6 Ra4 Best was 40...gxf6 41.exf6 Be6 41.Qd4?? Better was 41.Rd4 Qf5 42.fxg7 Qb1+ 42.Rd1 Bb3 43.Qxa4 Qxd1+ Weaker is 43...Bxa4 44.Raxb1 axb1R 45.Rxb1 gxf6 46.exf6 44.Rxd1 Bxa4 45.Rg1? Missing 45.Ra1! Rc2 Black is winning 46.h3?? The final mistake, not that it matters anymore, says Fritz.46…Bc6 47.e6 47.Ra1 offers a small chance: 47...Rxg2 48.Rxa2 Rxa2+ 49.Kg1 gxf6 50.exf6, although Black is still ahead Rxg2!! White resigns. 0-1

PINOY GEMS WITH A HISTORY
That Antonio-Torre rematch

THE Filipino chess community was caught by surprise when suddenly, like a flash of lightning out of a clear blue sky, the news streaked across the nation that Grandmasters Rogelio Antonio Jr. and Eugenio Torre had agreed to a rematch.

Yes, a rematch after nine years since they dueled as part of the centennial celebration of Philippine Independence in 1998 courtesy of the government-owned Land Bank. Incredible!

My first reaction was that it was a well-calculated media hype and hoopla to generate public interest in a clash between two of the country’s older grandmasters who still dominate the national chess scene.

Why do I think so? Because even now there is no set date except “in the summer” of this year! And because one of them is the iconic Torre, Asia’s first grandmaster, and the other the flamboyant “GM Joey,” the media took it hook, line, and sinker.

Apparently, whoever thought of such a “brilliant” idea wished to dampen the national euphoria over having two new grandmasters—Darwin Laylo and Wesley So—in the space of just two-and-a-half months plus the fact that one of them, Bacoor Boy Wonder Wesley, is at 14 the world’s youngest GM.

To my mind and perhaps those of many others, the best and most exciting match should be between Wesley and either Joey or Torre, especially the latter.

The Bacoor Boy Wonder and Torre have not played a decisive game yet since Wesley became an IM. Therefore, why not Wesley So vs Eugene Torre—a 14-year-old prodigy against a 56-year-old icon?

That would be similar to the Oslo match in 2005 between then 15-year-old wunderkind Magnus Carlsen and his former mentor, Simen Agdestein, then 46, when they met in a best-of-three playoff for Norway’s national title.

In any event, an Antonio-Torre rematch would similarly be interesting, albeit not in the same degree as a Wesley-Eugene bout. I hope either one pushes through for the sake of Philippine chess.

Aleksander Wojtkiewicz - Rogelio Antonio Jr.
Bacolod, 1991
Grunfeld, Fianchetto (D78)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.d4 c6 6.Nc3 d5 7.Qb3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 Bf5 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.h3 Ne4 11.Rd1 a5 12.e3 Qc8 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Bd2 h6 15.Qe2 Re8 16.Rac1 Nb6 17.Ne1 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 e5 19.dxe5 Bxe5 20.Nd3 Bg7 21.Bc3 Bxc3 22.Rxc3 Nd5 23.Rc4 Qe6 24.Rd4 Re7 25.a3 Rae8 26.Qf3 h5 27.Nf4 Nxf4+ 28.Qxf4 Qe5 29.Qxe5 Rxe5 30.Rd8 Kf8 31.Kf3 Rb5 32.Rxe8+ Kxe8 33.Rd2 Ke7 34.g4 a4 35.Ke4 Ke6 36.f4 37.hxg4 f5+ 38.Kf3 Rb3 39.gxf5+ gxf5 40.Rh2 c5 41.Rh6+ Kf7 42.Rh7+ Kg6 43.Rc7 b6 44.Ra7 b5 45.Ra6+ Kf7 46.Ra7+ Kf6 47.Ra6+ Ke7 48.Ra7+ Ke6 49.Ra6+ Kd5 50.Rf6 Rxb2 51.Rxf5+ Kc4 Preparing …b4 52.Re5? Weak. Fritz suggests 52.Rf8 Rb3 53.f5 Rxa3 54.Rd8 b4 53.axb4 cxb4 54.f5 Rb1 55.Ke2? a3 56.Ra5 b3 57.f6 57.Ra4+ Kd5 58.Rxa3 also boosts Black’s lead by 58.f7 Re1+!! The two exclamatory marks were supplied by Fritz. 59.Kxe1 b1=Q+ 60.Ke2 Qb2+! White resigns, realizing that Black knows whereof he moves: 61.Kf3 Qf6+ 62.Ke2 Qxf7 63.Rxa3 Qh5+ 64.Kf2 Qb5! 0-1

Mikhail Tal - Eugenio Torre
Brussels (Belgium) it (5), 1987
Pirc Defense (B07)

1.e4 d6 2.d4² Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 c6 5.Qd2 Nbd7 6.0-0-0 Qa5 7.Kb1 b5 8.Bd3 Nb6 9.Nd5 Qxd2 10.Nxf6+ exf6 11.Rxd2 Nc4 12.Bxc4 bxc4 13.Ne2 f5 14.Nc3 Be7 15.Bh6 fxe4 16.d5 c5 16...Bb7 17.Nxe4 cxd5 equalizes 17.Nxe4 Bf5 17...f5 should equalize 18.Re1 Kd8 19.Ng3 Bd7 20.Bg7 Re8 21.Bc3 Missing 21.Rde2!? Bh4 22.Rxe8+! Kc7 22.Ba5+ Kb7 23.Ne4 f5 Equalizing 24.Ng3 Bh4 25.Rde2 Rxe2 26.Rxe2 Re8 27.Rxe8 Bxe8 28.Kc1 Bf7 29.f3 Bxd5 30.Kd2 Bg5+ 31.Kd1 Bf4 32.Bc3 Bc6 33.Bd2 Be5 34.c3 d5 35.Nf1 d4 36.Ke2 Kd7 41.Kd1 Ke6 41...f4 might be quicker 42.Ke2 h5 43.Nf1 h4 44.h3 Bc6 45.Bc1 Bf4 45...f4 makes it even easier for Black, says Fritz 46.Bd2?? Ke5-+ 47.Ke1 Bd7 48.Ke2 g5 49.Ke1 g4 50.hxg4 fxg4 51.fxg4 Bxg4 52.Bxf4+ Kxf4 53.Nd2 Be6 Missing 53...Kg3! 54.Kf2 Bd5 55.Nf1 Be4 56.Nd2 Bd5? 57.Nf1 Ke4 58.Ke2 d3+ 59.Kf2 d2 60.Nxd2+ Kd3 61.Nf1 Kc2 62.Ne3+ Kxb2 63.Nxd5 Kxa3 64.Nb6?? The losing moment. 64...Kb3! 65.Nxa4 Kxa4 0-1

MY FAVORITES
Caissa’s ‘Alexander the Great’

RUSSIA has several strong players named Alexander, but only one of them can truly be called “the Great” after the young Macedonian king who conquered much of the known world of his time three centuries before the birth of Christ.

He is no other than Alexander Morozevich, 32, who has just won the Russian Superfinals, replacing last year’s champion, Evgeny Alekseev, 22, who did not take part this year to defend his crown.

Morozevich now ranks No. 4 in the world with 2765, rising from No. 6 on the October 2007 list, despite the results of the Superfinals not yet being included in Fide’s computations.

The other highly-rated Alexander from Russia is Grischuk, who now ranks No. 21 in the world, dropping from No. 15 last October.

Above Morozevich on the Fide ratings list are Nos. 1 and 2 former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and his successor, reigning champion Viswanathan Anand of India followed by another former champion, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Morozevich has been my favorite since he topped the Lloyd’s Bank Festival in London when he was only 17 in 1994 by an amazing score of 9.5 out of 10 games.

Two or three years later, however, his fans were disappointed when he fared poorly in the World Juniors (Under 20), but made up for it in 2000 when he posted the highest performance rating and won the bronze medal on Board 2 of eventual champion Russia.

What I like about Morozevich’s style is his penchant for trying to be original on the board by adopting little-known opening systems.

What I don’t like about his play is its inconsistency: he performs well in one tournament and flounders in the next, one reason for his failure to stay long at the top of the global list of players.

A. Morozevich (2755) – K. Sakaev (2634)
Rd. 5, Superfinals, Russia 2007
Slav Defemse (D10)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Bf4 Nc6 5...Qb6 6.Qd2 would have equalized 6.e3 a6 7.Rc1 Bg4 8.f3 Bd7 9.g4 e6 10.h4 Be7 11.Bd3 0-0 12.Bb1 Qb6 13.Rh2 Rfc8 14.h5 Be8 15.Qd3 Nb4 16.Qd2 Nd7 17.Nh3 Nf8 18.Bg5 Qd8 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.f4 f6 21.Kf2 Qd6 22.Ng1 Rc7 23.Nf3 Rac8 24.h6 g6 25.a3 Nc6 26.e4 Qd8 27.Ba2 Ne7 28.e5! f5 29.Rg1 Rc6 30.Bb1 Kh8 31.Rhg2 fxg4 32.Rxg4 Bf7 33.Ne2 Nd7 34.Ng5 Bg8 35.R4g3 Nb6 36.b3 Qf8 37.a4 Nd7 38.a5 R6c7 39.Rf3 Nb8 40.b4 Nbc6 40...Qxh6? won't work because of 41.f5 Qh2+ 42.Rg2!, and White surges ahead 41.Rc1 Qxh6 42.Rh3 Qf8 43.f5 Nxf5 44.Nf4 Qe8 45.Bxf5 exf5 46.Rc5 Rd8 47.Qe3 h5 48.e6 Re7 49.Rxc6! 49...bxc6 Not 49...Qxc6 because of 50.Qe5+! 50.Qe5+ Rg7 51.Qf6 Rb8 52.e7! Bh7 Not 52...Qxe7 53.Nxg6+! 53.Re3 Kg8 54.Qe6+ Kh8 55.Qf6 Kg8 55...Rxb4?? would be a horrible blunder: 56.Nxg6+ Qxg6 57.e8=Q+ Bg8 58.Qxg8+ Kxg8 59.Qd8+ Qe8 60.Qxe8#! 56.Qe6+ Condemned by Fritz, but White wants to save time on his clock Kh8 57.Qd6 Ra8 58.Qc7 Rg8?? 58...Bg8 was the best, says Fritz 59.Nfe6! Black resigns 1-0

A. Morozevich (2755) – E. Inarkiev (2674)
Rd. 11, Superfinals, Moscow 2007
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 Be7 7.a4 b4 8.d4 d6 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8+ Bxd8 12.f3 Be7 13.Be3 Bd6 14.Nd2 a5 15.Rfc1 Ke7 16.c3 bxc3 17.Rxc3 Bd7 Equalizing 18.Bc4 Rhb8 19.b3 Rb4 20.Kf2 Rab8 21.Ke2 Rd8 22.Nb1 Nh5 23.g3 g6 24.Rd3 Ng7 25.Nc3 Bc6 26.Nd5+ Bxd5 27.Rxd5 Ra8 28.Bc5 Ne6 29.Bxb4 Bxb4 30.Rd3 Nd4+ 31.Kf2 Bd6 32.h4 h6 33.Kg2 c5 33...h5 34.Rad1 favors White 34.Rf1 Rg8 35.f4 Rg7 36.Rc3 f6 37.Rf2 Kd8 37...f5 38.Re3 Kf6 39.fxe5+ Bxe5 40.h5 gxh5 41.exf5 boosts White’s lead 38.Bd5 Rc7 39.Rc1 Ke8 40.Rcf1 Ke7 41.h5 gxh5 42.Rh1 Kd8 43.Rxh5 Rg7 44.Kh3 Rh7 45.Rh4 Ke7 46.Rg4 h5 47.Rg8 h4 48.f5 hxg3+ 49.Kxg3 Bc7 50.Rg2 c4? 51.Bxc4 Rh1 52.Rg7+ Kd6 53.Rf7 Bd8 54.Kf2 Nc6 55.Rgg7 Rc1 56.Rd7+ Kc5 57.Rd5+ Kb4 58.Rb7+! Black resigns in the face of certain defeat: 58…Ka3 59.Rd6 Rc2+ 60.Ke3! 1-0

GAMES OF GIFTED KIDS
A not-so-famous prodigy

LITTLE is known about Alexander Morozevich’s childhood, but his games even then showed that he had tremendous gifts as a child.

His biography in the Wikipedia mentions as his first international achievement his having won the Lloyds Bank Tournament in London in 1994 when he was just 17 years old with a phenomenal 9.5/10 score. It does not mention his failure to capture the World Juniors crown two or three years later.

In ChessGames.com, his biographical sketch also mentions his London victory as his initial accomplishment abroad, followed by his 8.5/9 win in Kishenev, USSR in 1998 and 8/9 win in Pamplona, Spain. Again nothing about the World Juniors,

Surely, a player with his phenomenal gift as one of the world’s best and brightest as an adult must have been a very precocious child. His games show it but perhaps even then his lack of steadiness at the board must have prevented him from winning significant honors in global youth competitions.

Alexander was born on July 18, 1977 in Moscow and was trained by the Soviet master Sukov as a child. As I said, nothing much is known about him during his childhood and this is probably due to his miserable showing at the World Juniors.

But in 2000, he started making gigantic waves internationally when he won the bronze medal on Board 2 for the Russian team at the biennial Olympiad.

Among the tournaments where he left a mark were his No. 1 overall performance in the Melody Amber Blindfold and Rapid of 2002, beating Vladimir Kramnik twice and finishing joint second in the same event the following year, finishing joint first and second with Kramnik there in 2004, and winning the Biel Festival three times in a row, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

His third victory in that Swiss festival in 2006 became a lead story of The Weekender, despite his loss to Norwegian wonder boy Magnus Carlsen along the way.

A.Morozevich – J. Hohn
Moscow 1991
Sicilian Sheveningen/Najdorf (B87)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.0-0 Be7 Black should quickly conclude development, Fritz notes. 8...b4!? 9.Nce2 Nxe4 would have equalized 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.Qg3 Nc6 10...b4 11.Nce2 also leads to equality.11.Qxg7? won't work because of 11...Rg8 12.Qh6 bxc3!, when Black surges on 11.Nxc6 Not 11.Qxg7? Rg8 12.Nxe6 Bxe6! Qxc6 12.f3 12.Re1 0-0 13.Bh6 Ne8 could favor Black 0-0 13.Be3 Bb7 14.a4 Rfd8 15.Ne2 e5 16.Nc3 b4 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Qd7 19.a5 Qb5 20.Rfd1 Rf8 20...Rab8 would benefit White: 21.Qe1 Rdc8 22.Ba7! 21.Qf2 Bd8 22.Qf1 f5 23.Bc4! Qe8 24.Qe1 f4 25.Bf2 Rf6 26.Qxb4 Bc8 27.Qa4 Bd7 28.Qb3 Bc8 29.Bd3 Qh5 30.Kf1 Qxh2 31.Ke2 Rh6?? This solves nothing, e.g., 31...Qh5 32.Rh1 Qe8 33.Bxh7+! 32.Rh1! Fritz calls this “the punch.” 32...Qxh1 32...Kf8 does not save the day: 33.Rxh2 Rxh2 34.Qc4! 33.Rxh1 Rxh1 34.Qa4 Kf7 1-0

T.I. Minogina – A. Morozevich
Moscow Open 1991
Classical King’s Indian, Petrosian (E92)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Nf3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Na6 10.Nd2 h5 10...c6 11.0-0 equalizes, Fritz notes 11.a3 Bd7 12.Bg5 Qe8 13.h4 Ng4 14.Bxg4 hxg4 14...Bxg4 15.f3 Bd7 16.g4 would help White 15.f3 f6 16.Be3 g3 17.Qe2 f5 18.exf5 gxf5 19.f4 Qe7 Best was 19...exf4!? 20.Bxf4 Nc5! 20.0-0-0 White now has the edge exf4 21.Bxf4 Qxe2 22.Nxe2 Nc5 23.Kc2 b5 24.Nxg3 Rfb8 25.Rb1 bxc4 26.Nxc4 Bb5 27.b3 a4 28.b4 Ne4?? This gives White counterplay: 28...Bxc4 29.bxc5 29.Nxe4 Fritz suggests 29.Ne3!? fxe4 30.Nb2 Rf8 31.Be3 c6 32.Rbd1 Fritz endorses 32.dxc6!?, e.g., 32...Rac8 33.Rbc1 Rxc6+ 34.Kb1 Rxc1+ 35.Rxc1! Rac8 33.Kb1 c5 33...cxd5!? could be tried: 34.Rxd5 Rc3! 34.bxc5 Restoring the balance dxc5 35.d6!? Also playable was 35.h5 Rb8 36.Rd2! Rb8! 36.Kc2 Bd7 37.Rb1 Rb3 38.Nd1 Rfb8 Missing 38...Rxa3!? 39.Rb7 Ra2+ 40.Kc1 Bg4!, and Black would surge on 39.Nf2 c4 40.Rhc1 R8b5 41.Re1 Rd5 42.Nd1 42.Nxe4 Bf5 43.Bd2 boosts Black’s lead Bg4 43.Rc1 43.Bd2 offered the last chance for counterplay Bxd1! 44.Rcxd1 Rc3+! It’s mate in two: 45.Kb1 Rb5+ 46.Ka2 Rc2#! 0-1

CHESS MAGIC
Alekhine’s rare kind of wizardry

AS far as creativity in chess is concerned, I have very few choices as a source of material for this series and one of them is Alexander Alekhine, the controversial Russian aristocrat who became a Nazi collaborator in Germany during World War II.

It was this regrettable aspect of his life and career that has in effect tarnished his image posthumously and virtually toppled him from his pedestal of respectability. The Allied Powers of World War II have never forgiven him for that.

Ideology and politics aside, however, nobody can deny the fact that Alekhine was one of the greatest players the world has ever known.

Dynamic in style and ruthless at the board, Alekhine was the epitome of a chess magician—highly imaginative with an eye for combination. He could calculate more deeply and accurately than any of his rivals.

It is said that one of the secrets of his enduring success was his habit of carrying in his pocket wherever he went a miniature magnetic chessboard that enabled him to focus on the game every minute of his waking hours.

This is because he would tinker with his pieces every time he was idle anywhere he might have been at any time of the day or night.

In other words, chess was his life, which is why he was the original Alexander the Great in chess.

An analysis of his games would show that he was what one may call an “endgame player.”

Even in the opening and middle phases of the game, he always had the ending in his mind and checkmate was his ultimate goal.

Bold and even daring most of the time, he would not hesitate to make sacrifices if his intuition told him he was on the right path.

Let his games speak in his behalf.

A. Alekhine – N. Zubareef
Moscow 1916
Nimzo-Indian, Classical (E32)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 b6 4...0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 should equalize, says Fritz 5.e4 Bb7 6.Bd3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Better than 7.Qxc3 Bxe4 8.Ne2 d5! 7...d6 8.Ne2 Nbd7 9.0-0 0-0 10.f4 h6 11.Ng3 Qe7 12.Qe2 Preparing e5 Rae8 13.Ba3 c5 14.Rae1 Kh8 15.d5 15.e5!? was stronger, e.g., 15…Ng8 16.Ne4 Bxe4 17.Qxe4 Ng8 16.e5 g6 Prophylaxis. Fritz suggests 16...dxe5!? 17.Qd1 Qd6! 17.Qd2 exd5 18.cxd5 dxe5 18...Bxd5!? 19.Bb5 Bb7 20.exd6 Qd8 was playable 19.c4! Kh7 20.Bb2 Fritz says 20.fxe5 was stronger: 20...Qg5 21.Qxg5!, and White is way ahead Ngf6? 20...b5 was safer 21.fxe5 Ng4 22.e6 Qh4 23.Rxf7+ Rxf7 24.Bxg6+!! 24...Kxg6 25.Qd3+ Kg5 26.Bc1+ Kf6 27.Qf5+ Kg7 28.Qxf7+ Kh8 29.Qxe8+ 29.Qxd7? would be a mistake: 29...Qxh2+ 30.Kf1 Rf8+ 31.Ke2 Qxg2+ 32.Kd1 Qxa2!, and Black surges on Kh7 30.Qxd7+ Kh8 31.Qe8+ Kh7 32.Qf7+ Kh8 33.Bb2+ Nf6 34.Bxf6+ Qxf6 35.Qxf6+ Kh7 36.Nh5! Black resigns as it’s mate next: 36….Bxd5 37.Qg7#! 1-0

A. Alekhine – N. Asgierssen
Iceland 1931
Classical French, Alekhine-Chatard Attack (C13)

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Qf3 should equalize 5.Bxf6 Bxf6 Equalizing 6.Nf3 0-0 7.Bd3 Re8 7...dxe4!? 8.Nxe4 Bxd4 should keep the balance 8.e5 Be7 9.h4 c5 10.Bxh7+ Kxh7 11.Ng5+ Bxg5 12.hxg5+ Kg8 13.Qh5 Kf8 14.0-0-0 a6 14...cxd4!? is worth looking at, says Fritz: 15.Rxd4 Ke7, with equality 15.g6 Ke7 16.gxf7 Rf8 17.dxc5 Nd7?? 18.Rxd5!! The start of a fierce assault. 18...Qa5 19.Qg5+ Fritz says 19.Rd3 should make it even easier for White: 19...Qc7 20.Qg5+ Kxf7 21.Rf3+! Kxf7 20.Rh7 Rg8 Fritz warns that 20...exd5?? leads to instant death: 21.Rxg7+ Ke6 22.Re7#! 21.Rd4 Qxc5 22.Rxd7+! Bxd7 23.Ne4 Qb5 24.Nd6+ Kf8 25.Qf6+!! gxf6 26.Rf7#! 1-0

BOBBY ANG’S BUSINESSWORLD COLUMN, CHESS PIECE
1990 Manila Interzonal
Manila Interzonal
Ninoy Aquino Basketball Stadium
29 June – 14 July 1990

Final Top Standings

1-2 GM Boris Gelfand URS 2680, GM Vassily Ivanchuk URS 2680, 9.0/13
3-4 GM Nigel Short ENG 2610, GM Viswanathan Anand IND 2610, 8.5/13

5-11 GM Alexey Dreev URS 2615, GM Viktor Korchnoi SUI 2630, GM Sergey Dolmatov URS 2615, GM Predrag Nikolic YUG 2600, GM Robert Huebner FRG 2585, GM Gyula Sax HUN 2600, GM Leonid Yudasin URS 2615, 8.0/13
12-20 GM Mikhail Gurevich URS 2640, GM Kiril Georgiev BUL 2580, GM Branko Damljanovic YUG 2515, GM Alexander Khalifman URS 2615, GM Jaan Ehlvest EST 2655, GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic YUG 2600, GM Yasser Seirawan USA 2635, GM Alexei Shirov URS 2580, GM Johann Hjartarson ISD 2520, 7.5/13

Total of 64 participants

This tremendously strong tournament took place 17 years ago. For the benefit of our younger readers, I will do a quick historical rundown:

DUE to the ever-increasing number of players who have earned the right to take part in the interzonal stage of the world championship, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) decided that starting in 1990-Manila all 64 participants should take part in a single 13-round Swiss-system tournament to determine the 11 qualifiers to the Candidates’ matches. They were to be joined by the top three of the previous cycle (Speelman, Jussupow and Jan Timman) and, after the first elimination, the loser from the 1990 Kasparov-Karpov world championship match.

This tournament was played before the break-up of the Soviet Union. Two years later during the 1992 Manila Olympiad the following players would be representing their former Soviet republics directly:

Belarus – Boris Gelfand (soon to migrate to Israel)

Ukraine – Vassily Ivanchuk
Estonia – Jaan Ehlvest
Latvia – Alexei Shirov (soon to move to Spain)
Armenia – Rafael Vaganian and Smbat Lputian

The same is true of Yugoslavia. Of its four representatives here, Predrag Nikolic was to emerge two years later during the 1992 Manila Olympiad representing Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In January 1, 1993 Czechoslovakia peacefully split off into the Czech and Slovak Republics. The former is usually regarded as the stronger republic chess-wise; however, their two representatives here, the same ones who were Boards 1 and 2 of the combined Olympiad team, were from the Slovak Republic.

For a while the organizers could not decide whether to hold the tournament in Baguio or in Manila. It was a good thing that they decided on the latter, because the day after the closing ceremonies the great earthquake of 1990 shook Manila. One of the casualties was Eugene Torre's car which was hit by falling debris. In Baguio the earthquake was even stronger and caused many fatalities - several buildings and hotels collapsed. One of the affected hotels, the Hyatt, where many of the GMs would have been billeted had the tournament been held there, sustained many fatalities.

Ivanchuk was upset by England's Murray Chandler in the first round. Not to be discouraged, Chuckie shot into the lead with a five-game win streak (over Cabrilo, Zapata, Nick de Firmian, Nikolic, and Portisch). He held this lead with five draws and after a penultimate victory over Alexander Khalifman it seemed that he had assured himself of the overall tournament gold. He agreed to a short 11-move draw with Anand in the last round.

However, the unexpected happened. Gelfand and Ehlvest (both Soviets) were expected to also do a quick handshake in order to assure qualification into the Candidates' matches for both players, but as if to highlight that all was not peaceful in the Soviet front Gelfand went for a win and got it. Aside from eliminating Ehlvest, Gelfand was able to tie for first with Ivanchuk and in fact was declared champion on tiebreak.

This turn of events caught Chuckie by surprise - he went into the comfort room and screamed his heart out in frustration. This created a bit of a scene when Philippine security men, fearing the worst, rushed into the toilet with guns drawn.
This Interzonal was the greatest tragedy in GM Mikhail Gurevich's career - he built up a big lead and two rounds before the end only needed half a point to assure himself of first place. His nerves could not take it and he lost to Anand and Short and tumbled out of the Candidates'. Viswanathan Anand is now the reigning world champion, but in 1990 he was considered a dark horse and by winning his last three games became the second Asian after Eugene Torre to qualify for the Candidates’ matches. The Gurevich-Short game was also a bit of a sensation. Gurevich was White and played the Exchange Variation of the French hoping to take off all the pieces on the board to get the draw. Short did not force matters, slowly took the advantage and ground down his opponent. For many years after, this game was cited in the books as how not to play for a draw.
The Damljanovic-Ljubojevic final round game between Yugoslavs was also fraught with drama. A win for either player would mean qualification while a draw would eliminate both. For Ljubojevic, this was his seventh attempt at the candidates’, and he had never gotten closer to his goal. He had adjourned a winning position against Kiril Georgiev in the 10th round and then won against Tal in the 11th. However, nerves also got into the picture and he bungled the endgame win versus Kiril with an extra pawn and had to agree to the draw after 193 (!) moves. Their final round game took a very dramatic course and ended with perpetual check, and both GMs were eliminated.

Eugene Torre did not do very well in this tournament and finished with an even score. His only consolation was that he scored 2.5/3 against the American contingent of Boris Gulko, Gata Kamsky, and Stuart Rachels.

Torre, Eugenio (2530) - Kamsky, Gata (2650) [C54]
Manila Interzonal (12), 1990

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 0–0 6.0–0 d6 7.Bb3 a6 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.Nc4 h6 10.Re1 Be6 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Nxe3 Qd7 13.Nh4 Bxb3 14.Qxb3 b6 15.Nhf5 Kh7 16.Rad1 Rfe8
The reason why Kamsky didn't kick out the knight with 16...g6 was because he was afraid of 17.Ng3 Rfe8 18.Rf1!? followed by f2-f4.
17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.Qxd5 Rad8 19.d4 Kg8
In order to be able to play ...Ne7 without losing the f7-pawn.
20.Ne3 b5 21.h3 Ne7 22.Qb3 Qc6 23.d5 Qc5 24.a4 Rf8 25.Qc2 Rb8 26.b4 Qb6 27.Ra1 Ra8 28.c4 bxc4 29.Qxc4 f5 30.Rec1 Rac8 31.b5 axb5 32.axb5 fxe4 33.Ra6 Qd4
[33...Qb7 is refuted by 34.Rc6!]
34.Qa2! Qd3?

Maybe better was 34...Qb4!? Gata is oblivious to Eugene's hidden threat.
35.Rc4!
White will play Ra3 and trap Kamsky's queen. How can it get away?
35...Rxf2! 36.Qxf2 Rf8 37.Qe1 Nxd5 38.Ra3! Qxa3 39.Nxd5 Rf7 40.Kh2
Getting the king out of the checking diagonal g1–a7. This was the last move of the time control and Eugene played it without a second thought - after all it would not damage his winning position. If he only had the benefit of more time he would definitely have seen ... 40.b6! after which Black will have to resign. He either has to give up a lot of material for the pawn as capturing it exposes Black's back-rank weaknesses: 40...cxb6 41.Rc8+ Rf8 (41...Kh7 42.Qxe4+ g6 43.Nf6+ Kg7 (43...Rxf6 44.Qb7+) 44.Rg8+ Kxf6 45.Rxg6+ Ke7 46.Qb7+ Ke8 47.Qc8+ Ke7 48.Re6#) 42.Ne7+ Kf7 43.Qf1+]
40...Qb3 41.Qxe4 Qxb5 42.Nxc7 Qd7 43.Nd5 Qe6 44.Ra4 g6 45.Ra8+ Kg7 46.Rd8
Going after the pawn on d6. Eugene is winning.
46...h5
[46...Rf8 does not work: 47.Rxf8 Kxf8 48.Nf4!]
47.Qc4 Qf5 48.Rxd6 Qg5 49.Nc7 Qf4+ 50.Qxf4 exf4
[50...Rxf4?? 51.Ne6+]
51.Ne6+ Kh6 52.h4
The rest is mopping up.

52...Rf6 53.Ng5 Rxd6 54.Nf7+ Kg7 55.Nxd6 Kf6 56.Ne4+ Kf5 57.Ng5 Kg4 58.Nf3 Kf5 59.Kg1 Kg4 60.Kf2 Kf5 61.Ke2 Kg4 62.Kd3 Kf5 63.Kd4 Kg4 64.Ke4 Kg3 65.Ke5 Kg4 66.Kf6 Kg3 67.Kg5 1–0
Reader comments and/or suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com.
This column was first published in BusinessWorld on Friday, January 4, 2008.

FROM MY SWIVEL CHAIR
Let’s all help Pichay clean up mess

CHESS CZAR Butch Pichay has laid down the law: let’s keep our games clean and fair to ensure a level playing field. Those who cheat will get the axe and must be told they have no place in Philippine chess.

That is most welcome news. The Weekender has always been for the strict enforcement of the basic rules of chess, especially as regards honesty and fairness as a bar to any form of cheating.

If Butch Pichay can at least ensure a level playing field in every tournament that the NCFP organizes or sanctions, he will have accomplished what no other leader before him had ever done or even sought out to do as a significant part of chess development in the country.

A word of caution, however: every decision he makes as he sets about cleaning up the stables, which is job for a man of Herculean strength, morally, spiritually and physically, should be done in all fairness. No short cuts, no abuse of power for power’s sake.

But once there is prima facie evidence of guilt, by all means, he should throw the book at the culprit or culprits, whoever they may be. Nobody must be above the law but the law must be applied evenly, to every player, master and amateur alike.

If sanctions have to be applied, they must be tempered with mercy. Harshness has no place in a reform program where the end is the virtue of basic honesty along with manifest truthfulness.

Rules in this regard must be put in writing and guidelines must be issued, also in writing, to all players concerning behavior in tournaments.

Complaints must be examined closely and meticulously to prevent any unjust prosecution or any hint of harassment or, worse, persecution.

Those assigned to do the investigation must be instructed to go about it as discreetly as possible. Trial by publicity is, in all aspects and phases of any case, taboo. In proper society, the right to privacy must be respected in accordance with the basic law of the land.

Like Caesar’s wife, all advisers and aides of the chess czar must be above suspicion themselves. Even just a breath of scandal tainting those around him will destroy whatever reforms he may wish to institute.

What Butch Pitchay must guard against is heeding the advice of people with ulterior motives or who have an axe to grind against suspected culprits.

Instituting reforms can be a thankless and lonely job. One can lose friends that way. Then again, that is the price of leadership.

What we can all do is to help clean up the mess through public opinion. his is where The Weekender can be most effective—as the players’ voice!.
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I wish to acknowledge the great help extended to me by reader Regin Raymund Dais, who has meticulously reviewed every page of this issue to delete the slips that are the bane of publishers. Thanks a million, Ray!

Chess quote
“Some part of a mistake is always correct.”
—Savielly Tartakower
================================= The Weekender
Quezon Memorial Circle
Quezon City
Manuel O. Benitez
Editor & Publisher
Alfredo V. Chay
Circulation Manager
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Here's another news article from NM Bernardino:

JAYSON GONZALES WILL COMPETE IN ASEAN MASTERS CIRCUIT; EYES HIS THIRD AND FINAL GM NORM

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

GM Event A, Category IX

GM Zhang Zhong (Singapore, 2617)
GM Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia, 2563)
IM Wesley So (Philippines, 2526)
GM Eugene Torre (Philippines, 2519)
IM Danny Juswanto (Philippines, 2467)
IM Barlo Nadera (Philippines, 2417)
IM Salor Sitanggang (Indonesia, 2410)
FM Cecep Kosashi (Indonesia, 2408)
IM Nasib Ginting (Indonesia, 2392)
IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (Malaysia, 2382)
IM M. Ivan Situru (Indonesia, 2375)
FM Fernie Donguines (Philippines, 2345)


GM Event B, Category VII

1. GM Mark Paragua (Philippines, 2521)
2. GM Cerdas Barus (Indonesia, 2479)
3. IM Jayson Gonzales (Philippines, 2454)
4.IM Ashot Nadanian (Armenia, 2436)
5. FM Rolando Nolte (Philippines, 2412)
6. IM Oliver Barbosa (Philippines, 2410)
7. GM Ardiansyah H (Indonesia, 2409)
8.FM Tirta Chandra P (Indonesia, 2383)
9. IM Mok Tze Meng (Malaysia, 2346)
10. FM Syarif Mahmud (Indonesia, 2344)
11. Sugeng Prayitno (Indonesia, 2312)
12. WIM Irine Kharisma Sukandar (Indonesia, 2266)

INTERNATIONAL Master Jayson Gonzales, the country's top scorer in the 2004 World Chess Olympiad, is eyeing his third and final grandmaster norm as he compete in the inauguration of ASEAN Masters Circuit Chess Championships on January 8 to 20 in Tarakan, Indonesia.

Gonzales, head coach of Far Eastern University (FEU) is eyeing his third and final grandmaster to complete his status and join the company of compatriots GMs Eugene Torre, the late Rosendo Balinas, Rogelio "Joey" Antonio Jr., Buenaventura "Bong Villamayor", Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, Wesley So and Darwin Laylo.
"I would like to thank to cong. (Butch) Pichay (NCFP president), chairman (Butch) Ramirez (PSC chairman), Mr. (Mark) Molina (FEU sports director) and the Philippine Army for their undying support of my GM title quest, I will do my very best for flag and country," said Gonzales, member of the multi-titlist Philippine Army chess team.
Gonzales is invited to play in GM (grandmaster closed tournament) Event B, Category VII, and he needed to score 8.5 points to became the country's newest grandmaster. He will face tough opposition in his group that includes top seed GM Mark Paragua (Philippines, 2521), GM Cerdas Barus (Indonesia, 2479), IM Ashot Nadanian (Armenia, 2436), FM Rolando Nolte (Philippines, 2412), IM Oliver Barbosa (Philippines, 2410), GM Ardiansyah H (Indonesia, 2409), FM Tirta Chandra P (Indonesia, 2383), IM Mok Tze Meng (Malaysia, 2346), FM Syarif Mahmud (Indonesia, 2344), Sugeng Prayitno (Indonesia, 2312) and WIM Irine Kharisma Sukandar (Indonesia, 2266).

His first GM norm came in the 2004 Calvia Open in Calvia, Spain where he finished third with 7.0 points in nine rounds. He fell half a point off a norm in the World Chess Olympiad in Majorca, Spain after finishing with 8.0 points in 11 matches. Gonzales placed sixth in the individual classification on Board 4.
He earned his second GM norm in the Asian Zonal elims in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September 2005.

Meanwhile, Asean Masters Circuit are divided into three brackets---GM event A, GM event B and WIM section which aims to produce future world class player.

Grandmasters Eugene Torre and Wesley So, IM Barlo Nadera and Fide Master Fernie Donguines was bracketed in GM event A while Woman International Master Beverly Mendoza and WNM Christy Lamiel Bernales will seeing in action in the WIM section that includes GM Edhi Handoko and IM Irwanto Sadikin of the host country.

After Indonesia, the Asean Masters Circuit will fly to Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines.

Tarakan is an island off the coast of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is a marshy island situated in the eastern Celebes Sea, off the northeastern coast of Borneo. The island occupies an area of 117 square miles (303 km�). Tarakan was the site of battles between Allied and Japanese forces in 1942 and 1945.(MARLON BERNARDINO).