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by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Woman National Master Jersey Marticio disposed her rated rival while Woman National Master Candidate April Joy Claros split the point on Friday, August 13, 2021, to lead the Philippines’ charge in the fourth round of the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth -Girls 14 and under online chess championship  virtually held at Tornelo Platform.

Marticio, the 14 year old incoming Grade 9 student of Pulo National High School in Cabuyao City, Laguna, checkmated WCM Ashley Pang of the United States of America in 31 moves of of a Sicilian defense, dragon variation while Claros, the 14 year old, incoming Grade 9 student of Far Eastern University, halved the point with WIM Ellen Wang of the USA in 50 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Accepted.

With the win, Marticio raised her total perfect 4 points, good for a tiefor  1st to 3rd places along with Ekaterina Kirdyashkina of Russia and Kelsey Liu of the United States of America.

” I hope to sustain my winning ways,” said Marticio, one of the talented young players of Cabuyao City.

Claros (photo above), the pride of Angeles City, Pampanga, on the other hand, notched 3.5 points , the same output of Saffiah Maisarah Mohd Fadzli of Malaysia, WCM Linh Dan Nguyen of Vietnam, Ngoc Hien Nguyen of Vietnam, Yesun Lee of the USA, WCM Enkhbolor Nyamdavaa of Mongolia, WFM Alexandra Shvedova of Russia, WCM Anika Rajaram of the USA, WIM Ellen Wang of the USA and Emily Maton of England.

” I hope to do well in this prestigious event,” said Claros, a quarter-finalist in last year’s edition.
Marticio’s stint here was made possible by the undying support of Cabuyao City Mayor Mel Gecolea, Cabuyao City Sports Director Jerome Paul Lualhati, Bayanihan sa Cabuyao Executive Director Michael Aranzanso and Cabuyao Chess Committee Chairman & President of Philippine Executive Chess Association Dr. Fred Paez while Claros plays under the guidance of GM Jayson Gonzales and Mr. Jimmy Reyes.

Earlier, Marticio brought down Carol Ndlovu of Zimbabwe in the first round, Kseniya Norman of Belarus in the second round and WCM Veronika Shubenkova of Russia in the third round while Claros subdued Angel-Jordan Quansah of Ghana, Lara Putar of Ireland and WFM Aliett Valdes Boza of Cuba, respectively.

Another Filipino entry Ruelle “Tawing” Canino from Cagayan de Oro City defeated Enkhrii Enkh-Amgalan of Mongolia to scored 3 points and climb to a share of 15th to 40th places in this 155 player’s field World Chess Federation (FIDE) tournament.

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by President/Chairman Rep. Prospero “Butch” Arreza Pichay Jr., is supporting the campaign of the triumvirate Marticio, Claros and Canino as part of its continuing program to train and develop outstanding young players.
Photo shows
Woman National Master Jersey Marticio of Cabuyao City, Laguna (4/4)
Woman National Master Candidate April Joy Claros of Angeles City, Pampanga (3.5/4)

Standings after round 4:
4 points—Jersey Marticio (Philippines), Ekaterina Kirdyashkina (Russia), Kelsey Liu (USA)
3.5 points—Saffiah Maisarah Mohd Fadzli (Malaysia), WCM Linh Dan Nguyen (Vietnam), Ngoc Hien Nguyen (Vietnam), Yesun Lee (USA), April Joy Claros (Philippines), WCM Enkhbolor Nyamdavaa (Mongolia), WFM Alexandra Shvedova (Russia), WCM Anika Rajaram (USA), WIM Ellen Wang (USA), Emily Maton (England)

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Norman Jasper B. Montejo dominated the Samar Day 2021 Chess Rapid Tournament (Over the Board) held last August 7, 2021 at Balay  Samarnon, Catbalogan City Samar.
Montejo scored 5.5 points to rule the 6-round over the board chess tournament and went home with the top prize of P7,000 in this event backed up by Gov. Michael Tan and Congw. Sharee Ann Tan in celebration of Samar Day 2021 in cooperation with Catbalogan City Chess Club  and Sirak Kabataan which attracted Samarnon Players from District 1 and 2.
Tournament Manager was Debbie J. Calades while Officiating Officials were Athaliah Calades, Arianne Rose A. Abalos and Evelyn Fortaliza.

Andres M. Sabio, Arvin Prias, Arzel Serpa Juan, Lanz Paul O. Lapura, Artemio Ocio, Jr., Rafael Sim and Ruel Velarde were tied for 2nd to 8th places with 4.5 points each while Azis Cabib and Dr. Leo Lofranco end up 9th and 10th places with 4 points apiece.

“Samar Province sponsored Rapid Chess Tournament in celebration of Samar Day 2021  Governor Michael Tan and Congw. Sharee Ann Tan  continued all sports activities initiated by his mother governor Mila Tan to sustain and introduce more sports activities which are aligned to strengthen further the youth development thrust of the provincial administration.”said Tournament Manager Debbie J. Calades.

Photo shows Norman Jasper B. Montejo (left) ponder his next moves against Rafael Sim during the final round of the Samar Day 2021 Chess Rapid Tournament (Over the Board) held last August 7, 2021 at Balay  Samarnon, Catbalogan City Samar in this event backed up by Gov. Michael Tan and Congw. Sharee Ann Tan in celebration of Samar Day 2021 in cooperation with Catbalogan City Chess Club  and Sirak Kabataan which attracted Samarnon Players from District 1 and 2.

The Top 10 Winners during the Samar Day 2021 Chess Rapid Tournament
Champion: Norman Jasper B. Montejo 5.5 pts. (P7,000)
2nd Place: Andres M. Sabio 4.5 pts. (P5,000)
3rd Place: Arvin Prias 4.5 pts. (P3,000)
4th Place: Arzel Serpa Juan 4.5 pts. (P2,000)
5th Place: Lanz Paul O. Lapura 4.5 pts. (P2,000)
6th Place: Artemio Ocio, Jr. 4.5 pts. (P2,000)
7th Place: Rafael Sim 4.5 pts. (P2,000)
8th Place: Ruel Velarde 4.5 pts. (P2,000)
9th Place: Azis Cabib 4 pts. (P2,000)
10th Place: Dr. Leo Lofranco 4 pts. (P2,000)

Buto lands in 24th, Arca overall 36, Cu finishes 64th place

FIDE International Organizers Online Seminar

Zoom 28^th to 31^st July 2021

FIDE IO Online Seminar was held on the Zoom from 28^th to 31^st July 2021.

It was organized by the Asian Chess Federation Academy, and under the auspices of FIDE Events Commission.

The opening session was attended by Hisham Al-Taher, Secretary General of the Asian Chess Federation, Solakoglu Ozgur, Chairman of the FIDE Events Commission, Casto Abundo ACF Executive Director, and Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, Secretary of FIDE Rules Commission.

The Lecturer was the FIDE Lecturer IO/IA Mahdi Abdulrahim (UAE) FIDE Rules Commission Chairman. And Chairman of the ACF Arbiters Commission. The seminar was moderated by Hisham Al-Taher, Secretary General of the Asian Chess Federation.

The Language of the Seminar was in Arabic.

Daily lectures were from 16.00-22.00 Dubai Time (+4 GMT).  1^st August 2021 was the seminar examination test (16 Hours +3 Hours Exam)

Thirty-Three (33) participants are registered from Twelve (12) federations, there were from IRI, OMA, IRQ, YEM, KSA, LEB, KUW, EGY, LBA, SOM, SUD, PLE. Twenty-Fife (25) of them passed the examination test which was held after the end of the lectures.

The Seminar will give FIDE IO norm, according to the Regulations for the FIDE Events Commission. after the approval of the next FIDE Council meeting.

North Western Open Event and Sabaragamuwa Women’s event

Rathnayaka D R M R S and Hasandie Clinched the Top

Six players, D R M R S Rathnayka (Maliyadeva College), Lakvindu Nuwarapaksha (Maliadeva College), J M I P B Jayakody (Wickramashila National School), Daksha Hansara Bentharaarachchi (Maliyadeva College), D C B K Senevirathne (Maliyadeva College), and Methsara Wijesinghe (Madurankuliya National School) were able to share the lead of the North-Western Open Event by winning all four games out of possible 4 games. Due to the Tie-brake system, Rathanyaka took the top spot and the other five players are following him with a great attitude to be victorious. Keerthisinghe, M S H Perera, Ranuka Rathnayaka, and W A H K Wijesinghe are the players who were fallen into the net of Rathnayaka. Except for Keerthisinghe, the other three players are still giving a huge fight to clinch the top while keeping three points in their pockets.

Lakvindu Nuwarapaksha       J M I P B Jayakody           Daksha Hansara Bentharaarachchi

Hansadie Aradhya Akuratiya (Pushpadana High School), P Arunodya (Dharmapala Maha Vidyalaya, Ratnapura) and Sasmi Sithumsa (Lyceum International, Ratnapura) shined at the end of the fourth round of the Sabaragamuwa Women’s event. After defeating Gauravi Upunya, E M D B Ekanayake, M D T N Rathnayaka, and Thumeshi Hasandi Gunasena to score full points, Aradhya manage to steal the throne with the advantage of tie-brakes.

P Arunodya

The Novices Division of the Sri Lanka Online Rapid National Chess Championships 2021 is planned to have in 7 regions, Western I (Colombo District), Western II (Gampaha and Kaluthara District), Central Province, Wayamba Province, Southern Province, Sabaragamuwa region (Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces) and Northern Region (Northern, Eastern, and North Central Provinces).

Top 25 players of the North-Western Open event and the Top 16 players of the Sabaragamuwa Women’s event will obtain the license to the appropriate Majors Division Chess Championships to be held from late August 2021.

The Inaugural Sri Lanka Online National Rapid Chess Championship Cycle 2021 consists of 4 stages. The Cycle is started with the Novices events in 7 regions followed by the Major Division Events in the same regions. The Top players will join with the selectees from Major Division events in the National B event. The Top 14 players of the National B will join the current National Chess Champion and the Top rank player in the 15 round, Round Robin event in the 1st stage of the finals while a knocked out of top four players of Round Robin event will be played as 2nd stage of the finals. The same structure will be followed in the Women’s Event as well.

The event details are available at the following links:

https://chess-results.com/tnr572759.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=SRI&snr=3

https://chess-results.com/tnr572760.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=SRI&snr=5

Philippine Master Ivan Travis Cu secures back-to-back wins in Open U12

by Marlon Bernardino

MANILA, Philippines—National Master Ivan Travis Cu of the Philippines scored back-to-back wins after beating Luka Kiladze of Georgia in the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth – Open 12 and under online chess championship  virtually held at Tornelo Platform.
The 12-year-old Cu, a Grade 7 pupil of Xavier School in San Juan City,  triumphed using the black pieces after 34 moves of a Modern Benoni defense in Monday’s 6th round.
Cu improved to a total of 5 points to share 5th to 14th place with Reja Neer Manon of Bangladesh,  Emmanuel Dentchouk of the USA, Rajkhowa Mrinmoy of India, Emir Sharshenbekov of Kyrgyzstan, Yu Tian Poh of Malaysia) Kshatriya Nitin Vekhande of India, Nikolaos Sitsanis of Greece, Leo Lin of Canada and Aliaksandr Hvozdz of Belarus.
Cu earlier brought down Leonid Efimov of Russia with the white pieces after 27 moves of an English Opening in Sunday’s fifth round in the 200-player’s field World Chess Federation (FIDE) Championship.
Jahandar Azadaliyev of Azerbaijan checkmated Dani Tabuenca Mendataurigoitia of Spain after 44 moves of an Old Benoni defense to grab solo leadership with perfect 6 points, a half point ahead with CM  Edgar Mamedov of Kazakhstan, Ern Jie Anderson Ang of Malaysia and AIM Ethan Vaz of India who tote 5.5 points each.

Meanwhile, National Master Al-Basher Buto of the Philippines defeated David Akhmedov in the fifth round then split the point with Francisco Fiorito of Argentina in the sixth round to raise his total 4.5 points, good for a tie 15th to 28th places.
Not everything was good news for local chess fans, though, with National Master Christian Gian Karlo Tade-Arca of the Philippines failing to sustain the momentum of his three straight victories, bowing to CM Tran Gia Phuc Pham of Vietnam in the fourth round, halving the point with Erekle Tabatadze of Georgia in the fifth round then losing to Madhvendra Pratap Sharma of India in the sixth round.
With the loss, the Panabo City, Davao del Norte bet Arca was stuck at 3.5 points and dropped into a tie for 61st to 74th place.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by President/Chairman Rep. Prospero “Butch” Arreza Pichay Jr., is supporting the campaign of the triumvirate Cu, Buto and Arca as part of its continuing program to train and develop outstanding young players

Standings after Round 6: (200 players, Open 12 and under)
6 points—Jahandar Azadaliyev (Azerbaijan)
5.5 points—CM  Edgar Mamedov (Kazakhstan), Ern Jie Anderson Ang (Malaysia), AIM Ethan Vaz (India)
5 points—Reja Neer Manon (Bangladesh),  Emmanuel Dentchouk (USA), Rajkhowa Mrinmoy (India), Emir Sharshenbekov (Kyrgyzstan), Yu Tian Poh (Malaysia), Kshatriya Nitin Vekhande (India), NM Ivan Travis Cu (Philippines), Nikolaos 44725 Sitsanis (Greece), Leo Lin (Canada), Aliaksandr Hvozdz (Belarus)

Under 12 Open and Under 16 Girls Categories

Sri Lankans Haritha Hansana and Sandeepani Tharushi doing well

Haritha Hansana (left) of Rahula College, Matara is in a good position having 3 points out of 4 games at the Under 12 Yrs Open event of the FIDE Online World Youth Chess Championship 2021. Hansana beat Loiis Khoo (Norway), Noam Ostrovesky (Israel) and Thimothy Xie(USA) but lost to  Dentchouk Emmanuel (USA) in the last round.

Sandeepani Tharushi (above right) of Devi Balika Vidyalaya also scored 3 points out of 4 in the under 16 Girls category event which is also running parallel to the under 12 open event. Sandeepani beat Adity Anant (Cyprus), Alexandra Munos (Nicaragua), Gabriel Salarza (Peru) and lost to Ruiyang Yan (USA) in the 2^nd round to get 3 points.

Other Sri Lankans, Thehara Galagedara (Musaeus College), Aloka Hettiarachchi (Nalanda College) have 2 points each in under 12 Yrs Open event while Desandi Dhihansa Gamage (Sirimavo Bandaranayake Vidyalaya) and Piyumi Uthpala Amaratunge (JMC International, Kaluthara) have 1 ½ points and 1 point respectively. All play 6 more rounds in next 3 days.

The FIDE Online World Youth Rapid Chess Championship conducted by the International Chess Federation and organized by the Georgian Chess Federation is in progress from 1^st of August to 30^th of August 2021 at Tornelo platform. The Rapid Chess time control of 10 minutes + 3 seconds is used for the event which is organized in 10 categories as under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years Open and Girls. Each event is having 10 rounds and distributed as

1^st to 5^th           – Under 10 Open and Under 18 Girls

6^th to 10^th        – Under 12 Open and Under 16 Girls

11^th to 15^th      – Under 14 Open and Under 14 Girls

16^th to 20^th      – Under 16 Open and Under 12 Girls

21^st to 25^th       – Under 18 Open and Under 10 Girls

 To promote handicapped chess in Sri Lanka

On 4 August 2021, German Ambassador Holger Seubert donated 8 electronic chess sets to the Sri Lanka Chess Federation (SLCF) at a handover ceremony in his residence. The donation from Germany aims to assist the promotion of chess within disadvantaged groups in Sri Lanka.  The state of the art chess equipment from Germany, worth 1.5 million LKR, has been designed to cater for handicapped persons in particular.

During the handover ceremony, Ambassador Seubert declared that the donation is a result of an initiative started by the President of the Sri Lanka Chess Federation, Mr. Luxman Wijesuriya. Germany is delighted to be able to support this valuable and praiseworthy initiative. On a personal note, the Ambassador added that being an avid chess player himself, he is particularly impressed by SLCF’s charitable work and its firm commitment to promote chess in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lank Chess Federation President Luxman Wijesuriya (left) plays with German Ambassador Holger Seubert

In his words of thanks, the President of the Chess Federation pointed out that it’s a great support being a Chess player himself, his Excellency, the ambassador and the Federal Republic of Germany have given to the Chess Federation for our project. Chess in Sri Lanka has spread around the country and the thinking of Chess Federation is to spread the game among different communities. While thanking them once again I wish to invite everyone to join us to develop the Nation using Chess as an educational tool!

# # #

For further information, please contact,

Vishma Wickramawardane

Press Office, German Embassy

+94-258 04 31 ext. 219

press.german.embassy@gmail.com

Sixty students from 23 countries are participating in the FIDE International Organizers Seminar presented by the Asian Chess Federation under the auspices of the FIDE Events Commission, 6th-9th August 2021 on Zoom.

FIDE Events Commission Chairman Ozgur Solakoglu of Turkey will lecture 6th August on the Regulations of the FIDE Events Commission (Mission, Members, Events Regulations, Bid Procedures).

Asian Chess Federation Executive Board Member Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, Secretary of the FIDE Rules Commission and former president of the Iran Chess Federation, shall lecture on FIDE Rating and Title Regulations on 7th August.

FIDE Rules Commission Chairman Abdulrahim Mahdi of the United Arab Emirates will lecture on FIDE Online Chess Regulations on 8th August.

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Asian Chess Federation Executive Director Casto Abundo of the Philippines will lecture on Event Management, How to Organize Chess Tournaments, on 9th August.

The lectures will be followed by an exam which is required for the International Organizer title.

Philippines’ Paez keeps share of lead

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Woman Candidate Master Alexandra Sydney Paez of the Philippines battled to a draw with Woman International Master Govhar Beydullayeva of Azerbaijan and and kept a share of the lead after the fifth round of the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth 2021 chess championship on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 virtually held at Tornelo Platform.
The online Arena International Master Paez, a Grade 12 student of Malayan College of Laguna, split the point  with the higher-rated Beydullayeva who handled the disadvantageous black pieces after 38 moves of Catalan Opening.
The draw, however, was enough to keep Paez in the thick of the fight for the leadership board in the Girls 18 and under with 4.5 points on four wins and one draw in this 104-player FIde-World Chess Federation competition.
The 17-year-old campaigner from Cabuyao City, Laguna, one of the top players of Mayor Atty. Rommel “Mel” Gecolea is tied for the lead with WIM Ngoc Thuy Duong Bach of Vietnam, WFM Aliaksandra Tarasenka of Belarus and WCM Bristy Mukherjee of India.
In the Open 10 and under section,  National Master Oshrie Jhames “OJ” Constantino Reyes of Santa Rita, Pampanga checkmated Gorkem Unsal of Turkey after 60 moves of Sicilian defense while Phil Martin Casiguran of Caloocan City yielded to Dimitri Aeschbacher of Switzerland after 34 moves of Ruy Lopez Opening.
Reyes whose stint here is being supported by Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda and Vice-Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda raise his total 4 points while Caisguran remains at 3.5 points.

Sri Lanka’s Onlei scores 4 out of 6 at the halfway Mark

Oneli Vithanawasam (photo above) of Lyceum International School, Wattala is in a fair position with 4 points out 6 games  tied in 13^th position in the under 18 Girls event of the above Championships. Oneli beat Ahmed Walijah (Top seed in the event, Bangladesh), Kazi Zarin Tasnim(Bangladesh), Chua Jia-Tien(Malaysi), Drew with Ilyina Lada and Sai Divya M and lost only 1 game to Pipia Ekaterine(Georgia) In her 6 games. Nemindi Linaya Ramanayake of Bandaranayake Central College is having 2 ½  points out of 6 games.

RB Sethum Samaraweera of Richmond College scored 3 ½ points out of 6 games in the under 10Yrs Open event, After having 2 bad games at the start losing to Isai Alveraize(Bolivia) and D Altensoyombo (Mongolia) he recovered with a forfeit point with Daniel Efraim(Estonia), Kim Listratov(Russia) and Rashid Rayan (Bangladesh) with a draw against Data Qulabegashvili(Georgia). KG Wimalarathne(Kingswood College) of has 2 ½ points and DDLD Dandeniya of Maliyadeva College has 2 both out of 6 games.

The FIDE Online World Cup 2021 – Youth and Cadets conducted by the International Chess Federation is organized by the Georgian Chess Federation this year. The World Cup has 10 category events for under 10, 12,14,16 and 18 years Open and Girls. The event is held online in the Tornelo platform from 1^st to 30^th August 2021 with 10 rounds per each category. The event started with two categories, under 10 Open and under 18 Girls to have it from 1^st to 5^th having 2 games each. Other categories also will follow giving 5 days per two categories, one open and one Girls.

A total of 227 players in the under 10 Open and 104 players in the under 18 yrs Girls event from 108 countries are participating in the event. Four more games are expected in Tornelo platform on 4^th and 5^th of August 2021.

You may get the tournament details from the following links

https://chess-results.com/tnr565782.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6&flag=30&zeilen=99999

https://chess-results.com/tnr565791.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6&fedb=SRI&flag=30

By Marlon Bernardino

MANILA, Philippines—Woman Candidate Master Alexandra Sydney Paez of the Philippines remained undefeated after four rounds of action in the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth 2021 chess championship on Monday, August 2, 2021 virtually held at Tornelo Platform.

The 17 years old Paez, an online Arena International Master, one of the top players of Cabuyao City mayor Atty. Rommel “Mel” Gecolea, downed Woman FIDE Master Viviana Galvan Cipriani of Spain for her fourth straight win to remain of the top spot together with Woman International Master Ngoc Thuy Duong Bach of Vietnam and Woman FIDE Master Aliaksandra Tarasenka of Belarus who totes perfect 4.0 points in the Girls 18 and under.
Paez, a Grade 12 student of Malayan College of Laguna, needed 60 moves of an English Opening to checkmate the Spanish WFM who fell to a group tied at ninth spot.
“It was a very intense match,” said Paez, who beat  Shane Visser of South Africa in the first round, Woman FIDE Master Chandratreya Prachiti of India in the second round and Woman FIDE Master Laman Hajiyeva of Azerbaijan in the third round.
“I hope to do well in this prestigious FIDE online event,” She added.
Phil Martin Casiguran of Caloocan City and National Master Oshrie Jhames “OJ” Constantino Reyes of Santa Rita, Pampanga toppled their respective rivals to remain in contention in the Open 10 and under.
Casiguran subdued Jon Bocos Delgado of Spain in 41 moves of a King’s Indian defense while Reyes whose stint here is being supported by Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda and Vice-Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda checkmated Antoni Radzimski of Poland in 42 moves of French defense.
Casiguran was tied at tenth spot with 3.5 points while Reyes joints 19th spot with 3.0 points.