Saturday, September 17, 2005

CHESS PIECE: Paragua Silences Critics

[Bobby Ang]

Malaysian Zonal
September 2-10, 2005
Final Top Standings
1-2GM Utut Adianto INA 2588, GM Mark Paragua PHI 2596, 7.0/9
3GM Eugenio Torre PHI 2535, 6.5/9
4-7 GM Wong Meng Kong SIN 2460, GM Wu Shaobin SIN 2510, Tu Hoang Thai VIE 2389, FM Tirto INA 2370, 6.0/9
8-11 GM Nguyen Anh Dung VIE 2555, FM Oliver Dimakiling PHI 2329, Oliver Barbosa PHI 2355, CM Ly Hong Nguyen VIE 2281, 5.5/9
12-21 GM Rogelio Antonio Jr PHI 2513, GM Dao Thien Hai VIE 2601, IM Wynn Zaw Htun MYA 2578, IM Ronald Dableo PHI 2440, Darwin Laylo PHI 2344, GM Nelson Mariano PHI 2466, IM Petronio Roca PHI 2414, Pg Mohd Omar Ak Hirawan BRU 2364, GM Bazar Hatanbaatar MGL 2445, FM Dinh Duc Trong VIE 2362, 5.0/9
Total of 44 participants
Time control: The time control shall be 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one.

Mark Paragua silenced his critics by tying for first in the Southeast Asian Zonal Championship (FIDE Zone 3.3) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The living chess legend from Indonesia, GM Utut Adianto, was given first place on tie-breaks. I hasten to point out, though, that although Adianto�s opponents finished higher in the tournament standings (the basis for tie-breaks), Mark Paragua faced the stronger opposition. I did the numbers: Mark Paragua has a performance rating of 2718, defeating two grandmasters: top-seed Dao Thien Hai and Indonesian Edhi Handoko. Utut�s performance rating is 2682 � he defeated only 1 GM, Singapore�s Wong Meng Kong in the last round.
Anyway, let�s look at the bright side � because of Mark�s great performance he gained an additional 13 ELO rating points. That means that in the next rating list come October 2005, he would be listed at ELO 2609 � finally the Philippines as a super-GM!

Here is Mark�s best game from the event.

Paragua,Mark (2596) - Nadera,Barlo A (2423) [C06]
Malaysian Zonal Kuala Lumpur (2.2), 04.09.2005

1.e4 e6
Among Filipino top players the most devoted French practitioners is GM Bong Villamayor and IM Barlo Nadera. On the other hand Mark Paragua is a known exclusive 1.e4 player. Both players, therefore, were prepared for the opening that follows.

2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7
If you play this variation then sooner or later a Black player will unleash 4...Ne4 on you. The best way to respond is 5.Nxe4 dxe4 6.Bc4 and now the thematic 6...c5 is met by 7.d5 Qb6?! (7...exd5 8.Qxd5!? Qxd5 9.Bxd5 Nc6 10.Bxe4 Nxe5 11.Bf4 Nc6 12.Nf3; and 7...Nd7 8.dxe6 fxe6 9.Nh3!) 8.c3 Nd7 9.f4! Black now has a difficult decision: either develop another white piece or to remain with weak pawn on e4. In both cases black's position is unpleasant.

5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6
Black won't be able to attack the enemy pawn center once White has completed his development, so he has to strike now.

9.Nf4!?
A dangerous move with long, forced variations. The usual line is 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.0-0 Bd6 11.Nf3 after which Black has three good choices: 11...0-0, 11...Qc7 and 11...Qb6.

9...Qe7?
Barlo is out-prepared! This move is given as bad by renowned French expert Lev Psakhis in his book "French Defence 3.Nd2". Correct is 9...Nxd4 10.Qh5+ Ke7 11.exf6+ Nxf6 12.Ng6+ hxg6 13.Qxh8 Kf7 14.Qh4 e5 15.Nf3 Nxf3+ 16.gxf3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 gxf5 18.Bg5 Qa5+ 19.Kf1 d4!? with chances for both sides. Nevostrujev,V (2502)-Kosyrev,V (2562)/ Krasnodar 2002 1-0 (30).

10.Nf3
Stronger than 10.Qh5+ Qf7 11.exf6 Nxf6 12.Qxf7+ Kxf7 White has no edge to speak of.

10...fxe5 11.dxe5! Ndxe5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Qh5+ Nf7 14.0-0 g6 15.Qe2
Psakhis' comment here is that Black is at a loss for a plan. White has threats of Bb5+ and Bxg6 all over the place. Would you believe that Barlo had already been in this position before and also in a zonal? In Yangon 1999 White was Matsuo, but he played weakly and allowed Black to escape. It is bad judgment to think that Mark cannot do better.

15...Bg7
[15...Qd6 16.Bb5+ Ke7 17.Bd2 Kf6 18.Rad1 d4 19.Rfe1 Bh6 20.Qf3 Kg7 21.Bc4 Re8 22.Nxe6+ Bxe6 23.Bxe6 Re7 24.Bxh6+ Nxh6 25.Bd5 Rae8 26.Rxe7+ Rxe7 27.g3 Nf5 28.Bxb7 Qb4 29.Be4 Nd6 30.Bd5 Qxb2 31.Qd3 Nf5 32.Be4 Nd6 33.Bd5 Nf5 34.Be4 Nd6 35.Bd5 Nf5 1/2 Matsuo,T (2205)-Nadera,B (2400)/ Yangon MYA 1999]

16.Bb5+ Kf8 17.Bd2
Intending to move this bishop to the deadly a3-f8 diagonal.

17...a6?
Precisely what Mark was provoking. Now the dam breaks.
See diagram
caption: position after 17...a6

18.Nxd5!
This knight cannot be taken. If 18...exd5 19.Bb4 wins the queen.

18...Qd8 19.Bb4+ Nd6 20.Nf4 Kf7
[20...axb5 21.Rad1]

21.Rad1 Qf6 22.Rxd6 axb5 23.Nd5
Forces the queen off the f-file. If 23...Qf5 then 24.Rc1

23...Qe5 24.Qc2 Rf8
[24...exd5 25.Re1]

25.Qc7+ Kg8 26.Bc3 exd5 27.Bxe5 Bxe5 28.Rxg6+ hxg6 29.Qxe5 Ra6 30.Qxd5+
Black's position is resignable. His exposed king and weak pawns make the rest easy.

30...Be6 31.Qxb5 Rf7 32.a3 Rc6 33.Re1 Rfc7 34.Qg5 Bf7 35.h4 Rc5 36.Qd8+ Kg7 37.Re7 1-0

TITLES/NORMS AWARDED
Tu Hoang Thai VIE 2389 (not to be confused with his twin brother GM Tu Hoang Thong) was awarded an outright IM title for finishing with 2/3 of the maximum points (6/9). In addition to that he was also given a GM norm for his high performance rating.
FM Tirto INA 2370 was also awarded a GM norm for his good performance here. Under the previous FIDE title regulations he would also have been awarded an IM title outright (he was equal with Tu Hoang Thai with 6/9), but under the new rules only the one with the higher tie-breaks (which is the Vietnamese) would get the title. Anyway with his performance here Tirto has proven himself to be a tough nut to crack, and the title could only be a matter of time.
Oliver Barbosa PHI 2355 was given his FIDE Master (FM) title after the tournament. This is only a consolation prize, since with his rating above 2300 he would have gotten the FM title any time upon application.
Darwin Laylo PHI 2344 got an IM norm for his performance here. The BW reader may recall that Laylo got his first IM norm from the 1999 Asian Junior Championships, where he finished second to India�s Krishnan Sasikiran, now a super-GM. Darwin needs just one more to complete the requirements for the full International Master title.
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND COMMENTS
As an aside, although defending champion IM Ronald Dableo finished outside the prize money at 5/9 and a tie for 12th place, he at least has the consolation of finishing ahead of IM Jayson Gonzales at 4/9. The reason? I am almost ashamed to report this, as it is not a good reflection on the Philippine chess leadership, but here it is in summary:
1. First, GM Torre walked out of the Qualifying Tournament to determine the 5-man chess team to the SEA games. The Federation had suddenly announced that it reserves the option to replace the no. 5 man if it feels that another player would give us better chances of getting the gold in the SEA Games. The players protested, and apparently Torre felt alluded to, so he withdrew. What the heck did he withdraw for anyway? Surely the best way to answer the charges and insinuations was to play and win, right?
2. The tournament was cancelled and then re-started, and the 5 qualifiers were GM Joey Antonio, Oliver Barbosa, FM Oliver Dimakiling, IM Ronald Dableo and IM Jayson Gonzales.
3. The Federation, exercising the controversial �option�, replaced Jayson Gonzales with Eugene Torre, citing national interest.
4. Jayson Gonzales protested � why replace him with someone who withdrew from the qualifier and refused to play? Anyway, the federation then declared that he and Dableo should play-off for the 4th spot. Dableo naturally protested, and the Federation now decided that whoever finishes higher in the Zonal will have the 4th spot.
Unbelievable flip-flopping, right? Did you notice how many times the word �protest� appeared in the above? Welcome to Philippine Chess.

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bang@bworldonline.com
This article first appeared in Bobby Ang s column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 16 September 2005

Tuesday, September 6, 2005

Typhoon Wang Hao


Incredible!! Fantastic!! Sensational!!

All those words (on the tournament web site) cannot fully describe the stellar performance of China's young star Wang Hao in the 2nd IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open 2005. This kid, who only turned 16 in April this year, won this event two full points ahead of the GM field, with a performance of 2843. Read all about it in Edwin Lam's extensive report.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2616