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Post by cjeagle on Nov 5, 2011 0:42:42 GMT 8
Fide confers Grandmaster titles to Barbosa, Bitoon By Jasmine W. Payo Philippine Daily Inquirer 8:37 pm | Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 MANILA, Philippines — The World Chess Federation (Fide) has conferred the Grandmaster title to Oliver Barbosa (2571) and Richard Bitoon (2515), hiking the total number of Filipino GMs to 16. Barbosa, who hails from Taytay, Rizal, earned his third and final GM norm in the DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters last September in Kuala Lumpur where he bagged the overall title and the 4,000 RM (about P57,000) prize. Bitoon obtained his final GM in the same event where he finished tied for second with IM Jahongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan. Barbosa and Bitoon joined the country’s elite GM circle, including Eugene Torre, Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr., Bong Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Joseph Sanchez, Roland Salvador, Rogelio Barcenilla Jr., Julio Catalino Sadorra and the late Rosendo Balinas Jr. “Our target is to hit 20 Grandmasters next year so we can ask the World Chess Federation if we can have our zonal championships in the Philippines,” National Chess Federation of the Philippines head Prospero Pichay Jr. said. sports.inquirer.net/22761/fide-confers-grandmaster-titles-to-barbosa-bitoon
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 24, 2012 5:16:59 GMT 8
GM's Oliver Barbosa and John Paul Gomez just finished 1st and 2nd in the recently concluded 10th Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament-2012 in India while GM Mark Paragua finished 4th. This is good preparation for members of our national chess team prior to the Chess Olympiad this year. Exposure to international tournaments in chess is just as critical to improving the standard of our team, as it is with the Azkals. Congrats to our GM's for carrying the national colors abroad with distinction. www.chess-results.com/tnr64025.aspx?art=4&lan=1&fed=PHI&flag=30
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Post by cjeagle on Jul 27, 2012 0:12:36 GMT 8
News Torre set to make history in Istanbul Olympiad By Marlon Bernardino PhilBoxing.com Thu, 26 Jul 2012 GRANDMASTER Eugene Torre’s strong finish in the 2012 National Open Chess Championships didn’t go unrewarded. The 60-year-old brand new grandfather will make a record 21st appearance in the World Chess Olympiad as GM Julio Catalino Sadorra begged off to continue his studies at the Texas Tech University where he is taking B.S. Applied Mathematics. This year’s Olympiad is slated on August 27 to September 10 in Istanbul, Turkey. “This is unexpected. I never envisioned myself representing the country in the biggest stage of chess competition as a senior citizen,” said Torre, who will break a tie with Hungarian GM Lajos Portisch for the most number of stints in the Olympiad. Portisch has played in 20 consecutive Olympiads while Torre has represented the country in 19 straight Olympiads and 20 overall – the first in Siegen, Germany in 1970 and the latest in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia in 2010. He credited his longevity and durability to a healthy lifestyle that includes regular workout in a popular gym. “It’s not just about talent anymore. My recent success is a testament of the importance of living a healthy life.” His amazing fitness is in full display during the tournament dubbed as the “Battle of the Grandmasters.” Instead of fading in a 15-match marathon, Torre won his last four matches to share third place with International Master Oliver Dimakiling although he missed the last outright seat to the Olympiad via tiebreak. GM Mark Paragua won the tournament followed by Sadorra and Dimakiling. Meanwhile, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) headed by chairman/president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. exercised its option to pick the last player in the team on GM Oliver Barbosa. The country’s top player, GM Wesley So, is seeded in the team and will man the top board followed by Barbosa, Torre, Paragua and Dimakiling. Woman International Master Catherine Perena will anchor the women’s team followed by Woman FIDE Master Rulp Ylem Jose and Woman National Masters Janelle Mae Frayna, Jedara Docena and Jan Jodilyn Fronda. philboxing.com/news/story-73425.html
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 1, 2012 2:05:14 GMT 8
It is early but the Philippine Chess team(seeded # 35) has been performing well in the current Chess Olympiad in Turkey
Results 1st rd Philippines 4-0 over #112 Libya 2nd rd Philippines 2.5-1.5 upset #23 Moldovia 3rd rd Philippines 4-0 over # 40 Kazakhstan 4th rd Philippines close respectable loss 1.5-2.5 to #3 Armenia
I was impressed most by the loss in the last round as Armenia is a powerhouse in chess and has the 2nd highest rated player in the world in Levon Aronian(rated 2816) who played our phenom Wesley So on top board. So was doing most of the attacking in this game and Aronian had to scramble to salvage a draw. Hopefully this pushes So to aim for the 2700 rating as he kept his unbeaten record against players rated above 2700 intact.
The other members of the team are GM Oliver Barbosa, GM Mark Paragua, GM Eugene Torre and IM Oliver Dimakiling.
Interesting note. World Rated #2 Aronian is the current beau of Fil Australian WIM Arianne Caoili who used to play for the Philippine women's chess team but now plays for Australia. She is famous for inciting a fistfight between British GM Gormally and GM Aronian back in 2006 in a club during the Turin Chess Olympiad. I guess Aronian won her in the end.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 4, 2012 7:45:13 GMT 8
Results
5th rd Phiiippines 3-1 over #51 Iceland 6th rd Philippines 2.5-1.5 upset over # 10 Bulgaria
Impressive win in the 6th rd over Bulgaria which have players who are considered World Champion candidates like Topalov(2752). Barbosa on board 2 gets the sole win after all the other games were drawn. In fairness his Bulgarian counterpart committed a blunder in the endgame in a somewhat more advantageous position resulting in a loss of his queen if he did not resign soon afterward. We got lucky. The Philippines is now in 5th place overall in the Chess Olympiad and will now face Hungary next a team that was rated in 4th place before the start of the tournament based on ELO rankings.
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Post by benzgm on Sept 4, 2012 12:09:40 GMT 8
hope we could duplicate against the strong Hungary! and our top boards not giving up any loss so far... looking good for the Philippines!
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 4, 2012 13:10:50 GMT 8
It would be tough for us to beat Hungary. I am hoping we can get a draw. This is the strongest team we have ever sent to the Chess Olympiad in terms of ELO rating as well as one of the most prepared and the results have been very good so far. At this point of the tournament, this is the best showing(5th place) the Philippines have ever had in the Chess Olympiad but it also means that we will be now be paired with very strong teams. Hopefully we can retain our place in the top 10 by the end of the tournament, which will be an achievement in itself as we have only done this once, but it is going to be difficult.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 4, 2012 14:21:45 GMT 8
Nice comment by the foreign media on the previous match: The Phillipines are to be underestimated at your peril, they pulled off a shock 2½-1½ win over Bulgaria. Admittedly, they needed a huge slice of luck. Wesley So (2652) held Veselin Topalov (2752) on board 1 but the real drama happened on board 2. Kiril Georgiev (2682) had a queen and a pawn for two rooks in an endgame but had a huge attack and a dangerous passed pawn and was probably simply winning against Oliver Barbosa (2554). However Barbosa hung in there until Georgiev inexplicably allowed a short combination which resulted in the loss of his queen and he immediately resigned. Heartbreak for Bulgaria but the Philippines are now only one match point behind the leaders past the halfway stage. yorkshirechess.org/2012-chess-olympiad-round-6/
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Post by feindouno on Sept 4, 2012 20:33:15 GMT 8
Nice to see Philippine chess making a comeback. It wasn't too long ago when we were stuck with only two GMs (Torre, Antonio) while the rest of the world overtook us.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 4, 2012 23:51:44 GMT 8
Wesley So draws again on Bd 1, as he keeps his unbeaten record against players above 2700 for the 36th straight time. Too bad his opponent Super GM Leko(2737) was able to force a perpetual check as Wesley had the positional and material advantage which he could have easily translated to a win when he eventually would be able to develop his pieces. Well maybe not easily considering his opponent is famous for his defensive wizardry. Nevertheless it could have been a massive upset.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 5, 2012 0:09:15 GMT 8
Nice to see Philippine chess making a comeback. It wasn't too long ago when we were stuck with only two GMs (Torre, Antonio) while the rest of the world overtook us. We have had 16 now, going on 17 after Sevillano's title and norms here in the US is confirmed by FIDE. "The distinguished list of Pinoy chess grandmasters, including the year when they received the title and their respective FIDE ELO ratings as of February 2012, is as follows: GM Eugene Torre (1974; ELO 2502); GM Rosendo Balinas Jr. (1976) (passed away in 1998; had the honor of being among elite foreign GMs, like the great Capablanca, to have won a chess tourney in Russia); GM Rogelio Antonio Jr.(1998; ELO 2557); GM Buenaventura Villamayor (2000; ELO 2440); GM Nelson Mariano (2004; ELO 2447); GM Mark Paragua (2005; ELO 2522); GM Wesley So (2007; ELO 2653); GM Darwin Laylo (2007; ELO 2502); GM Jayson Gonzales (2008; ELO 2405); GM John Paul Gomez (2008; ELO 2506); GM Joseph Sanchez (2009, ELO 2529); GM Rogelio Barcenilla (2009, ELO 2501); GM Roland Salvador (2010, ELO 2502); GM Julio Catalino Sadorra (2011, ELO 2509); GM Oliver Barbosa (2011, ELO 2573); and GM Richard Bitoon (2011, ELO 2515). " tvphilippines.tv/best-of-the-philippines/34-pinoy-success/99-philippine-chess-grandmasters-limelightA lot of them are inactive though.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 5, 2012 1:20:34 GMT 8
In another massive upset the Philippines held #4 ranked Hungary to a draw 2-2 in the 7th round as the team's resident senior citizen, grandfather and Asia's first grandmaster Eugene Torre was able to eke a win to compensate for Barbosa's loss on Board # 2. Congratulations to the Philippines for their extraordinary fighting spirit against very strong and experienced opponents. Considering that Wesley had Leko on the ropes on Bd 1, this performance feels like a win. As for Eugene, I hope this partly compensates for your loss to Hungarian Zoltan Ribli in the World Championship candidates quarterfinals decades ago. Good job sir.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 5, 2012 5:06:06 GMT 8
#11 England next.
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 5, 2012 12:14:58 GMT 8
The Philippines, seeded only 35th in the starting list, bravely resisted the 4th-seed Hungary to go home with a 2-2 tie. Wesley So and Peter Leko played a wild line of the Marshall Attack, but the game ended in a draw. Zoltan Almasi took his team into the lead with a win against Oliver Barbosa, but the legendary Eugenio Torre, first Asian Grandmaster and record holder with 21 appearances in the Olympiads, escaped from a passive position to pull a victory against Ferenc Berkes and equalise the score. www.chessolympiadistanbul.com/en/component/content/article/2-news-en/243-world-chess-olympiad-round-7-report.htmland more praise from yorkshire chess "The Philippines once again provided plenty of entertainment and played some really high quality chess against Hungary, who were without Judit Polgar today. Young talented Wesley So (2652) had won a pawn in the opening against former World Championship challenger Peter Leko (2737) but Leko tricked So into winning more material with an incredibly deep defensive idea that resulted in a draw by perpetual check, and Hungary were perhaps a bit fortunate to get off the mark. Yesterday’s hero Oliver Barbosa (2554) was brought back down to earth by Zoltan Almasi (2713), however this was to prove to be Hungary’s only win. After Mark Paragua (2508) drew an inferior endgame, board 3 witnessed a highly interesting and competitive endgame between Eugene Torre (2469) and Ferenc Berkes (2685). After many adventures, Torre was an exchange down but had passed pawns on c3, c4 and d4 as White. Torre kept on pushing the pawns slowly down the board and before long, it was clear that his advantage was decisive and the Philippines can celebrate another fine result and will continue to feature on the top tables." yorkshirechess.org/2012-chess-olympiad-round-7/
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Post by cjeagle on Sept 6, 2012 0:03:55 GMT 8
It looks like another upset folks. GM Torre just beat former world champion candidate GM Nigel Short and Barbosa looks like he has good chances of winning as well. The old man still has it. 2 straight wins ;D
Luck is definitely on our side in this tournament as we have been the beneficiary of several blunders by higher ranked opponents. Amazing.
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