Saturday, May 31, 2008
FLAMES Cup w/ NM BERNARDINO
MERALCO's supervisory union FLAMES sponsored the FLAMES Chess Cup for the MERALCO Chess Club's month of May event with National Master Marlon Bernardino as guest master.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
NM VASQUEZ
SUBIC -- Andrew Vasquez added another feather to his cap by ruling the 2008 Subic Open international chess challenge at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center recently.
Actually, Vasquez finished in a four-way tie for first place with 6.5 points, but earned the title by virtue of higher tiebreak score.
Also posting the same score of 6.5 points were Edmundo Gatus, Allan Macala and Roel Abelgas.
Gatus finished second, followed by Macala in third and Abelgas in fourth.
The four players, however, shared the total cash prizes of P85,000 for first to fourth places in this tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) as side event of the Subic Open international championship.
Final standings:
6.5 points -- A. Vasquez, E. Gatus, A. MAbcala, R. Abelgas
6 -- L. Magdalaga, C. Arroyo, N. de la Cruz, J. Bulicatin
5.5 -- E. Montoya, R. Labay, V. Alora, S. Manaog, L. Carlos
5 -- F. Barreto, J. Dacanay, F. Onato
4.5 -- R. Dungca, M. Nazario, L. Sombilon, L. Ramos
4 -- F. Grafil, J. Arreque, R. Salcedo, J. Bitoon, A. Suede, R. Senora, J. Cayanan, J. Pineda.
“Masayang-masaya ako sa panalo kong ito. Nagbunga din ang pagsisikap ko,” said Vasquez, who is being supported by E.B. Testing.
by Ed Andaya
Actually, Vasquez finished in a four-way tie for first place with 6.5 points, but earned the title by virtue of higher tiebreak score.
Also posting the same score of 6.5 points were Edmundo Gatus, Allan Macala and Roel Abelgas.
Gatus finished second, followed by Macala in third and Abelgas in fourth.
The four players, however, shared the total cash prizes of P85,000 for first to fourth places in this tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) as side event of the Subic Open international championship.
Final standings:
6.5 points -- A. Vasquez, E. Gatus, A. MAbcala, R. Abelgas
6 -- L. Magdalaga, C. Arroyo, N. de la Cruz, J. Bulicatin
5.5 -- E. Montoya, R. Labay, V. Alora, S. Manaog, L. Carlos
5 -- F. Barreto, J. Dacanay, F. Onato
4.5 -- R. Dungca, M. Nazario, L. Sombilon, L. Ramos
4 -- F. Grafil, J. Arreque, R. Salcedo, J. Bitoon, A. Suede, R. Senora, J. Cayanan, J. Pineda.
“Masayang-masaya ako sa panalo kong ito. Nagbunga din ang pagsisikap ko,” said Vasquez, who is being supported by E.B. Testing.
by Ed Andaya
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
DOMINGUEZ WINS CAPABLANCA MEMORIAL
Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez won on Saturday the Elite Group of the 43rd Capablanca Chess Memorial that took place at the Neptuno-Triton hotel complex in Havana.
Dominguez, the best-placed Latin American player in the world ranking of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) with an ELO rating of 2695 points, on Saturday beat compatriot GM Walter Arencibia after 46 moves of a French Defense and concluded the tournament with six units of nine possible.
With this result, Dominguez also added 2.5 points to his ELO rating that will probably help him improve his 26th position in the world ranking when FIDE announces its quarterly list in July.
The second spot of the event was for GM Farruk Amonatov of Tadzhikistan, who concluded with 5.5 points, while German GM Igor Khenki was third also with 5.5 units.
After this win Dominguez travels on Monday to Sarajevo to participate in the Sarajevo 2008 Masters’ Tournament where he will face strong rivals such as Russian GM Alexander Morozevich, who is third in the world ranking with an ELO rating of 2774 points. Also present will be Russian GM Artyom Timofeev (2664), Slovakian GM Sergei Movsesian (2695), Dutch GM Ivan Sokolov (2690) and local GM Borki Predojevic (2641).
Source: cubanews.ain.cu
Saturday, May 24, 2008
CHESSBASE: US CHAMPIONSHIP
Shulman wins US Championship; Zatonskih wins Women's Title
23.05.2008 – GM Yury Shulman won the 2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Championship with 7/9, with IM Johhua Friedel completing his final GM norm. In the Women's Championship IMs Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush tied for first, then went into dramatic blitz tiebreaks, which Anna won in the last possible second. You can watch the scene in a new version of this dramatic video.
 | The 2008 FKB US Chess ChampionshipThe championships were sponsored by IA Frank K. Berry and held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, at the Radisson Hotel. The main championship was a 9-round Swiss with 24 players, and the women’s championship a ten-player round robin. The rate of play was 40 moves in 100 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game with with 30 seconds increment per move. The first prize was $13,000 plus a Caribbean cruise. |
Yury Shulman wins US Championship; Anna Zatonskih wins Women’s Title
By Tom Braunlich
Yury Shulman won the 24-player 9-SS event sponsored by Frank K. Berry in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with solid play that included wins over GMs Gulko, Kaidanov, Becerra, Kudrin, and IM Pruess. He had a full point lead going into round nine and a quick draw with IM Josh Friedel gave him the title, while also giving Friedel his third GM norm. An example of Shulman’s play was win over veteran GM Boris Gulko.
US Champion 2008: GM Yury Schulman, with 7.0/9 and a 2760 performance
Gulko,B (2559) - Shulman,Y (2606) [E04]
Frank K Berry ch-USA Tulsa USA (3), 15.05.2008
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 a6 6.Ne5 c5 7.Na3 cxd4 8.Naxc4 Bc5 9.Bd2 Nd5 10.Rc1 0-0 11.0-0 Nd7 12.Nd3 Ba7 13.Ba5 Qe7 14.Qb3 Rb8 15.Nce5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Qf6 17.Nd3 b6 18.Bb4 Rd8 19.Bxd5 Rxd5 20.Rc7 Bb7 21.Be7 Qf5 22.Qc2 e5 23.Rc1 h6 24.Nb4
24...d3! 25.exd3 Rd7 26.Rxb7 Rbxb7 27.Qc8+ Kh7 28.Nxa6 Qxd3 29.Nb4 Qd2 30.Bf8 Rb8 0-1.
Alex Onischuk was clear second with 6½, and Sergey Kudrin was clear third with 6.0/9
Final standings in the open championship
| # | Player | Title | Rating | Pts. | Perf. |
| 1. | Shulman, Yuri | GM | 2606 | 7 | 2760 |
| 2. | Onischuk, Alexander | GM | 2664 | 6½ | 2707 |
| 3. | Kudrin, Sergey | GM | 2549 | 6 | 2672 |
| 4. | Friedel, Joshua E | IM | 2484 | 5½ | 2614 |
| 5. | Akobian, Varuzhan | GM | 2601 | 5½ | 2596 |
| 6. | Perelshteyn, Eugene | GM | 2552 | 5½ | 2559 |
| 7. | Becerra Rivero, Julio | GM | 2575 | 5 | 2597 |
| 8. | Ivanov, Alexander | GM | 2560 | 5 | 2517 |
| 9. | Finegold, Benjamin | IM | 2539 | 5 | 2508 |
| 10. | Gulko, Boris F | GM | 2559 | 5 | 2501 |
| 11. | Kaidanov, Gregory | GM | 2596 | 4½ | 2545 |
| 12. | Fedorowicz, John P | GM | 2459 | 4½ | 2543 |
| 13. | Shabalov, Alexander | GM | 2633 | 4½ | 2487 |
| 14. | Gurevich, Dmitry | GM | 2513 | 4½ | 2429 |
| 15. | Yermolinsky, Alex | GM | 2518 | 4 | 2514 |
| 16. | Kraai, Jesse | GM | 2509 | 4 | 2465 |
| 17. | Pruess, David | IM | 2425 | 4 | 2455 |
| 18. | Ludwig, Daniel | 2357 | 4 | 2423 | |
| 19. | Vigorito, David | IM | 2405 | 3½ | 2351 |
| 20. | Langer, Michael | FM | 2254 | 3½ | 2352 |
| 21. | Ippolito, Dean | IM | 2425 | 3½ | 2342 |
| 22. | Kaufman, Larry C | IM | 2365 | 3½ | 2353 |
| 23. | Shankland, Samuel | 2296 | 2½ | 2237 | |
| 24. | Galant, Sergey | 2235 | 1½ | 2135 |
Monday, May 19, 2008
CHESSBASE: MTEL MASTERS
MTel R10: Ivanchuk wins Sofia by 1½ points
18.05.2008 –
The tournament, which is being held in the Central Military Club in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a double round-robin (all play all, with white and black). The rate of play is 90 minutes for 40 moves + 1 hour to the end of the game. Starting time: 15:00h local time (12:00h UTC), except the final round, which starts at 14:00h.
Round ten report (final)
Round 10: Sunday, May 18, 2008
Teimour Radjabov Vassily Ivanchuk Bu Xiangzhi
Topalov,V (2767) - Radjabov,T (2751) [B32]
4th M-Tel Masters Sofia BUL (10), 18.05.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 b5 8.Nd5 Nf6 9.c4 b4 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.Nc2 Qg6 12.Ne3 Be7 13.g3 Nd4 14.Bg2 Bb7 15.Nf5
15...Qxf5!? A spectacular queen sacrifice, but not completely new. 16.exf5 Bxg2 17.Rg1. The game Kulaots,K (2525)-Ivanov,S (2356), Finland 2007 continued 17.Be3 Bxh1 18.Bxd4 exd4 19.f3 0-0 20.Kf2 d5 21.cxd5 Bc5 22.Rc1 Rac8 23.Kg1 Rfd8 24.Kxh1 Rxd5 and White went on to win in 59 moves. 17...Bf3 18.Qd3. The game Klovans,J (2462)-Sveshnikov,E (2499), Riga 2005 continued 18.Qa4+ Bc6 19.Qd1 ½-½. 18...d5 19.cxd5 Rc8 20.Be3 Nc2+ 21.Kf1 e4 22.Qxa6 0-0 23.Rb1 Nxe3+ 24.fxe3 Rc2 25.h4 Rd8 26.Qb7 Kf8 27.a4 Rd2.
Radjabov has worked this all out: Black can now force a draw by perpetual with a rook and bishop: 28.Rc1 R2xd5 29.Rc8 Rd1+ 30.Kf2 R1d2+ 31.Ke1 Rd1+ 32.Kf2 R1d2+ 33.Ke1 Rd1+ 34.Kf2 R1d2+ ½-½.
The game of the day was Cheparinov-Ivanchuk, with the pre-round possibility of a win by Cheparinov and Topalov to allow the latter to catch Ivanchuk in the table and force a tiebreak. In the Sicilian Taimanov Cheparinov castled long and launched a vigorous kingside attack, which was coolly refuted by the experienced Ukrainian.
Cheparinov,I (2696) - Ivanchuk,V (2740) [B48]
4th M-Tel Masters Sofia BUL (10), 18.05.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.0-0-0 Bb4 9.f3 Ne5 10.Nb3 b5 11.Bd4 Be7 12.Qf2 d6 13.g4 0-0 14.g5 Nfd7 15.Rg1
Is this uncompromising or what? Cheparinov is going after the black king with everything he has. But Ivanchuk, who has played at the highest level of chess for decades, knows how to deal with this kind of thing. 15...Bb7 16.Kb1 Rfc8 17.Rg3 b4 18.Na4 Bd8 19.Nc1 Bc6 20.b3 Bxa4 21.bxa4 Nc6 22.Be3 Qb8 23.Rh3 Nb6 24.Qh4 h6 25.Qg3 Nxa4 26.Rxd6 hxg5 27.Bd3? Bf6 28.e5 Bxe5
It looks really scary, with all the white pieces lined up for an assault on the lone king, and all the black defenders tucked away on the kingside.Which colour would you choose to play? 29.Rh8+ Kxh8 30.Qh3+ Kg8 31.Qh7+ Kf8 32.Rd7.
White is treatening mate in one with his queen on Qh8#, and if Black plays 32...g6 it is 33...Qxf7#. But Ivanchuk has it all worked out: 32...Nc3+ 33.Ka1 Nb5+ and now if 34.Kb1 Black plays 34...Na3 mate! It's all over. 0-1.
A final handshake as Cheparinov resigns the game
Final standings
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
CHESSDOM: SLAV; ARONIAN - IVANCHUK
Aronian, Levon - Ivanchuk, Vassily
Mtel Masters 2008
Sofia Round 5
by GM Vladimir Dimitrov
Ivanchuk's performance in this tournament so far is perfect. Now we now that the reason is not the screaming yellow tie he wears every game, as yesterday Cheparinov dressed likewise but to no avail :) . The Ukrainian combines subtle positional understanding with tactical vision and this serves him well. Being in good form he is a formidable opponent and I am curious what approach would Aronian choose against him today. If the Armenian aspires for the top of table he needs to win some games. Would he take risks today going for all or nothing, or should he play solidly to stop Vassily's winning streak. Up to now all Ivanchuk's games were quite entertaining, let's hope that today the audience will be again satisfied with a great chess performance.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 Ivanchuk goes for the Slav Defense.
3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 This modest move enjoys increasing popularity after the Topalov-Kramnik match..
4... Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.a3 Nbd7 9.g3 Be7 10.b3 According to the latest fashion of the line. Bf1 is relieved of protecting the 'c4' pawn and goes to 'g2'.
10... e5 Attempting to make use of the fact that White is still undeveloped. (10... Ne4) was an alternative. {Moves like (10... Qc7) let White complete its setup and secure long-lasting slight advantage. It's Aronian's turn to look deeper into the position: should he permit e5-e4 or change the central formation by 11.cxd5 ?
11.cxd5 Nxd5 (11... Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qa5+ 13.Nc3 Qxc3+ 14.Bd2 Qb2) seems fine for Black, while (11... Nxd5 12.Bb2 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 exd4 14.Bxd4 Bf6) promises no advantage to White.
12.Nxd5 Qa5+ 13.Nc3 The Ukrainian is investing a lot of time, perhaps considering the consequences of complicating the game by (13.Nc3 exd4 14.b4 Bxb4 15.axb4 Qxa1) but this may only lead him into trouble.
13... Qxc3+ 14.Bd2 Qb2 This had already happened in the game Wang Yue - Bobras, Cappelle la Grande 2007. Black soon transfered into a draw endgame, but after an amazing display of bad technique eventually lost. Ivanchuk's Queen finds it quite comfortable being inside opponent's camp.
15.d5 Well, this is a novelty.
15... cxd5 16.Bb5 The very idea behind the pawn sacrifice. (16.Bg2 would be met by 16... Nc5) Ivanchuk may go for (16.Bb5 Rd8) but I believe that in case of (16.Bb5 a6 17.Bxd7+ Kxd7) his King would be perfectly safe.
16... a6 17.Bxd7+ Kxd7 18.O-O (18.O-O e4 planning Qe5 19.Qg4+ f5 20.Qxg6 Qf6 favors the Ukrainian.)
18... e4 19.Bc3 Qxc3 20.Qxd5+ Ke8 21.Rac1 The Armenian sacrificed a piece making his bet on Ivanchuk's inaccuracies in the time trouble as otherwise his position is just worse.
21... Qd3 22.Qxb7 Rd8 Aronian may trade 2 Rooks for the Queen and a couple of pawns but his King would be soon threatened by the 3 Black pieces (two of them Rooks!)
23.Rfd1 Qxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 25.Kg2 Now the Rh8 is heading (perhaps after a preliminary a6-a5) towards 'f5' - Rh8-h5-f5. Clock readings: 0.39 0.23 . Meanwhile we have the first result for this round - Topalov defeated Bu.
25... a5 26.g4 Creating technical difficulties for Black. Aronian's position is lost but he managed to steal a whole point in Ivanchuk's time trouble this year in Morelia having even worse. Time 0.23 0.09
26... Kf8 27.Qxe4 g5 Securing the Black King. After the inclusion of the Rh8 the rest should be simple.
28.Qf5 Bd8 29.Qc5+ Kg8 30.Qe5 Levon is defending stubbornly in opponent's time trouble. 0.10 0.02
30... g6 31.b4 axb4 32.axb4 Kh7 33.b5 Rf8 34.Qc5 Kg8 Ivanchuk consolidated his position and has to reach the time control only.
35.b6 Desperation
35... Rb1 36.f4 Rb2+ 37.Kg3 gxf4+ 38.exf4 Bxb6 39.Qc3 Rb1 40.f5 Rg1+ 41.Kh3 With the time control passed, Vassily has only to find one of the many ways to win, (41.Kh3 Re8) being the fastest.
41... Re8 42.Qf6 Bf2 43.Qg7+ Kxg7 44.f6+ Kf8 ( Last trick 44... Kxf6 45.g5+ Draw) White resigned. One may just admire the ease Ivanchuk dispatched of his opponent. He was playing Black against one of the strongest players in the world and defeated him as if he were mere club player. So the Ukrainian has the incredible 5 out of 5 before the second half of the event and we await to sea who would finally stop him - if possible at all :)
0-1
CHESS PIECE: STILL TORRE
[Bobby Ang]
Battle of the GMs
25 April-3 May 2008
Citystate Tower Hotel
Final Standings
1 GM Wesley So 2540, 8.5/11
2-3 GM Eugene Torre 2519, IM Richard Bitoon 2420, 7.5/11
4 IM John Paul Gomez 2464,7.0/11
5 GM Rogelio Antonio Jr 2529, 6.5/11
6 NM Rolando Nolte 2420, 5.5/11
7 IM Julio Catalino Sadorra 2455, 5.0/11
8-9 FM Fernie Donguines 2362, NM Oliver Barbosa 2403, 4.5/11
10-11 NM Hamed Nouri 2392, GM Buenaventura Villamayor 2425, 3.5/11
12 IM Jayson Gonzales 2468, 2.5/11
I have been receiving a lot of email lately about the composition of the Philippine team to the 2008 Dresden Olympiad. Let me share with you this one from someone who calls himself Chris Gambit (by the way, for the benefit of the other BW readers, I usually delete without reading anonymous email. I make an exception here because Chris has been a long-time contributor):
“Greetings! GM So’s victory in Dubai is certainly the biggest news in Philippine chess for a long long time. His triumph is a portent of the good things yet to come from this whiz kid. I remember playing in a rapid tournament where Wesley (who was then a chubby 10 year old) was a guest player. He won all his games, but being a guest, he did not take home the first prize.
“When my games were finished, I would look at what was happening in Wesley's board, and he always had an overwhelming position. i thought ‘wow,this boy's really good!’. I've read about chess prodigies (Capablanca, Reshevsky, Fischer, Short, Carlsen), but seeing one playing in the flesh (Wesley So), is an awesome experience! I hope that the chess gods here in our country will let Wesley play top board in the upcoming olympiad. With all due respect to GMs Torre and Antonio, I believe Wesley is the strongest Filipino player right now. After all, the olympics is the chance for the competing countries to showcase the gains of their respective chess associations, and wesley has been the best that RP chess has to offer. Thanks and good day!”
I’d like to comment that being the best player is not the only criteria for playing on top board of a team. There is this equally important thing called “maturity”. When playing on a lower board sometimes you meet up with strong players (board 3 for Russia, for example, could quite possibly be Alexander Morozevich) and sometimes weak players. But most countries nowadays have at least one strong grandmaster, and if you are board 1 that is the guy who you will be facing. It is no joke to face the likes to Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Boris Gelfand, etc in consecutive rounds, and you don’t get any relief. You could take a day off, maybe, but upon walking into the tournament hall the next day there would be another strong GM trying to wipe you off the board.
When it comes to “maturity” the name which comes into everyone’s lips is that of Eugene Torre. The usual strategy for a country like the Philippines with a deep bench but no 2600s is to hold on top board and hope that the lower boards deliver the points. Believe me, mere respect alone for the giant accomplishments of Eugene will cause many players to go for a draw. These same players would go for a win if they are looking at a 14-year old sitting down to play against them.
During the 2000 Istanbul Olympiad we were scheduled to play against Spain in the afternoon. Torre wanted to take a break and GM Joey agreed to play top board for that day. After breakfast, Eugene went out for a stroll and bumped into Alexei Shirov, who approached him and offered a draw. Eugene said sorry but he was not playing that day. Well, that afternoon the Latvian-turned-Spaniard Shirov blew away GM Joey on board 1.
Here is another email, this time from Jose Alexis Marquez, who when he is not playing chess handles the Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals acquiring debit card transactions:
“A lot of people are pretty excited on the possible composition of the Philippine Team in the upcoming Chess Olympiad. Some of them are saying that with the latest success of GM Wesley So in the recently concluded 10th Dubai Open, he is now ready to man the 1st Board. Not to take anything away from GM wesley's superb performance, I still believe that with proper training and motivation, GM Eugene should return and man the top board.
“We should not be in a hurry to expose GM Wesley to too much pressure. He must be given enough time to develop his strength. We should not commit the same mistake when GM Paragua was given the assignment to man the top board.
“Below is for me a possible RP Team composition.
Board 1 - GM Eugene Torre
Board 2 - GM Mark Paragua
Board 3 - GM Joey Antonio
Board 4 - GM Bong Villamayor
Board 5 - GM Wesley So”
Well, may I invite our readers to email in their comments? Given that our team members are So, Torre, Bitoon, Antonio and Gomez, what board order should they be in?
Eugene played a relaxed tournament in the Battle of the GMs, content to let his fabulous technique stretch his opponent’s defensive capabilities to the maximum. If the opponent is successful, then we have a draw. If not, then Eugene wraps up another neat win. Witness:
Donguines,Fernie (2362) - Torre,Eugenio (2519) [B02]
Battle of Grandmasters CITYSTATE Hotel (2.1), 26.04.2008
1.e4 Nf6
Well, Eugene is obviously playing for a win.
2.e5 Nd5 3.Bc4
The only advantage of this move over 3.c4 or 3.d4 is that it has not been played half as much.
3...Nb6 4.Bb3 c5 5.c3 c4 6.Bc2 Nc6 7.d4?!
Fernie decides to give up a pawn to drum up attacking chances. Otherwise he would have played 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.Qe2 with chances for both sides.
7...cxd3 8.Qxd3 Nxe5 9.Qg3 d6 10.f4 Nc6 11.Nf3
Black is experiencing some difficulty in developing his kingside. He has to plan the following moves out carefully. In particular, whether he plays ...e6 or ...g6 White would be advancing f4-f5 to break-up his pawn structure.
11...g6 12.0–0 Bf5! 13.Bb3 Bg7 14.Nh4 Qd7 15.a4 Na5 16.Bd1 0–0 17.Nd2 Nd5
[17...Be6 18.f5 Bd5 (18...gxf5? 19.Nb3 wins a piece because of the threat of checkmate via Bh6) 19.Bg4 Qc6 is also possible, but anyway Eugene was determined to prevent f4-f5, so he leaves the bishop on f5]
18.Nxf5 gxf5 19.Bc2 e6 20.Nf3 Nc6 21.Qh3 Nf6 22.Kh1 Ng4 23.Qg3 d5 24.h3 Nf6 25.Qh4 Ne4 26.Ng5 Nxg5 27.fxg5 Ne5 28.Be3 Rfc8 29.Qh5 Ng6 30.Bb3 Be5 31.Rad1 Qe7 32.Rf3 a6 33.Re1 b5 34.axb5 axb5 35.Bf2 Qd6 36.Rfe3 Bg7 37.h4 b4 38.Qf3 bxc3 39.bxc3 Ra3 40.Qd1 Rxc3
caption: position after 40...Rxc3
Typical Fernie - he manages to find a way to sacrifice some material
41.Rxe6!? fxe6 42.Rxe6 Rcxb3
"Falling into the trap" with 42...Qxe6 43.Bxd5 still wins for Black after 43...Kf7.
43.Rxd6 Ra1 44.Qxa1 Bxa1 45.Rxd5 Rb1+ 46.Kh2
Eugene's execution is remorselessly accurate.
46...Be5+ 47.g3 Nxh4! 48.Rd8+
[48.Rxe5 Nf3+]
48...Kf7 49.Be3 Rb3 50.Bf4 Bxf4 51.gxf4 Kg6 52.Rd6+ Kh5 53.Rh6+ Kg4 54.Rxh7 Rb2+ 55.Kg1 Kg3 56.Kf1 Nf3 Mate to follow 0–1
Remember a few years ago I wrote a limerick on Donguines?
There was a chess master from Army,
Who knew only attack, named Fernie
His offensives run asunder
Against a good defender,
But he has fun doing it, doesn't he?
And, one of our readers, Mr. Butch Arroyo, countered:
I once played an FM Donguines
Whose kingside attack was the meanest,
When the carnage was done
Donguines had won
Now, who was the GM between us?
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 12 May 2008"
Battle of the GMs
25 April-3 May 2008
Citystate Tower Hotel
Final Standings
1 GM Wesley So 2540, 8.5/11
2-3 GM Eugene Torre 2519, IM Richard Bitoon 2420, 7.5/11
4 IM John Paul Gomez 2464,7.0/11
5 GM Rogelio Antonio Jr 2529, 6.5/11
6 NM Rolando Nolte 2420, 5.5/11
7 IM Julio Catalino Sadorra 2455, 5.0/11
8-9 FM Fernie Donguines 2362, NM Oliver Barbosa 2403, 4.5/11
10-11 NM Hamed Nouri 2392, GM Buenaventura Villamayor 2425, 3.5/11
12 IM Jayson Gonzales 2468, 2.5/11
I have been receiving a lot of email lately about the composition of the Philippine team to the 2008 Dresden Olympiad. Let me share with you this one from someone who calls himself Chris Gambit (by the way, for the benefit of the other BW readers, I usually delete without reading anonymous email. I make an exception here because Chris has been a long-time contributor):
“Greetings! GM So’s victory in Dubai is certainly the biggest news in Philippine chess for a long long time. His triumph is a portent of the good things yet to come from this whiz kid. I remember playing in a rapid tournament where Wesley (who was then a chubby 10 year old) was a guest player. He won all his games, but being a guest, he did not take home the first prize.
“When my games were finished, I would look at what was happening in Wesley's board, and he always had an overwhelming position. i thought ‘wow,this boy's really good!’. I've read about chess prodigies (Capablanca, Reshevsky, Fischer, Short, Carlsen), but seeing one playing in the flesh (Wesley So), is an awesome experience! I hope that the chess gods here in our country will let Wesley play top board in the upcoming olympiad. With all due respect to GMs Torre and Antonio, I believe Wesley is the strongest Filipino player right now. After all, the olympics is the chance for the competing countries to showcase the gains of their respective chess associations, and wesley has been the best that RP chess has to offer. Thanks and good day!”
I’d like to comment that being the best player is not the only criteria for playing on top board of a team. There is this equally important thing called “maturity”. When playing on a lower board sometimes you meet up with strong players (board 3 for Russia, for example, could quite possibly be Alexander Morozevich) and sometimes weak players. But most countries nowadays have at least one strong grandmaster, and if you are board 1 that is the guy who you will be facing. It is no joke to face the likes to Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Boris Gelfand, etc in consecutive rounds, and you don’t get any relief. You could take a day off, maybe, but upon walking into the tournament hall the next day there would be another strong GM trying to wipe you off the board.
When it comes to “maturity” the name which comes into everyone’s lips is that of Eugene Torre. The usual strategy for a country like the Philippines with a deep bench but no 2600s is to hold on top board and hope that the lower boards deliver the points. Believe me, mere respect alone for the giant accomplishments of Eugene will cause many players to go for a draw. These same players would go for a win if they are looking at a 14-year old sitting down to play against them.
During the 2000 Istanbul Olympiad we were scheduled to play against Spain in the afternoon. Torre wanted to take a break and GM Joey agreed to play top board for that day. After breakfast, Eugene went out for a stroll and bumped into Alexei Shirov, who approached him and offered a draw. Eugene said sorry but he was not playing that day. Well, that afternoon the Latvian-turned-Spaniard Shirov blew away GM Joey on board 1.
Here is another email, this time from Jose Alexis Marquez, who when he is not playing chess handles the Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals acquiring debit card transactions:
“A lot of people are pretty excited on the possible composition of the Philippine Team in the upcoming Chess Olympiad. Some of them are saying that with the latest success of GM Wesley So in the recently concluded 10th Dubai Open, he is now ready to man the 1st Board. Not to take anything away from GM wesley's superb performance, I still believe that with proper training and motivation, GM Eugene should return and man the top board.
“We should not be in a hurry to expose GM Wesley to too much pressure. He must be given enough time to develop his strength. We should not commit the same mistake when GM Paragua was given the assignment to man the top board.
“Below is for me a possible RP Team composition.
Board 1 - GM Eugene Torre
Board 2 - GM Mark Paragua
Board 3 - GM Joey Antonio
Board 4 - GM Bong Villamayor
Board 5 - GM Wesley So”
Well, may I invite our readers to email in their comments? Given that our team members are So, Torre, Bitoon, Antonio and Gomez, what board order should they be in?
Eugene played a relaxed tournament in the Battle of the GMs, content to let his fabulous technique stretch his opponent’s defensive capabilities to the maximum. If the opponent is successful, then we have a draw. If not, then Eugene wraps up another neat win. Witness:
Donguines,Fernie (2362) - Torre,Eugenio (2519) [B02]
Battle of Grandmasters CITYSTATE Hotel (2.1), 26.04.2008
1.e4 Nf6
Well, Eugene is obviously playing for a win.
2.e5 Nd5 3.Bc4
The only advantage of this move over 3.c4 or 3.d4 is that it has not been played half as much.
3...Nb6 4.Bb3 c5 5.c3 c4 6.Bc2 Nc6 7.d4?!
Fernie decides to give up a pawn to drum up attacking chances. Otherwise he would have played 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.Qe2 with chances for both sides.
7...cxd3 8.Qxd3 Nxe5 9.Qg3 d6 10.f4 Nc6 11.Nf3
Black is experiencing some difficulty in developing his kingside. He has to plan the following moves out carefully. In particular, whether he plays ...e6 or ...g6 White would be advancing f4-f5 to break-up his pawn structure.
11...g6 12.0–0 Bf5! 13.Bb3 Bg7 14.Nh4 Qd7 15.a4 Na5 16.Bd1 0–0 17.Nd2 Nd5
[17...Be6 18.f5 Bd5 (18...gxf5? 19.Nb3 wins a piece because of the threat of checkmate via Bh6) 19.Bg4 Qc6 is also possible, but anyway Eugene was determined to prevent f4-f5, so he leaves the bishop on f5]
18.Nxf5 gxf5 19.Bc2 e6 20.Nf3 Nc6 21.Qh3 Nf6 22.Kh1 Ng4 23.Qg3 d5 24.h3 Nf6 25.Qh4 Ne4 26.Ng5 Nxg5 27.fxg5 Ne5 28.Be3 Rfc8 29.Qh5 Ng6 30.Bb3 Be5 31.Rad1 Qe7 32.Rf3 a6 33.Re1 b5 34.axb5 axb5 35.Bf2 Qd6 36.Rfe3 Bg7 37.h4 b4 38.Qf3 bxc3 39.bxc3 Ra3 40.Qd1 Rxc3
caption: position after 40...Rxc3
Typical Fernie - he manages to find a way to sacrifice some material
41.Rxe6!? fxe6 42.Rxe6 Rcxb3
"Falling into the trap" with 42...Qxe6 43.Bxd5 still wins for Black after 43...Kf7.
43.Rxd6 Ra1 44.Qxa1 Bxa1 45.Rxd5 Rb1+ 46.Kh2
Eugene's execution is remorselessly accurate.
46...Be5+ 47.g3 Nxh4! 48.Rd8+
[48.Rxe5 Nf3+]
48...Kf7 49.Be3 Rb3 50.Bf4 Bxf4 51.gxf4 Kg6 52.Rd6+ Kh5 53.Rh6+ Kg4 54.Rxh7 Rb2+ 55.Kg1 Kg3 56.Kf1 Nf3 Mate to follow 0–1
Remember a few years ago I wrote a limerick on Donguines?
There was a chess master from Army,
Who knew only attack, named Fernie
His offensives run asunder
Against a good defender,
But he has fun doing it, doesn't he?
And, one of our readers, Mr. Butch Arroyo, countered:
I once played an FM Donguines
Whose kingside attack was the meanest,
When the carnage was done
Donguines had won
Now, who was the GM between us?
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 12 May 2008"
Monday, May 12, 2008
CHESSDOM: KID; IVANCHUK - CHEPARINOV
Ivanchuk, V. - Cheparinov, I.
Mtel Masters 2008
Sofia Round 4
by GM Dimitrov
Hi, everybody. Welcome to the Live Coverage of Mtel Masters Super Tournament. Today we'll follow the game between Vassily Ivanchuk and Ivan Cheparinov. The Ukrainian is leading with the remarkable 3/3 and White pieces are in his hands again.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 (7... Na6 is a popular alternative.)
8.d5 Ne7 The Classical King's Indian Defence. This typical main position is met for first time in the game between Tajmanov and Aronin - '1952.
9.Ne1 ( Another options are 9.Nd2 ,as Kramnik played this year against Van Wely in Nice and against Radjabov at Wijk aan Zee, and 9.b4)
9... Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.Bd2 Nf6 12.f3 f4 As it's known, Cheparinov has quite agressive opening repertoire. Najdorf and King's Indian with Black... no Petroff Defence in example.
13.c5 g5 14.Rc1 Ng6 15.cd6 cd6 16.Nb5 Rf7 17.Qc2 Ne8 18.Nf2 h5 19.a4( The last game on a high level in this position was won by Radjabov in his game agains the Croatian Zdenko Kozul 5 years ago. It continued: 19.a4 Bd7 20.Qb3 Bf8 21.Rc4 a6 22.Na3 Rg7 23.a5 Nf6 24.Qb6 Qe8 25.h3 g4 26.fg4 hg4 27.hg4 Nh4 28.Rc7 Qg6 29.Be1 Rh7 30.Qb3 Ne4 31.Qd3 Ng3 32.Rb7 e4 33.Ne4 Ne4 34.Rd7 Rd7 35.Bh4 Qh7 36.Rf4 Qh4 37.Re4 Bg7 38.Bf3 Rf8 39.Nc4 Rdf7 40.Re3 Rf4 41.Re4 Rf3 42.gf3 Qg3 43.Kh1 Kf7 44.Nd6 Qd6 45.Kg2 Rh8 46.Qb3 Qh2 47.Kf1 Qh1 0-1)
19... Bf8 20.h3 Rg7 21.Qb3 Nh4 22.Rc2 g4 There are just 2 games so far with this continuation. The result is quite pleasant for Black - 1,5 points out of 2.
23.fg4 Nf6 24.Be1 ( This is probably one of the key moments in this game, since Black could force exchanges on g4 with or without the profilactic move 24.Be1 Kh8)
24... hg4 25.hg4 Nh5! (25... Nh5 26.Nd1 (26.gh5? Ng2 -+ leads to disaster for White.) seems the strongest answer to this piece sacrifice according to the engines.Although after 26... Bg4 27.Bg4 Rg4 threatening Qg5, f3, Black has enough counterplay.)
26.Nh1 (26.Nh1 Bg4 27.Bg4 Rg4 28.Qh3 Qg5 29.Bh4 Qh4 30.Qh4 Rh4 31.Rfc1 Rg4 32.Kf2 a6 33.Nc7 Rb8 34.Ne6 Be7 35.Rc8 Rc8 36.Rc8 Kf7 37.Rb8 Rh4 38.Kg1 Rg4 39.Rb7 (39.Kf2 Rh4 =) 39... f3 40.g3 Nf6 41.Kf2 Ne4 42.Kf3 Nf6 43.Nd8 Ke8 44.Nc6 Bf8 45.Rb6 e4 46.Ke2 Nd5 47.Ra6 e3 = and a drawish endgame could arise.)
26... f3 optimistic move
27.Bf3 (27.gf3 Nf4 is also possible with attacking chances for Black.)
27... Nf4 28.Ng3 ( a solid move it seems. The Rybka's alternative: 28.Bh4 Qh4 29.g3 Nh3 30.Kg2 Nf4 31.Kf2 Nh3 32.Ke2 promises a big advantage, but it's not for everybody to play such positions. And mainly, it seems it's not the taste of Ivanchuk today.)
28... Bg4 29.Bg4 Rg4 30.Nc7 Rc8 31.Ne6 Rc2 (31... Rc2 32.Nd8?? is not possible, of course, because of 32... Rg2 33.Kh1 Nf3 and mate in two moves.)
32.Qc2 Qb6?! (32... Qe8 was more solid. In example: 33.Qc3 Nhg2 34.Qf3 Qg6 35.Nf8 Ne1 36.Ng6 Nf3 37.Rf3 Rg6 =)
33.Kh1 (33.Bf2 was worse than the move in the game. After 33... Nf3 34.gf3 Rg3 35.Kh1 Rh3 = the perpetual check could not be avoided.)
33... Nhg2 34.Nf5 The position must be already winning for White. Ivanchuk has 6 minutes left for 6 moves, but remember that even 6 seconds were enough for him some days ago against Topalov. The 32-nd move Qb6 for Black proved to be weak, as it forced the game to this.
34... Qa6 35.Rg1 Qd3 36.Qd3 Nd3 37.Bh4 +-
37... Re4 38.Rg2 Kf7 39.Nd6 Bd6 40.Ng5 The game is over at the move 40-rd. Ivanchuk is still leading with 4/4... Will anybody stop him at all?!
1-0
Saturday, May 10, 2008
CHESSDOM: IVANCHUK WINS MTEL MASTERS
Topalov, Veselin - Ivanchuk, Vassily
Mtel Masters 2008
Round 2
Sofia
by GM Dimitrov
After the uncompromising fight witnessed in the 1st round (not a single draw!) today we'll follow the encounter of two of the provisional leaders. Topalov unlike other years started victorious and defeated the other great favorite Aronian as Black. An important accomplishment, having in mind that he lost in their previous 3 games having the same colors. Ivanchuk on his part did a fine job against Radjabov who, nevertheless being a bit tired an out of form lately, is still a formidable opponent. Both Vassily and Veselin like to play creatively and their games attract a lot of audience. That and the shortened time control (1.30h for 40 moves + 1h till end each) make me to expect a good show. Having in mind the vast repertoire of the Ukrainian it is hard to predict the opening in such game. It is even hard to tell would Topalov open with 1.e4 or 1.d4. The sure thing is that we are to witness another intriguing chess battle.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Considered to be most ambitious. (3.Nd2) has its supporters as well while the other options are harmless at best.
3... Nf6 (3... Bb4) is the Winawer variation leading to extremely complicated positions. The Ukrainian prefers a more academic approach.
4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 Ivanchuk used this line of French Defense on several occasions. This opening was neglected for some time but gains in popularity thanks to the efforts of young Russian players such as Morozievich.
8.a3 Avoiding the mainstream (8.Qd2) Topalov seems to have managed to surprise his opponent as Black is considering his answer for almost 15 minutes.
8... cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bc5 Beginning of a typical fight for control over the 'd4' square. 7...cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 leads to similar position without a3&a6 included. Ivanchuk's change of plan makes sense as this difference seems to be in his favor.
10.Be2 With a2-a3 played, the usual plan involving Qd2, O-O-O and h4 is a bit too slow. (10.Nce2 intending to strengthen control over 'd4' leaves Black to much freedom and he may go even for 10... g5) Now Black has to decide should he contest the 'd4' square after 10...Qb6 11.Na4 Qa5+ or prepare the f7-f6 breakthrough castling kingside.
10... O-O 11.Qd2 Qc7 (11... Ndxe5 12.Nxc6 Bxe3 13.Nxd8 Bxd2+ 14.Kxd2 Ng6 15.Nxf7 Rxf7 16.g3 leaves White with some advantage.)
12.Bf3 Keeping both options to castle available.
12... Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Nb6 A natural plan. Bd7 and Rc8 are to follow and the position seems to be of dynamic equality.
14.Ne2 Perhaps this is the right moment for f7-f6. (14.Ne2 f6 15.exf6 (15.Qc3 Na4) 15... Nc4 16.Qc3 Bxd4 17.Nxd4 Qxf4 18.fxg7 Qe5+) (14.Ne2 Bd7 is of course playable as well. Meanwhile Ivanchuk is consuming a lot of time.)
14... Bxd4 15.Qxd4 (15.Nxd4 f6 lets Black create direct threats.)
15... Bd7 Going for the safest approach - mobilization of all pieces keeping f6 in reserve.
16.b3 Veselin didn't get opening advantage but there is a large gap on the clock - 0.55 - 0.30.
16... Bb5 Intending never to let a Knight block the 'd5' pawn.
17.Nc3 (17.Qc3 Qxc3+ 18.Nxc3 Rfc8 19.Kd2 Rc5 20.Rac1 Rac8 is easy to play even in time trouble so Topalov keeps the Queens.)
17... Rfc8 18.Nxb5 axb5 Next step in Ivancuk's plan could be improving the position of his Knight. Even weird routes like Nb6-d7-b8-c6-e7 come to mind.
19.Be2 Nd7 ( b5 is protected tactically - 19... Nd7 20.Bxb5 Qa5+)
20.Ra2 Sad necessity. With fine positional play Vassily came to advantage but now the clock readings will be very important as well - 0.30 0.13
20... Nb8 21.O-O Nc6 Veselin finally took his King away from the center but will face difficulties defending the dark squares.
22.Qd2 (22.Qc5 Qa5 23.Qxb5 Qxb5 24.Bxb5 Nb4 25.Rb2 Rxa3 is far from attractive.)
22... Qb6+ Driving the King further away in view of eventual endings.
23.Kh1 Qa5 The foreseen time trouble approaches: 0.09 0.08
24.Qxa5 Rxa5 25.Raa1 Defending from Nc6-b4 but Nc6-d4 wins a pawn. (25.Raa1 Nd4 26.Bd3 Rca8)
25... Rca8 Time: 0.07 0.04
26.Rad1 Rxa3 27.Bxb5 Nb4 28.c4 R8a5 0.05 0.02
29.f5 exf5 30.g4 Rxb3 31.gxf5 Re3 32.Rb1 Nd3 33.e6 d4 34.Be8 Nc5 35.Bxf7+ Kf8 36.f6 gxf6 37.Rxf6 Ke7 The last 10 moves were played in blitz tempo.The arbiter was recording in the frantic scramble. They've made it to the time control, the exact moves are still awaited.
38.Rh6 d3 39.Rxh7 d2 40.Rg1 ( Decisive error. 40.Kg2 was to be preferred.)
40... Re1 41.Bh5+ Kxe6 42.Rhg7 White is completely lost. After 42...Ne4 or 42...Nd3 no chances to save the game are to be found.
42... Ne4 43.R7g6+ Ke5 White resigned. A good game by Ivanchuk. He outplayed his opponent then in the mutual time trouble commited some errors but nevertheless managed to win after Topalov blundered on move 40.
0-1
CHESS PIECE: WESLEY IS TOP GM
[Bobby Ang]
Battle of the GMs
25 April-3 May 2008
Citystate Tower Hotel
Final Standings
1 GM Wesley So 2540, 8.5/11
2-3 GM Eugene Torre 2519, IM Richard Bitoon 2420, 7.5/11
4 IM John Paul Gomez 2464,7.0/11
5 GM Rogelio Antonio Jr 2529, 6.5/11
6 NM Rolando Nolte 2420, 5.5/11
7 IM Julio Catalino Sadorra 2455, 5.0/11
8-9 FM Fernie Donguines 2362, NM Oliver Barbosa 2403, 4.5/11
10-11 NM Hamed Nouri 2392, GM Buenaventura Villamayor 2425, 3.5/11
12 IM Jayson Gonzales 2468, 2.5/11
caption: GM Wesley So
GM Wesley So has just confirmed what the ratings table suggest – that he is the top player of the Philippines. He emerged unscathed after 11 grueling rounds and topped the field by scoring 6 wins and 5 draws for 8.5/11. Living legend Eugene Torre, the only other undefeated player, finished a point behind, tied for 2nd-3rd places with Richard Bitoon at 7.5/11.
With the end of publication of Manny Benitez’ “The Chess Plaza Weekender” and its hard-hitting commentary “From my Swivel Chair” I thought to take up the slack and bit and do a bit of commentary myself. So here they are:
1. There is, of course, no such animal as a super-grandmaster, as Hon. Florencio Campomanes loves to say. The truth is that the only international titles for over-the-board play (men) are Candidate Master (abbreviated as CM, for those players with ratings of at least 2200), FIDE Master (FM, rating of at least 2300), International Master (IM, rating of at least 2400), and International Grandmaster (GM rating of at least 2500). A super-Grandmaster is simply an adjective to denote a grandmaster who is really very strong and regularly beats other grandmasters. Usually the demarcation line for this is the attainment of a FIDE rating in excess of 2600 pts.
2. The reason I bring up this thing about the super-GM is because some ignorant reporters (take note that I make a point not to call them journalists) have written that Wesley’s next goal is to attain the title of super-grandmaster, and that he already scored one super-GM norm by winning the Dubai Open.
3. Well, of course that thing about attaining the super-GM title and the norm is just plain stupid, but on the other hand it is true that Wesley’s next goal is to bring his rating up to 2600. How is he doing in this regard? Well, he gained 18.7 points by winning in Dubai, and a further 11.8 points with his victory in his 6-game match with Indonesian Champion Susanto Megaranto. This latest Battle of the GMs triumph is an additional 15.7 pts. Add all of this up to his current rating of 2540 and we come up with a new rating of 2586.
4. Wesley still has two big tournaments coming up this month. The 2nd Philippine Open International Tournament is scheduled May 6-15 at the La Legenda Hotel in Subic Bay Freeport followed immediately by the 3rd Philippine Open from May 15-24 in Pampanga. Both tournaments are 11-round Swiss system events. Hopefully, Wesley So can keep up his strength, sustain the fine form, and bring home the bacon.
5. It was announced that the result of this tournament will determine the Philippine team to the Dresden Chess Olympiad which will start November 12. If that information is correct then our representatives will consist of GM Wesley So, GM Eugene Torre, IM Richard Bitoon, IM John Paul Gomez and GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (starting Dresden, each team will have 5 players instead of the 6 of previous Olympiads). My assessment of this squad is that it is quite strong and should do well in Dresden.
6. Hopefully, they get a real team captain to whip them into shape and lead the Filipino charge, and then my confidence level is high that they can land in the top 20. Please, no more junkets for politicians or hangers-on. A team captain is not a ceremonial position. The team captain has to attend to the accommodations of the players, see to it that they are psyched and ready for battle during the games. He also has to look around the tournament hall at the potential opponents and keep track of who is hot and who is not. Also, he has to go over the tournament bulletins and take note of the openings that are being played and the latest theoretical trends. A very important role which is completely overlooked in many cases.
7. GM Mark Paragua did not take part because he had gone to the States to campaign. I am not sure whether Cong. Pichay intends to bring him home to beef up the team. We will postpone discussion of this nagging question for another column.
8. I was wondering about the participation of Fernie Donguines in this tournament. If you do a bit of research, it becomes obvious that he has no business participating. It is true that Fernie has one GM norm, but he got that way back in 1994 – 14 years ago! Donguines is currently rated no. 42 in the country. Some of the players who were bypassed are GM Darwin Laylo, IM Ronald Dableo (2 GM norms), and IM Oliver Dimakiling (2 GM norms). Who can explain this to us?
9. I wish that the chess reporters would stop calling Jayson Gonzales an International Grandmaster, he isn’t one. True, he has obtained the three GM norms required, but he still has to attain a minimum rating of 2500 to get the title. This is not an easy requirement, and there are a heck of a lot of players who never reach this milestone.
10. Jayson’s current rating is 2468 and he just lost 33 rating points by finishing last in the “Battle of GMs” – points that he has to make up for. Outstanding players like Wesley get 18.7 pts in one tournament, but he had to win the Dubai Open to do that. Jayson has never gotten close to such a performance. For most players a good result in an international tournament will get you an additional 10 rating pts. Equating that with IM Jayson Gonzales’ soon-to-be rating of 2435, that means he has to get good results in 6-7 tournaments, without the ratings catastrophe similar to what he experienced in the Battle of GMs. I am afraid it will take another 2 years before he gets the grandmaster title.
Here is Wesley’s win in the 9th round over Richard Bitoon to virtually guarantee himself the top prize of P200,000.
So,Wesley (2540) - Bitoon,Richard (2420) [B99]
Battle of Grandmasters CITYSTATE Hotel (9.5), 01.05.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Nbd7 9.Qf3 Be7 10.0–0–0 Qc7 11.Bd3 g5 12.fxg5 Ne5
The same line as So vs Adly from the Dubai Open, which we annotated here a week or so ago.
13.Qe2 Nfg4 14.Nf3 Nxf3
[14...hxg5 is the move with the best theoretical reputation]
15.Qxf3 Ne5 16.Qh5 Ng6 17.Bg3 hxg5 18.Qf3 Bd7
Adly played 18...Ne5 19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.Rdf1 Rh7 21.h4 gxh4 22.Qg4 Rh6 (So,W (2540)-Adly,A (2578) /Dubai 2008 1–0 37), but on looking at this position again I realize that Wesley had an easier win with 23.Qg8+ Kd7 24.Rxf7 White has too many threats, not the least of which is 25.Bb5+! axb5 26.Rxe7+ Kxe7 27.Qg7+ Kd8 28.Rd1+ Bd7 29.Qf8#.
19.Rhf1 Rf8 20.Qe3 0–0–0 21.Qa7 Ne5 22.Be2 Nc6 23.Qa8+ Nb8
[23...Qb8 24.Qxb8+ Kxb8 25.Rxd6 wins a pawn]
24.a4 Bc6 25.Qa7 Nd7 26.Qa8+ Nb8 27.Qa7 Nd7 28.Bh5 Nf6?
caption: position after 28...Nf6
29.Rxf6! Bxf6 30.Rxd6! Rxd6 31.Qa8+ Kd7 32.Qxf8 Be7 33.Qxf7 Qd8 34.Bxd6 Kxd6 35.Bg4 Bd7 36.e5+ Kxe5 37.Qf2 Qf8 38.Qe3+ Kd6 39.Qd4+ Kc7 40.Qc4+ Kd8 41.Bf3
[41.Bxe6? Bxe6 42.Qxe6 Qf1+ 43.Kd2 Qxg2+ considerably complicates White's task]
41...Bc8 42.Kb1 Bd6 43.Ne4 Be7
[43...Bxh2 44.Nxg5]
44.Qd4+ Kc7 45.Qe5+ Kb6
[45...Bd6 46.Qc3+ Kb8 47.h3 holds out longer]
46.Nxg5 Qf5 47.a5+ Ka7 48.Qc7 Qc5 49.Qxc5+ Bxc5 50.Bg4 Be3 51.Bxe6 Bxg5 52.Bxc8 Bd2 53.c3 Bf4 54.h4 Bc7 55.b4 b6 56.axb6+ Kxb6 57.Kc2 a5 58.bxa5+ Kxa5 59.Kd3 Kb5 60.h5 Be5 61.g4 Kc5 62.c4 Kd6 63.Ke4 Bf6 64.Kf5 Bd4 65.g5 Ke7 66.Kg6 Be3 67.h6 Bf4 68.c5 1–0
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 09 May 2008"
Battle of the GMs
25 April-3 May 2008
Citystate Tower Hotel
Final Standings
1 GM Wesley So 2540, 8.5/11
2-3 GM Eugene Torre 2519, IM Richard Bitoon 2420, 7.5/11
4 IM John Paul Gomez 2464,7.0/11
5 GM Rogelio Antonio Jr 2529, 6.5/11
6 NM Rolando Nolte 2420, 5.5/11
7 IM Julio Catalino Sadorra 2455, 5.0/11
8-9 FM Fernie Donguines 2362, NM Oliver Barbosa 2403, 4.5/11
10-11 NM Hamed Nouri 2392, GM Buenaventura Villamayor 2425, 3.5/11
12 IM Jayson Gonzales 2468, 2.5/11
caption: GM Wesley So
GM Wesley So has just confirmed what the ratings table suggest – that he is the top player of the Philippines. He emerged unscathed after 11 grueling rounds and topped the field by scoring 6 wins and 5 draws for 8.5/11. Living legend Eugene Torre, the only other undefeated player, finished a point behind, tied for 2nd-3rd places with Richard Bitoon at 7.5/11.
With the end of publication of Manny Benitez’ “The Chess Plaza Weekender” and its hard-hitting commentary “From my Swivel Chair” I thought to take up the slack and bit and do a bit of commentary myself. So here they are:
1. There is, of course, no such animal as a super-grandmaster, as Hon. Florencio Campomanes loves to say. The truth is that the only international titles for over-the-board play (men) are Candidate Master (abbreviated as CM, for those players with ratings of at least 2200), FIDE Master (FM, rating of at least 2300), International Master (IM, rating of at least 2400), and International Grandmaster (GM rating of at least 2500). A super-Grandmaster is simply an adjective to denote a grandmaster who is really very strong and regularly beats other grandmasters. Usually the demarcation line for this is the attainment of a FIDE rating in excess of 2600 pts.
2. The reason I bring up this thing about the super-GM is because some ignorant reporters (take note that I make a point not to call them journalists) have written that Wesley’s next goal is to attain the title of super-grandmaster, and that he already scored one super-GM norm by winning the Dubai Open.
3. Well, of course that thing about attaining the super-GM title and the norm is just plain stupid, but on the other hand it is true that Wesley’s next goal is to bring his rating up to 2600. How is he doing in this regard? Well, he gained 18.7 points by winning in Dubai, and a further 11.8 points with his victory in his 6-game match with Indonesian Champion Susanto Megaranto. This latest Battle of the GMs triumph is an additional 15.7 pts. Add all of this up to his current rating of 2540 and we come up with a new rating of 2586.
4. Wesley still has two big tournaments coming up this month. The 2nd Philippine Open International Tournament is scheduled May 6-15 at the La Legenda Hotel in Subic Bay Freeport followed immediately by the 3rd Philippine Open from May 15-24 in Pampanga. Both tournaments are 11-round Swiss system events. Hopefully, Wesley So can keep up his strength, sustain the fine form, and bring home the bacon.
5. It was announced that the result of this tournament will determine the Philippine team to the Dresden Chess Olympiad which will start November 12. If that information is correct then our representatives will consist of GM Wesley So, GM Eugene Torre, IM Richard Bitoon, IM John Paul Gomez and GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (starting Dresden, each team will have 5 players instead of the 6 of previous Olympiads). My assessment of this squad is that it is quite strong and should do well in Dresden.
6. Hopefully, they get a real team captain to whip them into shape and lead the Filipino charge, and then my confidence level is high that they can land in the top 20. Please, no more junkets for politicians or hangers-on. A team captain is not a ceremonial position. The team captain has to attend to the accommodations of the players, see to it that they are psyched and ready for battle during the games. He also has to look around the tournament hall at the potential opponents and keep track of who is hot and who is not. Also, he has to go over the tournament bulletins and take note of the openings that are being played and the latest theoretical trends. A very important role which is completely overlooked in many cases.
7. GM Mark Paragua did not take part because he had gone to the States to campaign. I am not sure whether Cong. Pichay intends to bring him home to beef up the team. We will postpone discussion of this nagging question for another column.
8. I was wondering about the participation of Fernie Donguines in this tournament. If you do a bit of research, it becomes obvious that he has no business participating. It is true that Fernie has one GM norm, but he got that way back in 1994 – 14 years ago! Donguines is currently rated no. 42 in the country. Some of the players who were bypassed are GM Darwin Laylo, IM Ronald Dableo (2 GM norms), and IM Oliver Dimakiling (2 GM norms). Who can explain this to us?
9. I wish that the chess reporters would stop calling Jayson Gonzales an International Grandmaster, he isn’t one. True, he has obtained the three GM norms required, but he still has to attain a minimum rating of 2500 to get the title. This is not an easy requirement, and there are a heck of a lot of players who never reach this milestone.
10. Jayson’s current rating is 2468 and he just lost 33 rating points by finishing last in the “Battle of GMs” – points that he has to make up for. Outstanding players like Wesley get 18.7 pts in one tournament, but he had to win the Dubai Open to do that. Jayson has never gotten close to such a performance. For most players a good result in an international tournament will get you an additional 10 rating pts. Equating that with IM Jayson Gonzales’ soon-to-be rating of 2435, that means he has to get good results in 6-7 tournaments, without the ratings catastrophe similar to what he experienced in the Battle of GMs. I am afraid it will take another 2 years before he gets the grandmaster title.
Here is Wesley’s win in the 9th round over Richard Bitoon to virtually guarantee himself the top prize of P200,000.
So,Wesley (2540) - Bitoon,Richard (2420) [B99]
Battle of Grandmasters CITYSTATE Hotel (9.5), 01.05.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Nbd7 9.Qf3 Be7 10.0–0–0 Qc7 11.Bd3 g5 12.fxg5 Ne5
The same line as So vs Adly from the Dubai Open, which we annotated here a week or so ago.
13.Qe2 Nfg4 14.Nf3 Nxf3
[14...hxg5 is the move with the best theoretical reputation]
15.Qxf3 Ne5 16.Qh5 Ng6 17.Bg3 hxg5 18.Qf3 Bd7
Adly played 18...Ne5 19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.Rdf1 Rh7 21.h4 gxh4 22.Qg4 Rh6 (So,W (2540)-Adly,A (2578) /Dubai 2008 1–0 37), but on looking at this position again I realize that Wesley had an easier win with 23.Qg8+ Kd7 24.Rxf7 White has too many threats, not the least of which is 25.Bb5+! axb5 26.Rxe7+ Kxe7 27.Qg7+ Kd8 28.Rd1+ Bd7 29.Qf8#.
19.Rhf1 Rf8 20.Qe3 0–0–0 21.Qa7 Ne5 22.Be2 Nc6 23.Qa8+ Nb8
[23...Qb8 24.Qxb8+ Kxb8 25.Rxd6 wins a pawn]
24.a4 Bc6 25.Qa7 Nd7 26.Qa8+ Nb8 27.Qa7 Nd7 28.Bh5 Nf6?
caption: position after 28...Nf6
29.Rxf6! Bxf6 30.Rxd6! Rxd6 31.Qa8+ Kd7 32.Qxf8 Be7 33.Qxf7 Qd8 34.Bxd6 Kxd6 35.Bg4 Bd7 36.e5+ Kxe5 37.Qf2 Qf8 38.Qe3+ Kd6 39.Qd4+ Kc7 40.Qc4+ Kd8 41.Bf3
[41.Bxe6? Bxe6 42.Qxe6 Qf1+ 43.Kd2 Qxg2+ considerably complicates White's task]
41...Bc8 42.Kb1 Bd6 43.Ne4 Be7
[43...Bxh2 44.Nxg5]
44.Qd4+ Kc7 45.Qe5+ Kb6
[45...Bd6 46.Qc3+ Kb8 47.h3 holds out longer]
46.Nxg5 Qf5 47.a5+ Ka7 48.Qc7 Qc5 49.Qxc5+ Bxc5 50.Bg4 Be3 51.Bxe6 Bxg5 52.Bxc8 Bd2 53.c3 Bf4 54.h4 Bc7 55.b4 b6 56.axb6+ Kxb6 57.Kc2 a5 58.bxa5+ Kxa5 59.Kd3 Kb5 60.h5 Be5 61.g4 Kc5 62.c4 Kd6 63.Ke4 Bf6 64.Kf5 Bd4 65.g5 Ke7 66.Kg6 Be3 67.h6 Bf4 68.c5 1–0
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 09 May 2008"
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