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.
Reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand has done it all. He's won with black (twice!) and now he's claimed an all-important white win.
He's done it in a merry mix of styles as well, braving through a dangerous forest of complex variations in Game 3 and Game 5, while grinding down challenger Vladimir Kramnik in a largely positional struggle in Game 6 of their World Chess Championship match in Bonn, Germany.
So at exactly the halfway mark, the score now stands 4.5-1.5 for Anand with three decided games (all for the Indian champion) and three draws.
The first game of the final half starts in less than 24 hours from now and surely the stage is set for what could be a monumental comeback and an exciting finale, or one of the biggest triumphs (or frustrations - depends on which side of the fence you're standing) in the history of the world chess championships.
And of course, what a way it is to start the final stretch as the world anticipates how Kramnik, playing white in Game 7, will react (among a ton of other things) to his back-to-back losses against Anand's energetic play with the black pieces.
Another tactical slugest? I sure am looking forward to it.
It doesn't really concern me that much. And here's why:
1) First of all, at the moment I've got no plans to part with 10 euros (around 55 UAE dirhams or roughly P700) just to view each game live - repeat, that's the cost to watch each game live - through "five parallel video streams." Actually, I reckon it would be quite interesting to watch the two titans trade wits live (and from different angles!), but the best to enjoy this facility I think is when I don't have to hit the alt-tab keys of my computer keyboard a little too often to shift to other more important stuff like, uhm, office work. Live chess and live office work aren't really a perfect match for me - right now, at least.
2) I can watch the live game without paying - although sans the live videos. Definitely not a bad deal.
3) The foidoschess website, which delivers the live game and video feed through a new chess broadcast technology, is blocked in the UAE where I'm currently based. I didn't really go as far as finding out why, mainly because of the same reasons mentioned above, but now that it's taken so long for this problem to be fixed, I got a little curious and sent some emails to hopefully the relevant persons.
Anyway, Game 5 and Anand were simply fantistic. But just as remarkable was Kramnik - off the board, that is - with the way he handled himself after the loss (the second time in this match with the white pieces!).
Kramnik even managed to draw a hearty laugh from the audience when he flashed a smile and said in the post-game conference, "It could have been better," in reaction to being down 0-2 for the first time in a world championship match. Such composure from a guy who could be on the brink of a humliating defeat - and yes, from someone who's reputation of invincibility with the white pieces has just been shattered just a few moments ago.
A chilling message to his Indian adversary, indeed.
Regardless, Anand remains my man. You've just got to admire his courage to repeat a highly complex line - with the black pieces and against possibly the most dangerous player you could find in the planet.
Anand, the consummate professional that he is, will of course put all this behind for now. As I write this, he is about to make his 18th move in Game 6 as tries to solve some middle game problems after, the way I see it, Kramnik has gathered some sort of initiative in the center in exchange for giving up the bishop pair (although I suspect that 18Bb4 will ultimately reveal the real weakness of this risky line that Kramnik has chosen).
While all this is happening, I simply can't wait to see what the two players have in store for Game 7.
Venue: Reef Mall, Dubai
Schedule: October 24, 2008 (Friday)
Time: The tournament will start at 3:30 p.m. so please be early
Format: The tournament will have a five-round Swiss system qualifying stage with the top four scorers advancing to the Championship Round. The non-qualifiers will be divided into two groups and continue playing under the Swiss system format until nine rounds.
- The Championship Round – Will feature two-game matches. Ties to be broken by a knockout game, e.i., white will have 6 minutes but will have to win to advance, while black will have 5 minutes but needs only a draw to advance.
Match 2: No.2 Qualifier vs. No.3 Qualifier (semifinals)
Match 3: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 (championship)
Match 4: Loser Match 1 vs. Loser Match 2 (play for third)
- For Non-Qualifiers – Non-qualifiers will be divided into two groups and will continue playing the Swiss system format until nine rounds. Their scores in the previous 5 rounds will be carried over.
Group B – for those with an FCPL rating of 1800 and below as well as children below 14 years old and women participants
Time Control: 5 minutes plus 3-second increment starting on move 1
Registration fee: Dh 20
Onsite registration: Dh 30
Prizes: Guaranteed prizes for the Championship Round qualifiers and the top 3 each in Group A and Group B. There may be other prizes to be announced during the tournament. No sharing of prizes.
Contact persons:
Jobannie - 050-4674887
Alex - 050-7964468
Willy - 050-4263862
Joey - 050-4501437
For updates: Please visit http://fcplworld.blogspot.com or http://bahneh.blogspot.com
Final Rankings: 9-round Swiss format with match point scoring system
Cebu City - 15 points
Quezon City - 12 points
Tagaytay, Taguig, Bacolod-A, Talisay, Mandaluyong, Binalonan - 11 points
Misamis Oriental, Muntinlupa, Gen. Trias - 10 points
Maritima, Bacolod-B, Magalona - 9 points
Lake Sebu, Bohol, Bayaan, Capiz - 8 points
Bais City - 7 points
Aklan - 6 points
Calamba-A - 3 points
Calamba-B - 0
For all those who care to know, a team from Cebu City (IM Richard Bitoon, Voltaire Sevillano, Richard Natividad and "import" Jason Salubre) recently won the 2008 National Inter-Cities and Municipalities Chess Championship in Bacolod City.
GMA News ran a story about Cebu being virtual champ with a round to spare but did not bother to provide a wrap-up to give us the final rankings. Luckily, Sun.Star Bacolod carried the story, although the angle was not necessarily about Cebu winning the event but understandably about Bacolod making it to the top 10.
What's so special about this Cebu City team is that this is probably the first time a team from Cebu participated in this annual event. (If there was any Cebu team that competed in the inter-city in the last couple of years, oh please tell me about it!)
The last time I know of a Cebu city team in the inter-city was in CDO in 1998 or 1999 - a decade ago! During those times, up to two titled players were allowed to play in a team (we had IM Rico Mascarinas and NM Elwin Retanal), while now only one titled player is allowed. If you're wondering how I know these things, no, it's not because chess has super sharpened my memory. I just happen to be part of that fateful squade (other members were Anthony Makinano, Carlos Moreno and team captain Linky Yap, an international arbiter who is now teaching at a chess academy in Singapore along with Rico).
Anyway, it's quite unfortunate the Sun.Star Cebu did not carry a single piece about the tournament. The sports editor told me they will do a post-event story, possibly a feature, and will get in touch with the City Council's sports committee for some reaction and hopefully some perks.
When I read about the Cebu city team competing in Bacolod, the first thing that came into my mind was, who funded this team? The Cebu City Government has a history of being lackadaisical in providing support to sports that do not have politically-savvy "godfathers."
Anyway, for a chess buff from Cebu like me, it was truly refreshing to know that a bisdak team has won all the marbles.
Before I end this post, I'd also like to point out that a team powered by Cebu players notched third place in the recent Inter-Province in Surigao del Sur. Natividad, Sevillano and current Cebu sensation Kim Steven Yap (the son of Linky) teamed up with Bacolod's NM Rolando Andador to secure third place for the DPWH-backed Bislig team in the annual event.
How I would love to see Bitoon, Sevillano, Natividad and Yap team up for next year's edition of the inter-city and inter-province. Based on their record in this year's events, particularly the smashing performance in the inter-province, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd make a clean sweep in '09.
And one last thing, as far as I can recall there had been no Cebu Province team that competed in the National Inter-Province since 1994.
Now you ask again, how'd I know this? You figure.
After a slightly boring Game 1, India's Viswanthan Anand came up with the first "expected" surprise of the ongoing World Chess Championship in Bonn, Germany against Russian Vladimir Kramnik.
A little research reveals that from over 2,400 of Anand's games, there were 104 wherein the Indian World Chmpion opened with 1.d4, the Queen's pawn opening, including seven in 2007 (all during the 2007 World Blitz Championship in Moscow where I believe he was second behind Vassily Ivanchuk) and a solitary game this year (a 56-move draw with Michael Adams during the Corus event in The Netherlands where Anand and Kramnik took the backseat behind joint champions Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian).
Compare 103 with the 1,048 games Anand has played with the white pieces using 1.e4 or the King's pawn opening, including around 59 in 2007 and 36 this year, and it's easy to see why journalists were quick to label Anand's decision to open with 1.d4 in Game 2 as a "surprise," albeit an expected one for obvious reasons.
Leading into the match, pundits were expecting Kramnik to employ the draw-prone Petroff Defense should Anand open with 1.e4. It is also possible that Kramnik will redeploy the Berlin Defense, the same fortification he used to diffuse the firepower of Garry Kasparov in their world title match in 2000.
The Sicilian Defense? Although Kramnik has essayed this opening many times in his career, the dynamic and complex variations along with the risks associated with the Sicilian will have no place in a high-stakes titular duel such as this, at least not in the point of view of Kramnik.
But after Game 2, it doesn't seem like we'll see any of the above any time soon.
You see, by playing 1.d4 Anand seems intent not to venture into Kramnik's home territory.
The Petroff, also called the Russian Game, after all fits Kramnik's solid play like a glove. Same thing with the Berlin.
So whether it's the Russian Game or the Berlin Wall (uhm, the match is being played in Germany, right?), the lanky Russian should have homecourt advantage against 1.e4.
So on with 1.d4 - all the way.
Oh how I hope I'm wrong.
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