A queen in the game of kings

Philippine pride: Janelle Mae Frayna playing in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. Photo credit: David Llada

Philippine pride: Janelle Mae Frayna playing in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. Photo credit: David Llada

Janelle Mae Frayna was featured on Inquirer:

With her mother as her inspiration, she says she will be aiming for the GM title next year and the World Championship cycle in 2018.

“I feel I can do it,” says Janelle, who idolizes Hungarian GM Judith Polgar, the greatest woman player of all time.

With the way she played in the World Junior Championship and the Baku Olympiad, which were definitely no less than strong finishes, indeed, we believe she can do it!

The Rapports

Chess24 had a great interview with the Rapport couple. Richard Rapport (ELO 2752) played Board 1 for Hungary Open team, while his wife Jovana is a WGM (ELO 2318) and also played Board 1 for Serbia Women’s team, in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

I think they’re a great chess couple:

The Rapports. Photo by: Camilla Jovard

The Rapports. Photo by: Camilla Jovard

And I wonder what Mr. Sinquefield has to say about bringing the Rapports to the U.S.?

Eugene Torre and Philippine Chess

torre

Ignacio Dee on Rappler:

Then he tightens the screws: a mating attack or an endgame. It makes no difference. In Baku, he was playing like he was in his 20s, with energy and not taking any breaks.

It is no wonder that many Filipinos who used to love chess passionately until their careers demanded their attention would comment joyfully, even Torre wins on Facebook.

We can celebrate the outstanding performance of GM Eugene Torre in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad all we want, but let’s not overlook the fact that when a 64-year-old Torre leads the Philippine team in the Chess Olympiad is reminiscent of the sorry state of Philippine Chess.

Baku 2016 42nd Chess Olympiad Winners

After 40 years of gold medal drought, the United States was finally able to bag home one in this year’s 42nd Chess Olympiad (Open Section) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Winners of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad (Open)

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/winners-42nd-chess-olympiad-open.csv”]

Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Board Prizes Winners

[section_title title=”Board Prizes Winners – Open”]

At the conclusion of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad, here are the Board Prizes winners for the Open Section. Board Prizes are awarded to top players in each board in terms of rating performance, not winning percentage nor game points.

Replay all the games of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad (Open).

42nd Chess Olympiad Board Prizes Winners – Open


board-1-medalists-open

Board 1 Winners – Open

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/board-1-open-winners.csv”]

Philippines Lost to Australia to Settle for 58th Place in the Final Ranking (Open)

For the final round, GM Eugenio Torre delivered anew with a win for Team Philippines, but once again it was not enough, as GM John Paul Gomez on board 2 and GM Rogelio Barcenilla lost their games to the Aussies.

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-australia-round-11-results-open.csv”]

Replay the Round 11 games below: [replay]

Thus, the Philippines, with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses, takes the 58th place in the final ranking, down from their 53rd seed at the start of the tournament.

Philippines lost to Lithuania; Settled for 34th Place Final Ranking (Women)

Lithuania proved to be too tough to handle for the Philippines Women team, as they lost 3-to-1 in the tally sheet, in the 11th and final round of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-lithuania-result-round-11-women.csv”]

Replay the games below: [replay]

As a result, the Philippines Women team settled for 34th place in the final ranking, up from their 46th seed at the start of the tournament.

Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad (Open) Final Ranking

The United States wins the gold in the Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. The last time they won gold was in 1976.

Although both with 20 match points, the US edged Ukraine in tiebreak using the Olympiad-Sonneborn-Berger tie-break.

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/baku-2016-open-final-ranking.csv”]

Tie Break1: Matchpoints (2 for wins, 1 for Draws, 0 for Losses)
Tie Break2: Olympiad-Sonneborn-Berger-Tie-Break without lowest result (Khanty-Mansiysk)
Tie Break3: points (game-points)
Tie Break4: Sum Matchpoints (2,1,0) without lowest result (Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk)