Wednesday, October 21, 2009
London given option for World Championship 2012
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pestaño: Building a child’s self-confidence
Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso
THERE are several ways to build self-confidence-a trait needed to ensure success in this highly competitive world. It is vitally important that the child—your child—possesses this characteristic.
Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self-confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed.
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
Playing chess has many benefits and one is promoting self-confidence. You can learn many techniques and skills that you can apply in daily life.
Every time you win a game, you improve self-esteem and self-confidence.
Chess is a thinking game. It is a fair game in that the player is responsible for the fate of the game and there is no other intervention in the game either in the form of luck or chance.
If children were taught this noble game at a tender age and encouraged to play, they would perform better in academically and outshine others.
If your child has a history of school failure and academic problems, teach him/her to play chess. In due time, you will see great improvements not only in the personality but also in the intellectual capacity of the child
Chess players show intense concentration, abstract thinking, and mental strategies that are extremely difficult to understand and learn.
With more self-confidence, you can face the many difficulties of life. A child develops the attitude that he can do it and that he can achieve his dreams.
One of the important subjects that a child is taught in school is mathematics. This is a very important subject and one needs to master it to pursue and understand higher studies.
In a study of the richest people recently by Forbes magazine, one of their common traits is that they are good in math.
The importance of math is that it cannot be learned by memorizing. You cannot just memorize the formulas of algebra and reproduce it in exams.
Understanding the concepts, applying concentration, attention and analyzing the various types of problems is what is required in math and chess.
Other ways to improve your self-confidence is to recognize your insecurities, and remember that no one is perfect. You should also be thankful for what you have and be positive. Avoid self-pity, or the pity and sympathy of others. Never allow others to make you feel inferior—they can only do so if you let them.
So if your school, starting this school year will teach your child to play chess welcome it because your child will in the long run develop self-confidence.
Local news. The Colonnade Chess Center will be celebrating its 11th anniversary with a tournament on Oct. 24 and 25.
Format is active, seven rounds Swiss. Only students can participate. Tournament starts at 9 a.m.
Also on Oct. 24 and 25, the San Roque Chessfest will be held at the barangay hall at 9:30 a.m. Format is active seven rounds and is open only to kiddies 14 years old and below and residents of Talisay, Minglanilla and Inayawan. Contact Manny Manzanares at 09157206457.
Last weekend, an executives-only competition was held at the Deep Blue Coffee shop in SM City. Format was seven rounds handicapping chess with a time of five minutes for Class A, 10 minutes for Class B and 15 minutes for Class C.
The winner was Jonathan Canque with 5.5 points. He was followed by Allan Cinco, Wilfredo Dominguito, Maggi Dionson,Allen Borbon and Excel Canque, all with 5 points.
The sponsors were Carlos Tan, Edgar Hortelano Jr. and Dr.Jesus Cellona.
After the tournament, a chess club was formed—the Deep Blue “D” Woodpusher Chess Club. Wilfredo Dominguito was also elected as the first president.
(frankpestano@yahoo.com, www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 16, 2009.
Chessmoso
THERE are several ways to build self-confidence-a trait needed to ensure success in this highly competitive world. It is vitally important that the child—your child—possesses this characteristic.
Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self-confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed.
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
Playing chess has many benefits and one is promoting self-confidence. You can learn many techniques and skills that you can apply in daily life.
Every time you win a game, you improve self-esteem and self-confidence.
Chess is a thinking game. It is a fair game in that the player is responsible for the fate of the game and there is no other intervention in the game either in the form of luck or chance.
If children were taught this noble game at a tender age and encouraged to play, they would perform better in academically and outshine others.
If your child has a history of school failure and academic problems, teach him/her to play chess. In due time, you will see great improvements not only in the personality but also in the intellectual capacity of the child
Chess players show intense concentration, abstract thinking, and mental strategies that are extremely difficult to understand and learn.
With more self-confidence, you can face the many difficulties of life. A child develops the attitude that he can do it and that he can achieve his dreams.
One of the important subjects that a child is taught in school is mathematics. This is a very important subject and one needs to master it to pursue and understand higher studies.
In a study of the richest people recently by Forbes magazine, one of their common traits is that they are good in math.
The importance of math is that it cannot be learned by memorizing. You cannot just memorize the formulas of algebra and reproduce it in exams.
Understanding the concepts, applying concentration, attention and analyzing the various types of problems is what is required in math and chess.
Other ways to improve your self-confidence is to recognize your insecurities, and remember that no one is perfect. You should also be thankful for what you have and be positive. Avoid self-pity, or the pity and sympathy of others. Never allow others to make you feel inferior—they can only do so if you let them.
So if your school, starting this school year will teach your child to play chess welcome it because your child will in the long run develop self-confidence.
Local news. The Colonnade Chess Center will be celebrating its 11th anniversary with a tournament on Oct. 24 and 25.
Format is active, seven rounds Swiss. Only students can participate. Tournament starts at 9 a.m.
Also on Oct. 24 and 25, the San Roque Chessfest will be held at the barangay hall at 9:30 a.m. Format is active seven rounds and is open only to kiddies 14 years old and below and residents of Talisay, Minglanilla and Inayawan. Contact Manny Manzanares at 09157206457.
Last weekend, an executives-only competition was held at the Deep Blue Coffee shop in SM City. Format was seven rounds handicapping chess with a time of five minutes for Class A, 10 minutes for Class B and 15 minutes for Class C.
The winner was Jonathan Canque with 5.5 points. He was followed by Allan Cinco, Wilfredo Dominguito, Maggi Dionson,Allen Borbon and Excel Canque, all with 5 points.
The sponsors were Carlos Tan, Edgar Hortelano Jr. and Dr.Jesus Cellona.
After the tournament, a chess club was formed—the Deep Blue “D” Woodpusher Chess Club. Wilfredo Dominguito was also elected as the first president.
(frankpestano@yahoo.com, www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 16, 2009.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Mchedlishvili, Ghaem win 5th Pichay Cup
GMs Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia and Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran tied for first in the $30,000 Prospero A. Pichay Jr. Cup held 2-7 October 2009 at LUWA in Quezon City, Philippines. Filipino GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. prevailed in the tie break to finish in third place.
Top Filipino player GM Rogelio Antonio receives his trophy from National Chess Federation of the Philippines chairman/president Prospero A. Pichay Jr. and Secretary General Mayor Abraham Tolentino. Other NCFP officials are, from left, FIDE Delegate Casto Abundo, Treasurer Red Dumuk, Executive Director Wilfredo Abalos and Board members Val Rosabal and Edmund Legaspi.
The Pichay Cup, now in its 5th year, was immediately preceded by the $40,000 President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup also in Manila. The strong field of 20 Grandmasters saw action in both tournaments.
Antonio tied at 6.5 points apiece with GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam and GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore. GMs Darwin Laylo of Philippines, Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam and Neelotpal Das of India trailed with 6 points each. Go to chess-results.com for final standings.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Pestaño: Occupations of famous chess players
Frank 'Boy' Pestaño
Chessmoso
CONTRARY to what you know, most chess players have a regular occupation aside from playing chess. Almost everybody knows that very few people can make a living out of the game. Here are the selected professions of some players, all of them are grandmasters.
Edmar Mednis was a chemical engineer, a profession closest to my heart. He who played a simul tournament with Cepca members here in Cebu in the late 90s.
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
Mikhael Botvinnik was a three-time world champion who was an electrical engineer. His famous pupils include world champions Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.
Max Euwe was not only a world champion but was also a past president of Fide. He was a professor and had a doctorate in mathematics.
Paul Morphy was considered by Bobby Fischer to have been the greatest player of all time and an unofficial world champion. He was a lawyer by profession and was known to have memorized the complete Louisiana book of code and laws.
William Lombardy gained fame by being the second of Bobby Fischer in the match of the century against Boris Spassky in 1972. He was a former Roman Catholic priest.
Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation. He was an insurance underwriter and once played communist revolutionary Che Guevara to a draw.
John Nunn is one of England’s strongest players and once belonged to the world’s top 10. He is also a college instructor in mathematics.
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mid- 1930s through the 1940s and is a psychoanalyst.
Samuel Reshevsky, considered by many to have been the best player after Bobby Fischer and Paul Morphy, was an accountant. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from 1935 to the mid-1960s.
Mark Taimanov has the distinction for being one of the top 100 players of all time in chess and piano.
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was a doctor.
Andrew Solis is considered one of the most prolific chess writers, having authored or co-authored around 30 books. Soltis is a journalist and a weekly columnist for the New York Post. He was named “Chess journalist of the year” by the Chess Journalists of America in 1988.
Alex Yermolinsky won the US championship in 1993 and 1996 and is a chemist.
MILLION POT. Poker has grown tremendously over the last three or four years, including here in Cebu. It’s a game that largely attracts the same people as chess. Poker is a lot similar to chess in that beneath its seemingly simple surface lurks a deep sea of advanced theoretical concepts that give skilled players a great advantage over occasional ones
Chess is a game like golf, tennis or boxing, it has plenty of followers, yet no one will watch it on TV. The invention of the pocket camera has made poker the fastest
growing game in the world today.
The action is at its highest at the All-in poker club at the Waterfront Hotel where there is a guaranteed P50,000 tournament everyday and cash games all the time.
A lot of chess players including Cepca members play here.
Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., there will be a P1-million guaranteed tournament with a freezeout format. The buy-in is only P10,000 plus P500 registration.
The club manager is Bryan Lo, and the assistant is Cathy Dagiso. Antonio “Mario” Lo Jr. is the Chairman-CEO of the Vanskaps Management Group that operates the poker club.
If you think you are good ,this is your chance to play this once in a lifetime competition .Contact Bryan at 3181101 or 0917-7256756.
(frankpestano@yahoo.co,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 9, 2009.
Chessmoso
CONTRARY to what you know, most chess players have a regular occupation aside from playing chess. Almost everybody knows that very few people can make a living out of the game. Here are the selected professions of some players, all of them are grandmasters.
Edmar Mednis was a chemical engineer, a profession closest to my heart. He who played a simul tournament with Cepca members here in Cebu in the late 90s.
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
Mikhael Botvinnik was a three-time world champion who was an electrical engineer. His famous pupils include world champions Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.
Max Euwe was not only a world champion but was also a past president of Fide. He was a professor and had a doctorate in mathematics.
Paul Morphy was considered by Bobby Fischer to have been the greatest player of all time and an unofficial world champion. He was a lawyer by profession and was known to have memorized the complete Louisiana book of code and laws.
William Lombardy gained fame by being the second of Bobby Fischer in the match of the century against Boris Spassky in 1972. He was a former Roman Catholic priest.
Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation. He was an insurance underwriter and once played communist revolutionary Che Guevara to a draw.
John Nunn is one of England’s strongest players and once belonged to the world’s top 10. He is also a college instructor in mathematics.
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mid- 1930s through the 1940s and is a psychoanalyst.
Samuel Reshevsky, considered by many to have been the best player after Bobby Fischer and Paul Morphy, was an accountant. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from 1935 to the mid-1960s.
Mark Taimanov has the distinction for being one of the top 100 players of all time in chess and piano.
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was a doctor.
Andrew Solis is considered one of the most prolific chess writers, having authored or co-authored around 30 books. Soltis is a journalist and a weekly columnist for the New York Post. He was named “Chess journalist of the year” by the Chess Journalists of America in 1988.
Alex Yermolinsky won the US championship in 1993 and 1996 and is a chemist.
MILLION POT. Poker has grown tremendously over the last three or four years, including here in Cebu. It’s a game that largely attracts the same people as chess. Poker is a lot similar to chess in that beneath its seemingly simple surface lurks a deep sea of advanced theoretical concepts that give skilled players a great advantage over occasional ones
Chess is a game like golf, tennis or boxing, it has plenty of followers, yet no one will watch it on TV. The invention of the pocket camera has made poker the fastest
growing game in the world today.
The action is at its highest at the All-in poker club at the Waterfront Hotel where there is a guaranteed P50,000 tournament everyday and cash games all the time.
A lot of chess players including Cepca members play here.
Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., there will be a P1-million guaranteed tournament with a freezeout format. The buy-in is only P10,000 plus P500 registration.
The club manager is Bryan Lo, and the assistant is Cathy Dagiso. Antonio “Mario” Lo Jr. is the Chairman-CEO of the Vanskaps Management Group that operates the poker club.
If you think you are good ,this is your chance to play this once in a lifetime competition .Contact Bryan at 3181101 or 0917-7256756.
(frankpestano@yahoo.co,www.chessmoso.blogspot.com)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 9, 2009.
GM Wong Meng Kong – 4th President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup International Chess Challenge 2009
Played in Manila, Philippines, GM Wong Meng Kong, ranked 28th on the start list ended the 9 round tournament in 10th position. Based in Hong Kong, he took time off from his busy schedule to compete in the tournament. Here, he did a quick annotation of his 2nd round game against GM Tigran Kotanjian, born 1981, ranked 12th in Armenia with an elo rating of 2553.
Round 2 – the real battle begins. No pressure, being the bottom ranked GM in the list.
Wong, Meng Kong (Singapore) - Kotanjian, Tigran (Armenia), Manila, 2009
1. e4 back to the 1980s. Over the past decade, I had been struggling with the faster 4 hour games, and the tactical as opposed to strategic positions arising from 1. e4 allow me better time management. 1…c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Be2 Wong – Bachtiar Ito (z) 1978 went 5. Bg5 and was my first win internationally at age 14, and was the first time I met a Sicilian Najdorf with Be7 omitted.
5…Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. a4 b6 9. f4 Bb7 10. Bf3 Qc7 11. Kh1 Rc8 12. Qe1 black omits Be7, so touching the g3 square seems natural, and also pre-empts the positional sacrifice ….Rxc3
12…e5?!N 12….h5 13. Be3 Be7 14. Rd1 g6 15. Nde2 Qb8 16. Bf2 Qa8 17. Bh4 Nxe4 18. Bxe7 Kxe7 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Qd2 Rhd8 21. f5 Ne5 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. fxe6 fxe6 24. Qg5+ Kd7 25. Ng3 1-0 Ivanchuk,V-Almeida Quintana,O 2007; 12….Be7 13. e5 dxe5 14. fxe5 Bxf3 15. Nxf3 Ng4 16. Qg3 h5 17. Bf4 g6 18. Ne4 Rd8 19. Bg5 Nc5 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Qf4 Rd5 23. c4 Rc5 24. b4 Rc7 25. c5 bxc5 26. b5 Kf8 27. b6 Rd7 28. Ng5 Nh6 29. Qf6 Qxf6 30. exf6 Ke8 31. Rab1 Kd8 32. Ne4 Kc8 33. Nxc5 Rd6 34. Rfc1 Rc6 35. b7+ Kb8 36. Nd7+ 1-0 Tseitlin,Ma-Rotstein,E 2007
13. Nf5 g6 14. Ne3 exf4 15. Ned5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 16. exd5 was inferior as Nc3 clumsily obstructs the queenside majority advance, and Bb7 crucially supports a6 & c6 weaknesses.
16….Bxd5 17. exd5+ Ne5 18. Bxf4 Bg7 forced sequence.
19. Be2! this quiet move begins a sequence to unleash the power of the double bishops, the queenside majority and the developmental lead 19….Qb7 20. Qb4 Rc5 21. a5 b5 22. c4 O-O 23. cxb5 Rxd5 24. b6 Nc6 25. Qe4 25. Qe1 Bxb2 26. Ra2 Be5 allows either counterplay against h2 and lets black be a pawn up 25….Rxa5 26. Bxd6 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 Rc8 28. Bxa6 Ra8 29. Re1! returning the back rank favour
29…Qxa6 30. Qxc6 Bd4 this loses through a forced sequence, but 30…Bxb2 also loses to 31. h3, with the b8-h2 connecting the queening square with kingside defence. 31. Re8+ Rxe8 32. Qxe8+ Kg7 33. Bf8+ Kf6 34. Qd8+ 1-0 black resigns as 34….Ke5 35. Bg7+ or 34…Ke6 35. Qxe5 Qf1 36. Qg1.
Round 2 – the real battle begins. No pressure, being the bottom ranked GM in the list.
Wong, Meng Kong (Singapore) - Kotanjian, Tigran (Armenia), Manila, 2009
1. e4 back to the 1980s. Over the past decade, I had been struggling with the faster 4 hour games, and the tactical as opposed to strategic positions arising from 1. e4 allow me better time management. 1…c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Be2 Wong – Bachtiar Ito (z) 1978 went 5. Bg5 and was my first win internationally at age 14, and was the first time I met a Sicilian Najdorf with Be7 omitted.
5…Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. a4 b6 9. f4 Bb7 10. Bf3 Qc7 11. Kh1 Rc8 12. Qe1 black omits Be7, so touching the g3 square seems natural, and also pre-empts the positional sacrifice ….Rxc3
12…e5?!N 12….h5 13. Be3 Be7 14. Rd1 g6 15. Nde2 Qb8 16. Bf2 Qa8 17. Bh4 Nxe4 18. Bxe7 Kxe7 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Qd2 Rhd8 21. f5 Ne5 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. fxe6 fxe6 24. Qg5+ Kd7 25. Ng3 1-0 Ivanchuk,V-Almeida Quintana,O 2007; 12….Be7 13. e5 dxe5 14. fxe5 Bxf3 15. Nxf3 Ng4 16. Qg3 h5 17. Bf4 g6 18. Ne4 Rd8 19. Bg5 Nc5 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Qf4 Rd5 23. c4 Rc5 24. b4 Rc7 25. c5 bxc5 26. b5 Kf8 27. b6 Rd7 28. Ng5 Nh6 29. Qf6 Qxf6 30. exf6 Ke8 31. Rab1 Kd8 32. Ne4 Kc8 33. Nxc5 Rd6 34. Rfc1 Rc6 35. b7+ Kb8 36. Nd7+ 1-0 Tseitlin,Ma-Rotstein,E 2007
13. Nf5 g6 14. Ne3 exf4 15. Ned5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 16. exd5 was inferior as Nc3 clumsily obstructs the queenside majority advance, and Bb7 crucially supports a6 & c6 weaknesses.
16….Bxd5 17. exd5+ Ne5 18. Bxf4 Bg7 forced sequence.
19. Be2! this quiet move begins a sequence to unleash the power of the double bishops, the queenside majority and the developmental lead 19….Qb7 20. Qb4 Rc5 21. a5 b5 22. c4 O-O 23. cxb5 Rxd5 24. b6 Nc6 25. Qe4 25. Qe1 Bxb2 26. Ra2 Be5 allows either counterplay against h2 and lets black be a pawn up 25….Rxa5 26. Bxd6 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 Rc8 28. Bxa6 Ra8 29. Re1! returning the back rank favour
29…Qxa6 30. Qxc6 Bd4 this loses through a forced sequence, but 30…Bxb2 also loses to 31. h3, with the b8-h2 connecting the queening square with kingside defence. 31. Re8+ Rxe8 32. Qxe8+ Kg7 33. Bf8+ Kf6 34. Qd8+ 1-0 black resigns as 34….Ke5 35. Bg7+ or 34…Ke6 35. Qxe5 Qf1 36. Qg1.
GM Zhang Zhong – 5th Prospero A. Pichay Jr. Cup International Chess Championship 2009
Singapore PR, GM Zhang Zhong finished a credible joint third in a field of 60 very strong players from the region in the recently concluded 5th Prospero Pichay Jr. Cup International Chess Tournament 2009 in Manila, Philippines. GM Zhang Zhong had a short lay off from chess due to the arrival of his new born son.
He finished on 6.5 points together with GM Antonio Rogelio Jr. from the Philippines and GM Nguyen Ngoc Troung Son from Vietnam.
Antonio salvages 3rd in Pichay Cup
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MANILA, Philippines - Top seed GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia edged GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran in the tiebreak to capture the crown even as GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. settled for joint third in the Prospero Pichay Cup International Chess Championships at the LWUA Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.
Mchedlishvili outwitted GM Abhijeet Gupta of India in the final round while Ghaemmaghami subdued GM Li Shilong of China as they finished the nine-round tournament with seven points.
Mchedlishvili, however, took the crown with a superior tiebreak score. Both players took home $4,500 each.
It was the second title in less than three weeks for Mchedlishvili, who also topped the Ravana GM tournament in Sri Lanka last month.
Antonio outduelled GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia to clinch third place honors with 6.5 points and emerge as the highest-placed Filipino player for the second straight time. He placed sixth in last week’s PGMA Cup.
Antonio, priming up for the World Chess Cup in Russia next month, finished tied for third with GMs Nguen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam and Zhang Zhong of Singapore with 6.5 points.
Nguyen whipped GM Anuar Ismagambetov of Kazakhstan, while Zhang trounced GM Eugene Torre.
Antonio, however, finished ahead of Nguyen and Zhang with a higher tiebreak.
Asian Zone 3.3 champion GM Darwin Laylo battled GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia to a draw to finish tied for sixth with GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam and GM Neelotpal Das of India with six points.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Shell chess grand final slated
MANILA, Philippines - Forty four players, making up the country’s future chess stars, gear up for the big battle on the chess board next week when the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship (Shell Chess) holds its grand finals on Oct. 10-11 at the SM Megamall Event Center.
They are all primed up, each raring to dish out their best and hoping to join the ranks of great names in RP chess that the annual chess event has produced, including Grand masters Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo and the country’s current top player Wesley So.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Laylo shares lead in Butch Pichay Cup
CEBU, Philippines - World Cup-bound GM Darwin Laylo outdueled compatriot IM Richard Bitoon in the third round and then drew with top seed GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia in the fourth to gain a share of the lead in the Prospero Pichay Cup International Chess Championship at the LWUA Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City over the weekend.
The victory and the draw hiked Laylo’s output to 3.5 points as he joined Mchedlishvili and Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami in the lead with five rounds left in the nine-round tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) in cooperation with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
Mchedlishvili trounced GM Li Shilong of China in the third round while Ghaemmaghami beat No. 25 Tirto of Indonesia in the third round and No. 15 GM John Paul Gomez in the fourth.
Twelve players, led by newly crowned President Arroyo Cup champion GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan, Filipino bets GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., Eugene Torre and Bitoon, shared fourth place with three points each.
Filippov, hoping to become the first player to sweep the two tournaments, halved the point with GM Mark Paragua in the third round and Antonio in the fourth round.
Antonio, who will join Laylo and GM Wesley So as the country’s representatives to the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia next month, trampled IM Rolando Nolte in the third round before halving the point with Filippov.
Torre, out to atone for his lackluster showing in the PGMA Cup last week, dumped Ali Branzuela and GM-elect Ronald Dableo, while Bitoon, who is seeking his third and last GM norm, bounced back from his third-round setback to Laylo as he subdued Denil Causo.
Also moving up in contention with three points are GMs Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam, Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia, Abhijeet Gupta of India, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam, Das Neelotpal of India, Zhang Zhong of Singapore, Merab Gagunashvili and Pyotr Kostenko of Kazakhstan.
Kotanjian drew with Nguyen, Gupta halved the point with Dao, Zhang nipped Paragua, Gagunashvili outclassed FM Fernie Donguines, Das downed IM Chito Garma and Kostenko humbled FM Leonardo Carlos.
Rolando Andador toppled GM Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, GM Jayson Gonzales drew with Alcon John Datu, and Alex Milagrosa split the point with Nolte to lead five other players with 2.5 points.
Fillipov Wins 4th GMA Cup in Manila
GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan won the 4th President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup held 24 to 30 September 2009 at the Duty Free Festival Center in Manila, Philippines. Filippov finished with 6.5 points in a tie with four other grandmasters to share top prizes in the $40,000 event.
Asian Chess Federation president Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan braved the typhoon which devastated Manila and awarded the Cups together with National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero Pichay Jr.
GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam placed second followed by Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran in third. Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia and Geetha Narayan Gopal of India also tied with Filippov at 6.5 points each in the 9 round Swiss among 56 players.
See final standings at chess-results.com.
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