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Post by cjeagle on Sept 6, 2012 1:49:05 GMT 8
With GM Barbosa eking out 103 move marathon win over GM Jones, the Philippines has now defeated England 3-1, which with only 3 rounds to go, puts them in striking distance of possibly getting a medal in this event, much less finishing in the top ten, but with the prospect of still facing powerhouses Russia, China, US, and Ukraine in the next few rounds as well as other strong teams, this is probably an unrealistic expectation. Nevertheless they have been turning heads in this competition as the #35 ranked team in the world has been upsetting and drawing their higher rated opponents from the get go. The aim is now to better their best ever finish in this competition which is at #7.
Congratulations Philippines on your well earned 3-1 win. Savor the victory and get ready to face more giants in the next few rounds.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 6, 2012 2:25:18 GMT 8
Russia is all alone on top with 15 points.
The Philippines, together with the USA, Germany, Armenia and China has 13 points. There's a possibility we play Russia in the next round, but I think it's down to the USA, China, or Germany. Armenia is off the list since we already played them...
There has been a clamor among some quarters that we should face China. It would make for some great political drama esp. with the West Philippine/South China sea tensions adding some spice to the affair. David facing off against Goliath and so forth. Bring it on.
BTW, tying for second this late in the tournament is the highest position we have ever achieved in the Chess Olympiad.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 6, 2012 3:26:17 GMT 8
We are indeed facing China tomorrow in the 9th round. Great political drama similar to the Cold War era days when sports events were considered like a battlefield to the Soviets. I bet the Chinese authorities are telling their players not to lose to the Pinoys at all cost. Good luck Philippines. Beat China.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 6, 2012 4:41:51 GMT 8
Elo doesn't really play a game in chess, as repeatedly proven by Philippines. The 35th-seed soundly beat the strong team of England by 3-1. Oliver Barbosa on the 2nd and legendary Eugenio Torre on the 3rd board defeated their respective opponents. www.chessolympiadistanbul.com/en/component/content/article/2-news-en/251-world-chess-olympiad-round-8-report.htmlEngland were taking on the surprise of this year’s Olympiad, the Philippines. Nick Pert (2555) probably could have played on against Mark Paragua (2508) but a draw with the Black pieces was still a good result to get both sides off the mark. Nigel Short (2698) has been the main catalyst of England’s success at this year’s Olympiad. However in a seemingly comfortable ending, he tragically blundered to gift the experienced Eugene Torre (2469) and the Phillipines a free point. Gawain Jones’ (2653) struggles continued as he went one, then two pawns down against Oliver Barbosa (2554) and the Philippines one again performed well above their ratings and secured a fantastic 3-1 victory. yorkshirechess.org/2012-chess-olympiad-round-8/
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 6, 2012 5:32:30 GMT 8
RP, the Cinderella team of the Istanbul Olympiad Anchoring by Wesley So (a freshman at Webster University), and the excellent performance of Barbosa, Paragua, and the resurgence of the Filipino legend Torre, the RP team is the Cinderella team of the 2012 Chess Olympiad. After 8 rounds, they are tied for 2nd with China, Armenia, Germany, and the United States, and ahead of Ukraine, Azerbaijan, France, England, Israel, Holland, etc. susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2012/09/rp-cinderella-team-of-istanbul-olympiad.htmlSusan is Wesley's coach at Webster University and one of the strongest female chess players in history usually competing and excelling in men's tournaments when she was still active. She is also a good friend of Eugene Torre from the days when Bobby Fischer used to help train the Polgar sisters. Her sister, Judith, did not play for Hungary in their tie against the Philippines maybe because she knows Eugene personally as a friend and they were both playing board 3.
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Post by benzgm on Sept 6, 2012 10:31:10 GMT 8
our stint here is developing to be one heck of a story! once again hoping for an upset facing No. 6 china...
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 6, 2012 21:15:02 GMT 8
Just a word of caution. The Chinese are familiar with the players on our team as we have faced them numerous times in Asian competition. They know we will be competitive and not relax and will come prepared. In fact, they have decided to field their best players in this round rather than relying on their reserves as you would normally see if a team is facing a lower ranked team. They know they can't afford to lose face because of the current political climate. Just to demonstrate the caliber of competition we will be facing, their lowest ranked player Li Chao at board 4(2665) has a higher ELO rating than our board 1 player Wesley So(2652). I still hope for an upset, win or draw but would not be surprised if we finally succumb to this chess powerhouse. This Philippine contingent though has a never say die spirit that has elicited praise from many observers at home and abroad. Hopefully they can beat the odds again this time. If they do, they will be considered solid contenders to medal in this competition, which would be totally an unprecedented and unanticipated feat for such a lowly ranked team in the ranks of chess lore.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 7, 2012 1:15:59 GMT 8
As expected, we lost to powerhouse China 3.5-0.5. Hopefully we can still make the top 10 but we have to win in the last 2 rounds to accomplish this.
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Post by jimsar on Sept 7, 2012 5:29:53 GMT 8
Thanks, cjeagle for the updates.
Vietnam is next ...
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 7, 2012 23:25:29 GMT 8
Sorry for not updating guys, I was a little depressed yesterday after the beating we took. The only good news from the last round is that Wesley So has been able to retain his unbeaten streak(I believe 38 straight now) against players higher than 2700. Anyways as to todays game, Vietnam is another Asian team who is very familiar with the style of our players as they are the team we play the most to contest SEA supremacy. Even though they hold a higher ranking in this competition than us by virtue of their slightly higher ELO ranking on Bds 1 to 3, we are actually a much deeper team than them with the largely inactive Torre sporting a low ELO ranking because of his lack of practice, but who would otherwise be considered stronger than some of their players. Nevertheless, being a communist country, their players are provided more funds to compete in international tournaments as well as hire experienced international coaches which helped them catch up to us in the last decade or so. Their Board 1 player, Le has already surpassed 2700 before even though he is currently just below that now and is considered therefore a very strong hydra GM. Both teams therefore are roughly equal in strength and the result can go either way. With our current form though, I hope we pull this through.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 7, 2012 23:54:08 GMT 8
Wesley So was slightly ahead in material and had a passed pawn which was very dangerous but Le was able to force a perpetual check on board 1 resulting in a draw. This is the 2nd time he let a hydra GM escape with a draw by perpetual check(repetition of moves) when he had the upper hand. He needs more experience preventing others from doing this to him esp. against very strong players like he has been facing. Board 2 and 4 is also a draw and Board 3 looks like it is also heading to a draw but we will see if Torre can eke out a win in this position. A draw between the teams will force the Philippines out of the top 10.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 8, 2012 0:02:34 GMT 8
It is indeed a draw 2-2 between the 2 teams. We will now probably fall out of the top ten. I hope we can win our final tie to get a respectable ranking in the end.
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Post by jimsar on Sept 8, 2012 4:55:44 GMT 8
I wonder if they still award individual board medals? My roommate at Narra Residence Hall in UP-Diliman, Glenn Bordonada, won a gold medal for Board 4 at the Buenos Aires Chess Olympiad in 1978. I've seen and touched the medal - - it was huge! www.chessgames.com/player/glenn_bordonada.htmlHas the Philippines won any other gold? Torre has a couple of Bronzes for Board 1, I think.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 8, 2012 5:34:31 GMT 8
We are currently at #11. We will be facing Romania which was rated #25 at the start of the tournament and #12 at the moment, for a chance of finishing in the top ten.
NM Glenn Bordanada is still pretty active in the pinoy chess forums and in the US chess scene. I am not sure but believed I met him awhile ago when I competed in a Chicago chess tournament when I was still an active player. Obviously I played in one of the non master group categories while he was competing in the Open category for masters but Filipinos tend to congregate in this type of tournaments and i believed we met. He was helping Wesley So train here when Wesley visited the US last time I encountered him on the forums. He can always be depended upon to make a thorough and incisive analysis of a game when one of our players is playing.
Not sure if any of our players are in the running for an individual medal, but I doubt it, as you normally need to win most of your games if you want to be considered for one and none of them seem to have done that. The strength of this team is in its team play where one player would pick up for another and not on brilliant individual performance even though it is still impressive that Wesley So has been able to hold the fort at board 1 against all those hydra GMs he was facing and remaining unbeaten so far. I am not sure if any other player won the Gold in the past except for Glenn.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 8, 2012 22:54:32 GMT 8
"If we beat Romania in the last round and end up finishing 7th, I say we surpassed our best place finish back in the 28th World Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Greece back in 1988 were we finish 7th. If you remember, it was just the USSR and Yugoslavia back then.
Today, aside from the Russia, we also have to deal with Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Georgia, Latvia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and former Yugoslav republics like Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, who are all seeded higher than us. Finishing inside the top 10 alone is a big achievement in itself..."
Highest possible finish however will be 6th if all the remaining games finish acc. to seeding except for the last 3 pairings listed here under these conditions:
China 19 with win over Ukraine (Ukraine will remain at 16) Armenia 19 with win over Hungary (Hungary will remain at 15) Russia 19 with win over Germany (germany will remain at 15) USA 17 with win over Poland (Poland will remain at 15) Ukraine 16 with a loss to China Philippines 16 with win over Romania (Romania will remain at 14) Argentina 15 with DRAW with Netherlands (Netherlands will be at 15) Uzbekistan 15 with DRAW with Vietnam (Vietnam will be at 15)
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