Filipino Grandmasters Wesley So, Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo and John Paul Gomez had a relatively successful campaign in the 1st Asian Club Cup held in Al Ain, UAE from December 25 to 31, finishing fourth, which could have been second had Paragua not disintegrated in a crucial endgame struggle against China's Zhou Weiqi in the final round. While playing in a super-fired team tournament kept them busy throughout the week, spending Christmas and New Year away from their love ones was another thing.
So a day after the Al Ain tournament -- on New Year's Day! -- the gang paid their Pinoy friends in Dubai a visit for some chill-out time after a pressure-packed week and to celebrate the special occasion -- and how else but by playing chess! The GMs were scheduled to depart in the wee hours of January 2 at Dubai International Airport, so they had a full day to spare to whoop it up in Dubai, which is about an hour and a half drive from Al Ain.
The following are photo impressions of their special New Year’s Day visit at Reef Mall, the regular playing venue of the Filipino Chess Players League in Dubai.
GMs Wesley So (standing center in blue and orange stripes), Mark Paragua (to Wesley’s right), Darwin Laylo (kneeling center in red jumper) and John Paul Gomez (standing third from left) with their Pinoy followers at Reef Mall in Dubai. NCFP Director Willy Abalos is fourth from left. Also with the team was Inquirer sports writer Roy Luarco, who I think also filed the pooled reports for the other dailies back in the Philippines. January 1 is a public holiday in the UAE, so there were quite a few who came to meet the GMs.If there is anyone with enough balls to challenge any of the GMs to a blitz match, that should be Rocky Pabalan. So even before the guys were formally introduced, the gutsy Ilongo had already cornered one of the visiting GMs...
FCPL’s Rocky Pabalan getting a taste of Mark Paragua’s blitz prowess. In the foreground (backs to the camera) are GM Darwin Laylo (left) and FCPL's Rolenson Loyola, who were college teammates in their days in the NCAA. While Laylo and Dableo were the cornerstones of the San Sebastian chess dynasty in the NCAA, Rolenson provided the firepower in the lower boards. Another member of that glorious San Sebastian squad also happens to be an FCPL player – Antonio Molina Jr., son of Fide Master Antonio “Mang Tony” Molina Sr.
Mark about to move Rd8+! with devastating effect. The rook on g5 is doomed in all variations…
Mark clears his ears to make sure he hears the applause from his eager fans following this fine win. ‘Ganito sana ginawa ko kahapon,” the Pinoy grandmaster remarked after Rocky resigned, his smarting final-round loss to China’s Zhou Weiqi, which relegated his Tagaytay team to fourth place in the Asian Cup in Al Ain, still lingering in his mind. If there’s one thing a chess player should avoid, it’s getting in the way of a vengeful grandmaster: Mark nearly wiped out the field in a special round robin blitz tournament held later that afternoon.Round Robin Tournament
Wesley, Mark, Darwin and Willy joined nine FCPL players in a round robin blitz tournament that served as the main highlight of the grandmasters’ visit in Dubai. John Paul was probably window shopping at that time, so he failed to arrive in time for the tournament. It was a handicap event wherein the GMs gave all other players time odds of one and a half minutes against 5 minutes.
The participants:
GM Mark Paragua
GM Wesley So
GM Darwin Laylo
Willy Abalos
Jumar Abo
Rolenson Loyola
Richard Perez
Gilbert Taopa
Pucholo Yape
Anthony Pelayo
Rocky Pabalan
Jobannie Tabada
Larry Dolor
The opening round matches about to start. Round 1 pairings (from right): Paragua (partly hidden) vs. Yape, So vs. Dolor, Laylo vs. Pelayo, Taopa vs. Perez, Pabalan vs. Tabada, Abo vs. Loyola. Willy Abalos (left) drew a bye in the first round. The spectators: (from left) FCPL mainstays Willy Laceste and Gerry Lababo, FCPL's top junior player Axel John Valerio, John Paul, an unidentified chess fan, and Jun Moneda also of FCPL.
Another take prior to round one, this one with a clear shot of Mark. Watching from the sidelines: Jun Moneda, Gerry Lababo, John Paul and Willy.
Unfortunately for the GMs, the pairings had them meeting each other as early as the second and third rounds. In round two, Mark scored the full point over Wesley, so the teenage GM was looking to strike back in round three against Darwin. In this position, Wesley has quality advantage, but Darwin is about to restore equality by taking on the c1-rook with his queen and then capturing Wesley’s queen on b3 with his bishop. Clock readings at this point: 1:28 for Wesley and 1:26 for Darwin (the pics' resolutions have been reduced to make them more Web-friendly, so minute details such clock readings may not be very clear to readers). Over at the other board, Mark is down to the last 52 seconds, while his opponent, Gilbert Taopa (not seen in picture) is just under three minutes. I had a bye in the third round, so I had the opportunity to see the GMs in action.
This one isn’t exactly perfect quality photo, but it shows how the So-Laylo encounter has been pruned down to a rooks and bishops of opposite colors ending. Although Wesley has built some pressure on the seventh rank (kibitzer Jun Moneda seems to smell something fishy – or baka utot lang yan – from this position), Darwin is one of the country’s finest in this department, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that this encounter concluded peacefully. Shifting to the other board, Mark has 48 seconds left (although you’ll need bionic eyes to see that clearly), which means he spent just four seconds from that Wesley-Darwin middlegame position in the photo above to this point wherein the Wesley-Darwin game is nearly a skin-and-bones endgame.
Now its 46 seconds for Mark, which means he consumed just two second from the previous pic to this next take. Gilbert is down to 1:42 from a starting time of five minutes. If I remember it right, Mark used half of those 46 seconds to deliver mate in this game. The final moments of the game as I remember it was the following...Taopa -- Paragua
Dubai, 2009
From this position, the game continued:
2. Qd2 Nc4 (played in a split second)
3. Bxc4?? Qa2+ and mate follows.
I had to leave after my final game, so it was a pleasant surprise for me to know from tournament arbiter Joey Tiberio that I placed third, behind champion Mark Paragua and runner-up Wesley So. Darwin Laylo was fourth. Yey!
Mark had a remarkable 12 points, conceding just two draws (one against I believe Darwin and the other against me). Wesley had 10.5 points; 10 wins, a loss against Mark and a draw with Darwin. I had nine points with eight wins, two draws (Mark and Darwin) and two losses (So and Rolenson). Unfortunately, I couldn’t recover the rest of the results, including Darwin's.
Too bad I didn’t manage to win against any of the GMs, especially with the huge time odds. My biggest chance was against Mark. The turning point of the game was reached in the following position:
Tabada -- Paragua
Dubai, 2009
At this point, I was pretty confident with my position and maintained a very good time advantage. Mark is threatening to capture my rook so I have to defend it, but how? Why, I played the incredulous Qe1??, securing the rook but leaving my knight for the win-hungry GM to prey. Fortunately, Mark was already in severe time trouble so he returned the favour a dozen or so moves later in the following position:
Tabada -- Paragua
Dubai, 2009
Mark played 1…Nd3?, allowing me to save the game after 2.Qf7+ Kh8 3.Re2! Qe2 4.Qf6+ Kg8 5.Qg6+ Kf8 6.Qf6+ Kg8. Mark, who only had eight seconds at this point, was saying, “Okay draw, okay draw...” while making his moves. If this were a money game, surely I would have played something like 7.Qg6+ Kf8 8.Qh6 and just continue checking until he runs out of time; but I didn’t want to be a grandmaster’s spoilsport on New Year’s Day, so 0.5-0.5.
Against Wesley, who was the first of the three GMs I played in the event, I self-destructed in the opening – first-time jitters? But then I again, I did have time odds so Wesley committed a few mistakes as well, allowing me to reach a Queen-Knight vs. Queen-Bishop ending with equal pawns, although mine, sadly, were in three island groups in the following position:
Tabada -- So
Dubai, 2009
I’m not sure if there is a clear way for black to win this endgame, but in blitz anything can happen. Wesley was running out of time, so I tried to take advantage of the situation by moving my king towards the queenside to “confuse” Wesley. Wrong strategy; I should have activated my knight instead. Wesley wiped away all that’s left of my kingside pawns and devoured my knight as well. He then threatened mate in one, which forced me to swap queens. At this point, it was as crazy as it could get: I got mated with one second left on Wesley’s clock! Tough luck.
Against Laylo, who I played in the final round, I walked into the master strategist’s comfort zone: the gradual squeeze. It was quite an exciting game nonetheless; a rollercoaster ride of sorts.
He opened with 1.c4 and fianchetoed his King’s bishop; I responded with the King’s Indian set-up. Lulled by the slow pace of the opening, I gamely moved my pieces around, happy to waste time until suddenly, there I was cramped and on the verge of losing!
As any player in dire straits would have instinctively done, I tried some complications, which fortunately worked. Darwin spent more time thinking, and committed more mistakes.
Not to undermine Darwin’s abilities, but I think if it were Wesley or Mark on the opposite side of the board, I probably wouldn’t have lasted beyond the middlegame. I don’t think Darwin has the same tactical abilities as the two; what he has is super solid technique, which he used to good effect in the early part our game.
But as I’ve said, I went for complications, and fortunately for me, this seems to be Darwin’s weak point. While I was quality and two pawns down in the middlegame, the tables turned in the endgame with me having a bishop and knight against his rook, plus a centralised king and an extra pawn. It was at this point that the patsy in me reared its ugly head: first, I gave up the knight, then the bishop went, and soon after all but one pawn was left. And when Darwin had just one second on his clock, I let go of my last precious pawn – which was supposed to be my ticket for the full point against this super solid GM. Darwin ran out of time, but I only had my king left on the board, thus a draw.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t recall the exact moves of the game. I only started trying to retrace the game a week or so later; I should have done it on that evening after the tournament. As I’ve said, the early part of the middle was full of pointless maneuvering on my end, the latter part was riddled with complications, while the endgame was a hair-raising photo-finish. Should I try a little more harder figuring out the complete score, my grey matter would surely turn red.
After the tournament, which ended around 7 pm, four vehicles fully loaded of GMs and Pinoy expats stormed the recently opened Dubai Mall, home to a gigantic aquarium containing thousands of fish species. They then had dinner at an FCPL player’s flat, after which the GMs went straight to the airport for their dawn flights. I couldn’t attend the after-tournament happenings as I had a New Year’s Day dinner with my Bisdak friends (it was January 1 for heaven’s sake!!!).
Dubai
Tabada -- Paragua
Dubai, 2009
Mark played 1…Nd3?, allowing me to save the game after 2.Qf7+ Kh8 3.Re2! Qe2 4.Qf6+ Kg8 5.Qg6+ Kf8 6.Qf6+ Kg8. Mark, who only had eight seconds at this point, was saying, “Okay draw, okay draw...” while making his moves. If this were a money game, surely I would have played something like 7.Qg6+ Kf8 8.Qh6 and just continue checking until he runs out of time; but I didn’t want to be a grandmaster’s spoilsport on New Year’s Day, so 0.5-0.5.
Against Wesley, who was the first of the three GMs I played in the event, I self-destructed in the opening – first-time jitters? But then I again, I did have time odds so Wesley committed a few mistakes as well, allowing me to reach a Queen-Knight vs. Queen-Bishop ending with equal pawns, although mine, sadly, were in three island groups in the following position:
Tabada -- So
Dubai, 2009
I’m not sure if there is a clear way for black to win this endgame, but in blitz anything can happen. Wesley was running out of time, so I tried to take advantage of the situation by moving my king towards the queenside to “confuse” Wesley. Wrong strategy; I should have activated my knight instead. Wesley wiped away all that’s left of my kingside pawns and devoured my knight as well. He then threatened mate in one, which forced me to swap queens. At this point, it was as crazy as it could get: I got mated with one second left on Wesley’s clock! Tough luck.
Against Laylo, who I played in the final round, I walked into the master strategist’s comfort zone: the gradual squeeze. It was quite an exciting game nonetheless; a rollercoaster ride of sorts.
He opened with 1.c4 and fianchetoed his King’s bishop; I responded with the King’s Indian set-up. Lulled by the slow pace of the opening, I gamely moved my pieces around, happy to waste time until suddenly, there I was cramped and on the verge of losing!
As any player in dire straits would have instinctively done, I tried some complications, which fortunately worked. Darwin spent more time thinking, and committed more mistakes.
Not to undermine Darwin’s abilities, but I think if it were Wesley or Mark on the opposite side of the board, I probably wouldn’t have lasted beyond the middlegame. I don’t think Darwin has the same tactical abilities as the two; what he has is super solid technique, which he used to good effect in the early part our game.
But as I’ve said, I went for complications, and fortunately for me, this seems to be Darwin’s weak point. While I was quality and two pawns down in the middlegame, the tables turned in the endgame with me having a bishop and knight against his rook, plus a centralised king and an extra pawn. It was at this point that the patsy in me reared its ugly head: first, I gave up the knight, then the bishop went, and soon after all but one pawn was left. And when Darwin had just one second on his clock, I let go of my last precious pawn – which was supposed to be my ticket for the full point against this super solid GM. Darwin ran out of time, but I only had my king left on the board, thus a draw.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t recall the exact moves of the game. I only started trying to retrace the game a week or so later; I should have done it on that evening after the tournament. As I’ve said, the early part of the middle was full of pointless maneuvering on my end, the latter part was riddled with complications, while the endgame was a hair-raising photo-finish. Should I try a little more harder figuring out the complete score, my grey matter would surely turn red.
After the tournament, which ended around 7 pm, four vehicles fully loaded of GMs and Pinoy expats stormed the recently opened Dubai Mall, home to a gigantic aquarium containing thousands of fish species. They then had dinner at an FCPL player’s flat, after which the GMs went straight to the airport for their dawn flights. I couldn’t attend the after-tournament happenings as I had a New Year’s Day dinner with my Bisdak friends (it was January 1 for heaven’s sake!!!).
Wesley So with Larry Dolor and Larry's son Kyle Cedrick.
(From left) Darwin Laylo, Joey Tiberio, Kyle Cedrick, Jun Moneda, Willy Abalos, Rolenson Loyola and Anthony Pelayo.
Certified Philippine blitz expert Mark Paragua and FCPL's certified blitz fanatic Rocky Pabalan.It was a fun-filled day playing and meeting the GMs and it surely made New Year’s Day a little more special for us Filipino chess players in
Pucholo "Pucholov" Yape has recorded the biggest rating gain after eight FCPL-rated tournaments, including the recently concluded October Blitz Tournament, where he tied for second.
The full FCPL rating list can be found here.
There is another list (which will be posted shortly) showing the rating points gained or lost by players who have participated in all FCPL-rated tournaments. Sitting on top of this list is Mr. Pucholov, who interestingly has been making significant progress since a job transfer to faraway Abu Dhabi (he travels a total of over 200 kms every weekend just to play chess in Dubai!), although recent champion and consistent top performer Gilbert Taopa is trailing closely behind.
Gilbert Taopa claimed his second title of the FCPL's 2008 season after winning the October Blitz Tournament at Reef Mall in Dubai.
Gilbert Taopa (right) and FCPL
workhorse Joey Tiberio.
Complete rankings below.
Top five winners received cash prizes, while Ben Penaranda also received a cash prize for being the top scorer in the 1800-under rating category.
Points of interest:
- Pucholo Yape has swept all 1900-below rating category awards in the past 2 or 3 events. In this tournament, he raises the bar higher by tying for second.
- Deja vu for new FCPL player Edwin Caliyon who finished at sixth place for the second time in a row.
- FCPL welcomes four new Pinoy colleagues: Romeo Estoperez, Leo Balagapo, Lito Macaso and Archie Rafols.
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