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by Marlon Bernardino
FM Alekhine Fabiosa Nouri and Jerick Faeldonia ruled the Manny Pacquiao and Buena Viel Construction Chess Cup held over the Nov. 5-6 weekend at Robinsons Place in Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines.

Nouri topped the Open blitz event while Faeldonia captured the title in the Under 16 Rapid Chess Tournament.

Photo shows Buena Viel Construction top official Engr. Jojo Buenaventura, FM Alekhine Fabiosa Nouri (Champion in the Open blitz event) and Maharlika Pilipinas Chess League (MPCL) president International Master Hamed Nouri.

Nouri finished the Open blitz event with 8.5 points while NM Jasper Faeldonia trailed closely at second place with 8.0 points.

IM Joel Pimentel rounded off the top three with 7.5 points followed by Jonathan Jota also with 7.5 points.
Pimentel and Jota’s final ranking were based on their total accumulated tie-break points.

Meanwhile, the 12 years old Jerick Faeldonia ruled the nine-round Swiss system Under 16 Rapid Chess Tournament.

Mindmovers PH CC won the team event with 16 match points followed by second place Romblon Chess Club with 13 match points.

The two-day championships, organized by Maharlika Pilipinas Chess League (MPCL) led by its president International Master Hamed Nouri presented by Buena Viel Construction top official Engr. Jojo Buenaventura is considered as the biggest tournament to be held in Bicol in recent years.

“This is just the beginning. We hope to organize more tournaments through the MPCL and Buena Viel Construction,” said Buenaventura, also the team owner of PCAP member Camarines Soaring Eagles.-

 

Dhafer Al Madhloum was re-elected president of the Iraq Chess Federation in elections held 9th November 2022 in Baghdad, Iraq. Attending were 64 out of 67 members of the General Assembly. Observers at the elections were Mr. Ahmed Hussein   Representative of Ministry of Youth & Sports, Mr. Ali Naeem Al Badri Representative of NOC Iraq and Mr. Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, Executive Board member of the Asian Chess Federation.

Newly elected Board Members are:

 

In photo above are, seated from left: Hossein Ali Hadi election committee, Ahmed Hassan from Youth & Sport Ministry. Asian Chess Federation Executive Board Member Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh of Iran, Ali Adman Younes chairman of election committee, Salah Mehdi Abdullah vice chairman of election committee, Nazar Mohsen member of election committee and Ali Naeem, representative of National Olympic committee.

Standing from left are newly elected members of Iraq Chess Federation: Basem Jabarah, Yousef Yasin, Sendes Mohsen, Asaad Esmaeel, Farnham Naseer, first Vice President; Dhafer Al Madloom, President; Abdolhadi Maftool, second Vice President, Hossein Kazem and Bishtvan Ahmed.

 

The Sultana Kamal 40th National Women’s ‘B’ Chess Championship-2022, under the financial sponsorship by Abul Khair Group and organised by Bangladesh Chess Federation, began from 7th November at the Chess Federation Hall-Room, 2nd floor of the old building of National Sports Council.

A total of 74 Women and girls from Dhaka city and other districts are participating in the event.

The inauguration ceremony of the event was held before the start of the games. Mrs. Anjuman Ara Aksir, Executive Member & Chairman of Women’s Committee of Bangladesh Chess Federation inaugurated the event.

Executive Member of Bangladesh Chess Federation & International Organiser Mahmuda Hoque Chowdhury Moly and IA Md Haroon Or Rashid gave speeches in the ceremony.

The competition is being held in an 8-round Swiss-League format. The top 8 players will get a chance to participate in the Bangamata Sheikh Fojilatunnesa Mujib 40th Women’s Chess Championship.

Defending champion WCM Jannatul Ferdous and runner-up female WCM Ahmed Walijah and two Women International Masters Rani Hamid and Sharmin Sultana Shirin will get a chance to play directly.

Nineteen players are sharing the lead in the points table with maximum 2 points each after 2nd round games of the Sultana Kamal 40th National Women’s ‘B’ Chess Championship-2022.

Asian Chess Federation General Secretary Hisham Al Taher and Deputy President Bharat Singh led celebrations for the 32nd Anniversary of the Asian Chess Federation on 3rd November 2022 in New Delhi, India. Top seeds of the ongoing Asian Continental, GM R. Praggnanandhaa and IM Tania Sachdev joined in the cake cutting.

Watch video of Asian Chess Federation Anniversary Celebration in New Delhi, India.

by Marlon Bernardino
Filipino FIDE Master Jose Efren Bagamasbad won the 65-and-over title crown for a Grandmaster norm and an outright International Master title at the 2022 Asian Seniors Championships held October 15 to 21 at the Auckland Rose Park Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand. The event was organized by the New Zealand Chess Federation under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE. In photo above are GM Murray Chandler of New Zealand (left) and Bagamasbad.

Still an active tournament player at 66, Bagamasbad emerged unscathed with 6 wins and 3 draws for 7.5 points for the 65-and-over division crown plus the coveted gold medal.

“I’m very happy to win again, especially in an international tournament like this Asian Seniors with One Grandmaster norm and an outright International Master title. Bagamasbad pocketed the top prize of $350 plus qualification to the 2023 World Seniors Chess Championships.

Miles Patterson of Australia finished with 7.0 points for the silver medal plus IM norms while FIDE Master Robert W Smith of New Zealand wound up third with 6.5 points for the bronze.

Meanwhile, International Master Gary Lane of Australia dominated the 50-and-over division crown with 8.0 points in nine outings.  He also got a Grandmaster norms for his effort aside the gold medal.

Another Filipino entry and Singapore based FIDE Master Arlan Cabe came second with 7.0 points for the silver plus International Master norm.

FIDE Master Alexei Kulashko of New Zealand settled for third with 6.0 points for the bronze medal.

Woman Fide Master Vivian Smith of New Zealand (in the over-65 category) and Candidate Master Helen Milligan of New Zealand (50-and-over) won the top Woman awards, respectively.

Efren Bagamsbad (left) at the last round of the Asian Seniors.

Report by Bob Gibbons, Chief Arbter

The Asian Seniors Championships for players over 50 years old and players over 65 years old were held
in the Gladstone room of the RosePark Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand from October 15th to
October 21st 2022.

The Chief Arbiter for the over 50 event was IA Robert Gibbons and for the over 65 event it was IA
Ying Wang. The organizer was IO Paul Spiller.

The over 50 event attracted a field of 27 people from five federations and the over 65 event had a
field of 18 players also from five federations.

Details of the participants and pairings can be found from the following links:
https://www.newzealandchess.co.nz/tournaments/misc/2022/Asian%20Seniors/wwwAsian%20Seni
ors%20Over%2050/
http://www.newzealandchess.co.nz/tournaments/misc/2022/Asian%20Seniors/wwwAsian%20Senio
rs%20Over%2065/

The Chief Arbiter in the 50+ event was IA Robert Gibbons and the Chief Arbiter in the 65+ event was
IA Ying Wang. Each of those acted as the Deputy Chief Arbiter in the corresponding events. Ying also
acted as the Technical Arbiter and managed the liveboards.

Each tournament was a nine round Swiss held over seven days with double rounds on the second
and fourth days. Both events took place in the same room and a water fountain was provided at the
rear of the room. There was only one entrance into the room so that the arbiters were able to
monitor the movements of the players very easily. Electronic boards were used for the first nine
boards in each event which only left four boards in the over 50 section which could not be
monitored from the arbiters table electronically.

A seating area was provided for spectators but this proved unnecessary as at no time were there any
more than two spectators present in the room. There was a reasonable following on the online
boards which were published on the DGT cloud and in lichess.

Because of the presence of COVID in New Zealand sanitizer was provided at both ends of the room
and players were urged to wear masks although that was not mandatory. One player in the over 50
section withdrew before round four as he thought he had a cold but did not test positive for COVID
at that stage. However there were 3 defaults in round 7 as players tested positive and more in round
8. In total 10 players tested positive for COVID during the event and some tested positive later. After
the disruption in round 8 the round nine draw was delayed till the morning of the round. Players
were advised of the likely pairings the night before but it was made clear that this was only a draft
pairing. As it happened there was no further disruption and the draft pairing became the actual
pairing.

Overall and despite the presence of COVID the tournament ran successfully and the arbiters were
pleased with the general running of the event and the conduct of the players.

The winner of the 65 plus event gained the IM title and the runner up gained the FM title. All other
medal place winners in both events did not have a change in title but gained the respective norms
associated with their position.

IA Robert Gibbons / IA Ying Wang

by Marlon Bernardino
MARIKINA CITY—Mark Kevin Gatlabayan outdueled Tristan Jared Cervero in the third round then scored 2.0 points in the last two rounds to capture the Class A- Expert crown while John Luis Rivera made it two-in-row in kiddies play in the Tatay Domeng Santos Invitational Rapid Chess Tournament at Marikina Riverside Gazeebo last Sunday, Nov. 6.

Photo shows Marikina Chess Federation President Johnny “Joel” Gaudia (left) shaking hands with Asia’s First Grandmaster/World Chess Hall of Famer Eugene Torre, before making the ceremonial moves.

Gatlabayan, who vaulted into a share of the lead with Cervero by beating fancied Johnny Muring and Adrian Esteva in the earlier rounds, outwitted Cervero in their crucial encounter then edged sportswriter Joey Villar in the fourth round and Mark Louie Velasco in the fifth and final round to emerge solo champion in the Class A- Expert with perfect five points.

Rivera, who scored 3.0 points in the first three rounds, proved sharper at resumption, sweeping his last two matches against Zeyus Kyle Del Mundo and Rey Albert Cruz to rule the 14-and-under category to match the perfect record of Gatlabayan with 5.0 points.

Other notable winners in this 1-day, 10 minutes plus 3 seconds increment time control format in honor of the oldest living player of the Marikina Chess Community 94 years old Tatay Domeng Santos are Joel Cruz and Publico Bonifacio for the Class B- Intermediate division and Ramon dela Cruz for the Class C- Novice category who also tallied perfect 5.0 points each.

Marikina Chess Federation President Johnny “Joel” Gaudia exhorted the winners and the rest of the participants to strive for more and work hard to further hone their talent and skills during awards rites also graced by Asia’s First Grandmaster/World Chess Hall of Famer Eugene Torre, International Master Chito Garma, National Master Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr. and US based Sir Jessie Villasin.
Chief Arbiter was FIDE Arbiter Rudy Ibanez while Deputy Chief Arbiter was Ranier Pascual assisted by NA Rusfranco Salcedo and CA Rogelio Baccay.

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA— The 6th Eastern Asia (ASEAN) Youth Chess Championship started on Friday, Nov.5 at the Asia Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand organized by the Thailand Chess Association under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE. In photo are heads of delegations with Sahapol Nakvanich, president of host Thailand Chess Association (fourth from left). Vietnam dominated the Rapid chess medal tally with 6 golds.

The chess tournament drew a participation of close to 200 participants of under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years old boys and girls categories from 12 East Asian nations. Visit chess-results.com.

Eight year old Castronuevo (above right), a Grade 3 pupil of Imus Pilot Elementary School in the Philippines, swept all her opponents to score 7 out of 7 and claim the Rapid chess title among under-8 girls. Here are the other medalists.

 

 

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA—International Arbiter James Infiesto ruled the 1st Congressman Alan Dujali Arbiters Tournament 29-30 October 2022 at the Wharf Road, Brgy San Pedro, Panabo City, Davao del Norte.

Infiesto, tied for first to third places with National Arbiter Alfred Moulic and National Arbiter Cecilo Acas at four points apiece. Time control was 3mins + 2 seconds increment. The event was organized by National Arbiter Darwin Bermudez. With the highest tiebreak points, Infiesto took the title, Moulic finished second while Acas settled for third.

Rounding up the top 13 were  Orlando Cequina, Cipriano Magalso, Arlan Labrador, Darwin Bermudez, Homer Rotulo, Roberto Atog, Reynor Cui, Rockey Pagkaliwagan, Jerico Joseph Rotulo and Nissan Villasorda.

Meanwhile, Vince Angelo Medina of Cabuyao City, Laguna, ruled the individual event with 7.0 points.
Also with 7.0 points were 2nd place Grandmaster Darwin Laylo of Tondo, Manila, 3rd place National Master Christian Gian Karlo Arca of Dasmarinas City, Cavite and 4th place FIDE Master Austin Jacob Literatus of Davao City.

Davao Sur Woodpushers bagged the gold medal in the team event. Davao Sur team garnered a total of 10.0 match points while Xignex Solutions earned 8.0 match points for second followed by EWL Team (third), Atong Team-VM Banjong Dujali (fourth) and Nadali Mo (fifth) with similar 8.0 match points.

Davao Sur team was bannered National Master Henry Roger Lopez, Jimmy Dano and Mhelcris Patrimonio.
Chief Arbiter was NA Joseph Palero.

New Delhi (04 Nov 2022):- Top seed Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa R and Woman Grandmaster Nandhidhaa P V became the Asian Champions in the Open and Women’s sections, respectively. In a befitting closing ceremony, Deputy President of Asian Chess Federation Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan and General Secretary Mr. Hisham Al-Taher presented the trophies and cash prizes to the winners.

The Asian Continental Chess Championship was organized by the All India Chess Federation under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE. Visit chess-results.com to download games. Follow us on Twitter Facebook and Instagram .

Praggnanandhaa started the final round with a lead of half a point over nearest contenders and drew his ninth-round encounter with compatriot B Adhiban in 63 moves to emerge as clear champion with seven points.

A six-way tie for the runner up position with six and half points was resolved by tie break score and Harsha Bharathakoti finished ahead of the rest while B Adhian completed the Indian domination with a third-place finish. Narayanan S L, Vokhidov Shamsiddin of Uzbekistan, Sethuraman S P and Karthik Venkataraman satisfied with fourth to seventh finish.

In the women’s category, Nandhidhaa drew her final round game against Divya Deshmukh to take her point tally to seven and half points to win the yellow metal.

Priyanka Nutakki, Divya Deshmukh and Thi Kim Phung Vo of Vietnam finished equal on six and half points but better tie break score helped Priyanka to finish as runner up. Divya finished third and Vo placed fourth.

Meanwhile Grandmaster Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan and Divya Deshmukh became the Asian Blitz champions in the open and women categories respectively.

Chief Arbiter Gopakumar of India (center) with Arbiters in the Asian Continental Chess Championship 25 Oct-4 Nov. in Delhi, India.

The Indian National Under-11 Chess Championship is now being organized by the Haryana State Chess Association under the auspices of the All India Chess Federation at HSV Global School, Gurgaon, Haryana.

During the 7th round, the General Secretary of Asian Chess Federation Mr. Hisham Al-Taher along with Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan, Deputy President of the Asian Chess Federation visited the championship venue and met players and officials. The Secretary of Haryana State Chess Association and Treasurer of All India Chess Federation Shri. Naresh Sharma welcomed Mr. Hisham to the championship.

A total number of 297 players in Open and 131 players in Girls are participating this prestigious Indian National event to select the Indian team for the 2023 edition of World and Asian Youth Chess Championships.

Unlike many other federations, India holds selection tournaments one year ahead with age limit one year below the next year’s event.