(902) CROSSTABLE OF 2003 OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT --Jan. 12-April 27, 2003 (TBN-May 02-09, 2003)

      

  MANUEL AND VARGAS ARE 2003 OPEN       CHESS TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

HE'S BEEN to Palau for only a few months (Dec. 2002) and yet, in his first-ever chess tournament participated in Palau, he became the 3rd different champion of the first 3 tourneys in Palau.

He joined in the the 3rd round of classification (Swiss system) and won his first game against 2002 Open champion Consul General Julius Torres.

He then drew his 2nd game against Freddie Dumlao and won the 3rd vs. another former champion (2002 All-Filipino Chess Tournament) Eddie Grefiel, co-employee of Dumlao at Daewoo Corporation.

During the round-robin Class A finals, he won 11 games, lost 2 and drew 2 to edge defending champion Consul General Julius Torres by a hairline (1/2 point).

Those who suffered the sting of his play were Torres, Cyril Montel, Jr., Roberto Hernandez, Bong Alipoon, Edgardo Enarsao, Noel Filomeno, Danny Dandoy, Mariano Agustin, Jr., Mike Miguel, Jr., Roy Rebollos and Jimboy de Jesus.

Manuel's 2 losses are from employees of Daewoo Corporation Eddie Grefiel and Freddie Dumlao. And his 2 drawn games are against Jimmy Valenzuela and Mario Ramos. 

Grefiel finished 3rd with 10 1/2 points followed by Cyril Montel, Jr. (10), Roberto Hernandez (9 1/2), Bong Alipoon (9 1/2) Edgardo Enarsao (8), Noel Filomeno (8), Freddie Dumlao (7 1/2), Danny Dandoy (7), Jimmy Valenzuela (6), Mariano Agustin, Jr. (5 1/2), Mike Miguel, Jr. (5 1/2), Roy Rebollos (4), Mario Ramos (3 1/2) and Jose Misael 'Jimboy' de Jesus (2).

Meanwhile, in the Class B Division, eventual champion Chito Vargas lost by default to Amante Caballero in the Feb. 23, 2003 2nd round encounter but Amante, in a true sportsmanlike conduct, gave Chito a rematch in the 3rd round and lost. 

That crucial victory catapulted Chito to the title with Amante having to play a sudden-death match with Tutii Joe Chilton for the 1st and 2nd runner-up finishes in the final round on April 27. Amante won to earn him his first chess title in Palau. He's one of the pioneer chess players in Palau that started its first chess tourney in June 09, 2002.

Thus, Tutii (9 points) finished 3rd and will be the first Palau player to get a chess title. Ben Ramos (8 1/2) clinched the 4th place as early as 8th and 9th round. It is also the first chess trophy of Ben, the oldest player in Class B Division at age 58. His game with 8-year-old Dmitri Kyle Villanueva was the biggest age differential of Palau chess protagonists.

FINAL STANDINGS OF CLASS B (5th-12th):
5. Norbert Villanueva (7) 6. Kris Ramos (6) 7. Allen Kangichi (6) 8. Arvie Leynes (4) 9. Dmitri Kyle Villanueva (3 1/2) 10. Nilo de Jesus (1) 11. Remy Mingo (1) and 12. Vincent Vergara (1).

The Chief Arbiter and Tournament Organizer is Roberto Hernandez, while the venue host is Roberto's employer Margarita Borja Dalton--owner/manager of Image Restaurant and Sports Bar.

Its sponsors are The Filipino Community in Palau (TFCP) and Budget Mart, who sponsored the 8 beautifully-designed trophies for the top 4 finishers in each category.

The trophies will be given on the Opening Day of the next tournament for 2003 -- The Age Group Chess Tournament, to be held from May 25-August 24, 2003.

FINAL STANDINGS

Class A

             Players                                                   Win     Loss    Draw            Total

  1. Menandro Manuel                                          11         2          2                  12

  2. Julius Torres                                                   11         3         1                   11.5

  3. Eddie Grefiel                                                  10         4          1                  10.5

  4. Cyril Montel, Jr.                                             9          4          2                   10

  5. Roberto Hernandez                                         9          5          1                   9.5

  6. Bong Alipoon                                                  9          5         1                    9.5

  7. Edgardo Enarsao                                             7          6         2                     8

  8. Noel Filomeno                                                 7          6         2                     8

  9. Freddie Dumlao                                               7         7          2                    7.5

10. Danny Dandoy                                                6          7         2                    7

11. Jimmy Valenzuela                                           5          8         2                    6

12. Mariano Agustin, Jr.                                       5          9          1                    5.5

13. Mike Miguel, Jr.                                             5           9          1                   5.5

14. Roy Rebollos                                                  2          9          4                    4

15. Mario Ramos                                                  2          10        3                    3.5

16. Jose Misael de Jesus                                       0           11       4                    2

FINAL STANDINGS

Class B

             Players                                                  Win      Loss     Draw          Total

1.      Chito Vargas                                                10         1           0                 10

2.      Amante Caballero                                          9         2           0                  9

3.      Tutii Joe Chilton                                           9         2            0                 9

4.      Ben Ramos                                                   8          2            1                 8.5

5.      Norbert Villanueva                                       6         3            2                  7      

6.      Kris Ramos                                                  6          5           0                 6

7.      Allen Kangichi                                             5         4           2                 6

8.      Arvie Leynes                                               4         7            0                 4

9.      Dmitri Villanueva                                        3         7            1                 3.5

10.  Nilo de Jesus                                               0          9            2                1

11.  Remy Mingo                                                0         9            2                 1

12.  Vincent Vergara                                           0         9            2                 1

2003 OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT

January 12 – April 27, 2003

Sponsored by:

The Filipino Community in Palau (TFCP)

Image Restaurant & Sports Bar

Budget Mart

P L A Y E R S

           Name                                       Tel. Number                      Represented Company

  1. Roy Rebollos                                 488- 4402                        

  2. Allen Kangichi                               488-5652                         Duty Free Shop (Palau)

  3. Norbert Villanueva                         777-2017                         PNCC, ICTV

  4. Dmitri Villanueva                           777-2017

  5. Vincent Vergara                             488-2765                         Moylan’s Insurance

  6. Jose Misael de Jesus                      488-1247                         Catholic Mission School

  7. Nilo de Jesus                                  488-2302                         C & N Auto-Aircon Shop

  8. Ben Ramos                                     587-2370

  9. Kris Ramos                                    587-2370

10. Arvie Leynes

11. Eddie Grefiel                                 824- 1138                         Daewoo Corporation

12. Freddie Dumlao                             824- 1183                         Daewoo Corporation

13. Edgardo Enarsao                           587- 2642/488-6685         Orientex Garment

14. Danny Dandoy                             488-5213                           Palau High School

15. Amante Caballero                         587-6666                          Goldquest Int’l. Ltd.

16. Tutii Joe Chilton                          488-2617                           Palau Community College

17. Remy Mingo                                 488-8488

18. Noel Filomeno                              488-8025/1309                  Winchel’s

19. Roberto Hernandez                      488-3694                            Image Restaurant

20. Mario Ramos                                654-1060                           Beach Sand Company

21. Mariano Agustin, Jr.                    488-8380                            Philippine Embassy

22. Chito Vargas                                488- 1731

23. Jimmy Valenzuela                       488- 6876                           Neco Engineering

24. Menandro Manuel                       488-4498 ext. 232              Surangel & Sons Co.

25. Julius Torres                                488- 3839                          Philippine Embassy

26. Cyril Montel, Jr.                          488-8715                           Palau Pacific Resort

27. Bong Alipoon                              488-4149                           Palau Sewerage System

28. Mike Miguel, Jr.                          587-3606                           SDA School

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

1. There will be a 5-round Swiss system classification to determine the Class A and Class B bracket. The top 16 will compose the Class A and they will play a single round robin final of it and number 17 to 28 will play also a single round robin final of their own.
2. The time control is one hour for each player to finish the game. Players are required to annotate their games.
3. Registration fee is $10.00
4. The top four players in each class will receive trophies.
5. Special schedule is permitted upon agreement of both players and organizers.
6. Playing day is Sunday at Image Restaurant front area and if it rains, it can be resumed in the Sports Bar. Players and observers can order drinks and snacks to the service crew of the restaurant in pay-as-you-order condition.
7. In the penultimate and final rounds, players who didn’t show up will lose by default. If both players are absent, their game will be declared a draw by default.
8. Some players like Eddie Grefiel and Freddie Dumlao can play two games in one Sunday as they have only two Sunday offs in a month.

Source: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
               Tia Belau Newspaper
               Page 9
               Volume 12
               May 02-09, 2003   

  

  Chito Vargas, 4th from left, holds his championship trophy (2003 Open - Class B) and poses for a group picture before leaving Palau for good. He is now a Pastor. Others in the photo are (from left), Cris Gonzales, Mario Ramos, Mariano Agustin, Jr., Eugene Koh, Roberto Hernandez and Jose Omega.         (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)