Filipino Chess Writers Discovered

I have been reading the chess book authored by veteran PR and Advertising practitioners Tony Benedicto and Frankie Lacambra and I am amazed at their passion for chess, specifically, Philippine Chess. The book called "The Philippines vs The World" was published in 2002 by CONTEXT Communications International, Inc. and if not for my return to DLSU Manila to finish my graduate studies, I would have never discovered one of the best ever published book about Philippine Chess.

The book has twenty chapters that starts with a chapter aptly titled "A Nice Beginning". It covers Asia's first international grandmaster, Filipino chess Icon, Eugene Torre. His games against Portisch of Hungary, Hort of then Czechoslovakia, Schmid of West Germany, Hartson of England, Sanz of Spain and Pavlov of Bulgaria were featured with historical sketches of what was then happening to chess around the world.

The book also covered several well-known Philippine chess stories --Bong Villamayor's grandmaster title run in a short period of time, the Odessa Odyssey of GM Balinas, GM Joey Antonio's World Championship run in 2009 1999, IM Andronico Yap's death at the beach and others.

There was a chapter where the young guns of Philippine Chess were featured and guess what, the names like Paragua, Caoili, Mariano, Dableo and Laylo were the ones in it.

What have I been doing the past eight years that I simply missed the launching of this book in 2002? I have not found a single copy of this book in any bookstores here in the Philippines nor was it ever been mentioned in any online chess forum among the Filipinos too.

It's a nice read and again, it shows you the stories of the times when the games were played, all were written in the eyes of a Filipino and made for the Filipinos.

Here are some links you can find on the Internet  that deals with the book and its authors:

- A hobby becomes and obsession
- Philippine National Library Catalog

And I found an entry at Chess Games DOT Com by Spawn 2:

I was going around greenhills last night and I happen to pass by Fully Book located along the stretch which was formerly known as Crossroad. They have the most number of chess related materials in all the bookstores Ive visited in the Philippines. Titles I saw were : Petrosian vs The Elite, Najdorf Life and Games, The Bishop Opening explained, The French Defense to name a few. But the price of the books I mentioned is more than a thousand bucks, I had second thoughts of buying them (we have to remember na me global crisis : )Then I saw the book "The Philippines vs The World" written by Tony Benedicto and Frankie Lacambra with 150 pages with a price tag of P 350.00. After browsing through it, I immediately went to the counter and pay for the book. It was a pleasant surprise to find a book discussing Philippine Chess which was not written by Bobby Ang. The book contains chapters like A New Beginning, Battle Royale in Manila, Tribute to Yap and Rodriguez, One-on-Onederful (which showed the game Torre vs Short in 1988 which was part of a six game mini series (one game won by each player and 4 games were drawn) etc. Going thru the book, the P 350 price tag is very reasonable. There is one copy left. If you are interested you can call the Publisher : Context at 7275251. Why am I promoting the book? Well, if the demand for chess books will be substantial and both the writer and publisher will get a good income from the book, they will be encourage to write and produce more books in the future. Information will be a key in promoting the game of chess to the public.

About the copy I have, I found it in the Filipiniana section of De La Salle Unveristy-Manila and its been on my loan cart for the last seven weeks.
 

National Training Workshop for Teachers in Cebu

We have received another email from the Office of Professor Celerino C. Tiongco, Ed.D. The Dean of School of Education and Human Development of the University of Asia and the Pacific thru Ms. Josephine Teves for a very important announcement.

Here it is:

We would like to invite you and your school for our National Training-Workshop on Building and Sustaining a Vibrant School Culture (Principles, Issues, and Challenges Related to School Improvement) which the School of Education and Human Development (SED) of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) will on May 17-20, 2011 at Ecotech Center, Cebu City.

Our school has been holding national training and workshops for educators for seven years now. The forthcoming conference on school culture is meant primarily for school principals and administrators, as well as teacher-leaders of public and private schools.  Attached is a copy of the conference program.

At the end of the conference, the participants should be able to
a.      self- audit and describe the culture of their respective schools;
b.      have a deeper understanding of school culture, its components, and the forces that shape it
c.      assess the operational implications of their self- audit and force- field analysis of the culture         of their respective schools; and
d.      draw up action measures (for improving the present culture of their respective schools)           that focus on the key aspects or elements of school culture that are within their control.

The training- workshop is P4, 500.00 per participant, inclusive of conference materials and certificates, board lodging and meals (3 major meals and 2 snacks). Participants are encouraged to confirm their attendance on or before April 30, 2011.

Our national seminars, conferences and training workshops on values education, the National Culture of Excellence, and peer accreditation in public schools/universities have been appreciated in the field. Since our school is a CPE provider duly accredited by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC), all our conferences and seminars will have corresponding CPE units.

For more information, please contact Ms. Josephine Teves (mjteves@uap.edu.ph) or Dr. Gladys Golo at telephone nos. (02) 637-0912, locals 378 or 210, or direct telefax:(02) 634-2828.

Your participation will not only enhance the perspectives of one another, but also extend one's academic relationship.

Sincerely yours,

Celerino C. Tiongco, Ed.D.
Dean
School of Education and Human Development
University of Asia and the Pacific
Telephone Nos. 634-2828

Also, do you remember my other post about the 30 Full Scholarship Grants for Teachers in RP? Good news is, the School of Education and Development is also open for scholarship grants for qualified and deserving teachers in the private sector.  The memorandum below covers only the teachers in public schools:


Memorandum for MA Programs 282011

Special Education: Lecture Notes 2

Here is another set of  notes sent in by my classmate, Ms. Bernadette Bachini. We all owe her a big, big favor - thanks much!

Medical and Educational Models(Bender p49)

And for her notes on Special Education Programs and Modification, click here.

No to Mining in Palawan

I received a flyer yesterday from one of my colleagues which asks me to sign against this mining project in Palawan. And today I got an email from someone asking me to do the same. Turns out there is one big personality going against the Palawan Mining and it's none other than Ms. Gina Lopez, Managing Director of ABS CBN Foundation Inc.

Here is the letter signed by Ms. Lopez:

My Dear Friends,

On January 24 a very dear friend and colleague Gerry Ortega was shot in the head dead. I was just with him that weekend - and a few minutes before he died what we were discussing over the phone was an anti-mining campaign in Palawan - given that on December two huge mining applications were railroaded - and they were to be near protected sites.

Gerry is dead but we will not let go of his dreams - and mine - and probably yours too.

Palawan has 17 key bio diversity sites - which means it is part of the 70% bio diversity sites which are essential for sustaining life in the planet. It has 2 world heritage sites, 8 protected sites . Yet if you see Palawan on the map you will note that it is a very thin island - which is 82% mountain. It means that if the forest gets denuded and the minerals excavated - the tailings seep directly int o the sea affecting the coral reefs. The top soil is thin - and the island eco system is fragile.

Mining is not the way to go for Palawan. I have five eco tourism sites wherein the communities involved can now send their children to school, can dream bigger dreams. Mayor Hagedorn in Puerto Princesa has banned mining and logging - and focused on tourism and agriculture. From 2 flights a week, Puerto Princesa now boasts 10 flights a day. His revenues have gone up from several million to several billion.

Mining as an economic path in a magnificent "Last Frontier" is based on a paradigm of economic growth that is myopic and archaic . In this age of climate change and global warming any economic development that does not recognize and revere the web of life should be thrown in the dustbin.

Please please support the ten million signature campaign to Stop Mining in Palawan. The richness of Palawan is the wealth and pride of the country, it is the wealth of the world. Log in to ww.no2mininginpalawan.com . Register your vote and please please send it to thousands others. You can also include your household by downloading the form printing it - and faxing it t 4152227 or you can scan it and send it to signatures@no2mininginpalawan.com. Questions can be sent to signatures@no2mininginpalawan.com.

Register at http://www.no2mininginpalawan.com/ and vote NO TO MINING!!!

Free Chess Training Course - Play Like Mikhail Botnivik

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of 6th World Chess Champion Mikhail Botnivik, ChessOK gives out a free training course Play Like Mikhail Botnivik. It is in Peshka interface, easy to install and use with two main parts, Theory and Practice.

Theory mode consists of lightly annotated games played by Botnivik himself. In the practice mode, you can check your stats either per lesson or overall percentage of correct moves. The exercise format tracks your performance as well.

So visit the ChessOK for the download link.

Seminars for Teachers by PASEO Group

We have 2 seminars scheduled on February 12, 2011 organized by The PASEO GROUP:

Familiarize & Equip yourselves with the various teaching models which teachers can use in order to make teaching and learning experiences as meaningful and dynamic as possible…

 

Teaching So Students Learn:

Using the Models of Teaching

With Dr. Ernie Grio & Mr. Alberto Dakila, Jr.

8:00 am - 12:00 nn

 

 

 

***********************

 

What are the legal concerns related to school and cyberbullying?  When can a school monitor and search student internet records and files?  When can a school legally respond to cyberbullying by disciplining the student?  When must a school respond to cyberbullying?  When should parents consider civil litigation against the bully and the parents of the bully?  When should the school contact, or assist the parent in contacting, law enforcement officials?

 

A 2^nd Serving of

Cyberbullying: The Legal Issues

With Atty. Ulpiano “Ulan” Sarmiento

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

For further details you may reach Totie and Bessie Sampedro:

THE PASEO GROUP

Unit 105, Benigno Mayo Hall, Institute of Social Order (ISO) Complex,

Ateneo de Manila Campus, Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Tel. Nos. 355-4740 * 232-6082  *  426-6001 loc. 4889        Fax: 426-6001 loc. 4866  

Cellphone 0915-8725857

* Paseo Center for Educators' Continuing Formation

(formerly Paseo TLJ Education Services)

* Paseo Educational Exploration & Tour Services

* Paseo Marketing, Sales & Communications Company

* Educators' Review Editorial & Publishing House

Find time to attend and participate in these workshops, you will surely learn a lot from this.  

 

Esteban School Wins 4th MISAA Chess

The Chess Team of Esteban School captured the crown of the Middle Years Program (MYP) Division of the 4th Manila International Schools Athletic Association (MISAA) Chess Tournament yesterday at the Auditorium of the Beacon School, Taguig City.

There were three participating schools for the fourth edition of MISAA chess tournament, St. Scholastica's College-Westgrove with four teams, Beacon School and Esteban School. Chief arbiter for the event was NA Gatz Luz while Richard Sales acted as the tournament director.

MISAA is a league composed of schools having an average student population of five hundred and below with a mission to provide students a venue where they can play and compete in sports in the context of camaraderie and sportsmanship.

Although there were some questionable behaviors coming from one of the coaches during the tournament, I can say that the event served its purpose and provided the student-players the necessary experience to further their skills in the game.

Final Ranking after 5 Rounds:

Esteban School with Game Points (GP) of 19 and Match Points (MP) of 10. St. Scholastica's College Westgrove A (GP) 13.5 and (MP) 7. Beacon School (GP) 12.5 and (MP) 7. St. Scholastica - W B took the 4th spot, D took the fifth and C on the 6th.

Individual board performance after 5 rounds for my team, Beacon School:

Board 1: Isa, 4 points with a rating performance of 1640. Good for a silver medal award.
Board 2: Jae Ha, 3 points with a rating performnace of 1472. Good for a 4th place position.
Board 3: James, 2.5 points with a rating performance of 1400. Good for a 3rd place spot.
Board 4: Tomas, 3 points with a rating performance of 1472.   Good for a 4rd place position.

Photos from the event to follow. See you soon guys!

Special Education: Lecture Notes 1

I finally had the time to post here. I thought of sharing to you our discussion notes in our MA class under Dr. Waldet Sison, Program Modification in Special Education. We meet once a week for 3 hours at six in the evening. How's that for teachers who spend eight hours in school?

Thanks to Ms. Bernadette Bachini for doing the following: recording our class discussion,  transcribing the audio and sharing it to the whole class. Man that's effort and selflessness! Thanks to Ms. Ria too for readily sharing some of the notes I missed when I had to skip one session due to some personal reasons.

Enjoy the supply of  lecture notes:

modif_1[1]

And here are the links for 3 more notes: Differentiation of Teamwork in Special Education setting, SpEd Program Concepts/Models  and Illustration of Models in Sped Programs.

30 Full Scholarship Grants for Teachers in RP

Hello there once again!

With all the carnapping and brutal killings happening in and around Central Luzon and natural disasters randomly striking anywhere around the globe, here is one news that's refreshing for Filipino teachers:

From the Office of School of Education and Human Development of the University of Asia and the Pacific:

"We are now campaigning for our scholarship programs for the upcoming academic year June 2011. Kindly help us spread our announcement. We are looking for 30 teachers who would like to take their MA for free."  

UAP Scholarship Announcement


Related documents: UAP Scholarship Application Form and UAP Scholarship Recommendation Form.

Thanks again to Ms. Josephine Teves for the infos.

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

I found a presentation about Bloom's Revised Taxonomy on Scribd and I really, really want to share this to all of you. As a brief backgrounder for the topic, Benjamin Bloom thought of developing this idea in the 1950's. This so-called Taxonomy has been adapted and used for classroom as a planning tool. More than fifty years later, it still is used almost universally. It provides a way to organize thinking skills into six levels, from the most basic to the more complex levels of thinking. 

In the 1990's, thanks to Lorin Anderson, a former student of Benjamin Bloom, revisited the taxonomy and had the guts to revise it and made even helpful for teachers and trainers. 

Read below:

Blooms Revised Taxonomy Presentation for Teachers New

Thanks to mbernardhi for the upload!

Chess Teaching Materials Arrived

I finally got my new chess teaching materials courtesy of my sister based in New York.  Last night I finally had time and energy to go through the stuff and while I was at it, I can't help but wonder and ask myself "Why can't Filipinos produce wonderful tutorial and guide materials like these?

Let me tell you what I got.

Learn Chess in 30 Minutes DVD by GM Susan Polgar. This one is a superb production meant for absolute beginners. Talk about teaching chess to those who need it most. I've read and heard chess scholars, experts, masters and even bloggers talk and write about chess teaching and chess coaching. Some say you have to be rated 2000+ to even think about chess coaching. Some say all you need is a good communication skills. Some weirdos even question other coaches for getting into the thing called chess coaching.

But this work by Susan Polgar on Learn Chess in 30 Minutes clearly tells us that to have chess students for your profession called chess coaching, you must have people interested in chess and one way to grow this sector of the society is to make sure they at least know the basics of the game and those are all in the DVD.

So if you ask me why I teach or coach chess probably you have an idea why. First, I am a teacher by nature and I just can't help but share something I truly believed is worth my student's time. Second, I believe in the power of chess as a source of academic skills like concentration and logical thinking. Chess as an academic tool is something the educational system should really go into.

So my rating for this DVD, with 5 stars as the highest I give 5!

Aside from the DVD of Susan Polgar, I also have with me now the 3 volume book Teaching Chess Step by Step. A foreword from Garry Kasparov at the beginning of the book, one realizes that the former world chess champion also believes in the developmental aspect of teaching and learning.

People from the academe and chess combined to create a concise but well-thought out work, Teaching Chess Step by Step is one teacher's guide that everyone should have working with children. People from the Garry Kasparov Foundation did their work.

Now let me go offline and say thank you to my sister!

Legaspi Wins Magnolia Rapid Chess

Gary Legaspi won the recently held 1st Saturday Magnolia Rapid Chess Tournament with a score of 6 points out of 7 rounds. He claimed the top spot via tiebreaks against Jerry Areque and Efren Arguelles.

The nth Edition of the 1st Saturday Magnolia Rapid Chess Tournament was held in cooperation with the Baranggay Don Bosco Chess Club and Chess Arbiters Association of the Philippines and Magnolia Products of San Miguel Corporation.

Congratulations to everyone and thank you to Mr. Gatz Luz for the infos.

1st Saturday Final Standing  

Seminar: Dissolving Boundaries for Children with Special Needs

Hi there!

An invitation to attend the seminar, Dissolving Boundaries for Children with Special Needs to be held on January 29, 2011 at the PLDT Hall, APEC Communications Building, University of Asia and the Pacific from 8:30 to 5:00 pm.

Speakers will be Ms. Genevieve Rivadelo and Ms. Ma. Lourdes Pacaldo.  

Here's the seminar program:

CDE Program 1 UAP Seminar

Check out DepEd Advisory No. 243, s 2010 for details.  

Thanks to Ms. Josephine Teves for the info.

Manuel L. Quezon III: Escaping the Comfort Bubble

Well you know who mlq3 is and you simply adore his works, ideas and everything the man has done for our beloved homeland, the Philippines. Its a shame though that his YouTube video I found has a handful of views. in a time when senseless and junk videos online gain a million viewers in less than a month, educational and helpful videos are left out.

So let me take the chance to share this wonderful, insight-provoking and bubble bursting talk by Manuel L. Quezon III. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Beacon School, a bimonthly series of Beacon Talks is presented for parents and teachers.

Escaping the Comfort Bubble in 3 parts:







Here's another one, Beacon Talks: Perfect Storms Ahead by Dean Tony La Vina.

Results of Chess Arbiter's Tournament Party 2010

We now have the results of the Chess Arbiter's Year-end Party held last December 26 at the Ramon Magsaysay-Cubao High School:

CAAP Chess 960 Final Standing


CAAP Blitz Chess Final Standing


Congratulations to the Chess Arbiter's Association of the Philippines for another year of well-organized chess tournaments all over the Philippines!

Thanks to Mr. Gatz Luz for the results!

How Not to Promote Schools

The end of 2010 is days away and here I am taking a reprieve from all the holiday parties around me. While much of the Christian world has wrongly celebrated Christmas with commercialism, I'd like to share my insights on how not to promote schools. I thought of this post some months ago when I was asked to be part of the judge committee for a local school's "talent show" which was held in one of the malls in Cavite.

In the time of economic recession due to financial blunders of global proportions, finding a carrot to stay afloat in a sink or swim business called education is not that easy and the following ideas might be a good source of inspiration for all the school administrators out there.

Allow me.

1. Lose Terribly in Inter-School Contests

In a single academic year, there are thousands of contests for schools to join in. In the academic area, we have Math Olympiads, Quiz Bee, Oration, Writing contests, Science contests which involves but not limited to experiments and discoveries, Robotics Olympiad.

If you are a school administrator, you would want to send a team that would make a good name of your school. Remember, these inter-school contests are avenues for your students to gauge what they have learned and continue to learn in your school. Parents will be watching these games and you want to keep your customers happy.

It's alright to lose but what's important is you played and participated in the games. But you wouldn't want to become the butt of jokes after the event because these will definitely circle around the schools and nowadays, the Internet has it's way of globalizing almost all kinds of embarrassment for any institution. Take for instance, you joined the Math Olympiad and after the rounds, the judges start to give a wink or a smile to one another whenever the representative of School X take its turn. Or the scribe for the contest tallies the point in favor of your opponent since the scribe has developed the habit of scoring against your team automatically because you have not answered any question correctly since.

Lose terribly in inter-school contests is one way not to promote your school.

The idea stated above applies to other interscholastic events like sports, performance events which include but are not limited to voice and choral contests, debates and speeches, poetry and writing contests and others.

One story I heard:

Inter-School Basketball Tournament. Every member school comes in high spirit, with the full support of every joining schools. Teams come in buses and in complete basketball uniforms. You will notice that a certain popultaion arrives in trickles, using their own cars and arrives wearing their own inter-Baranggay basketball uniforms.

So you begin to wonder if there are other tournaments happening in the same venue but the guys are convening in the same area as you are so that gives you the feeling that they must be a member school. So you wait for their big boss to distribute their basketball uniforms until the whistle blows to signal the opening of the event.

Then everyone takes the cue, each team forms a line and oh how cute these kids are in basketball jerseys, multi-thousand sneakers and all the peripherals these amateurs wear to feel good about themselves. Then you  direct your gaze to the one team that wore no uniform. Ouch!

Parents, tournament organizers, on-lookers, groupies and haters start to ask, what school is this? Joining an inter-school basketball tournament, showing up without any uniform?

That is plain demoralizing for the students and parents are seeing these and you know what, they don't want their kids to be associated with such disorganized school.

2. Do a School Talent Show of Student in Public without Talents

You know what I mean with this. Imagine bystanders, invited guests and again, parents of the students watching the show. With all the billboards and tarpaulins shouting out your school's name while the sing and dance performance of your students were inspired by the likes of Sexbomb Dancers, Madonna, Britney Spears and all the dirty pop-culture you can think of. Students performing in the middle of a mall, wearing  two-piece and dancing with someone what looks like a position straight out of book Kama Sutra.

To make what looks like a gross neglect on the part of the marketing people more serious, you invite a stand-up comedian whose main line of laugh stock is cross-dressing and sexual undertones.          

And then, the school proudly shows off students who can't hit the right note, forgotten stanzas of spoken word performance and in-between, you have technical problems like malfunctioning microphones and master of ceremonies not knowing the singular-plural rules.

What do you get? A blockbuster of flops and boos.

3. Remove/Stop School Programs and Services without Announcement to Parents

Tell all the lies to parents to cover up the real reason for stopping a school program or services which the parents are really happy about. It's like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs if you do this. What happens is that the parents are the last ones to know about the changes in school.

For reasons known only to men of devilish nature, a school will run based on a micro-management albeit dictatorial, certain small schools survive this kind of a system.

One example:

A sports event during summer time is expected to be hot. Then come one teacher excusing herself from the heat, goes to the principal to ask permission to go home. Since we are in a micro-management system, either the principal says yes or no. For the teacher to get a nod, one must say all the negative things about the event.

The bull nods, then comes raging to the event and stops it.

Bravo!

Everyone stops, takes a ride home and laughs at the decision made by the bull. Meanwhile, parents complain about the stoppage and asks, ain't sports supposed to be tiring?

4. Start a Program that Do Not Cater to your Clients

A fact: Football,  basketball, swimming, chess, taekwondo, volleyball, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton and athletics are some of the proven and tested sports program that truly invites parents to enroll their children in schools here in the Philippines.

Any other program introduced can only tell you two things, either you have a really, really fool-proof  secret program known only to you or you simply want to kiss asses of your bosses.

The four stated ideas are proven ways to promote your schools into oblivion. Any other ideas you have in mind? Send them to me.

Young Knights Chess League

Metropolitan Chess Club, one of the Philippine's finest producer of chess players, announces:

The Metropolitan Chess Club announces the holding of Young Knights League on Dec. 29-30 at Eton Cyberpod Corinthian, Bldg. 1, located at the corner of EDSA and Ortigas Ave. across Robinson Galeria in Pasig, City.

The tourney is exclusively for those who attended the Milo Checkmate program since it was offered last 1990. The seven-round Swiss event is divided into three sections, namely: Open/Advance - for titled players and untitled players whose NCFP ratings are over 1800; Intermediate/Beginner - for players whose ratings are below 1800 or have taken Level 1 and above and Preparatory Section- for those who have have taken Prep 1-3.

At stake is a total pot of P90,000 with the champions receiving trophies and the following top prizes in their respective divisions: Open - P20,000; Intermediate/Beginner - P4,500 and Preparatory - P2,500.

Cash prizes are broken down to 15 places. Top performers in the U2000; U1900 and best lady will also receive cash prize. Other incentives include gift certificates for players who will score 4.0 points in the Open section and 3.5 points in the other divisions. Plaques for best scorers in Prep 1; Prep 2, Prep 3; Intermediate; Jr and Sr Beginners.

Registration is free for GMs and IMs. Entry fees are: Open section-FMs/NMs P150 and untitled - P300. Other divisions are P250. Interested parties may register through email at mccchess@yahoo.com. They must indicate the year they attended the clinic or contact MCC at 826-8560; 994-5199 or 0916-852-1069 or NM Deniel Causo at 0915-689-2359.

Chess Arbiter's Party 2010

Today at 9 in the morning, the Chess Arbiter's Association of the Philippines will have its year-end annual party with a Blitz and Fischer Random Chess Tournament happening at the Ramon Magsaysay-Cubao High School.

We are unable to join the fun today but I'd like to send my congratulations to every Juan and Juanas who have contributed to chess arbitration for the year 2010.

Have a blitzin' and randomly positioned fun today people!

Results of the 8th Art Borjal Rapid Chess Tournament

The 8th Art Borjal Rapid Chess Tournament took place last Sunday, December 19, 2010 at the covered basketball court of Ramon Magsaysay Cubao High School. The crazy weather did not prevent the 83 players from joining the tournament.

WNM Jan Jodylin Fronda of De La Salle University, Charles Daniel Abuzo and Kevin Arquero tied on top with 6 points but Fronda claimed the champion's prize and Top Lady awards after the tie breaks were applied. Abuzo on second place and Top Under 14 while Arquero placed 3rd. Paul Robert Evangelista placed 4th on the over-all standings and claimed the Top Under 14 second place. Naranjo, Balingit, Corpin, Castro, Galan and Flores placed 5th to 6th respectively.

Stephen Rome Pangilinan of Bulacan claimed the Top Under 12 Award,  Marie Antoniette San Diego of Cavite won the Top Female for the top Under 12 and 2nd place for the Top Under 12 while Michelle Yaon went home with Top Under 14 award.

For my wards, Shawn and Iyas, it was enough for them to gauge their current skills and went home with 3.5 points.  Iyas won over Christian Nanola in the second round who was a finalist in the 2009 National Shell Active Chess Championship. For Shawn, it was a learning experience which he could not have gained had he not joined.

Asia's first, GM Eugene Torre gave the inspirational talk and there he emphasized the "learning experience" the players should focus on.

Congratulations to all the players and everyone who made the 8th Art Borjal Rapid Chess Tournament successful! 

Check out the 8th Art Borjal Rapid Chess Tournament Final Standings.


Thank you to Mr. Gatz Luz for the results.
 

Observe and Talent will Show

Our post for today has to do with my article about my post some months ago called Observing the Developing Child: The Key to Understanding Children. SpEd t Majors from the St. Scholastica's College - Manila sent me emails and asked if I can give them some insights about observation and children through an email interview. Since it was the first week of December that I got these emails, I was really neck deep with all the end of the year reports and partying.

From Ms. Lizelle Pineda:

1. Is observing your students/patients important? How important it is as a PT/OT/teacher? What is the purpose of it?
2. How do you observe your students/patients behavior? What observational strategies/method do you use? what do you prefer most?
3. In your work, are you require to conduct a formal data/observation of your students behavior/performance? why or why not?4. What do you do with your data/information that you got after? 


From Xan Cortes:


1.) What is the role of Observation in your career/field?
2.) What methods of gathering and recording data do you use in Observation?
3.) What techniques in Observation can you share to us future teachers?


There was an SMS I received from Ms. Shane Torres telling me she sent an email too but I didn't get any. Anyways, allow me to answer the questions stated although I believe my previous post was enough. 


Observation is defined as the act or faculty of observing; the fact of being observed; the act of noting and recording something, such as a phenomenon, with instruments and the result or record of such notation: a meteorological observation. A comment or remark, an inference or a judgment that is acquired from or based on observing.


It is an act of noting and recording something.


Is it important?


It is important and useful. In fact you do not need to be a teacher, a physical therapist or an occupational therapist to understand its importance and usefulness. Humans have always "observed" to understand and help them in situations.  


Prehistoric humans survived the harsh conditions of life because of observation. They need to eat and the only available food in the wild is a prey that's as wild as a predator. Observe and you will have food on your table.


In relationships, observation is the first tool to use before and during your interaction with one another.


You get to know people easily by observing. In fact, you only have to watch out for body language to give you an idea of who the person is or what he or she is up to.


Observation is a key tool in understanding people,students and a phenomena. I think it is an understatement to say that it is important.


Like the TV ads I saw last year sponsored by the Gifted and Talented Education Association of the Philippines (if I got that right), it said "Observe and Talent will Show."


Observation is everything!

The Children's Library Project Closes

It's goodbye and it's painful!

After ten years of providing an avenue for bookworms and wanna-be bookworms, The Children's Library, a project of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, has officially closed last night. The remaining two branches, Imus and Novaliches, bid farewell to all it's patrons last night.

As their in-house storyteller in 2002-2003, I was given the opportunity to provide and facilitate sessions of storytelling and more. I joined puppet shows, book drives and inter-school contests as member and chairman of judge committee, truly a rare project that develops the creative side of anyone wishing to work with people. The Library has hosted thousands of activities that promotes reading, learning, environmental awareness and all sort of stuffs schools all over the world try to promote.

Spelling Bee, Speech and Oration, Mobile Reading Tour and Storytelling Contests are some of the major activities they've supported.  With it's closure,  the Library donated mosts of it's books and DVD's to three satellite libraries to neighboring towns of Imus.

In it's ten years, The Children's Library-Imus has become a part of most kids' malling routine. It has become a place for the youth to converge and read. A place that has offered them a chance to work as a volunteer for the younger ones, the eager ones. The Library has given us, it's patrons, an avenue to just be who we are, people who love to read. It has become a place for birthday parties, educational seminars and meeting place for everyone. The Children's Library has become an icon, a representation of love for learning, anywhere, anytime.

Last night, as I sat with my wife and kids watching the presentation prepared by Ana, Rod and Asia (staff of TCL-Imus), the nagging question in my head distracted me, "What will the people of Imus Cavite, patrons of the Robinsons Mall, do without the Library?"

Sadly, I don't have the answer, nor my wife or anyone I asked later on in the party.

Where do we go from here?

1st National Press Club Chess Tournament

Congratulations to the people who made the 1st National Press Club Chess Tournament successful!

Dubbed as "Massacre in November", the two-day tournament aims to commemorate the massacre of 34 journalists that took place on November 23, 2009 in Ampatuan, Maguindanao on November and at the same time strengthening the media chess players who loves chess.

The event was organized by Attorney Toto Causing, editor-in-chief of Dyaryo Magdalo and sponsored by the National Press Club through its president Jerry S. Yap, was held November 27-28, 2010 at the Bulwagang Plaridel, National Press Club Building, Magallanes Drive, Intramuros Manila.

And the guys who worked their butts off to make sure the tournament run like a well-oiled machine were: International Arbiter and National Master Erwin Carag served as chief arbiter and assisted by Fide Master Christopher Castellano (deputy arbiter), Gatpayo Luz (deputy arbiter), Anthony Bernardino (steward) and George Ibay (steward).

Here Toto Causing's report,  photos from the tournament and the 1st National Press Club Chess Tournament Final Standings:

1st NPC Final Standing

1st Heinzi B. Adam Chess Cup

The 1st Heinzi B Adam Chess Cup is set to to happen on December 4, 2010 at 9 in the morning. An RSVP event, it will take place at the residence of Heinzi Adam in Merville, Paranaque City.

Confirmed to play are some of my students, Shawn, James and Duncorr. I am expecting the members of the Beacon School Chess Club to join the event and also some of my former students.

Prizes include trophies and medals and of course freebies from the birthday boy, Heinzi!

See you there!

Psychoeducational Evaluation Reports in the Philippines

For those of you who work with children with special needs, either as an allied health professional, a teacher, or a staff of the learning support program in your school, this post is for you.. If you are a parent of a child with special needs, this post about Psychoeducational Evaluation Reports is also for you.

For starters, you simply ask, what is psychoeducational testing or evaluation?

It is a procedure or a process done by professionals with students (learners, children etc) meant to estimate a child's actual skill levels. Remember:

"Psychoeducational testing is conducted on an individual basis.  Since the examiner, in a controlled testing situation, is able to monitor the examinee’s level of effort, individually-administered tests provide more valid estimates of the individual’s skills as compared to group-administered tests.  Often, a child’s performances  will be better in an individual testing situation than his/her performances in the classroom.

With this in mind, it is important to remember that the purpose of individualized testing is to provide the most valid estimates of the child’s actual skill levels.  In an uncontrolled environment, such as the classroom, many extraneous factors (e.g., visual and auditory distractions) can prevent a child from performing optimally."

In the Philippines, psychoeducational evaluation has become synonymous with the name Edilberto Dizon, Ph. D. of the Special Education Area of the College of Education of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. I am always thrilled whenever I receive a student's diagnostic reports made by the man, Sir Dizon.

If you read my post three months ago, Special Education Process: The Philippine Experience, the child or student will have to go through psychoeducational testing before the individualized educational plan is written. This report must be distributed among the members of the Rehab Team.

For further reading, I would like you to check out the links below:

• How to Prepare a Psychoeducational Evaluation Report and Testify as an Expert Witness
• List of Psychoeducational Evaluation Instruments 
• Special Servies and Psychological Testing 
• FAQ's About Psychological Testing
  

Other professionals like Developmental Pediatricians will also provide you a diagnostic report but they have never been so in tune with what the educators need to know about their students.Parents have complained too that some of these medical doctors tend to over generalize their diagnosis, in fact the so-called waste-basket diagnosis like Autism and Learning Disability have been used like for forever. The reports they usually send out  factors in on the developmental levels of their clients, ignoring the fact that these reports will be used substantially in the academe.


All these issues are hopefully addressed in Act to Recruit, Hire, and Train Additional School-based Guidance Counselors, Psychologists, School Social Workers and Mental Health Personnel, sponsored by former First Lady and Senator Dr. Loi Estrada in 2004.

New Teachers: September 2010 PRC LET Results

Congratulations to our new teachers!

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board of Professional Teachers (BPT) announce that 7, 737 elementary out of 39,508 examinees (19.58%), 31 Accelerated Teacher Education Program (A.T.E.P.) graduates out of 430 examinees (7.21%) and 9,493 secondary teachers out of 36,714 examinees (25.86%) successfully passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (L.E.T) given last September 26, 2010 in 15 testing centers all over the Philippines.

The Board for Professional Teachers is composed of Dr. Faith M. Bachiller, Chairman; Dr. Reynaldo T. Peña and Dr. Jesus L. Nieves , Members.

Follow the links below for the results: LET Result September 2010 Elementary and LET Result September 2010 Secondary.

See you around! 

Bacoor Chess Club

City of Bacoor in Cavite, the city that gave us GM Wesley So, IM Ino Sadorra and CM Vince Angelo Medina.

What else can you ask for?

Last night I stopped by and watched a few games in the playing area of Bacoor Chess Club. The play area is located within the vicinity of the intersection of Aguinaldo highway, Coastal Road and Daang Hari. Landmarks are easy to find try this: St Dominic Hospital, Talaba-Bacoor Police Station and Tropical Hut Hamburger.

Let me describe the place.

It's a makeshift play area and it fronts the dilapidated building that has a big advertising billboard on top of it. Chairs, tables, chess boards and clocks are supplied by the store owner and it is interesting to watch how the club members satisfy their addiction. The members convene every night at around 5 and from what I've heard last night, a pair had a record of 30 hours non-stop play.

Who runs the club? Heck I don't know.

One thing is for sure, they have players ready to play with anyone.

The only active chess club in the Province of Cavite is Bacoor Chess Club.

No politics, no geniuses, just chess!

Working with Day-care Workers in the Philippines

I had a great morning today with the day-care workers of the Imus Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office. The seminar-lecture I gave was  Introduction and Overview  of Special Education and Children with  Special Needs.

It is interesting to listen to stories and concerns of the day-care teachers and center aides regarding special education. As usual, the 4-hour  time alloted was not enough and we extended until 130 in the afternoon.

I hope the seminar will enlighten them and see the world of special needs in a new and better light. Here is the Powerpoint Presentation from the seminar:

MSWD Imus

View more presentations from Francis Buenaventura.

Pacquiao vs Margarito 2010 Fight

November 13, 2010 is the day the fight between 7-division World Champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito will happen. It will be at  the Cowboys Stadium  Arlington, Texas. The Super Welterweight Championship is at  stake and should Manny win this one, he will have 8 world championship belts in as many divisions.

This is Manny Pacquiao's first fight as a congressman and this also is the fight that Freddie Roach worried a lot. Public service, if that's what you want to call it, has taken so much of Manny's training time and focus. While on the other camp, Antonio Margarito went all out for his training and preparation.

Read Manny Pacquiao's Fight Record and be amazed!

Will it be another championship belt for Manny on Sunday? Or are we seeing the decline of one of the world's best fighter ever?


Whatever the result will be, there will be Live Video Streams available online, Pay-Per-View to be provided by Solar Sports Entertainment, various cinema's all over the Philippines and the one I have to experience yet, watching the live fight at the Cowboy's Stadium.

Beating the Smith-Morra Gambit

It's weekend and after copy editing the presentation for my November 13 seminar-lecture for the Day Care Workers of the Imus Municipal Social Welfare and Development, it is chess time for me.

Having played 1 minute games for almost an hour, I thought of playing longer time controls and I found someone at chess.com willing to play with 15 minute games with an increment of 10 seconds per move. My opponent surprised me with the Smith-Morra Gambit and I faltered with my first 10 moves. Thankfully I recovered and after several more moves I got into a good position and launched a King side attack against my opponent.  

Much has been said about Gambits for chess openings and if one is caught by surprise, youre in for a difficult game. Although I learned about the name of the opening only today, I think I will be careful next time when I play against this chess opening once again. 

Beating the Smith-Morra Gambit @ ChessDotCom.   

The game below: 

[Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2010.11.06"]
[White "aarmin"] [Black "Me"] [Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1585"] [BlackElo "1580"] [TimeControl "15|10"]
[Termination "Black won by resignation"]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Nf3 e5 7.Ng5 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.d6 Ne6 10.d7+ Bxd7 11.Bxe6 Bxe6 12.Nxe6 Qxd1+ 13.Nxd1 fxe6 14.O-O Bd6 15.Nc3 a6 16.Re1 Kf7 17.Be3 Rac8 18.a3 Nd5 19.Ne4 Be7 20.Bg5 Rc2 21.b4 Bf6 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Nd6+ Ke7 24.Nxb7 Rg8 25.Nc5 Nf4 26.g3 Nh3+ 27.Kh1 Nxf2+ 28.Kg1 Ng4 29.Ne4 Nxh2 30.Nf2 Nf3+ 31.Kf1 Rxg3 0-1


Here is the final position, white resigned on his 32nd move:

Bicol Hit by Earthquake and Bulusan Spews Ash

Let's pray for our brothers and sisters in Bicol as they were hit by a magnitude 6 earthquake early this morning, Saturday. As if the forces of nature didn't have enough, Bulusan Volcano ejected "steam and ash" that reached an approximate height of 600 meters at 8:11 a.m.

Bulusan volcano is located in the province of Sorsogon in the Bicol region.

The ash explosion happened hours after the Phivolcs recorded a magnitude 6.0 earthquake at 12:41 a.m.


Bulusan Volcano Bulletin says:

This is a notice for the raising of the alert level status of Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon Province.

At 8:11 A.M., Bulusan Volcano (12°46.2’ 124°03’) ejected a light grayish steam and ash column that reached an approximate height of 600 meters above the crater rim. The ash ejection was reflected as an explosion type earthquake with a duration of 57 seconds. Seismic records before the event showed four (4) volcanic earthquakes. Field investigation by PHIVOLCS volcanologists disclosed that areas 6-10 km NW of the crater were affected by traces of ash. These are Brgys. Rangas, Aniog, Cogon and Juban Proper, (Juban Municipality), Casiguran Proper and San Antonio (Casiguran Municipality).

In view of the above activity, PHIVOLCS is now raising the Alert Level status of Bulusan Volcano from Alert level 0 to Alert Level I (abnormal). This current activity may indicate hydrothermal disturbance underneath the volcano which may lead to more steam and ash ejections. In view of this, the public is strictly prohibited to enter the 4-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone. People residing near the valleys and streams should be on extra alert against sediment-laden stream flows in the event of heavy rains.

No More NU 107 FM Station

After 18 years of home rockin' radio, Atom Henares, the co-founder of NU 107 radio station announces the end of NU at ANC's Headstart.

NU 107 has been responsible for the boom and bang of Filipino rock bands since the 80's. Why say goodbye when you can keep on rocking in a free world?

Ever heard of In the Raw? NU Rock Awards? Morning Brew? Well if have not, you've missed half of your teenage and young adult life.

Here's a video from NU Rock Awards 1997.

Goodbye for now NU 107!

Lecture-Seminar with Jesus Good Shepherd School-Imus

Last October 27, Wednesday, I shared an afternoon with the grade school teachers of Jesus Good Shepherd School to discuss and lecture on the introductory topic "Spotting and Addressing Learning Difficulty in the Regular Classroom Setting".

We started the lecture-seminar exactly 1 in the afternoon, got one long break of 20 minutes and anorher break for 5 minutes. We ended around 6 in the evening and I felt I can still share and impart thoughts and ideas about learning difficulties in the regular classroom.

Claire joined me the whole afternoon, assisting me with the presentation so I can focus on the discussion part while she deals with the technical issues of the presentation.

I would like to thank the teachers of the grade school department of The Jesus Good Shepherd School for a wonderful and learning experience you all shared with me, to Sister Ales Paz, the school principal who envisions a school atmosphere that provides an education that cares. Thanks to the guidance counsellor of JGSS too, Sister  Lolita J. Guibac.

And as promised, here is the presentation that you can review anytime you want:

JGSSNov2010 spotting.presentation

View more presentations from Francis Buenaventura.

Hanging Piece Tactic

 Here is a position that I have filed in my head and in my chess position collection. I played with the black pieces here against Dennis Patron, my neighbor who has scored much better in our head to head battles. After a couple of moves, the game was drawn via Threefold repetition. I had 5 minutes left on my clock while Dennis had 3. We played 30/g for this game. 

How should white continue here?

All Saint's Day 2010

It's the 30th of October and in the last two days, I've seen how villages and subdivisions transform into a ghost town.  Filipinos have tried so hard to celebrate occasions which we do not really have cultural connections to like trick or treating or halloween celebrations.

As far as I can remember, the last week of October for my childhood meant there wont be any school and I'll be spending my days by then with my cousins in the province. I get to play with melted candle wax when I visit the cemetery and turn it into anything and be scolded by adults.

November 1 is All Saint's Day and it should be observed correctly. It used to be called as AllHallows  or Hallowmas and it is observed in honor of all the saints, known and unknown.

November 2 is All Soul's Day to commemorate the faithful departed. Lucky are the faithful for they are remembered in prayers and by the Church.

The world we are in have been ultra-globalized and the Western culture has penetrated the lives of everyone. Celebrations we Filipinos do not really relate to are now observed and celebrated by the younger ones. Octoberfest and Halloween celebration is a Western idea which we Orientals are now sharing with them. Commercialism is one of the reason why this is happening and the Internet too.

So are you going on a trick or treating this weekend?

3rd MISAA Chess Tournament

The Manila International Schools Athletic Association (MISAA) had it's 3rd Chess Tournament last Friday. There were only two participating schools this time, Esteban International School and Beacon School. The match points were 11.5 to 4.5 in favor of Esteban IS.

The absence of the 1st and 2nd MISAA Chess Champions, Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS)made the event lopsided. I would have enjoyed watching the games between  the MGIS players and EIS.

Here is a copy of the two active chess games I played online:

[Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2010.10.21"] [White "514"] [Black "chess_kiko"]

[Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1628"] [BlackElo "1683"]

[TimeControl "20 5"] [Termination "chess_kiko won by resignation"]

1.e4 c5 2.d3 e6 3.Be2 Nc6 4.Nf3 Qc7 5.O-O Nf6 6.c3 Be7 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 d5 10.e5 Ne4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Ng5 Bxg5 13.Bxg5 Ne7 14.Rc1 Qd7 15.a4 Ng6 16.Bb5 Qd5 17.Qe2 a6 18.Bc4 Qxd4 19.Be3 Qxe5 20.Rfd1 Nf4 21.Qg4 Ng6 22.Bd4 Qf5 23.Qe2 b5 24.Bb3 Bb7 25.Rc7 Bd5 26.Bxd5 exd5 27.axb5 axb5 28.Qxb5 Qg4 29.Qf1 Nf4 30.b4 Nxg2 31.Qxg2 Qxd1+ 32.Qf1 Qxd4 33.b5 Ra1 0-1

[Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2010.10.21"] [White "chess_kiko"]

[Black "514"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "1677"] [BlackElo "1629"]

[TimeControl "20 5"] [Termination "Game drawn by 50-move rule"]

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 c6 6.O-O Be7 7.d4 b5 8.Bxd5 cxd5 9.Bxf4 Nc6 10.Nc3 Ba6 11.Nxd5 O-O 12.e6 fxe6 13.Nxe7+ Qxe7 14.Bg5 Qe8 15.c3 h6 16.Bh4 Qg6 17.Bg3 b4 18.Nh4 Qg5 19.Rxf8+ Rxf8 20.Nf3 Qg6 21.Bd6 Rf5 22.Qc2 Bb7 23.Qe2 Nd8 24.Nh4 Qh5 25.Qxh5 Rxh5 26.Ng6 bxc3 27.bxc3 Nf7 28.Bg3 Rg5 29.Nf4 Nd6 30.Rb1 Rb5 31.Rxb5 Nxb5 32.Ne2 Bd5 33.a4 Na3 34.Bd6 Nc4 35.Bg3 Bc6 36.Kf2 Bxa4 37.Nc1 Bc6 38.Bc7 a5 39.g3 a4 40.Ke2 Bd5 41.Kd3 g5 42.Kc2 Ne3+ 43.Kb2 Nc4+ 44.Kc2 Be4+ 45.Kd1 a3 46.Na2 Bb1 47.Nb4 a2 48.Nxa2 Bxa2 49.Kc2 Ne3+ 50.Kd3 Nd5 51.Ba5 Kf7 52.c4 Nf6 53.h3 d5 54.c5 Bc4+ 55.Ke3 g4 56.h4 h5 57.Bc7 Ne4 58.Be5 Nc3 59.Kf4 Kg6 60.c6 Ba6 61.c7 Nb5 62.Ke3 Kf5 63.Bf4 Nc3 64.Be5 Nd1+ 65.Kd2 Nf2 66.Ke3 Nd3 67.Bh8 e5 68.c8=Q+ Bxc8 69.Kxd3 e4+ 70.Ke3 Ke6 71.Bg7 Ba6 72.Bh8 Bb5 73.Bg7 Kf5 74.Be5 Bc4 75.Bf4 Bd3 76.Be5 Bc2 77.Bh8 Bd1 78.Bg7 Bf3 79.Bh6 Bg2 80.Bf4 Bh3 81.Kd2 Ke6 82.Kc3 Kd7 83.Kb4 Bf1 84.Kc5 Bc4 85.Be3 Ke6 86.Kb4 Kf5 87.Kc3 Kf6 88.Bf4 Be2 89.Kd2 Bf3 90.Ke3 Kf5 91.Be5 Bd1 92.Bf4 Bb3 93.Bg5 Bc4 94.Bf4 Ba6 95.Bg5 Bc8 96.Bf4 Ba6 97.Bg5 Bc4 98.Bf4 Ba6 99.Be5 Bc4 100.Bh8 Ba6 101.Be5 Bc4 102.Bf4 Ba6 103.Bg5 Bc4 104.Bf4 Bb3 105.Bg5 Bc4 106.Bf4 Bb3 107.Be5 Bc4 108.Bf4 Bb3 109.Kd2 Bc4 110.Kc3 Ba6 111.Kb4 Bc8 112.Kc5 Be6 113.Kd6 Bg8 114.Ke7 Be6 115.Kd6 Bg8 116.Kc5 Be6 117.Kb4 Bg8 118.Kc3 Be6 119.Kd2 Bg8 120.Ke3 Be6 121.Be5 Bc8 122.Bf4 Ba6 123.Bg5 Bc8 124.Bf4 Ba6 125.Bg5 Bc8 126.Bf4 Ba6 127.Bg5 Bc8 128.Bf4 Ba6 129.Be5 Bc8 130.Bf4 Ba6 131.Be5 Bc8 132.Bb8 Ba6 133.Bc7 Bc8 134.Bb8 Be6 135.Bc7 1/2-1/2



RP Baranggay Elections 2010

Baranggay and SK Elections  on Monday, Ocotber 25, 2010. It's a holiday so please go out and vote. Here in the baranggay I belong to, I was surprised to find names on the official list of candidates running for a seat in 0ne of the eight Kagawad slots.

Everyone wants a piece of the power (an illusion!).

Here is something I have not heard in awhile, from my days of punkhood, The Wuds' Bayan Bayanan:

 

Super Typhoon Juan Hits RP

As of today, 12:20 noontime, typhoon Juan has intensified into a "super typhoon" and has landed in the Province of Cagayan.


At 4:00 a.m. today, Typhoon "JUAN" was located based on satellite and surface data at 220 km East of Tuguegarao City (17.6°N 123.9°E) with maximum sustained winds of 225 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 260 kph. It is forecast to move West Southwest at 19 kph.

PinoyHalo gives us the list of provinces affected and the expected wind velocity, check it out. PAGASA Public Weather Forecast gives us a 24 Hour news update too.

Prepare for electrical power outage, make sure you have an emergency bag where you have packed basic needs like food, clothing, ID's and important documents. Stay home as much as you can.

Keep safe everyone!

Lightning Thinking for Lightning Chess

Here is a game that made me smile but made my opponent curse afterwards. So who says chess is boring?

[Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2010.10.11"]
[White "AFWAN"] [Black "chess_kiko"] [Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1738"] [BlackElo "1697"] [TimeControl "1|0"]
[Termination "chess_kiko won by checkmate"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.e3 Ne7 6.Bd3 Ng6 7.O-O O-O 8.Bd2 dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5 10.Bb3 a5
11.Ne4 Na6 12.a3 Bxd2 13.Qxd2 Bb7 14.Bc2 a4 15.Qd3 Nc7 16.Nc5 Bc8 17.h4 Na6 18.Nxa6 Bxa6 19.h5 b4 20.Qe4 Bxf1  21.hxg6 Ba6 22.gxf7+ Kxf7 23.Qxh7 Ke7 24.Qh5 Kd7 25.Bg6 Rh8 26.Qc5 Qe7 27.Rc1 Qxc5 28.Rxc5 Rh6 29.Be4 Rah8 30.Bxc6+ Ke7  31.g3 Rh1+ 32.Kg2 Bf1# 0-1

Supetran Wins 2nd Invitational Chess Tourney

Mr. Danilo Supetran of Treelane 2 Subdivision won the 2nd Southern City I-Tanzang Luma 4 Invitational Chess Tournament with a score of 4.5 out of 5 games. Tied on second to 4th places were Janro Hagong, Bagaipo Asi and Tristan Dandan with 3.5 points.

Carmela Galve of Las Pinas and MILO-Metropolitan Chess Club won the Top Lady award, Dennis Patron won the Top Senior, Jeric Noveloso won the Top Kiddie and John Esguerra won the Top Junior award.

We started the games around 8:45 in the morning, late but somehow we ended after 5 rounds around 2:30 in the afternoon.

By 3 pm the hall we used were cleared and cleaned giving me enough time to rest for the 5 pm Holy Mass.

Thank you to all who supported the event:

• Imus Chess Association President Asi Bagaipo
• Mr. and Mrs. Efren Bersamina for the morning snacks
• Dandan Family for the lunch
• Kagawad Milo Amoroso and Group for the cash prizes
• Mila Pancho for the venue
• Municipal Counselor Shernan Jaro for the Mabuhay Chessboards

Imus Chess Club was considered existent yesterday and come November or December there will be a 3rd Southern City I-Tanzang Luma IV Invitational Chess Tournament. I plan to write a program for Imus Chess Club and name it after someone who will gladly sponsor the endeavor.

But for now, le' me work for a living.

Congratulations to all!

2nd Southern City I-Tanzang Luma IV Invitational Chess Tournament

Another invitational chess tournament I have organized and will be directing tomorrow, October 10, 2010 in the multipurpose hall of the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Chapel of Southern City I Subdivision, Tanzang Luma IV Imus.

Registration begins at 7:30 in the morning and the first round starts at 8. I will be assisted by Duncorr and JM, two 12 year olds volunteering for the task.

I was able to borrow 6 chess clocks from Mr. Asi Bagaipo, one of the founders of Imus Chess Association. Tournament sized wooden chessboards were borrowed from the Municipal Office through Counselor Shernan Jaro. Eureka chess sets will be used favorably though which were borrowed from the players themselves.

Half of the Juniors Chess Team of the University of Perpetual Help-Las Pinas are joining, Ms Carmela Galve of MILO Checkmate-Metropolitan Chess Club is joining too. The rest are the seniors of our subdivision and baranggay.

Cash prizes were provided by Kagawad Milo Amoroso.

Crossing my fingers now for a successful event tomorrow, it dawned on me that I am assigned to play the guitar with the children's choir for tomorrow's 5pm celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Long day tomorrow.

John Lennon's 70th Birthday Today

Everybody knows John Lennon and everyone has heard one of the many songs he has written and sung. Google has a tribute to one of the modern world's cultural icon:



Happy birthday to you John!

World Teacher's Day 2010

Happy Teacher's Day to all of you!

I didn't get excited about it nor depressed, but here is one news that would definitely affect everyone in the Philippines:



And another one:



What's your take on this?

If you ask me, I would definitely go for the 12 year Basic Education Program in our country. I will tell you more about it next time.