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Post by jonny on Jun 12, 2014 13:09:58 GMT 8
Azkals' Greatwich says chess is no sport, draws flak ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 06/11/2014 9:30 PM | Updated as of 06/11/2014 11:16 PM MANILA – Philippine Azkals midfielder Simon Greatwich drew negative feedback from some netizens he said chess should not be considered a sport. Greatwich apparently reacted to news reports about Wesley So’s appeal to the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) to allow him to join the US Chess Federation to improve his game. Philippine Sports News kanina - Chess! Really? Chess?! How is that even classed as a sport! Snakes & ladders should be a sport too then — Simon Greatwich (@simongreatwich) June 11, 2014 Greatwich, a younger brother of another Azkals player Chris Greatwich, is among the players who represented the Philippines in the recent AFC Challenge Cup. The Azkals finished second in the tournament. He also plays for the Loyola Meralco Sparks in the United Football League. Greatwich’s post immediately sparked negative reactions from Filipino sports fans. www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/06/11/14/azkals-greatwich-says-chess-no-sport-draws-flak
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Post by Wiking on Jun 13, 2014 15:24:07 GMT 8
Lol saw the broohaha about this too. Is it really a sport when you're sitting down for hours using mostly just your brain. But there's a saying that the "brain is like a muscle too, use it or lose it"! Haha please don't flame I'm not taking sides either way. I wonder what our members think? Anyone care to share their thoughts? On a serious note, losing WS to another country really is sad. In my younger years I remember Eugene Torre was respected by the media as much as any other big "celebrity" was in those times.
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Post by leoisiah on Jun 13, 2014 20:20:35 GMT 8
May spelling quiz bee nga sa ESPN eh. Hahahaha.
We're a poor country that can't support athletes. Good thing Michael Martinez is still with us. And the Azkals. And the Gilas. What do they have in common? They have rich people supporting them. The Sys are supporting Martinez, Palami behind the Azkals, and MVP behind the Gilas. And who's "supporting" Wesley So? Chess body head Prospero Pichay?
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Post by cjeagle on Jun 14, 2014 11:52:44 GMT 8
Mike Limpag's response to Simon Greatwich questioning whether chess is a sport: cebufootball.blogspot.com/2014/06/fair-play-yes-simon-chess-is-sport.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FMdMPT+%28Cebu+Football%29Chess at the top level is not just mental but requires physical preparation as well because of the draining nature of the sport and stamina required as he points out in this article; "And if you think chess is all mental—not physical---let’s listen to the expert. The former child wonder Susan Polgar wrote, “Try sitting in one place for seven hours concentrating on one thing and you will know how draining that can be.” She added that to prepare for the 2013 world championship match, Viswanath Anand swam 1,000 meters, ran 10 kilometers per day and also biked, while Magnus Carlsen played tennis, volleyball and golf." Chess also is an activity that famous royals, leaders and generals throughout history share in common, as a mental preparation for war. And considering how football has been described as a form of civilized tribal warfare in certain quarters, that certainly is a common thread you see in these games.
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Post by orangepink on Jun 18, 2014 16:29:54 GMT 8
^ Delayed reaction: Simon again being tactless. LOL.
Yeah, Chess has always been known as a sport - at least that's what I've always remembered.
I watched the latest news about Wesley So. It's so sad that's he's switching sides. He mentioned he didn't want to be involved in politics. How unfortunate of him - and of our athletes to be involved all the time with it.
What I'm confused though is that I thought he was given special privilege like being considered an elite athlete with higher allowance compared to other athletes. I'm curious what kind of support he is requesting from the government and how much it would cost. And naive question here - how good is he compared to other chess players in the world? Was he courted by US chess federation to switch sides?
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Post by cjeagle on Jun 18, 2014 17:33:13 GMT 8
Wesley is rated # 15 in the world live rating list and because of his age(19 y/o) is considered one of the new generation of elite grandmasters who can challenge for the world championship. The USSF invited him to be their coach(on paper) when the US team participated in a tournament last year. They used that event to recruit him.
Unfortunately the NCFP refused to acknowledged his achievements in the World Universiade championships last year which he won and wanted him to participate in smaller regional tournaments in SEA, which he could no longer participate in. He needs to play only in bigger tournaments from now on to keep his rating up and keep on improving. He felt offended by the rebuff and the USSF took advantage.
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Post by orangepink on Jun 19, 2014 11:00:35 GMT 8
^ Thanks for the info, cjeagle. Now I see where the politics is, rather who's behind the politics. Sayang. Pa-minsan lang mag-top ang Pinas (sa sports), pinakawalan pa natin ang isa. All the best to Wesley, then. I hope though that he doesn't run into any politics in the US. I mean, there will always be politics in any organization but I hope hindi naman siya mahirapan.
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 19, 2015 0:22:55 GMT 8
Wesley is starting to fulfill his potential at 21. He has dropped his college scholarship and turned pro, and it seems that being able to spend all his time preparing for tournaments is paying off.
He is now leading one of the strongest tournaments in the world(tied for first), the Wijk an Zee tournament in the Netherlands over world champion Carlsen, and other top rated players like Aronian, Giri and Caruana, and is currently the only undefeated player after 8 rounds gaining victories over Aronian, Ivanchuk and Jobava.
He is now rated as #6 in the world(2785.3) acc. to the 2700 live ratings. It is just too bad he has decided to play for the USCF now, but that is what happens when you treat a world class grandmaster the way the NCFP did. He is now the highest rated grandmaster in the US acc. to the live rankings and is considered a potential world champion.
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 20, 2015 2:14:04 GMT 8
Picture of Wesley So defeating former World Chess Championship Final Challenger Vassily Ivanchuk, with current champion Carlsen looking on:
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 26, 2015 2:53:45 GMT 8
Wesley finished in joint 2nd place tied with 3 other super grandmasters half a point behind World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the very strong Tata Steel Championships, heralding his arrival among the world elite. He has risen to 7th overall in the live ratings(the fastest rising player among the 2700 plus rated players) after his strong performance in this tournament.
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Post by cjeagle on Apr 26, 2016 7:43:19 GMT 8
Wesley finished in 2nd place today in the US 2016 Chess Championship today, next only to World #3 Caruana.
Rank Name Score Rating 1 Caruana, Fabiano 8½/11 2795 2 So, Wesley 7½/11 2773 3 Nakamura, Hikaru 7½/11 2787 4 Robson, Ray 7/11 2663 5 Onischuk, Alexander 6/11 2664
The top 3 placers get to play former champion GM Gary Kasparov in blitz chess after the tournament.
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Post by cjeagle on Apr 28, 2016 18:47:46 GMT 8
Wes plays for the USCF now but he is still a proud Filipino. Here he is accepting the runner up trophy for the USCF Chess Championships in his barong tagalog.
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Post by cjeagle on Apr 29, 2016 2:47:31 GMT 8
Retired Gm Gary Kasparov, considered the best ever chess player of all time, is coming out of retirement after 10 years, to play the top 3 finishers in the US chess championship.
"For the first time since his retirement in 2005, Garry Kasparov will play chess against some of the best players on the planet.
The 13th world champion agreed to meet the top three finishers of the 2016 U.S. Championship in a blitz tournament. That turned out to be the top three seeds, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So."
So far after the first day(9 rounds) of the competition Wesley is tied for first place with Hikaru Nakamura, with Kasparov in 3rd and Caruana in 4th. Wesley beat Kasparov twice after Garry blundered.
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Post by cjeagle on Apr 30, 2016 4:35:49 GMT 8
After the 2nd day and another 9 rounds of competition, Wesley finishes in 2nd place a point behind Nakamura who is considered one of the best blitz players in the world, and ahead of Kasparov and Caruana. I believe he also has the most wins against Kasparov in this blitz competition. Congrats Wes.
As for Garry Kasparov, not bad for his first competition against top young world class grandmasters in their prime, since retirement more than 10 years ago. The rust and age(53) showed a bit, but I believe he can still do well in World Chess competition if he decides to come fully out of retirement.
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Post by cjeagle on Apr 30, 2016 12:03:26 GMT 8
The day began with a bang when Wesley So played a brilliant game against Garry Kasparov in the tenth round. This is what the commentators and Garry had to say about the game: Maurice Ashley: "The day started with a thunderbolt: Wesley So playing one of the finest attacking game since Morphy!" Yasser Seirawan: "Wesley's game against Kasparov will go down in history as one of the greatest blitz games ever played. I will remember that game for the rest of my life." Garry Kasparov: "It reminded me of games Morphy played against amateurs." So, Wesley–Kasparov, Garry1–0A41Ultimate Blitz Challenge10.229.04.2016Sagar Shah 1.f3 g6 2.e4 g7 3.d4 d6 4.c4 g4!? Garry doesn't go for his favourite King's Indian. 5.e2 c6 6.bd2!? A very interesting move. The d4 pawn is taboo. e5 7.d5 ce7 8.h3 d7 9.c5! Way to go! That's the first pawn sacrifice. dxc5 10.c4! Attacking the e5 pawn. f6 A very ugly move but necessary. 11.d6! c8 12.e3 b6 13.0-0 c6 14.dxc7 xc7 15.b4! Pawns don't really matter for Wesley in this game! cxb4 16.c1 ge7 17.b3! Look at the White pieces. So co-ordinated! And the black king is completely stranded. h6 A completely atypical move for Garry. But he just couldn't come up with a move. 18.fd1 b5 19.cxe5! Two pawns and now a knight! fxe5 20.xb5 b8 21.a4‼ A very hard move to make in blitz, keeping all the threats alive. b7 22.xc6! xc6 23.e6+ 8e7 24.c5 c8 25.xe7 What a power packed game by Wesley. To beat Garry in this manner is highly commendable. 1–0 en.chessbase.com/post/nakamura-is-the-ultimate-blitz-champion
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