CHESS WITH FILIPINO FISHERMEN
I lend one tournament size chess board to
the 22 Filipino fishermen being in Palau government’s custody. I’ve played an
unfinished game against the Captain/Engineer of the big boat in Jan. 08, 2017.
He said there are at least 5 fishermen who can play chess. Sad to say, one of
them, Roger Duran, suffered a heart attack and died. He was baptized in Jan.
2017 thus his soul was saved—Mark 16:15-16 and Matthew 28:19-20 (The Great
Commission). (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
3 AMERICAN CHAMPIONS
CLOSER TO TITLE
The 2017 U.S. Championship begins on March 28 (29 in the
Philippines and eastern Asian nations including Oceania). Wesley So is the top
seed but Fabiano Caruana is the defending champion. Should the drawing of lots
and result in round 1 between So and Hikaru Nakamura be 1:0, Wesley is going to
win the event as in Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic last year.
Fat
chance that is, though. Wesley might win the trophy on his 3rd try. I believe
he's going to be ruthless against the lower rated participants this time. Never
mind drawn results vs. his main competitors. Most importantly he must win on
demand should the situation so dictates. I think he is well prepared here.
The
United States may be on the verge of complete chess supremacy, with not only
the best team in the world but quite possibly the next world champion. Last
September, the United States won the team gold medal at the Chess Olympiad in Baku,
Azerbaijan. It was the first time that the United States had been the top team
in the biennial competition since 1976, a year in which the Soviet Union and
some Eastern Bloc countries boycotted. And before that, the last time that the
United States won was in 1937, before the Soviet Union had developed its
assembly-line program to churn out the best players in the world.
The
victorious United States team was led by a trio of stars – Fabiano Caruana,
Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura, who all rank in the top six in the world.
The three of them pose a real threat to dethrone Magnus Carlsen, the reigning
champion, and to bring the world championship title back to the United States
for the first time since Bobby Fischer captured it in 1972.
Nakamura,
29, who is ranked No. 6, won the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters, one of the world’s
strongest open tournaments, earlier this year. It was his third consecutive
Gibraltar title – an unprecedented run. Though Nakamura’s overall record
against Carlsen is not impressive in classical, or slow chess – 12 losses with
one win and 19 draws– Nakamura has done better the last few times he has faced
him, including notching his only win last year in the Bilbao Masters.
Nakamura thrives in complicated positions, as, for example, in his last round
against Romain Edouard of France in Gibraltar.
Caruana,
24, has actually struggled a bit recently, though he remains No. 3 in the
world. He has the record for the third-highest rating ever (after Carlsen and Garry
Kasparov, the former world champion), which he achieved in 2014 after he had
one of the greatest performances ever at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis. That
victory, which shows that he can go on streaks where he is unbeatable, coupled
with his overall consistency, would make him a threat in any match.
So,
23, and ranked No. 2, may be the biggest threat, and not just because of his
ranking. He has been on an unbelievable tear in recent months, winning the
Sinquefield Cup, the London Classic and, earlier this year, the Tata
Steel Chess Tournament. Those are three of the biggest tournaments
of the year. While Carlsen did not play in the first two tournaments, as he was
preparing for his world championship match in New York last November, which he
won, he did play in Tata Steel and finished in second, a full point behind So.
So
has not just been winning, he has also not been losing – he currently has a
56-game unbeaten streak. During the streak, in which he has rarely been
threatened, So has shown that he has a universal style. He has won games by
blowing his opponents off the board, and with subtle positional masterpieces,
where it is hard to see exactly what his opponents did wrong. Should he make
his way through the cycle to become the challenger, Carlsen would clearly have
his hands full.
Solution
to last week’s puzzle No. 3859: 1. Qd8+!! Kxd8 2. Nc6++ Ke8 3. Rd8#
This
week’s puzzle No. 3860: White to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)
Sources: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 9-10
Volume 26
Issue 24
March 27, 2017
Chess and Music (Perfect Combination)
The Beginning of Chess in Palau
By Roberto Hernandez
Soon to be published as a book
Music and Me by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
March 15, 2012 -- April 18, 2013
http://palau-chess.blogspot.com
April 25, 2013 -- March 27, 2017
The History of Chess in Palau
By Roberto Hernandez
June 09, 2002 -- March 27, 2017
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