Ces Drilon Freed

Hey there!

At last, ABS-CBN's big time newscaster/newsjourn Ces Drilon freed today after more than a week of being held capture by Abu Sayaf Group!

Thank God for chess and sports news writing, one is not exposed to such hazards.

I have not had the urge to write for Philippine Chess Chronicles or Pulso ng Makabagong Cavitenyo, local community newspaper where I write a weekly sports column, for the past 2 weeks. Somehow it gives me the impression that I'm missing a lot on my personal writing skills development goals. It feels quite boring at times when I think about it. And yes, the call of my son's playtime never ends.

Well let's see...

My inbox has gathered 2,000 + unread messages most of which has something to do with chess, basketball and boxing news. Chess google alerts making up half of it and there's at least 5 emails from NM Marlon Bernardino.

One by one now....

Roderick Nava gained his 1st IM norm and shared 2nd place finish with Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam while David Elorta failed to get his 2nd IM norm and placed 3rd in the
2nd ASEAN Masters Chess tourney.

Our Age Groupers, well, not as successful as I expected them to be, We placed 2nd behind Vietnam though. As I thought it would, the battle was really between the 1st and 2nd place finishes for Vietnam and Philippines. Here's one question that could prob'ly tickle your fancy... What would've been the results if it was played here in the Philippines? As originally planned?

The 16th Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship NCR Leg is set to happen this weekend at SM Manila.

NCAA Chess Tourney is set to culminate by July 19, SUnday, which showcases most of the Philippines' future chess stars with the scheduled July 12 eligibility meeting, I guess chess activites in the country is a year-round thingy. Of course UAAP shares much of the chess talents we have for the Philippines.

But before NCAA and UAAP lights up their opening fireworks, there is one majoy tournament to happen and that is:

PHILIPPINE LA SALLIAN CHESS ASSOCIATION

1st Chess Champions League
2008 Grand Prix

TOURNAMENT GUIDELINES

1. Organizer: Philippine La Sallian Chess Association, Inc.
2. Eligibility: Open to Filipino chess players who are bonafide students (not necessarily members of school or other chess teams)
3. Date and Time: July 12 and 13, 2008 (Saturday, 9AM - 4PM and Sunday, 9AM – 2:30PM). Technical meeting to be held on Saturday at 9AM.
4. Venue: St. Benilde Cafeteria, La Salle Green Hills, Ortigas Ave., Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila
5. Age groups/divisions:

5.1 12 years old and under (born not earlier than 1996)
5.2 14 years old and under (born not earlier than 1994)
5.3 16 years old and under (born not earlier than 1992)
5.4 20 years old and under (born not earlier than 1988)

6. Type Competition:

6.1 Open grand prix style
6.2 No limit to the number of participants per team or school
6.3 Participants will be grouped according to their year of birth
6.4 The organizer reserves the exclusive right to increase or decrease the number of participants and teams for each division to make the tournament feasible.

7. Participants and Teams:

7.1 The team or school may field any number of players per division.
7.2 The tournament is open to both boys and girls.

8. Documentary Requirements:

8.1 Completed registration form per player/group of players/school and copies of the players’ birth certificates.
8.2 All participants are required to present any of the following documents: certification of enrolment by the principal/school registrar on the tournament registration form, validated school registration form or official receipt/proof of payment of enrolment fees for the current year/semester.
8.3 The organizer reserves the right to disqualify a participant due to non-submission of required documents or submission of altered/inadmissible documents.

9. Tournament format & Time Control:

9.1 The FIDE Laws of Chess, particularly the Laws on Rapid Chess, shall govern the tournament.
9.2 Swiss system of Seven (7) rounds with 25 minutes per player to complete one game.
9.3 Recording of moves is optional.
9.4 Only players and tournament officials will be allowed inside the playing area.

10. Tie breaks:

The following tie-break systems shall be applied in descending order to determine the final ranking of players after the tournament:

10.1 Direct encounter, Buchholz System, Sonnenborne-Berger (S.B.) System, Sum of
Progressive Score , More number of games won
10.2 Team tie-breaks Total Buchholz tie-break of individual players, Total Sonnenborne-Berger (S.B.) , Total sum of progressive scores Total number of wins

11. Prizes & Awards:

11.1 The Individual Champion in each Division will receive a medal and a cash prize of P30,000.
11.2 The second place winner in each Division will receive a medal and a cash prize of P7,500.
11.3 The third place winner in the 20 Under Division will receive a medal and a gift certificate for domestic travel as a prize.
11.4 The third place winner in the 16, 14, and 12 Under Divisions will each receive a medal and a cellphone as prize.
11.5 Medals will be awarded to the top three teams for each age group/division, based on the total score of the top five players of the team.
11.6 The overall school/team champion shall be awarded the Champion League’s Cup.

12. Appeals Committee:
12.1 The members of the Appeals Committee will be decided during the technical meeting.
12.2 An appeal, accompanied by a deposit of P1,000.00 must be submitted within 15 minutes of the completion of the relevant playing session.
12.3 In the event of any disputes outside the laws of chess, the organizer’s decision shall be final and no further correspondences shall be entertained.
13. Registration Fee, Deadline, Penalty and Discounts:
13.1 PhP1,000 per person net of all bank charges. Meals, snacks, board and lodging are not provided/not included. Registration fees are non-refundable.
13.2 Deadline for submission of entries and fees - July 7, 2008 12:00 noon. All late entries will be subject to P500 penalty fee. No entries will be accepted on July 12 and 13, 2008.
13.3 Teams and schools who will be sending ten (10) or more participants for the tournament are entitled to a (10%) Ten percent discount for each player. However they must submit their entries and registration fee payment on or before June 30, 2008.
13.4 A slot becomes automatically reserved upon receipt of completed registration forms, supporting documents and payment.

Kindly submit original registration forms, supporting documents and evidence of payment on or before the deadline stated to Mr. Alex Dinoy, with address at 707
Victoria St., San Juan City. Advanced copies should be sent by email to aedinoy@yahoo.com or via fax to ATTN: Alex Dinoy at fax no. (02)744-1664. Please note that registration forms received after the deadline and/or without the required supporting documents and/or registration fee payments shall not be accepted.
14. Mode of Payment of Registration Fee:
14.1 Preferred mode is via online deposit direct to Philippine La Sallian Chess Association Inc. Peso Checking Account No. 2898010809 Banco de Oro (Greenhills Roosevelt Branch). If paid via online deposit, attach the validated deposit slip to the registration form.
14.2 Payments in cash and Cashier’s Check for Metro Manila clearing (payable to Philippine La Sallian Chess Association Inc.) are also accepted provided these are received prior to the stated deadline.
14.3 Regional clearing checks are not accepted.

15. Tournament Coordinator:

For further clarifications, please contact Alex Dinoy at telephone no. (02)744-1664, cellphone no.(0922)8288510, or via email at aedinoy@yahoo.com

Information has been updated as of June 12, 2008.

Yes, the tournament coordinator is the same for Shell Active Chess and Philippine La Sallian Chess. Expect as well organized event people!

I thought I would end this post with the publication of the file sent to me by Mr. Lilet Bersamina's labour of love summary of a chess training book but he had it in a Word file format and I have a hard time posting the diagrams here. Sorry peeps!

It's a good 24-page document discussing key mating patterns. I myself feel bad about this though.

Just in case your wondering who Mr. Lilet is, he is the father -trainer of candidate master 10 year old Paolo Bersamina.

Also, the 1st Treelane II Exclusive Chess Tournament is happening on July 6, 2008 at the Clubhouse 1, Treelane II Subdivision, Imus Cavite. My first try guys in organizing such event together with a neighbor, Mr. Gilbert.

Don't worry of you wont be able to register before the deadline because the tourney is only for the certified residents of our village. Hahahahah!