CHESS PLAYING WHIPPS FAMILY
At left, Joy Flores Whipps whips Paz Ngiratechekii while her husband Eric Ksau, middle, struggled and lost to Mohammad Manik Hossain. Their son Ksau Anthony Whipps, 2nd from right, lost to Cyrell Ann Montel. Michael Jordan Ngiratechekii, right, is eating ice cream courtesy of venue hosts Tito and Lilibeth Cabunagan.
(Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
LAST 3 WEEKS OF 2013
RAPID CHESS TILT
THE last 3 weeks of 2013 Palau Rapid Chess Tournament will be held in the same venue with some withdrawals in both Group A and B. But immediate replacement by 2 players from Palau Royal Resort has somehow eased the tension in classifying the top 4 semifinalists in each group.
Ronel Gutierrez took the place of No. 1 in the Group A Franz Bawotong while Rey Alenain took the spot of No. 4 Geoffrey Martin. This is the first step for both players to gain their international rankings (Rapid). They will be eligible to play in any other international competition representing Palau in the future.
Number 5 slot is still occupied by former chairman of Palau Chess Federation Francis ‘Sno’Temaungil. This will be Sno’s chance to have international ranking.
The former No. 7 of Palau and No. 8 in the list Gonzalo Escapatoria is very busy during Sunday and skipped the tournament due to an opportunity to make some extra income working on Sundays.
The No. 9 Dan Roldan and No. 15 Luciano Sibayan, both from PRR are still listed so that they can have their rapid ratings aside from standard which is 1370 and 1462 respectively.
The No. 11 is now vacant—the slot for former Senator Surangel Whipps, Sr. and No. 13 slot for Kenyan Nasser Okoth.
In Group B, No. 2 (David Wong) and No. 9 (Joey Balute) are the only vacant slots. The slots for No. 1 Nilo de Jesus, No. 5 Jaime dela Cruz, No. 7 Elpidio Manaligod are left as it is so that they will have separate international rankings in rapid version.
The semifinalists in Group A are Roberto Hernandez, Paquito Suringa, Jr., Jeff Balbalosa and either of Rafael Paloma or Miguel Hilario, Jr. depending on the results of their last crucial games. The most crucial is their game itself. If Rafael will win, he’s in but if he will lose, Miguel can tie him if he will win also his game against Paquito.
In Group B, the semifinalists are Tito Cabunagan, Dennis Gonzales, Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. and Mohammad Manik Hossain. The order will be the same if Dennis will win all his remaining matches including his game against Cyril and Manik. Jose Celiz is still on vacation and he will not have enough time to catch up. His last remaining games will be declared as draws and his 2 losses to Dennis and Cyril stands.
Next Sunday, April 14 is the start of semifinals that will feature No. 1 against No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 of both groups. The winners will then play one game to determine the finalists for final day on April 21.
The women’s division had added Ma. Florida Hernandez as the 8th player to the group so that she can have international rating also.
Jaime dela Cruz will be making the wooden trophies of this event made from mahogany wood. Two trophies in the shape of King and Rook are for the finalists of Men’s group, 3 are for women’s and 3 are for juniors.
Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 9 & 11
Volume 22
Issue 28
April 08, 2013
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