(477) PASTRANA UPSETS TOP SEED VILLA (TBN-March 30-April 05, 2007)

VENUE host Gene Pastrana scored the biggest upset of his chess career when he defeated top seed Tony Villa in 34 moves of Queen's Pawn Game on Sunday, March 25 at Jean's Boutique and Store.

The position and material are even but after the exchanges of major pieces, Villa's king was check by a retreating king move by Pastrana that allowed him to capture Villa's rook without compensation.

Realizing his blunder, Villa resigned and both players analyzed the position before the blunder which could have been a win or at least a draw for Villa.

It was Villa's first setback after 3 straight victories.

National Master Manny Nedic drubbed Koror State Legal Counsel Craig Dittrich in 44 moves of Two Knights Defence to seize the lead from absent Joel Azana.

Nedic is now the only undefeated player with a 2-0-2 win-loss-draw record.

A 6-player blitz chess tilt was held after the completion of regular games with Palau's top player Menandro Manuel participating.

Other players were Villa (9-1-0), Roberto Hernandez (6-4-0), Nedic (3-7-0), Pastrana (2-7-1) and Cyril Montel, Jr. (2-8-0).

Villa swept the first round again but lost to Manuel (7-2-1) in the second round.

A draw with Pastrana hindered the chance of Manuel to catch up with Villa where he should have won it being up 12 points in material.

In a special game held in Tuesday, March 27, Pastrana used the same defence in beating Villa against Jose Omega but not good enough as he lost in 24 moves.


Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
             Tia Belau Newspaper
             Page 13
             Volume 17
             March 30-April 05. 2007


 

(476) NEDIC GAINING GROUND (TBN-March 16-22, 2007)

NATIONAL Master Manny Nedic scored another convincing victory to tie Tony Villa at 2nd spot in the 5th round of 2007 Palau National Chess Championship held on Sunday, March 11 at Jean's Boutique and Store.

Nedic prevailed in 35 moves of Caro-Kahn Defence in the only game of the day.

The other games are blitz chess competiton between Nedic, Cyril Montel, Jr., Roberto Hernandez, venue host Gene Pastrana and Koror State Legal Counsel Craig Dittrich.

Eventually, Nedic also won the competition when he swept Hernandez in their 2nd round match that made the remaining games no bearing.

Jess Toldoya, the Vice President of The Filipino Community in Palau (TFCP) informed the players and organizers that TFCP is planning to sponsor the next tournament.

It will be a Swiss system format so that the tourney will be finished on time before the 2nd Ambassador Marino Cup, which will be going to be international as more foreign players will be invited.

Toldoya is also asking the chess community around the world to pray for the quick recovery of Florencio Campomanes, who had a car accident while in Turkey.

Campomanes, the former President of International Chess Federation (FIDE) for 14 years, visited Palau last May 11-14, 2006 and donated $600.00, 20 chessboards and 5 chess clocks to Palau Chess Federation and Knights and Rooks Chess Club.

Indonesian ILHAM MINTARAGA, a new staff of Tia Belau, will join the ongoing chess tournament this Sunday and will try his mettle against Palau's best chess players.

His initial rating will start at 1500 and will improve depending on his performance.

The ongoing tournament may be reduced to single round-robin instead of double round-robin to give more time for TFCP to organize an exciting chess tilt with big prizes like round-trip ticket from Palau to Manila, cash prizes and trophies.

Interested players can still catch up with the current tournament if they will play at least 2 games per week.

Please call Roberto Hernandez at 488-3694 or Gene Pastrana at 488-4640 for more information.



Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 13
Volume 17
March 16-22, 2007

(475) AZANA UPSETS MONTEL (TBN-March 09-15, 2007)

In the only game of the day March 04, 7th seed Joel Azana nipped 3rd seed Cyril Montel, Jr. in 42 moves of King's Indian Defence to keep the lead after 5 rounds of the 2007 Palau National Chess Championship held at Jean's Boutique and Store.

A dubious capture of Montel on the 37th move left his king without a major defender and Azana combined the power of his major artillery (rook and queen) to force mate 4 moves later.

Azana now has 3.5 points from 3 wins, a loss and a draw. Montel, Jr. dropped to 0-1-1.

In a special game held on Saturday, March 03, top seed Tony Villa spoiled Jose Omega's first game of the year with a masterful handling of Petroff Defence and prevailed with the black pieces after 55 moves of quality chess match.

Villa is now is solo 2nd spot with an unblemished 3-0-0 slate. At 3rd is the absent Koror State Legal Counsel Craig Dittrich at 2-2-0 followed by National Master Manny Nedic (1-0-2).

Fourth seed Roberto Hernandez is 1-1-0, venue host Gene Pastrana (1-2-0) had won his first game against newcomer Emmie Buyacao (0-2-0) and Montel, Jr. is still winless in 2 games.

Another 6-player blitz chess competition was held and Villa add another feather in his cap by winning 4 in a row blitz contest.

Omega and Nedic didn't finish all their games due to commitments and all their remainig games were declared draws.

Other players who participated were Hernandez, Montel, Jr., and Pastrana.



Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
March 09-15, 2007

(474) ODDS FOR JUNIOR PLAYERS (TBN-May 20, 2013)

STARTING THEM YOUNG -- The Next Wesly So
Remrel Dizon, left, teaches a young boy the fundamental of chess while Baby Edna 'Bheng' Mission and Jon Manuel 'Sib' Reyes are watching. Tito Cabunagan is practicing with an unknown opponent after losing the 2013 Rapid Chess title to Roberto Hernandez in April 28, 2013 final game. Kids who learned chess at early age have become the seasoned masters of today like GM Wesly So of the Philippines, who is now no. 48 in the world. (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)



ODDS FOR JUNIOR PLAYERS

THE 2013 PALAU Blitz Chess Championship will have an odd for junior players when playing against women players. Their division was combined and it is suggested that the juniors will have 10 minutes + 3 seconds increment against women players and 5 minutes + 3 seconds increment only for women players.

The women players are top seed Angie Parrado, Baby Edna ‘Bheng’ Mission, Gladys Paloma and Joy Flores Whipps. The junior players are 2013 Rapid chess champion (Junior division) Cyrelle Ann Montel, 1^st runner-up Ksau Anthony Whipps, Zachery Techall Whipps, George Anzawa, Angelil and Destiny Sisior.

In the Open (or Men’s) Division, drawing of players will be done before the start of the first game. The players are Roberto Hernandez, Tito Cabunagan, Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr., Paquito Suringa, Jr., Dennis Gonzales, Jeff Balbalosa, Miguel Hilario, Jr., Rafael Paloma, Eugene Labarda, Eugenio Pastrana, Manuel Mahor, Jr., Mohammad Manik Hossain, Remrel Dizon, Nilo de Jesus, Jaime dela Cruz, Glen Navarosa and Gonzalo Escapatoria.

First time competitors are welcome to register and compete right away in this double round-robin event where the time control is 5 minutes + 3 seconds increment for each player to finish the game. This time control is so fast that a player can play 10 matches in 1 hour.

Some chess players who are also basketball players can take a short rest from their basketball game to play a couple of official blitz game.

Dennis Gonzales confirmed his participation and will get his National Arbiter License from FIDE to be given to him by Roberto Hernandez, who also got his National Arbiter License together with Palau’s first titled player Candidate Master Bernardo Garcia of Palau Pacific Resort.

CM Garcia is not participating in this blitz tournament so Roberto will be the chief arbiter and Dennis will be the deputy arbiter in this ongoing tournament.

The players’ numbers have been drawn and it is as follows: 1. Tito Cabunagan 2. Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr., Miguel Hilario, Jr., 4. Gene Pastrana 5. Roberto Hernandez 6. Paquito Suringa, Jr., 7. Jojo Escapatoria 8. James dela Cruz 9. Nilo de Jesus 10. Eugene Labarda 11. Jun Mahor 12. Glen Navarosa 13. Dennis Gonzales 14. Jose Celiz 15. Mohammad Manik Hossain 16. Remrel Dizon 17. Jeff Balbalosa 18. Rafael Paloma.

The first game was between Dennis and Nilo which ended in a draw; Cyril won over Remrel; Roberto beats Tito; Tito lost another one to Dennis; Nilo upsets Roberto in their first game but Roberto bounced back to win their 2^ndgame. During their first game, Tito, in rushing to play the pieces, scrambled one of Cyril’s pawn and put it back to the wrong square. Roberto decided to have them play another game. Jose swept Nilo while Cyril and Tito played their 2^nd game after Tito prevailed in their first match. This time Cyril prevails.

Paquito came and he played his first game vs. Jose while Nilo is white against Tito as of press time.

No women and juniors came to play.

Solution to last week’s puzzle: 1. Qxf7+!! Kxf7 2. Bc4+ Qd5 3. Bxd5 mate.

This week’s puzzle: White to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)

Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 9 & 11
Volume 22
Issue 40
May 20, 2013

(473) MUSIC AND ME (May 16, 2013) Maricar Genova --GREENER PASTURE

GREENER PASTURE
Maricar Genova left Palau for good last month seeking greener pasture to Canada. She is the Supervisor of Waves Restaurant of Palau Royal Resort. (Photos by Roberto Hernandez)



When Roberto Hernandez started playing piano at Palau Royal Resort in June 01, 2007, he didn't know that Maricar Genova is just a few days ahead of him working at PRR.

He just learned about it when these photos were taken as a souvenir for working together in more than 6 years.

Maricar will try her luck in Canada, where some workers of PRR have found better paying jobs there like Edgar dela Rosa and Felix Lapitan, the Gardening Supervisor who is also a member of Palau Chess Federation.

Lapitan participated in the 2005-2006 Rapid Chess tournament where he led the 28 other players in the first 7 rounds of the double round-robin event.

Former PRR Food & Beverage Manager Allan Tuppil also seeked greener pasture -- in Vietnam this time. He became the GM of Bhaya Cruise.

An interesting chain of event happen when he took a 2-month vacation and helped Edgar Cayanan, who replaced his position at PRR, to replace him again this time in Vietnam.

When Edgar arrived there, Allan found another greener pasture but still in Vietnam-- as GM of a smaller hotel.

When "Pinoy Chessers Thrive in Palau" was published in "The International Filipino" monthly magazine, a separate story of Allan Tuppil's venture in Vietnam was also featured in the same magazine.

Hernandez became a monthly contributor in The International Filipino, being headed by Windsor John Genova (not related to Maricar), who has been a reporter of Tia Belau Newspaper in 2004.

A few months ago, Edgar Cayanan asked Hernandez to look for musicians in Philippines -- a keyboard player and 2 lady singers, to play in Bhaya Cruise for one year.

Hernandez found only a guitarist and 2 lady singers which Edgar found too late and maybe got what he needs when he personally go to Philippines to audition them.

Edgar can play bass and accoustic guitar, drums, piano and knows a lot of international songs. His favorite songs that he used to request to Hernandez are "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick and Friends; "Ebony And Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder; "Hotel California" by Eagles in which one time he plays the accompaniment on the piano and Hernandez played the adlib to the amazement of a security personnel, who can't believe that a person can have so much talents.

Edgar is one of Hernandez' choice of his dream to form a senior band that all members can play at least 4 different musical instruments. For every song that they will play, they will change the instruments that they are playing with the quality of their music not affected.

AND EVERY MEMBER CAN SING -- 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD VOICES FOR HARMONY! That's showcasing talents!



Source: Chess and Music -- Perfect Combination
(The Beginning Of Chess In Palau)
History of Chess In Palau
(To be published as a book in the future)

(472) NEDIC, VILLA STILL UNBEATEN (TBN-March 02-08, 2007)

TOP seed Tony Villa drubbed Koror State Legal Counsel Craig Dittrich in 60 moves of Queen's Gambit Declined to keep pace with National Master Manny Nedic who trounced 4th seed Roberto Hernandez in 32 moves of Sicilian Defence in the 4th round of chess tournament held Sunday, February 25 at Jean's Boutique and Store.

Absent Joel Azana kept the lead with 2.5 points from 2 wins, a loss and a draw with Nedic 2 weeks ago.

Villa had 2 points while Nedic got his 2 points from a win and 2 draws in his first 2 games.

Dittrich is currently in 4th spot as he split his 4 games (2 wins and 2 losses).

Hernandez is 1-1, 2nd seed Cyril Montel, Jr. had half point. Emmie Buyacao is 0-1 and venue host Gene Pastrana is still winless in 2 games at 0-2.

A blitz chess competition was held after the completion of regular games. The players were Villa, Nedic, Hernandez, Pastrana and Dittrich.

Villa gave a 5-minute odds against everybody who had 10 minutes to his 5. Still, he didn't lose by time forfeit and swept his opponents in the first round of the double round-robin event.

When the tourney was more than halfway, Palau's top player Menandro Manuel joined the tilt.

He lost his first game to Hernandez but won the next 7 games. When Hernandez dealt Villa his 2nd loss, the last 3 games of Manuel is crucial in tying Villa for the title and cash.

He needs to win 2 games against Pastrana and one game against Hernandez.

He defeated Pastrana twice and the title game was set.

Manuel missed the winning line in the endgame and Villa claimed his 3rd blitz title in a row.

FINAL STANDINGS OF PLAYERS AND THEIR WIN-LOSS-DRAW RECORD:
1. Villa (8-2-0) 2. Hernandez (7-3-0) 3. Manuel (7-3-0) 4. Nedic (2-5-3) 5. Pastrana (2-7-1) 6. Dittrich (1-7-2).



Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
March 02-08, 2007

(471) MASTER OF BLITZ CHESS (TBN-Feb. 23-March 01, 2007)

TONY Villa is not even one year in Palau but he has almost unbeatable in all blitz chess tournaments that he participated.

The most impressive was his last two outings where he swept the opposition like a storm.

Maybe the absence of Palau's top player Menandro Manuel and his nemesis Edwin Eti have somehow boosted his chances of winning undefeated.

Eti was the only player that swept Villa in a double round-robin blitz tilt.

With Eti not in Palau anymore, a true contender to Villa's blitz supremacy is yet to come.

And with Manuel skipping the current tournament, Villa will rule chess in Palau in blitz, rapid or regular time control.

Top seed Jose Omega confirmed his participation in the ongoing tournament.

He arrived early but didn't play a single tournament game and just practiced blitz chess with Villa and 3rd seed Roberto Hernandez.

He refused to join the 5-player blitz chess contest as he is working without day off.

Not a single game was played in the regular tournament and National Master Manny Nedic finished 2nd to Villa after sweeping Hernandez, venue host Gene Pastrana and Joel Azana.

Pastrana's constant practices paid off as he swept Hernandez for 2 consecutive weeks.

Villa was asked if he has financial capacity to represent Palau in the Oceania Zonal Chess Championship in Fiji on May 5-12, 2007.

He is not and now the only chance to send at least one player lies on the decision of Palauan bet Morton Sawaichi, who is inactive in competitive chess for about a year.


Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
February 23-March 01, 2007

(470) TOUGH NUT TO CRACK (TBN-Feb. 16-22, 2007)

SIXTH seed Joel Azana showed a lot of improvements to his play as he halved the point with Palau's first National Master Manny Nedic in the 3rd round of the 2007 Chess Championship that will determine Palau's representative to Oceania Zonal Chess Championship in Fiji on May 5-12, 2007.

The draw was agreed after 73 moves of Modern Defence in a game that lasted almost 3 hours and held on Sunday, February 11 at Jean's Boutique and Store.

Azana lost his first game to top seed Tony Villa in a drawn endgame when he maneuvered his king on the wrong side of the board.

He bounced back from defeat and score 2 wins in a row over Koror State Legal Counsel Craig Dittrich and venue host Gene Pastrana.

With a tough draw in his last game, he kept the lead in the standings.

Dittrich also showed a lot of improvements in a time control that fits his style of play.

He is one hour behind and had a few minutes left on his clock when he found all the right moves and forced Pastrana to resign.

Both players stopped annotating their game in the latter part of the game and the exact number of moves can be traced later.

It was Dittrich first win against a rated opponent. His starting rating of 1500 will increase by 30 points if he beats a player with 350 or more that his.

His victory over fellow newcomer Emmie Buyacao 2 weeks ago will earned him 15 points.

Palau's top player Menandro Manuel showed up in the tournament site and he informed the players that he is skipping this tournament to concentrate in a more physical sports like tennis.

He will participate only in blitz chess tourneys that didn't proceed as the Nedic-Azana match took long to cancel the blitz tilt.

Second seed Roberto Hernandez left at 5pm to play piano at Palau Royal Resort in their 5-day Valentine's Special and accepts performances anywhere with permission from his employer Yuriko Irikedamoto.

Dennis Gonzales is back in Palau and showed interest to participate in the ongoing tourney.

He must play at least 2 games to catch up.


Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
February 16-22, 2007

(469) DITTRICH SCORES; AZANA SOLO LEADER (TBN-Feb. 09-15, 2007)

KOROR State Legal Counsel Craig Dittrich survived a poor opening play and lost his queen for a knight.

He slowly recovered and despite his material disadvantage, his accurate play gained him momentum to score his first win in a regular time control that fits his style of play.

He defeated newcomer Emmie Buyacao in 37 moves of a Queen's Pawn Game when Buyacao's time expired.

Earlier in the afternoon, Dittrich lost to 4th seed Roberto Hernandez in 20 moves of Dutch Defence.

Hernandez won the exchange on the 9th move ( a rook and a pawn for a bishop).

He trapped another piece on the 16th move and Dittrich resign 4 moves later.

He almost did the same thing to Buyacao after losing his queen. Realizing that Buyacao is not a strong player, he resumed to play with fighting spirit and gained confidence with a victory in a match delayed for a few minutes by rain.

Third seed Cyril Montel, Jr. and Palau's first National Master Manny Nedic drew their game in 32 moves of Center Counter with an innovation from Montel, Jr. in the 5th move that prevented Nedic to castle.

But in the end, with bishop of opposite color, a draw was imminent.

And in the last game of the day, Joel Azana took the early lead with a masterful handling of black pieces to beat venue host Gene Pastrana in 44 moves of Irregular Opening.

A 4-player blitz chess tourney was held after the regular games and blitz expert Tony Villa scored a perfect 6/6 over Pastrana, Montel, Jr. and Hernandez.

Palau's top player NM Menandro Manuel is taking a break from competitive chess and is now concentrating in tennis.

Number 2 Jose Omega has not confirmed to participate in the ongoing chess tourney. The long time control is in conflict with his schedule.


Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
February 09-15, 2007

(468) MUSIC AND ME (May 09, 2013) Blue Fin Tuna Festival

RARE AND EXPENSIVE BLUE FIN TUNA

The head of this blue fin tuna was on display during the Blue Fin Tuna

Festival at Palau Royal Resort's Waves Restaurant.

(Photo by Jovelyn Rodriguez)

Palau Royal Resort and Sea Passion Hotel bought a big blue fin tuna and they split it with PRR getting 151 kilos of it worth $25.00 per kilo for a total of $3,775.00.

Intentionally, PRR bought the part of tuna with the head so that they can display it during their promotion of Blue Fin Tuna Festival.

For more than a week, the head is displayed for at least 5 hours everyday. In its 4th or 5th day, it begun to stinks. When customers started to complain about the smell, the cooks wrapped the head with cling film.

PRR bought another smaller blue fin tuna (whole) for a cheaper $10.00 per kilo. The head is now being displayed till May 11 (Sat.).

While in the rest room, Mr. Taiku of Belau Tours and me had a short conversation about blue fin tuna. He said he had blue fin tuna sashimi that night at PRR and it's really good.

He also mentioned that in Japan, a whole blue fin tuna costs at about $15,000.00.

(467) VILLA OUTWITS AZANA (TBN-Feb. 02-08, 2007)

THE FIRST chess tournament of 2007 finally started last Sunday, January 28 with only one division due to low turnout of players in the unrated division.

Rey Lapuz, the Christmas blitz chess festival champion, showed up early in the morning and played blitz chess with Tony Villa.

He was offered a job in Dubai and will be leaving in March. He will not participate in the current tournament that will last till April.

The organizers decided to have only one division with the same time format of 90 minutes for each player to finish the game with 20 seconds increment per move. It will be a double round-robin event.

The first game was played between Villa and the combacking Joel Azana, who didn't finish his last remaining games of 2006 Rapid Chess tournament.

With the position equal with rook and pawns ending, Azana missed a drawing line move that will have his king opposing his opponent's king.

The last tricky move that he played was countered by Villa to avoid stalemate.

The game lasted 66 moves of a Modern Defence with Azana having only 3 minutes left in his clock.

The 2nd game featured Azana and Koror State Legal Counsel Craig Dittrich.

The waiting game was equal till the 23rd move when Dittrich blundered away his bishop and through simplification, Azana scored his first win when Dittrich resigned to stop the agony of continuing to play a hopeless position.

All players are requested to annotate their game in whatever notations they choose.

Dittrich wrote his moves in English or descriptive notation while everybody else is doing it in Algebraic notation which is internationally being used.

Anselmo Idol practiced writing chess notations while playing a practice game with Roberto Hernandez.

It slows down Idol's game but he still plays good till the end of the unfinished practice game.

The tournament is still open to those who would like to catch up and they have to play at least 2 games and come at 1 pm.


Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
February 02-08, 2007

(466) PCF 2013 BLITZ CHESS TILT ON MAY 12-JUNE 16 (TBN-May 13, 2013)

ACTIVE AGAIN
Gene Pastrana, 2nd from right, is active again in competitive chess when he joined the 2013 Rapid Chess tournament in the last few weeks. He almost made it to the semifinals had he defeated Mohammad Manik Hossain, 2nd from left, and top seed Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. in his last 2 games. He is joining the 1-month blitz chess tilt on May 12- June 16 and will try again to regain his top form. Tito Cabunagan, right, is the top seed in this event while James dela Cruz, left, will try to improve his game in the format. Photo by Roberto Hernandez)

AS PER Palau Chess Federation’s 2013 Calendar of Events, the 2013 Blitz Chess Tournament will start on May 12 and will conclude on June 16 at Bethlehem Park every Sunday starting at 2:00 pm

Drawing of players’ numbers will be done before the start of the event. In the Open division, the contestants are Roberto Hernandez, Tito Cabunagan, Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr., Paquito Suringa, Jr., Dennis Gonzales, Jeffrey Balbalosa, Miguel Hilario, Jr., Rafael Paloma, Eugene Labarda, Eugenio Pastrana, Jose Celiz, Manuel Mahor, Jr., Remrel Dizon, Mohammad Manik Hossain, Nilo de Jesus, Jaime dela Cruz, Glen Navarosa and Gonzalo Escapatoria.

Other interested players are requested to register to Roberto Hernandez at mobile no. 778-5392 or during the ongoing tournament. Registration fee is only $5.00 to be given as prizes to the top 4 finishers.

The women’s and juniors divisions will be combined between Angie Parrado, Baby Edna‘Bheng’ Mission, Gladys Paloma, Joy Flores Whipps, Cyrelle Ann Montel, Ksau Anthony Whipps, Zachery Techall Whipps, George Anzawa, Angelil and Destiny Sisior.

The tournament is a double round-robin event in both divisions with a time control of 5 minutes + 3 seconds increment to finish the game.

This is a FIDE rated event. All players with standard ratings already will start with their standard rating.

Touch move rules will be applied. The FIDE Laws of Chess will be displayed at tournament site for referral in case of protest.

Roberto Hernandez, Bernardo Garcia and Dennis Gonzales will act as Arbiters after they acquired their National Arbiters License from FIDE a week ago. Bernard is not participating so Roberto will be the chief arbiter and Dennis will be the deputy arbiter.

Mission and Nilo de Jesus borrowed chess materials/book/by the book openings/miniature games from Roberto to improve their games as preparation for this upcoming tournament and to 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway in Aug. 01-14, 2014.

De Jesus will finally have more time to compete after his hectic schedule in the last few months is over. He is leading the standings of the 2012 Palau National Chess Championship (Class B) with 8 straight wins and suffered his first loss to Angie Parrado and somehow lost his ‘appetite’ by being beaten by Palau’s top women player in the 9^th round.

The results and cross table of the 2013 Rapid Chess have been submitted to Palau’s Rating Officer Jamie Kenmure of Australia and the rapid ratings of the participants will be published at www.fide.com in June.

Solution to last week’s puzzle: 1. Ng6+ Kh7 2. Rxg7+!! Rxg7 3. Rh8 mate.

Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez

Tia Belau Newspaper

Pages 9 & 11

Volume 22

Issue 38

May 13, 2013

(465) ASSASINATION ATTEMPT ON FORMER PCF CHAIRMAN

SAME SPOT, LESS THAN A YEAR LATER
Francis 'Sno' Temaungil, middle, sits in the same spot where he was shot point blank by an air gun by a teen-age Palauan boy. Roberto Hernandez was the lone witness when he saw the window of a car go down, the boy sitting at the back of the car pointed the air gun to Sno and fired one shot hitting Sno's nape. The window goes up and the car sped away. (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)



I will never forget that date -- May 14, 2006.

Former FIDE President and the Honorary Lifetime President of World Chess Federation (FIDE) Florencio Campomanes visited Palau in May 11-14, 2006.

He checked in at Palau Royal Resort and in the morning of his first day in Palau, Roberto Hernandez, Gene Pastrana, Francis 'Sno' Temaungil and Palau Horizon reporter Nazario 'Jun' Rodriguez visited him at the lobby.

After some chess talks at the lobby, we proceed to the Philippine Embassy to have a courtesy call with Philippine Ambassador to Palau Ramoncito Marino.

On the day of his departure back to Philippines, Campomanes organized a blitz chess tourney in which he is the top seed and participated in by the top 7 players of Palau -- Menandro Manuel, Manny Nedic, Roberto Hernandez, Cyril Montel, Jr., Gene Pastrana, Jimmy Valenzuela and Jess Toldoya.

That will be after the regular games of 2006 Palau National Chess Championship

where Sno is one of the participant.

A lot of games are ongoing with Sno playing with his back on the main road. It's about 7:00 pm at that time and I'm watching the games from the sideline.

There's a little bit of traffic when a black car slowed down. The passenger side window open up, a young Palauan boy put out his air gun and pointed it to Sno and fired it at point blank - about 2 feet.

Nobody heard the shot as it is noisy with car engines and other street noises. The shot hit Sno's nape. HE STILL CONTINUES PLAYING.

The pellet of the airgun is just like a mosquito bite to him. I saw him touch the part where the pellet hit him and he wipes the blood.

When he noticed that there's some blood and not blood from dead mosquitoes, he stopped playing and when he realized that he was shot by an air gun, he go to his sports car and bring himself to the hospital.

I told Campomanes what happened to Sno and he's worried and ask somebody to follow him to the hospital to see how's he doing.

Everything is okay with Sno absorbing the impact of an air gun. It's good that firearms is not a common sight in Palau. If Sno was shot by even a small caliber handgun at that range, he will not survive that even if he is a Vietnam war veteran.

The blitz chess tourney proceeded as planned with Campomanes showing his superiority among inexperienced Palau players. He swept the field like a tornado with only Manny Nedic able to draw with him.

NOTHING HAS BEEN PUBLISHED ABOUT THIS INCIDENT. NOT EVEN IN MY "CHESSMATE" COLUMN.

IT'S BEEN KEPT A SECRET FOR 7 YEARS... UNTIL NOW. IT WILL BE EXACTLY 7 YEARS ON MAY 14, 2013.

IT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE THAT THIS 500TH POSTS OF "PALAU CHESS" IS SOMETHING SPECIAL, MEMORABLE, MIND BOGGLING AND EXCLUSIVE!!!

Source:

Chess and Music: Perfect Combination

The Beginning of Chess In Palau

To Be Published As A Book In The Future

(464) SCHEDULE CONFLICT )TBN-Jan. 26-Feb. 01, 2007)

THE FIRST round of the rated and unrated tournament didn't proceed as planned because of conflicting schedules of at least 8 players --Rey Lapuz, Emmie Buyacao, Anselmo Idol and Craig Dittrich in the unrated division.

Lapuz and Buyacao came in the morning while Dittrich was waiting early in the afternoon.

When he left, Idol came in the afternoon and no single game was played.

In the rated division, Tony Villa and Cyril Montel, Jr. came early in the afternoon but left after an hour and came back late in the afternoon.

Second seed Jose Omega showed up for a few minutes and didn't play a game as his schedule for this week is tight.

National Master (NM) Manny Nedic came in late also and practiced blitz chess with Villa while waiting for other players to come.

Fourth seed Roberto Hernandez came in at 2:00 pm and played blitz chess with Dittrich, who defeated venue host Gene Pastrana twice and scored his 3rd win over Hernandez.

Top seed Menandro 'Boy' Manuel didn't show up also as well as the other 3 rated players while 12-year-old Dmitri Villanueva, the youngest contestant, didn't make it likewise.

Dittrich cited that the $20.00 registration fee might have been one of the reasons for the low turnout of players.

If next week's schedule continues, there will be no separate divisions of players and the registration may be reduced to $10.00 or $15.00.

The prospect of sending at least 2 chess players to Fiji for the Oceania Zonal Chess Championship looks dim as players are not financially capable of producing $2,000.00 for airfare/accomodation just to represent Palau in the biennial event to be held from May 5-12, 2007.


Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
January 26-February 01, 2007

(463) LET THE GAME BEGIN! (TBN-Jan. 17-23, 2007)

THE FOLLOWING is the format of the first chess tournament of 2007-- the rated and unrated qualification chess tourney for the slot to represent Palau in Oceania Zonal Chess Championship in Fiji on May 5-12, 2007.

1. The tournament will be a double round-robin in both divisions. In case that there are 15 or more players in the unrated division, it will become a single round-robin event.

2. The time control for both divisions is 90 minutes for each player to finish the game with 20 seconds increment per move. It means that every time a player moves and presses his clock, an additional 20 seconds will be added to his time.

3. Writing chess notation is mandatory either in Algebraic, English or descriptive nototation. Players will be given score sheet to be signed by both players after the conclusion of their game and submit the score sheets to arbiter Jess Toldoya or Roberto Hernandez. Protest may be referred to the arbiters.

4. The tournament venue is Jean's Boutique and Store premises. Playing day is Sunday at 1:00-6:00 pm. Some games may last longer depending on the schedule of players.

5. Touch move rules will be applied. Once a piece is touched, it must be moved so players are advised to analyze the moves with their minds and not with their hands.

6. Registration fee is $20.00. Half of it will be the cash prizes of the top finishers and the other half for support to the expenses of Palau's representativie to Fiji or for Palau's payment of membership to World Chess Federation (FIDE).

7. No tiebreak will be used to break the tie. Instead, the players will play one sudden-death game or just split the cash.

Registration is still going on. Please contact Roberto Hernandez at tel. no. 488-3694 or Gene Pastrana at 488-4640 for more details and information.

The unrated division is also open for kids and women chess players.




Source:
Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 11
Volume 17
January 17-23, 2007