(1288) THIS IS IT FOR INRES, CABUSO, JUN, DENNIS AND JOJO (TBN-Nov. 07, 2016)

: INRES AND MAHOR ON THE MOVE

                  Arnolfo Inres, in the middle, watches the crucial match, between Elizalde Madrinan vs. Manuel ‘Jun’ Mahor, Jr., left, at Palau Royal Resort Dormitory 1 on Nov. 05, 2016. He is leading the qualifying tourney of the 2016 PNCC and will clinch a spot if he would win his final round match vs. Rustum Cabuso while Mahor needs to win vs. Dennis Gonzales to qualify. GOOD LUCK AND MAY THE BEST 3 WIN!

                                                (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)

   THIS IS IT FOR INRES, CABUSO,

        JUN, DENNIS AND JOJO

 

THE TWICE adjourned game of Manuel ‘Jun’ Mahor, Jr. and Elizalde Madrinan was finally played on Sat. Nov. 05, 2016 at Palau Royal Resort Dormitory 1. The former didn’t show up in their match at the same venue on Oct. 28 and the latter at Bethlehem Park on Oct. 30. The 5^th and final round of the qualifying tourney could not be finalized until their game is played.

                Madrinan was eliminated when he lost his game vs. Mahor, Jr. as his 1.5 total points would not be enough to make it to the Top 10 Division. Even though he will have a bye (it’s a win) in the final round, the top 4 boards in the final round will fight it out to make it to the Top 10 Division.

                FINAL ROUND PAIRINGS (First mentioned name to play the white pieces): 1. Arnolfo Inres (3 pts.) vs. Rustum Cabuso (2.5) 2. Mahor, Jr. (2.5) vs. Dennis Gonzales (2.5) 3. Wilson Barrameda (2) vs. Gonzalo ‘Jojo’ Escapatoria, Jr. (2.5) 4. Angelo Salvadora (2) vs. Glen Navarroza (2) 5. Baby Edna Mission (1) vs. Sofronio Mahor (1.5) 6. Madrinan (1.5) –BYE.

                Mission and S. Mahor were already eliminated while Barrameda, Salvadora and Navarroza’s slim chances are hanging in the balance. A win by Inres, Dennis and Jojo will knock Cabuso, Jun, Barrameda and Navarroza out; a win by Cabuso, Jun, and Barrameda will knock Dennis and Jojo out and will give hope to Inres, Barrameda and Angelo or Glen, whoever wins in their match. If the first 3 boards would be all drawn games, Inres will automatically qualify.

                Jeff Balbalosa has already published in the Palau Chess Federation Facebook account the date and pairings of the Top 10 Division of 2016 Palau National Chess Championship as follows:

Nov. 13, 2016 1. Player (or Qualifyer) No. 8 vs. Tito Cabunagan 2. Player 9 vs. Allan Alcid 3. Paquito Suringa, Jr. vs. Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. 4. Jeffrey Balbalosa vs. Player 10 5. Angelica Parrado Sisior vs. Roberto Hernandez

Nov. 20 1. Tito vs. Roberto 2. 10 vs. Angie 3. Cyril vs. Jeff 4. Allan vs. Pax (Draw—Played at PRR Oct. 19) 5. 8 vs. 9

Nov. 27 1. 9 vs. Tito 2. Pax vs. 8 3. Jeff vs. Allan 4. Angie vs. Cyril 5. Roberto vs. 10

Dec. 04 1. Tito vs. 10 2. Cyril vs. Roberto 3. Allan vs. Angie 4. 8 vs. Jeff 5. 9 vs. Pax

Dec. 11 1. Pax vs. Tito (Draw-played at Bethlehem Park in Oct. 30) 2. Jeff vs. 9 3. Angie vs. 8 4. Roberto vs. Allan (0-1 Played at PRR, Oct. 20) 5. 10 vs. Cyril

Dec. 18 1. Tito vs. Cyril 2. Allan vs. 10 3. 8 vs. Roberto 4. 9 vs. Angie 5. Pax vs. Jeff

Jan. 08, 2017 1. Jeff vs. Tito 2. Angie vs. Pax 3. Roberto vs. 9 4. 10 vs. 8 5. Cyril vs. Allan (Draw-10/23/16)

Jan. 15, 2017 1. Tito vs. Allan 2. 8 vs. Cyril 3. 9 vs. 10 4. Pax vs. Roberto (Draw-Played at PRR 10/20/16)

                         5. Jeff vs. Angie

Jan. 22, 2017 1. Angie vs. Tito 2. Roberto vs. Jeff 3. 10 vs. Pax 4. Cyril vs. 9 5. Allan vs. 8

                Here’s a quote from a chess artist and a chess scientist – CM Joselito Marcos:

                                    IS CHESS AN ART, A SCIENCE OR SPORT?

                That depends on one’s perspective. For a practical player interested only of the score (win/draw/loss), to him chess is a sport—never mind how he wins. One who strives for accuracy, precision, techniques and methods—to that person chess is a science. For those who strive for beauty or search for the truth in a position, he is a chess artist. Brilliant games are produced by them.

                I am more of a chess artist first and a chess scientist second. Look at some of my games in my book “Memoirs of a Chess Amateur” especially in the Chapter “When the Going Gets Tough”.

                Solution to last week’s puzzle No. 11 by CM Joselito Marcos: It’s White to move not Black:

1. Rh8 g3 2. Rh3 gxh2 3. Na2! bxa2 4. Ra3 a1Q 5. Rxa1 mate. Who would ever think that the white rook at a8 will travel 21 squares to mate the king at g1? Unbelievable imagination by Marcos!

          This week’s puzzle No. 8 by Marcos was published in Philippine Star Newspaper in July 30, 1994

                                         White to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)

Sources: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez

               Tia Belau Newspaper

               Pages 9-10

               Volume 25

               Issue 87

               November 07, 2016

              Chess and Music (Perfect Combination)

              The Beginning of Chess in Palau

              By Roberto Hernandez

              Soon to be published as a book 

              Memoirs of a Chess Amateur

              My Memorable Games and Compositions

              By CM Joselito Marcos

              Page 429

              Music and Me by Roberto Hernandez

              Tia Belau Newspaper

              March 15, 2012 -- April 18, 2013

              http://palau-chess.blogspot.com

              April 25, 2013 -- November 07, 2016

             The History of Chess in Palau

             By Roberto Hernandez

             June 09, 2002 -- November 07, 2016   

(1280) ON WITH THE QUALIFYING TILT AND 2016 PNCC (TBN-Oct. 10, 2016)

:  CHESS AND MUSIC (Part 6) KEYBOARD AND GUITAR

                Angelica Berlene Magno, left, is receiving her Certificate of Participation in the 2015 Palau National Chess Championship in the Women’s Division from Roberto Hernandez.  She is now rated internationally at 1051 and No. 31 among PCF active players. She started to have music lessons from Roberto on Oct. 02 with the keyboard first and later guitar.

                                         (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)

 ON WITH THE QUALIFYING TILT

         AND 2016 P. N. C. C

 

THE MEETING/REUNION of Palau Chess Team Olympians with Tito Cabunagan and Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. at Palau Royal Resort’s Waves Restaurant was cancelled due to the miscommunication from some players. Palau Chess Federation President Eric Ksau Surangel Whipps is still on vacation.

                Only Allan Alcid, Roberto Hernandez and Paquito Suringa, Jr. showed up at Waves Restaurant. The drawing of numbers for the Top 10 Division is also not finalized with some development from Palau’s first Woman National Master (WNM) Angelica Parrado-Sisior. She text Baby Edna Mission that if she sees Roberto while he is renewing his passport at Palasia Hotel, that Angie will join the Open, which means the qualifying, like what she did in the 2015 Qualifying Tilt to select the No. 8, 9 and 10 players in the Top 10 Division of 2015 PNCC.

                Early in the night of Oct. 8, 2016, Angie clarifies again through Mission that since she is the No. 7 in the list, she wants to play in the Top 10 Division. This has some complication and needs the approval from the Board of PCF. If she plays in the Top 10 Division, she cannot play in the Women’s Division in which she is the defending champion. If she would not finish in the top 5, she couldn’t qualify for the Open division for the 2018 World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia. Women players are allowed in the Open section of the Olympiad but male players can’t play in the women’s section.

                The drawing of numbers of the Top 10 Division will be done at the opening day of qualifying tilt. The top 7 players can now play against each other with the color of the pieces already known for players. Suringa will play against anybody on Sunday, Oct. 9 as he is not available on the succeeding Sundays of this month. Games of Roberto and Paquito against any other 5 players in the Top 10 Division can be played at PRR Dormitory 1 on any agreed date and time.

                The World Chess Championship Match, to take place in New York in November of 2016, is to be broadcast live in 360° Virtual Reality, a global first for any sport. The VR broadcast of the Match, which will take place between Magnus Carlsen of Norway and his challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia, will be exclusively available through Worldchess.com.
                Ilya Merenzon, the Chief Executive of World Chess by Agon Ltd, the commercial rights holder to the World Chess Championship, said: “We are proud to announce that chess, one of the oldest sports in the world, is creating a global first: a totally new and immersive way of watching a contest that will captivate hundreds of millions of new and existing fans.”
                World Chess has teamed up with Livestream to create the unprecedented viewer experience that will place the audience closer to the action than ever before. As well as the 360° video stream there will be a number of other cameras within the players’ arena to provide multiple angles on the match.
                The online broadcast will include commentary in multiple languages, with guest appearances from celebrity chess fans, a chess analysis engine so viewers can gain an insight into the players’ strategic decisions, as well as a host of other features. “Everything we are doing is designed to enable viewers to get into the minds of the players. This is the first Chess World Championship for the smart phone generation,” Mr. Merenzon added.  Livestream, the leading provider of live video services, is the broadcasting partner of the Championship Match.
                A spokesperson for Livestream said: “We are excited to be the streaming partner for the World Chess Championship at a time when the broadcast and overall presentation of the game is being transformed by Agon." Chess fans can sign up to receive the VR broadcast by registering at www.worldchess.com A season pass for the 12 round Championship Match will cost $15, or $1.25 per game. The pay-per-view model with advanced premium features, such as full 360-degree broadcast, is expected to significantly add to the commercial prospects of chess as a global sport and increase its appeal to brand partners.
                A basic free live broadcast of the Championship Match will also be available to view. It will include a live representation of the game and will be made available to select broadcasting partners and chess federations that agree to join the World Chess affiliate program. Mr. Merenzon said: “We are investing into the 360-degree broadcast because we believe that it is a major commercial opportunity for a sport which has required additional revenue streams to fulfill its global potential. The millions of dollars in extra revenue that our new model will bring into the game will be re-invested in player prize money, events in the World Chess Championship cycle and in grass roots initiatives.
                But we also want to ensure that as many people as possible can follow the Match and recognize that not everyone is prepared to pay to follow the Championship Match - that’s why we will offer a free broadcast as well.” The 360° Virtual Reality broadcast will be available to view by anyone with a smart phone, tablet or computer or VR device.
                Magnus Carlsen, the reigning World Champion, said: “In my opinion, chess has the potential to reach and engage a much broader audience than what we see today. To succeed with this; innovation, and most of all quality in the production and transmission, are key elements.” 

                Solution to last week’s puzzle No. 3489: 1. Ba4 Kxa4 2. Qa6 mate.

                This week’s puzzle No. 3490: White to move and mates in 2 (Solution next issue)

Sources: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez

                Tia Belau Newspaper

                Pages 9 & 11

                Volume 25

                Issue 81

                October 10, 2016

                Chess and Music (Perfect Combination)

                The Beginning of Chess in Palau

                To be published as a book in the future

                Music and Me by Roberto Hernandez

                Tia Belau Newspaper

                March 15, 2012 -- April 18, 2013

                http://palau-chess.blogspot.com

                April 25, 2013 -- October 10, 2016

               The History of Chess in Palau 

               By Roberto Hernandez

               June 09, 2002 -- October 10, 2016