(1569) PENULTIMATE ROUND OF 1st 2018 S.C.T.T. ON SEPTEMBER 09 (TBN- September 10, 2018)

     NICE AND EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE 
                     WITH LENGE GIBBONS 

                    In Aug. 26, 2018, I have a nice and educational practice with newcomer Lenge Gibbons. After 1 friendly game, I taught him the dreaded Danish Gambit where 3 pawns were sacrificed to gain quick development of white’s pieces… 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Nge2 Nxe4 8. 0-0 Nxc3 9. Nxc3 0-0 10. Nd5 Bc5 11. Nf6+! gxf6 12. Qg4+ Kh8 13. Qh4 Be7 14. Bd3 and Black will be mated in 2 more moves. Since then, Lenge is always present in every game hoping to apply those tactics in the future.  (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)

    PENULTIMATE ROUND OF 1st
      2018 S. C. T. T. on Sept. 09

THE ROUND 6 of the 1^st Surangel Chess Team Tournament in Sept. 02 is a sort of jockeying for the top 3 position of the event. I would like to thank Palau top chess player Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. for correcting me in his Royal Blue Team’s standings where I mistakenly put them with 2 match losses where they only lost once. With the correction, they are tied with Dark Grey and Light Blue teams of Angelo Salvadora and Rustum Cabuso respectively with 8 match points from 4 wins and a loss each.

                Then the Round 6 begins with me and Cyril facing each other at top board. Just before the start of the games, I have many distractions from different players mostly from Baby Edna Mission, who won her game against the absent Joy Flores Whipps. She is playing a practice game with Joan Gemota next to our table and they are very noisy especially about the touch move violations of Mission.

                She is also asking me a lot of questions about the 2018 World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia. When Bobot Tan asked me what color he’ll be having against Leif Toribiong in the 8^th round, I check it on my laptop while it’s Cyril’s turn to move. Mission followed me to the round table and continues to ask me a lot of questions. My request of “I have an official game going on against top seed, I have to do this thing to get the color of Bobot-Leif game, please stop bothering me.” She replied with, “Cyril moved already. Your clock is ticking.”

                I won a knight vs. Cyril on the 19^th move and should have simplified the game with another knight capture by the bishop. Cyril carried on and took advantage of my inaccurate 40^th move to counter with a 2-pawn sacrifice and a strong attack. I was able to have a perpetual check on the 51^st move onward but I blunder with a queen move without a check that resulted in Cyril mating me.

                It resulted in our match to be tied at 1.5-1.5 as the game between Eugene Labarda and Mohammad Manik Hossain ended in a draw after 57 moves. My undefeated youth player Nicholas Nehez won by default over Aome Angeles.

                That draw (1 match point) would hinder Cyril’s team chance for top 3 finishers as their rivals Dark Grey (won by a sweep over Purple Team) and Light Blue Team having a BYE for a similar 4 points and 2 match points for a win. Another sweep was scored by Red Team by Bobot Tan over Teal Team of Tito Cabunagan. In the other remaining match, Paquito Suringa, Jr. was the only player in his Black Team as he defeated Joel Gemota in 26 moves and lost all the other 3 boards by default for a 1-3 score. 

                Joel complained about him not writing the moves because he’s late for 35 minutes as in his last 3 games because of job schedule conflict. It is the other distraction to my game when I informed Paquito that he cannot claim a draw if he hadn’t write the moves. It’s an old rule since 1980’s esp. in the endgame. Players can’t claim a draw if he is not writing the last moves of their game as there is no record to check the 3-move repetition.

                ROUND 7 PAIRINGS: (Sept. 9) (First Name to have the White pieces)

1. Rustum Cabuso Team (Light Blue) vs. Paquito Suringa, Jr. Team (Black)

2. Tito Cabunagan Team (Teal) vs. Angelo Salvadora Team (Dark Grey)

3. Roberto Hernandez Team Yellow vs. Leif Toribiong Team (Purple)

4. Dennis Gonzales Team (Navy Blue) vs. Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr.Team (Royal Blue)

5. Bobot Tan Team (Red)--- BYE

                Solution to last week’s puzzle No. 4425: 1. …Qxd5+! 2. Qe4 Qxe4 3. Kg1 Qg2#

                This week’s puzzle No. 4426: Black to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)

Sources: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
               Tia Belau Newspaper
               Pages 9-10
               Volume 27
               Issue 90
               September 10, 2018

              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 -- September 10, 2018

             The History of Chess in Palau
             By Roberto Hernandez
             June 09, 2002 -- September 10, 2018