AUSTRALIA'S CHESS FUTURE
Daniel
Lapitan, left, won the under 12 years Australian Junior Chess
Championship this year and will now represent Australia in the World
Youth Chess Championship in Brazil on November 14-24, 2011. At right is
Alex Stahnke, another strong candidate to be one of Australia's best
junior players. (Photo by Raymond-Nancy Lapitan)
LETTERS
of invitation to join in the 3rd Palau Invitational Chess Championship
has been sent by organizer Roberto Hernandez to 7 invited participants
-- FIDE Master Christopher Castellano; USA and Philippines Master
Almario Marlon Bernardino, Jr.; FIDE Arbiter Dr. Alfredo Paez and his
wife; International Arbiter (IA) Erwin Carag; Papua New Guinea's
Joselito Marcos, his wife and daughter; Jamie Kenmure of Australia and
another one (male or female) from Australia.
Dr.
Alfredo Paez was the first one to confirm his participation by email
that says: "Dear Mr. Hernandez, Greetings! It is my pleasure to join in
the Palau Invitational Chess Championship. I'm now preparing for the
event. Pls. include me in the list of participants. Thank you for the
invitation. Kind regards, Dr. Paez".
invited
and local players were asked to give their comments and suggestions
about the 3rd PICC and erstwhile top player of Palau Menandro 'Boy'
Manuel suggested the following:
(1).
The entry fee must be a requirement before any player can play his
first game. This is an international event and prizes will be very
important for the players to aim for. Maybe some amount in the club can
be added to the prize. The tournament venue is quite important here. The
site should be convenient and should have amenities standard for an
event like this.
(2).
The tournament will be a single round-robin event with 2 games to be
played every playing day. The foreign participants will have no problem
with this schedule but Palau-based players will definitely have. Almost
all players here work from 7am-5pm and can be available only during
weekends and maybe 6pm onward on weekdays. Maybe you adjust the locals
playing time accordingly. Also locals should play full time during Sat.
and Sunday as these are their day offs. If necessary, 2-3 games can be
played in these days.
(3).
I suggest Angie be included among the participants since she has
confirmed her participation in the Istanbul Olympiad. If we will send a
women's team and if she will be there 100%, we should give her all the
exposures she needs to improve her game. She can take the place of
Mohammad Manik Hossain and he will just be a reserve in case other
participants back out.
Joselito
Marcos also gives comments regarding these: "Please be advised that
Palau players should make "sacrifice" if needed by asking their
employers for day offs during the competition. The foreign participants
are making lots of sacrifices themselves--do you think it was only a
holiday for them (us)? If so, you are completely mistaken. Why not ask
the assistance from the OCC for prizes? OCC should extend its hands to
PCF even if there are no other Oceania participants except for me and
Jamie Kenmure.
The
invitational is an international tournament and should not be treated
like the way games are scheduled in the Palau National Championships. It
should remain as a closed tournament and as such the Palau local
participants should be finalized at the soonest. No apologies for being
blunt here."
Hernandez
wrote an email to the president of Oceania Zonal Chess Confederation
(OCC) Brian Jones. He responded with the following: "Dear Roberto and
Gary Bekker, OCC is happy to provide support to contribute towards
Oceania travel expenses provided that: (1). The host federation is not
in arrears with FIDE and OCC. (2). The event is FIDE rated. (3). The The
player is a member of an Oceania Federation. (4). Receipts from the
Oceania travel expenses incurred are provided. For the Palau tournament,
we would be happy to consider making a contribution to the travel
expenses of any player from Australia, Guam or PNG. But I am not sure
about Marlon Bernardino? Also, what is the $2,000? Maybe you need a
proper budget? What is the target to be raised for Istanbul? Good luck!
Brian Jones, President, FIDE Zone 3.6 (Oceania).
Source: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 9-10
Volume 20
Issue 47
November 14, 2011
AUSTRALIA'S CHESS FUTURE
Daniel Lapitan, left, won the under 12 years Australian Junior Chess
Championship (2011) and will represent Australia in the World Youth
Chess Championship in Brazil in November 17-24, 2011. At right is Alex
Stahnke, another strong candidate to be one of Australia's best junior
chess player. (Photo by: Raymond Nancy Lapitan)
DR. ALFREDO PAEZ
CONFIRMED TO 3RD PICC
LETTERS OF invitation to join in the 3rd Palau Invitational Chess Championship
has been sent by organizer Roberto Hernandez to 7 invited participants –FIDE
Master Christopher Castellano; USA and Philippines Master Almario Marlon
Bernardino, Jr.; FIDE Arbiter Dr. Alfredo Paez and his wife; International
Arbiter (IA) Erwin Carag; Papua New Guinea’s Joselito Marcos, his wife and
daughter; Jamie Kenmure of Australia and another one (male or female) from
Australia.
Dr. Alfredo Paez
was the first one to confirm his participation by email that says: “Dear Mr.
Hernandez, Greetings! It’s my pleasure to join in the Palau Invitational Chess
Championships. I’m now preparing for the event. Please include me in the list of
participants. Thank you for the invitation. Kind regards, Dr. Paez.”
Invited and
local players were asked to give their comments and suggestions about the 3rd
PICC and erstwhile top player of Palau Menandro ‘Boy’ Manuel suggested the
following:
(1) The entry fee must be a requirement before any player can play
his first game. He said this is an international event and prizes will be very
important for the players to aim for. Maybe some amount in the club can be
added to the prize. The tournament venue is quite important here. The site
should be convenient and should have the amenities standard to an event like
this.
(2) The tournament will be a single round robin event with 2 games to be
played every playing day. The foreign participants will have no problem with
this schedule but Palau-based players will definitely have. Almost all players
here work from 7 am to 5pm and can be available only during weekends and
maybe 6 pm onwards on weekdays. Maybe you adjust the locals playing time
accordingly. Also locals should play full time during Sat. and Sunday as these
are their day offs. If necessary, 2 to 3 games can be played in these days.
(3) I suggest
Angie be included among the participants since she has confirmed her
participation in the Istanbul Olympiad. If we will send a women’s team and if
she will be there 100%, we should give her all the exposures she needs to
improve her game. She can take the place of Mohammad Manik Hossain and he will
just be a reserve in case other participants back out.
Joselito Marcos
also gives comments regarding these: “Please be advised that Palau players
should make “sacrifice” if needed by asking their employers for days off during
the competition. The foreign participants are making lots of sacrifices
themselves—do you think it was only a holiday for them (us)? If so, you are
completely mistaken. Why not ask assistance from the OCC for prizes? OCC
should extend its hands to PCF even if there are no other Oceania participants
except for me and Jamie Kenmure.
The invitational
is an international tournament and should not be treated like the way games are
scheduled in the Palau national championships. It should remain as a closed
tournament and as such the Palau local participants should be finalized at the
soonest. No apologies for being blunt here.”
Hernandez wrote
an email to the president of Oceania Chess Confederation (OCC) Brian Jones. He
responded with the following: “Dear Roberto and Gary, OCC is happy to provide
support to contribute towards Oceania travel expenses provided that: (1) The
host federation is not in arrears with FIDE or OCC. (2) The event is FIDE
rated. (3) The player is a member of an Oceania Federation. (4) Receipts from
the Oceania travel expenses incurred are provided.
For the Palau
tournament, we would be happy to consider making a contribution to the travel
expenses of any player from Australia, Guam or PNG. But I am not sure about
Marlon Bernardino? Also, what is the $2,000? Maybe you need a proper budget?
What is the target to be raised for Istanbul? Good luck! Brian Jones,
President, FIDE Zone 3.6 (Oceania)
Source: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 9-10
Volume 20
Issue 47
November 14, 2011
YOUNG FUTURE CHESS MASTERS OF AUSTRALIA
Alexander Stahnke, right, is in action against Kevin Tan during the 2009 Oceania Zonal Chess Championship. Two weeks ago, the younger Stahnke defeated International Master Jonathan Sarfati in a blindfold exhibition match against 8 opponents. The other loss of the IM from New Zealand was from the elder Axel Stahnke.
(Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
THE MUCH anticipated blindfold chess games of Dr. Jonathan Sarfati against 8 opponents has been a success with Dr. Safati winning 5 games, drawing one and losing to Alex and Axel Stahnke.
In his email to Roberto Hernandez, Raymond Lapitan reported:
Hi Roberto, first I want to thank you for featuring Daniel again in Chessmate. Yes, Daniel is one of the 8 players who played with Dr. Sarfati.
I was really impressed with Jona playing 8 boards blindfolded simultaneously. Before they started the simul, they have agreed that Jona will only play blindfold from 2 pm up to 5 pm and then the game will be played normal and players will need to move within 2 minutes because they need to prepare the stage for the next function.
Within those 3 hours of playing, Jona beats 3 players but resigned to Alex Stahnke. After 5 pm, 4 boards are still not finished and Daniel is one of them. Daniel got an equal material but lost at the end because he has to move very fast. He was the last one to finish and it was a good game.
The results: Losses to Alex and Axel Stahnke, draw with Sam Griggs and 5 wins. It is a very good result for Jona.
This coming Thursday, we will be flying to Canberra for the Doeberl Cup. I will give you an update as soon as we get back.
And once again, congratulations to you and your wife for your daughter's passing her board exam. You deserve it because you're both supportive parents.
World Chess Federation (FIDE) and Organizing Committee of Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia (host of 2010 World Chess Olympiad) sent some important facts and dates of the coming Olympiad and FIDE Congress to Palau Chess Federation Secretary/Treasurer Roberto Hernandez.
The official invitation will be sent to Federations on April 20th according to Olympiad regulations.
1. Dates of the Olympiad -- Sept. 19-20, 2010 (Arrival) - Oct. 04, 2010 - Departure.
2. Dates of the Congress - Sept. 23, 2010 (Arrival) -- Oct. 04, 2010 - Departure.
3. Deadline for registration for teams and Congress participants is May 20th. Registration should be made electronically only, according to the instructions which will be part of the official invitations.
4. The OC is announcing the details for the charters to the Olympiad:
According to current plan, Charter will take place on Sept. 19 from
the following venues -- Dubai, Milan, Moscow, Munich and Prague.
Teams and other participants (Congress people, accompanying people) who want to take advantage of proposed charters will be asked to indicate their prefered venue. OC will do its utmost to meet all requirements. However, no guarantee is given until all registrations are known.
Charters are free of charge for all participants (5 players + captain for each team) who will be only charged for airport taxes (USD60.00 for each passenger).
With these free charters, Hernandez has decided to attend the Congress if he can get an airfare subsidy like the one given to him by Oceania Zone President Gary Bekker that enable him to participate in the 2009 Oceania Zonal Chess Championship. Negotiation is going if this is possible.
DO YOU KNOW ONLY 12 APOSTLES IN THE BIBLE?
In Mathew 10:2-4 "Now the names of the 12 apostles are these: The first Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the publican; James, the son of Alpheaus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus. Simon, the Canaanite, and Jude Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
In Acts 14:14, the 13th and 14th Apostles were mentioned: Which when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and run in among the people, crying out.
Two more apostles were added in Romans 16:7 -- Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
The 17th Apostle is in Galatians 1:19: -- But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
The 18th Apostle (Paul), is in 1 Corinthians 4:9 --For I think that God hath set forth us the apostle last, as it were appointed to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
Also in 1 Corinthians 15:9 -- For I am the least of the apostles that I am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
The 19th Apostle is in Hebrews 3:1 -- Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ.
YES, JESUS CHRIST IS AN APOSTLE! AN APOSTLE BUILDS CHURCH...
Matthew 16:18
Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 13-14
April 05-11, 2010
GOOD PERFORMANCE AT OLYMPIAD
Damian Norris, left, of Fiji, did good performance in the previous Olympiad to get a FIDE rating of 2142. He struggled to regain his form during the 2009 Oceania Zonal Chess Championship in Australia losing to youngsters Alexander Stahnke, right, and Daniel Lapitan. He finished at 68th spot. Palau sole representative Roberto Hernandez finished 2 steps higher than him. Malcolm Pyke, 2nd from right, lost to George Lester in their 1st round encounter. Pyke withdrew from the tourney in the 6th round while Lester finished at 51st place. (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
TOP 10 COUNTRIES IN WORLD
CHESS OLYMPIAD
THE HOST country of 2010 World Chess Olympiad is the top seed among 170 FIDE member countries.
Russia, who won more Olympiad titles than any other countries, boasts their top 100 players with the highest rated Vladimir Kramnik at the top with 2790 FIDE rating. At 100th is Andrei Kartov (2522).
Alexander Grischuk (2760), 20-year old Sergey Karjakin (2747), Peter Svidler (2734), Vladimir Malakhov (2732), Dmitry Jakovenko (2726), Alexander Morozevich (2715), Evgeny Tomashevsky (2708) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (2706) completed the formidable top 10.
It's interesting to know that 94 in their top 100 players are Grandmasters (GM), 5 are International Masters (IM) and one is FIDE Master (FM)-Roman V. Nechepurenko, whose 2546 rating is higher than many GMs and IMs.
Former champion and a candidate for FIDE presidency Anatoly Karpov is listed at no. 34 with 2619 rating. His adversary is incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who has been at the helm of FIDE for 15 years.
The election will be held during the last days of the 2010 World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia on Sept. 19 (Arrival) to October 04, 2010 (Departure).
Ukraine, the 2004 titlist, is seeded 2nd. Its top 10 players are Pavel Etianov, Vassily Ivanchuk, Ruslan Ponomariov, Zahar Epimenko, Alexander Molseenko, Sergey A. Fedorchuk, Alexander Areshchenko, Andrei Volokitin and Anton Korobov.
Ukraine has 68 GMs, 25 IMs, 2 FMs and 5 without title but made it to the top 100.
France is 3rd with 38 GMs, 51 IMs and 11 FMs. The top 10 players are Lagrave Maxime Vachier, Etienne Bacrot, Laurent Pressinet, Tigran Gharamian, Vladislav Tkachiev, Romain Edouard, Christian Bauer, Sebastian Feller, Hicham Hamdouchi and Andrei Sokolov.
Ever-improving China climbed to 4th with 24 GMs, 10 WGMs (Woman Grandmaster), 9 IMs, 4 WIMs (Woman International Master), 2 FMs, 5 WFMs (Woman FIDE Master) and the rests are unrated.
The top 10 players are Hao Wang, Yue Wang, Xiangzhi Bu, Jiancho Zhou, Hua Ni, Chao Li, Jiangchuan Yi, Pengxiang Zhang, Yangyi Yu and Xiaomin Peng.
Powerhouse Hungary boasts the highest rated woman in men division Judit Polgar at no. 3 in the top 10. There are 36 GMs in the top 100, 45 IMs, 1 WGM, 16 FMs and 2 have no titles.
The top 10 players are Peter Leko, Zoltan Almasi, Judit Polgar, Perenc Berkes, Csaba Balogh, Alexander Chernin, Peter Acs, Zoltan Gylmesi, Viktor Erdos and Imre Jr. Hera.
USA's top player is Hikaru Nakamura, who at 10 years old became the youngest chess master in the history of USA. He was followed by another child prodigy Gata Kamsky and Alexander Onischuk.
Yasser Seirawan, Yuri Shulman, Varuzhan Akobian, Robert Hess, Larry Christianssen, Jaan Ehlvest and Alexander Stripunsky completed the top 10 list.
USA has 39 GMs, 1 WGM, 40 IMs including Enrico Sevillano, a US-based Filipino International Master. There are also 15 FMs and the rest are untitled.
India is rated 7th but the current world champion Viswanathan Anand is one of the two players with 2800 rating, second only to world's no. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
India's no. 2-10 are Krishnan Sasikiran, Surya Sekhar Ganguly, P. Harikrisna, Chanda Sandipan, 17-year old Parimarjan Negi, the 2nd youngest to earn a GM title at 12 years old. Sergey Karjakin of Russia is the youngest to attain a GM norm, just a few months over Negi.
G. N. Gopal is India's No. 7 followed by Humpey Koneru, Abhijeet Gupta and Prasad S. Harun. India has 22 GMs, 23 IMs, 1 FM and 3 untitled among 49 in the list.
Israel is 8th with its top player Boris Gelfand winning the 2009 World Chess Cup held in the same site as the World Chess Olympiad -- Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
The other 9 top players are Emil Sutovsky, Ilia Smirin, Micahel Roiz, Boris Avruhk, Viktor Mikhalevski, Maxim Rodshtein, Alexander Huzman, Sergey Erenburg and Vitali Golod.
Azerbaijan is 9th and their top 10 players are Shakhivar Mamedvarov, Teimour Radjabov, Vugar Gashimov, Rauf Mamedov, Gadir Guseinov, Nidiat Mamenov, Eitai Safarti, Farid Abbasov, Azer Mirzoev and Rasul Ibrahimov.
10th slot is occupied by defending champion Armenia, who won 2 consecutive Olympiads, 2006 Torino, Italy and 2008 Dresden, Germany.
Its top 10 players are Levon Aronian, Vladimir Akopian, Gabriel Sargissian, Arman Pashikian, Hrant Merkumyan, Tigran L. Petrosian (the son of former world chess champion Tigran Petrosian, the master of defense), Zaven Adriasian, Avetik Grigoryan, Ashot Anastasian and the ageless 69-year old Rafael S. Vaganian.
Palau is listed at 151 with 11 players getting their updated international ratings for participating in the 2009 Palau National Chess Championship.
Tied at no. 1 are Menandro Manuel and Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr., followed by Roberto Hernandez, Eugenio Pastrana, Michael Mercado, Manuel 'Jun' Mahor, Jr., Bernardo Garcia, Romeo Caballes, Paquito 'Pax' Suringa, Jr., Craig Dittrich and Elpidio Manaligod.
Source: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 12-13
Volume 19
Issue 34
August 23-29, 2010
