Month: August 2016

Wesley So interview on ChessBase

Wesley So, on his interview over at ChessBase, cited the Universiade incident, and remarked:

In 2013 I won a gold for the Philippines in the Universiade in Russia. Their first chess gold in like 50 years. The Philippine sport heads quarrelled over who was to get the glory for that win. In the end they could not agree so I was not formally recognized for winning it. It also came with a one million pesos award that I never got. I only received belated recognition for it in 2015. A nice politician convinced the senate to give me a plaque. But not the money. [Laughs]

Take a second look at the second sentence:

Their first chess gold in like 50 years.

The use of the word “their” instead of “our”, or perhaps the more neutral pronoun “its”, that to me suggests bitterness. But, can you blame the guy?

GM Joey Antonio is out of Philippines’ roster for Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

Philstar reported last Monday:

Grandmaster Joey Antonio, the reigning national champion, will not be joining the Philippine team bound for the 42nd World Chess Olympiad set Sept. 1-14 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The explanation offered by the NCFP: that GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio, Jr. will be playing in the 2016 World Seniors Championship in November.

Ed Andaya writes in Journal Online:

Conspicuously absent is Battle of GMs national champion Rogelio Antonio, Jr., who reportedly begged off from taking his place in the national team to Baku.

Infiesto said Antonio decided to represent the country in the 2016 World Seniors Championsips in the Czech Republic in November, along with Torre.

If you don’t smell something fishy about these developments, let me point out to you what Antonio posted on his Facebook account just last month:

Are you ready for Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad?

[section_title title=”Introduction”]

The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess event in which teams from all over the world compete. The 42nd edition of the event is going to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 1 to 14 September 2016.

In the Tromso 2014 Olympiad, China and Russia won the gold medals in the Open and Women’s division, respectively.

Here’s the promotional video of the Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad, Game of Thrones-style:

Check out the list of participating teams and their average ratings in the pages that follow.

Say Chess — Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Promotional Video

Here’s the promotional video of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad: “Say Chess”:

The Baku Chess Olympiad starts next week from 1 to 14 to September 2016. We’re going in for a treat for two weeks of chess action.

Michael Adams Named Wildcard in London Chess Classic 2016

Michael Adams (Photo: Ray Morris-Hill)

Michael Adams (Photo: Ray Morris-Hill)

London Chess Classic:

The 10th and last player to join the line-up of the 8th London Chess Classic is none other than England’s number one, Michael Adams. The Cornishman has been the country’s leading player since 1999 and was once ranked number 4 in the world.

Thus, Magnus Carlsen is officially out of the race for the Grand Chess Tour 2016 top prize. That leaves Hikaru Nakamura alone in contention, who still has a lot of catching up to do with the tour leader, Wesley So.

Final list of participants for the London Chess Classic 2016 follows:

Breaking Down Philippines’ Performance in World Junior Chess Championships 2016

[section_title title=”Paulo Bersamina”]

Paulo Bersamina

Paulo Bersamino is a Filipino International Master (IM) rated 2402 as of August 2016. He’s a member of the Philippine team going to the Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

In the recently concluded World Junior Chess Championships 2016, he played 13 games against opponents with average rating of 2376, and scored 7.5 points.

Paulo Bersamina in Round 13 of World Junior Chess Championships 2016. Photo credit: wjcc2016india.com.

Paulo Bersamina in Round 13 of World Junior Chess Championships 2016. Photo credit: wjcc2016india.com.

He had a 3-game winning streak from Rounds 9 to 11, so that at the end of Round 11, Bersamina was actually running tied at 4th to 7th place. But he lost to the ultimate champion, Jeffery Xiong, in Round 12 and to Yinglun Xu of China in Round 13, and thus settled for 19th place at the end of the tournament.

The following is the breakdown of the games of IM Paulo Bersamina in World Junior Chess Championships 2016:

World Junior Chess Championship 2016 Final Results

[section_title title=”Jeffery Xiong dominates the Open Section”]

Jeffery Xiong dominates the Open Section

Leading to the final round, Round 13, Jeffery Xiong of the United States was already a clear winner of the event.

He dominated the event all throughout with eight wins and five draws. Thus, he is now the youngest player to win the World Junior Chess Championship title.

The top-seeded Russian GM Vladislav Artemiev came in closest with 1 full point behind, 9.5 points.

Replay all the games in the Open Section.

winners-world-junior-chess-championship-2016-open

The winners of World Junior Chess Championships 2016 Open Division: Vladislav Artemiev (Runner Up), Jeffery Xiong (Champion), and Narayanan Sunilduth Lyna (2nd Runner Up). Photo credit: wjcc2016india.com.

Final ranking of the Open section follows:

Philippine Contingents to the World Junior Chess Championships 2016

The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).

The 2016 edition is currently happening (7 to 22 August 2016) in KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, India, and is scheduled for 13 rounds Swiss System. The Open division is composed of 80 players including 8 Grandmasters, while the Girls section has 57 players including 1 International Master and 2 WGM’s.

bersamina

Philippines sent 4 players to the event, 2 for the Open and 2 for Girls sections:

Philippines Delegates to the World Junior Chess Championships 2016

TitleNameRatingSeed #DivisionType
IMPaulo Bersamina240226OpenU18
Paul Robert Evangelista202071OpenU20
WIMJanelle Mae Frayna22929GirlsU20
WFMShania Mae Mendoza219121GirlsU18

Sinquefield Cup 2016 Awarding Ceremony Pictures

Check out the pictures taken during the Sinquefield Cup 2016 awarding (closing) ceremony:

Photos credit: Lennart Ootes: Website | Twitter