(1350) Rustum, Cyril, Roberto--Top 3 Finishers of Lightning/Bullet Chess Tilt (TBN-Feb. 27, 2017)

Palau’s First Certified FIDE Instructor

                    My FIDE Instructor Title/License was renewed during the 2016 World Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan until 2019. I can teach chess to any 182-member countries of FIDE. Angelica Morales Magno, left, is my newest chess student. She’s paying me $5.00 for 30 minutes chess lesson once a week. Sometimes, you have to invest some money for some fields you want to get better. I’m willing to give my students extra minutes/hours if I see potential in them. If I don’t see any, I’ll just frankly and politely say, “Don’t waste my time!”                         (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)

       RUSTUM, CYRIL, ROBERTO ---

                TOP 3 FINISHERS OF

   LIGHTNING/BULLET CHESS TILT 

                 

                 The first chess tournament of the year, which was organized by Palau Chess Federation, fires off last Sunday, Feb. 19, at Bethlehem Park.

                 Sixteen contestants participated with 3 newcomers to speed chess -- Thomas Hayes, Francois Millimono and 22-year-old Angelica Morales Magno, who is my guitar/chess student every Sunday evening.

                 It is supposed to be 7-round Swiss system but I forgot already the set-up of this system in my laptop so Eric Ksau Whipps, the PCF President, decided to make it a round-robin with 1 minute for each player to finish the game + 2 seconds increment. 

                The other contestants are Angelica Parrado-Sisior, Dennis  Gonzales, Destiny Sisior, me, Eric,  Gonzalo ‘Jojo’ Escapatoria,Jr., Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr., Manuel ‘Jun’ Mahor, Jr., Tito Cabunagan, Paquito ‘Pax’ Suringa Jr., Angelo Salvadora, Rustum Cabuso and Angelil Sisior. 

                After 15 rounds of speed chess, Rustum emerged as champion with 13.5 points followed by Cyril with 13, me is 3rd with 12 points. My 3 losses (all by time) are from Rustum, Cyril, and Jojo, who clinched 4th. Rustum’s only lost game was from Jojo and his only draw was with Dennis.

                Tito lost to me by illegal move when he moves his knight from f6 to d5 and landed to f3. I told him it’s illegal and he can’t believe it. It will take 4 moves for a knight at d5 to get to f3 square. Having a watchful eye is one of the aspects of getting better in this fast pace game of chess.

                This event became the busiest 2 hours of my chess career. I have to play 15 games; I have to record the results of every game; some players have played 5 games already and I have played only 2 games; some players are interfering with my recording of results even though they see that I’m very busy writing the results; while I’m still playing, some players recorded their own scores, which helps me a lot; the good thing is—many players are knowledgeable about round-robin system as they can see what color they will be having with specific opponents.  

                 Tito, Paquito and Angelo are tied at 5th-7th but the Direct Encounter (winner-over-the-other) tiebreak was used and they finished in that order. At 8th with 8 points each are Angie and Jun.

                 At 10th is Dennis with 7.5 followed by Destiny with 7. Her oldest sister Angelil is 11th followed by Angel Magno with 5 points with wins over Thomas, Eric, Francois, Paquito and Angelil. 

                Eric has 2 points, Francois with 1.5 and Thomas --.5 It was a very successful event. Everybody had a good time. EVERYBODY IS A WINNER!!!

                The “No Pay, No Play” policy was strictly implemented. Although the registration fee for this event is free, participants must pay their $20.00 one-year membership fee to PCF. Sofronio ‘Pons’ Mahor didn’t make it because he doesn’t have $20.00. Jeff Balbalosa has important appointment to go so he was not able to compete.

                It was revealed by PCF Treasurer Dennis Gonzales that Allan Alcid, the 2^nd place finisher in the just concluded 2016-2017 PNCC, and Jeff didn’t pay their registration fee of $10.00 each even though Dennis is present in the Opening Day of the Top 10 Division clashes, wherein Allan is having the reception of his wedding to Aileen at a nearby Korean Restaurant.

                The awarding of prizes for the 2016-2017 PNCC will be held at Bethlehem Park on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 5pm. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will follow suit at 7pm with PCF President Eric Ksau Whipps preparing food for 30 persons –potato salad, fried chicken, red rice and pancit. I will bring in some fruits.

                Solution to last week’s puzzle No. 4436: 1. …Nxd4++ 2. Kg4 Bc8+ 3. Kh4 Nf3#.

               This week’s puzzle No. 4437: Black to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)

Sources: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez

              Tia Belau Newspaper

              Pages 9-10

              Volume 26

              Issue 15

              February 27, 2017

             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 -- February 27, 2017

            The History of Chess in Palau

            By Roberto Hernandez

            June 09, 2002 -- February 27, 2017   

(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