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GMs Ehsan Ghaem Maghami and Aryan Gholami of Iran beat their respective penultimate round opponents to share the lead with 5 points each after 6 rounds of the Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship on Tornelo. The champion qualifies into the World Cup next month in Sochi, Russia.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on twitter @Asianchess.

Ghaem Maghami essayed the English Opening against giant killer FM Malek Koniahli of Syria and gained two pawns. The Iranian centralized his Queen and reached unstoppable mate in 40 moves (see diagram below) after 40. Qd4-a7.

Gholami crushed the Pirc Defense of erstwhile solo leader FM Akar Ali Salih of Iraq in 47 moves as the latter lost by time forfeit.

Salih and GM Pouya Idani of Iran follow with 4.5 points each in the race for $1,500 in cash prizes.

Zone 3.1 Chess Championships 2021
Pairings/Results
Round 6 on 2021/06/06 at 3:00pm
Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	GM	GHOLAMI Aryan	2513	4	1 – 0	4½	FM	SALIH Akar Ali Salih	2274	7
2	2	GM	Ghaem Maghami Ehsan	2547	4	1 – 0	3½	FM	KONIAHLI Malek.	2255	8
3	11	CM	SAIF Malek	2168	3½	0 – 1	3½	GM	IDANI Pouya	2614	1
4	6	FM	Ammar Sedrani	2274	3	0 – 1	3	IM	MANSOUR Sameer	2308	5
5	13	CM	ISMAEL Namir Mohammed Ismael	2122	3	½ – ½	3		Chekh Adm Khedr Aram	2147	12
6	4	IM	EITI Bashir	2340	2½	1 – 0	2½	IM	Sultan Ibrahim	2076	14
7	10	IM	AL HOSANI Omran	2197	2½	1 – 0	2½		AL MAASHANI Abdullah	1831	16
8	9	FM	AHMED Ali Layth Ahmed	2253	2½	1 – 0	2		AL-ZAATARI Fares Thamer	0	22
9	20		DAWOD Mahmoud.W	1610	2	1 – 0	2		MOHAMMED Ahmed Said Al Amri	1772	17
10	21		ALOTHMAN Salem	1558	1½	0 – 1	1	FM	Salim Mohammed Salim Al Amri	1926	15
11	19		ALHEJAB Meshal	1681	1	½ – ½	1		Radwan Mahmoud J	0	23
12	18		Seder Mohamad	1722	2	1			bye

See other news of Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championshipin 40 mo

Rd 5: FIDE Master Akar Ali Salih of Iraq Grabs Solo Lead in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 4: FIDE Master Akar Ali Salih of Iraq Shares Lead in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 3: FM Malek Koniahli Grabs Solo Lead in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 2: Syrian Upsets Top Seed Iranian GM in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 1: Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh (in photo) maintained solo leadership with 5½ points after the 6^th round of the Asian Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship sponsored by SAIF POWERTEC Limited at the Asia Hotel & Resorts and online chess platform tornelo.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on facebook and twitter @Asianchess. Games are scheduled 3:30 pm daily (Dhaka time).

GM Enamul Hossain Razib (above left) and FM Mehdi Hasan Parag (above right) of Bangladesh follow in 2^nd slot with 5 points each.

FIDE Master Susal De Silva (photo above) of Nalanda College outplayed the IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin of Bangladesh (2278) to reach 4 ½ points and stay in 4^th place. Susal managed to get a strong Kingside play in a Giuco Piano game.

Buddika Amarasinghe (photo above) of Sri Lanka also had an excellent game and scored a full point against FM Ahmed Shike Nazir of Bangladesh (2179) in a game started with the English Opening. Buddhika has a total of 4 points.

Six players earned 4 points each, They are: IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman (above left), IM Abu Sufian Shakil, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam and CM Tahsin Tajwar Zia of Bangladesh and CM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan & A A C B Amarasinge of Sri Lanka.

6^th round games were held today (Sunday).

SAIF POWERTEC Asian Zonal 3.2 Chess Championship 2021
Pairings/Results
Round 6 on 2021/06/06 at 3:30 PM (Dhaka
Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	8	CM	Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan	2203	4	0 – 1	4½	GM	Rahman Ziaur	2434	1
2	10	FM	Mehdi Hasan Parag	2187	4	1 – 0	4	IM	Abu Sufian Shakil	2242	6
3	2	GM	Hossain Enamul	2402	4	1 – 0	3½		Anata Choudhury	2202	9
4	3	IM	Mohammad Fahad Rahman	2314	3½	½ – ½	3½	FM	Islam Khandaker Aminul	2182	11
5	17	FM	De Silva L M S T	2085	3½	1 – 0	3½	IM	Mohammad Minhaz Uddin	2278	4
6	13	CM	Zia Tahsin Tajwar	2178	3	1 – 0	3	FM	Rahman Syed Mahfuzur	2213	7
7	26	CM	Amarasinghe A A C B	1873	3	1 – 0	3	FM	Ahmed Sheikh Nasir	2178	12
8	14	CM	Manon Reja Neer	2130	3	½ – ½	3	CM	Md. Sharif Hossain	2122	15
9	16	CM	Chowdhury Sohel	2106	2½	½ – ½	3		Kusatha Niken	1984	21
10	18	CM	Nayem Haque	2080	2½	0 – 1	2½	FM	Muhammed Shuaau	1925	25
11	20		Mihir Lal Das	2013	2½	½ – ½	2½		Ahmad Awais	1838	27
12	5	FM	Subrota Biswas	2268	2	1 – 0	2		Prajapati Raj	1749	30
13	39		Prajapati Anshu Dil	0	2	0 – 1	2	CM	Ahmed Mahtabuddin	2035	19
14	23		Swarnavo Choudhury	1966	2	1 – 0	2		Farooq Noor	1706	31
15	24	WFM	Noshin Anjum	1948	2	1 – 0	2		Muneeb Yaqoob	0	38
16	34		Wadifa Ahmed	1629	1	½ – ½	1½		Muhammad Faisal Mughal	0	37
17	36		Anis Ur Rehman Zaidi	0	1	1 – 0	1		Afzal Shahwani	1443	35
18	28		Musawir Khan	1773	1	1			bye

7^th round games will start tomorrow (Monday) from3:30 PM at same venue.

See other news of Asian Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 5: GM Ziaur Rahman Grabs Solo Lead in Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 4: Five Share Lead in Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 3: GMs Ziaur Rahman and Enamul Hossain Tie for Lead in Zone 3.2 Zonal

Rd 2: Eight Bangladesh Players Share Lead in Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd. 1: Asian Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship 2021

FIDE Master Akar Ali Salih of Iraq (photo above) beat erstwhile co-leader Malek Koniahli of Syria to grab solo lead with 4.5 points out of 5 rounds in the homestretch of the Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Chbampionship on Tornelo. The champion qualifies into the FIDE World Cup next month in Sochi, Russia.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on twitter @Asianchess.

Salih crushed the Center Counter Defense of Koniahli in a marathon 83 moves of a minor piece endgame.

Sharing second slot with 4 points each are GMs Ehsan Ghaem Maghami and Aryan Gholami of Iran. Maghami turned back the English Opening of IM Sameer Mansour of Jordan in only 31 moves. Idani essayed the Reti Opening to beat FM Ahmed Ali Layth Ahmed of Iraq also in 31 moves.

Three players follow within striking distance at 3.5 points each, namely Koniahli, GM Pouya Idani of Iran and Male Saif of Jordan.

Here are the round 5 results.

Zone 3.1 Chess Championships 2021
Pairings/Results
Round 5 on 2021/06/05 at 3:00pm
Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	7	FM	SALIH Akar Ali Salih	2274	3½	1 – 0	3½	FM	KONIAHLI Malek.	2255	8
2	5	IM	MANSOUR Sameer	2308	3	0 – 1	3	GM	Ghaem Maghami Ehsan	2547	2
3	3	GM	GHOLAMI Aryan	2513	3	1 – 0	3	FM	Ammar Sedrani	2274	6
4	1	GM	IDANI Pouya	2614	2½	1 – 0	2½	FM	AHMED Ali Layth Ahmed	2253	9
5	4	IM	EITI Bashir	2340	2½	0 – 1	2½	CM	SAIF Malek	2168	11
6	14	IM	Sultan Ibrahim	2076	2	½ – ½	2	IM	AL HOSANI Omran	2197	10
7	12		Chekh Adm Khedr Aram	2147	2	1 – 0	2		Seder Mohamad	1722	18
8	13	CM	ISMAEL Namir Mohammed Ismael	2122	2	1 – 0	2		DAWOD Mahmoud.W	1610	20
9	16		AL MAASHANI Abdullah	1831	1½	1 – 0	1		ALHEJAB Meshal	1681	19
10	22		AL-ZAATARI Fares Thamer	0	1	1 – 0	1	FM	Salim Mohammed Salim Al Amri	1926	15
11	23		Radwan Mahmoud J	0	1	0 – 1	1		MOHAMMED Ahmed Said Al Amri	1772	17
12	21		ALOTHMAN Salem	1558	½	1			bye

See other news of Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 4: FIDE Master Akar Ali Salih of Iraq Shares Lead in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 3: FM Malek Koniahli Grabs Solo Lead in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 2: Syrian Upsets Top Seed Iranian GM in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 1: Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

GM Ziaur Rahman (above, right) of Bangladesh beat compatriot Mohammad Fahad Rahman to grab solo lead with 4½ points after 5 rounds of the Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship 2021 sponsored by SAIF POWERTEC Limited at the Asia Hotel & Resorts and online chess platform tornelo. The champion qualifies into the World Cup next month in Sochi, Russia.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on facebook and twitter @Asianchess. Games are scheduled 3:30 pm daily (Dhaka time).

Four players share 2^nd position with 4 points each, namely GM Enamul Hossain Razib, IM Abu Sufian Shakil (above left) and FM Mehdi Hasan Parag (above right) of Bangladesh and CM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka (photo below). At state are $3,000 in cash prizes.

Five players share 3^rd position with 3½ points each, anemly IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin (above right), FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, Anata Choudhury (photo below) and FM L M S T De Silva of Sri Lanka (below right).

SAIF POWERTEC Asian Zonal 3.2 Chess Championship 2021
Pairings/Results
Round 5 on 2021/06/05 at 3:30 PM (Dhaka
Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	GM	Rahman Ziaur	2434	3½	1 – 0	3½	IM	Mohammad Fahad Rahman	2314	3
2	6	IM	Abu Sufian Shakil	2242	3½	½ – ½	3½	GM	Hossain Enamul	2402	2
3	4	IM	Mohammad Minhaz Uddin	2278	3	½ – ½	3½	CM	Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan	2203	8
4	12	FM	Ahmed Sheikh Nasir	2178	3	0 – 1	3	FM	Mehdi Hasan Parag	2187	10
5	7	FM	Rahman Syed Mahfuzur	2213	2½	½ – ½	2½	CM	Manon Reja Neer	2130	14
6	9		Anata Choudhury	2202	2½	1 – 0	2½	CM	Chowdhury Sohel	2106	16
7	11	FM	Islam Khandaker Aminul	2182	2½	1 – 0	2½	CM	Nayem Haque	2080	18
8	17	FM	De Silva L M S T	2085	2½	1 – 0	2	FM	Subrota Biswas	2268	5
9	13	CM	Zia Tahsin Tajwar	2178	2	1 – 0	2		Swarnavo Choudhury	1966	23
10	15	CM	Md. Sharif Hossain	2122	2	1 – 0	2	WFM	Noshin Anjum	1948	24
11	19	CM	Ahmed Mahtabuddin	2035	2	0 – 1	2	CM	Amarasinghe A A C B	1873	26
12	25	FM	Muhammed Shuaau	1925	2	½ – ½	2		Mihir Lal Das	2013	20
13	21		Kusatha Niken	1984	2	1 – 0	2		Prajapati Anshu Dil	0	39
14	27		Ahmad Awais	1838	1½	1 – 0	1		Musawir Khan	1773	28
15	30		Prajapati Raj	1749	1	1 – 0	1½		Muhammad Faisal Mughal	0	37
16	31		Farooq Noor	1706	1	1 – 0	1		Anis Ur Rehman Zaidi	0	36
17	38		Muneeb Yaqoob	0	1	1 – 0	1		Wadifa Ahmed	1629	34
18	33		Muhammad Haris Rizwan	1633	0	– – +	0		Afzal Shahwani	1443	35

6^th round games will start tomorrow (Sunday) from3:30 PM at same venue.

See other news of Asian Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 4: Five Share Lead in Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 3: GMs Ziaur Rahman and Enamul Hossain Tie for Lead in Zone 3.2 Zonal

Rd 2: Eight Bangladesh Players Share Lead in Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd. 1: Asian Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship 2021

The second training course of the Asian Chess Federation Academy in Iraq, which was dedicated to the Chess Base program, was unveiled.
The lectures and dialogues were moderated by Professor Ihsan Jawad with professionalism and diligence, with the testimony of all participants, whether they were coaches or players.

The course is fully attended by Professor Haidar Abdul Ghani, Chairman of the Trainers Committee of the Iraqi Central Chess Federation and his assistant, Professor Bassem Jabbara, with other trainers from various Arab countries and trainers from iraqi provinces.

Important lessons, extensive discussions, dialogues and files interspersed with the course and the active participation of most coaches with clear and comfortable answers to the professional lecturer and chess mentality.

These lectures lasted for three days under the supervision of the Iraqi Central Chess Federation and in the presence of the President of the Federation, Mr. Zafer Abdul Amir al-Jubouri.

For most trainers with clear and comfortable answers to the professional lecturer and mature chess mentality, Professor Ihsan Jawad gave everyone an impression on the extent to which they gained benefit and benefited from these experiences and experiences that were applied as realistic practical examples at each stage of training.

These courses of this quality will inevitably be in the interest of Iraqi chess and following this variety of lectures we will have a new generation of coaches and like him referred to as Lebanon.

(((الدورة التدريبية الثانية لأكاديمية الاتحاد و الآسيوي للشطرنج فرع العراق)))
أسدل الستار على الدورة التدريبية الثانية لأكاديمية الاتحاد الآسيوي للشطرنج فرع العراق والتي خصصت لبرنامج الجيس بيس Chess Base
والتي أدار دفة المحاضرات وحواراتها الأستاذ إحسان جواد ببراعة واجتهادية بشهادة الجميع من المشاركين سواء كانوا من المدربين أواللاعبين.
وكانت هذه المحاضرات والتي استمرت دروسها لثلاثة أيام تحت إشراف إتحاد الشطرنج العراقي المركزي وبحضور رئيس الاتحاد الأستاذ ظافر عبد الأمير الجبوري شخصياً لأيام الدورة بالكامل مع مدير الدورة الأستاذ حيدر عبد الغني رئيس لجنة المدربين في اتحاد الشطرنج العراقي المركزي ومساعده الأستاذ باسم جبارة مع باقي المدربين من مختلف الدول العربية ومدربي المحافظات العراقية.
دروس مهمة ونقاشات واسعة و حوارات وملفات تخللتها الدورة وبمشاركة فاعلة لمعظم المدربين مع إجابات واضحة وبكل أريحية للمحاضر المحترف والعقلية الشطرنجية الناضجة الأستاذ إحسان جواد أعطت انطباع للجميع على مدى اكتساب الفائدة والاستفادة من هذه الخبرات والتجارب التي كانت تطبق كأمثلة عملية واقعية على كل مرحلة من مراحل التدريب.
هذه الدورات بهذا الكم وبهذه النوعية ستصب حتماً في مصلحة الشطرنج العراقي وعلى إثر هذا التنوع من المحاضرات سينضج عندنا جيل جديد من المدربين ومثله من اللاعبين يشار لهم بالبنان.
بوركت جهودكم الرائعة ونشد على أيديكم لهذا النشاط المتميز ولكل مجتهد نصيب

 

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Registration is now open for the 4th annual Chooks-to-Go National Rapid Chess Championships in partnership with Rotary Club of Nuvali to be held on July 9 to 11, 2021 at Tornelo platform.

The event aims to develop good thinkers through the understanding of chess strategies and tactics, improving the logical abilities and rational thinking and reasoning of the participants, and instilling a sense of self-confidence, self-worth and camaraderie, according to BAVI President and General Manager Ronald Daniel Ricaforte Mascariñas.

Further, the tournament is also a fund raising activity to help the Rotary Club of Nuvali in its charitable activities.

A top purse of P100,000 goes to the Open champion. The second to fifth placers will receive P75,000, P50,000, P30,000 and P25,000 respectively. Sixth to 10th placer will pocket P10,000 each.

Cash prizes worth P10,000 each awaits for the category winners for the Top Under 2100 and below, Top Under 2000 and below, Top Under 1900 and below, Top Under 1800 and Top Under 1700 and below.

Also on tap are Womens, Executive, Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Kiddies Boys and Kiddies Girls division with the winner pocketing P10,000, P10,000, P7,000, P7,000, P5,000 and P5,000 in that order.

Registration will end on July 5, 2021. For further inquiries, kindly contact any of the following: Mr. Sam Balboa – 09985530477, Engr. Troy Coria – 09234687524, Mr. Noel Balderas – 09171370430, Mr. Jalbert Vilan – 09097159245 and AGM Dr. Fred Paez – 09212728172.

Photo shows BAVI President and General Manager Ronald Daniel Ricaforte Mascariñas (seated 1st row, left) making the traditional ceremonial moves to usher in the start of the previous 3rd annual Chooks-to-Go National Rapid Chess Championships held last January 2020. Looking on are NCFP Chairman/President Rep. Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. and Dr. Fred Paez.

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Defending Champion Laguna posted back-to-back victories over Rizal and Pasig in the ongoing 2021 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) dubbed as Grandmaster Wesley So Cup late Saturday, June 5, 2021 at chess.com.

The Heroes opened the day with an easy 18.5-2.5 win over the Rizal Batch Towers and followed it up with an 12.5-8.5 victory over the Kings Pirates to improve their 8-3 win-loss record in the Northern Division.

Vince Angelo Medina (in photo) was the top scorer for the Heroes with perfect six points — three against Marlon Constantino of Rizal and three against Francis Talaboc of Pasig.

“Vince Angelo Medina stood tall by winning both his matches against Marlon Constantino of Rizal and Francis Talaboc of Pasig.” said Arena Grandmaster Dr. Alfredo “Fred” Paez, one of the four co-team owners of the Laguna Heroes including Mr. David Nithyananthan of KALARO, Engr. Benjamin Dy of SDC Global Choice and Engr. Jonathan Mamaril of Oregon, USA.

Import Ukranian Grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko, Grandmaster Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla Jr., Grandmaster John Paul Gomez, FIDE Master Austin Jacob Literatus, FIDE Master Jose Efren Bagamasbad, Woman National Master Jean Karen Enriquez and Kimuel Aaron Lorenzo also contributed to Laguna’s impressive performance in the 24-team professional chess tournament organized by PCAP and sanctioned by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB).

The 18-years-old Shevchenko won by default against International Master Rolando Nolte of Rizal (3-0) and routed Kevin Arquero of Pasig (2.5-0.5). The two-time Asian Junior Champion Barcenilla, on the other hand split the point with Singaporean Grandmaster Kevin Goi Weiming of Pasig (1.5-1.5), Gomez beat National Master Robert Arellano of Rizal (2-1) then drew with GM Darwin Laylo of Pasig (1.5-1.5). Literatus defeated National Master Noel dela Cruz of Rizal (2-1). Bagamasbad blasted National Master Elias Lao Jr. of Rizal (3-0) but yielded to Arena Grandmaster Rudy Ibanez of Pasig (1-2), Enriquez trounced Kris Angelique Melicano of Rizal (3-0) but lost to Woman FIDE Master Sherily Cua of Pasig (1-2) and Lorenzo crushed Arena Grandmaster Herman Vallente of Rizal (2.5-0.5), bowed to Phillip Simon Din of Pasig in the blitz portion but bounced back by beating Carl Espallardo of Pasig in the rapid game.

Other members of the winning Laguna Heroes chess team backed up by Greatech Philippines, Inc., SDC Global Choice, Jolly Smile Dental Clinic, KALARO and Rotary Club of Nuvali were Arena Grandmaster Fred Paez, Candidate Master Arjie Bayangat, Mr. David Nithyananthan of KALARO, Engr. Benjamin Dy of SDC Global Choice and Engr. Jonathan Mamaril of Oregon, USA.

The Laguna Heroes (Northern Division results)
1-2 Manila (10.5-10.5 force Armageddon)
16.5-4.5 Cagayan
17-4 Isabela
16.5-4.5 Quezon City
7.5-13.5 San Juan
10-11 Antipolo
20.5-0.5 Olongapo
13.5-7.5 Caloocan
17-4 Cavite
18.5-2.5 Rizal
12.5-8.5 Pasig

By: Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Oshrie Jhames “OJ” Constantino Reyes of Dila-Dila, Pampanga beat Bonjoure Fille Suyamin in the Grandmaster Rosendo Carreon Balinas Jr. Chess Challenge dubbed as Bayanihan Chess Club Match Up Series, Chessbeat  For A Cause Friday, June 4, 2021.

The 9-years-old Reyes, a grade 4 student of EZEE, Guagua, Pampanga asserted his dominance over 11-years-old Suyamin, a grade 6 student of Del Rosario Christian Institute in General Trias City, Cavite, winning, 7-2, in the race-to-7, 7 minutes plus 2 seconds increment time control format.

“Luck was on my side until the end,” said Reyes, who brought down Megan Althea Obrero Paragua of New York City, USA, 7-3, last May 29, 2021.

“I look forward to play again with OJ (Reyes) in the future.” said Suyamin.

This event was made possible by the undying support of Bayanihan Chess Club co-founding chairman US based frontliner Dr. Joe Balinas and Engr. Antonio “Uncle Paps” Balinas in close cooperation with Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia based Mr. Jimmy Reyes and Coach Ederwin Estavillo.

Meanwhile, Melizah Ruth Carreon of the Philippines says she is ready for war when she goes up against Siew Kai Xin of Singapore on July 9, 2021, at nine am, Manila Time.

Carreon is the lady player of PCAP’s Cavite Spartans while Kai Xin is the import of Quezon City Simba’s Tribe.
Kai Xin, a 2-times olympiad member of the Singapore National Team.

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines–Mark Jay Bacojo won the 78th Birthday Chess Celebration of Ceferino “Kuya Jun” Isaac Jr. on online bullet (1 minute plus 1 second increment) tournament on Friday, June 4, 2021.

Bacojo finished with 99 arena points in 38 games for a win rate of 76 percent and performance rating of 2629 to win the event that drew 266 players worldwide.

The event was presented by Lichess Battle Arena, organized by Bayanihan Chess Club founding president Arena Grandmaster Marlon Bernardino being held to celebrate the78th birthday of Ceferino “Kuya Jun” Isaac Jr. , elder brother of ex-PBA Player Leo Isaac, member of PCAP’s Cavite Spartans.

The online tournament had time control of one minute with an increment of one second and players must win as many games in two hours of play.

The 15-year-old Bacojo, one of the top players of Dasmariñas Chess Academy under the guidance of Rep. Elpidio “Pidi” Barzaga Jr. and national coach Roel Abelgas, won 29 games, draw one and lost eight games for his aggregate score.

“The reason why he (Ceferino “Kuya Jun” Isaac) joins chess tourneys despite his age is to encourage senior chess players to come out and join the fun beating boredom at this time of global pandemic.” said Arena Grandmaster Marlon Bernardino, a close confidante of Isaac, who is also a board member of the organizing Bayanihan Chess Club  headed by it’s co- founding chairman US based frontliner Dr. Joe Balinas and Engr. Antonio “Uncle Paps” Balinas.

Dale Bernardo of Angeles City, Pampanga took the second spot with 97 arena points on 35 games and a win rate of 80 percent on 27 wins for a performance rating of 2652.

In third place was Rafael Caneda of Dasmariñas City, Cavite who had 93 arena points on 34 games and a win rate of 76 percent on 26 wins for a performance rating of 2616.

New York, USA based Grandmaster Mark Paragua and Antipolo City based Sherwin Tiu finished fourth and fith with 93 and 74 points, respectively.

13-time Philippine Open Champion Grandmaster Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. placed sixth over-all with 72 points followed by seventh place 8-time Illinois, USA Champion International Master Angelo Abundo Young who totes 71 points.

Rounding up to the top 10 are 8th place International Master Michael Concio Jr. ( 70 points), 9th place NJ Delos Reyes ( 62 points) and 10th place National Master Jasper Rom ( 56 points).

Antonio was named  the Top Senior 50 years old and above while 15th place Jayson San Jose Visca of Dasmariñas City, Cavite (53 points) was the Top Cavite Spartans

FIDE Master Akar Ali Salih of Iraq won his 4th round assignment to share the lead with Malek Koniahli of Syria with 3.5 points each at the halfway mark of the Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship on Tornelo. The champion qualifies into the FIDE World Cup next month in Sochi, Russia.

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Salih used the Sicilian Defense to turn back Malek Saif of Jordan in 67 moves. Faced with advancing kingside pawns, Saif gave his Queen on the 47th move for a Rook and Bishop. Salih returned a Bishop on the 53rd move to bring his Queen into play. He promoted his pawn to a Knight on the 66th move (see position below before 66… f1=N!) to force resignation a move later.

Koniahli drew in 70 moves against the King’s Indian Defense of IM Sameer Mansour of Jordan. Mansour follows with 3 points together with three others, namely GMs Ehsan Ghaem Maghami and Aryan Gholami of Iran and Sedrani Ammar of the UAE.

Maghami drew with compatriot GM Idani Pouya (photo below). Gholami turned back the English Opening of Mahmoud Dawod of Palestine in only 37 moves. Sedrani used the Queen’s Bishop game to beat Chekh Adm Khedr Aram of Syria in 37 moves of a Rook and pawn endgame.

Here are rd 4 results:

Zone 3.1 Chess Championships 2021
Pairings/Results
Round 4 on 2021/06/04 at 3:00pm
Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	8	FM	KONIAHLI Malek.	2255	3	½ – ½	2½	IM	MANSOUR Sameer	2308	5
2	11	CM	SAIF Malek	2168	2½	0 – 1	2½	FM	SALIH Akar Ali Salih	2274	7
3	2	GM	Ghaem Maghami Ehsan	2547	2½	½ – ½	2	GM	IDANI Pouya	2614	1
4	20		DAWOD Mahmoud.W	1610	2	0 – 1	2	GM	GHOLAMI Aryan	2513	3
5	6	FM	Ammar Sedrani	2274	2	1 – 0	2		Chekh Adm Khedr Aram	2147	12
6	10	IM	AL HOSANI Omran	2197	2	0 – 1	1½	IM	EITI Bashir	2340	4
7	16		AL MAASHANI Abdullah	1831	1½	0 – 1	1½	FM	AHMED Ali Layth Ahmed	2253	9
8	19		ALHEJAB Meshal	1681	1	0 – 1	1	CM	ISMAEL Namir Mohammed Ismael	2122	13
9	14	IM	Sultan Ibrahim	2076	1	1 – 0	1		AL-ZAATARI Fares Thamer	0	22
10	18		Seder Mohamad	1722	1	1 – 0	1		Radwan Mahmoud J	0	23
11	17		MOHAMMED Ahmed Said Al Amri	1772	0	1 – 0	½		ALOTHMAN Salem	1558	21
12	15	FM	Salim Mohammed Salim Al Amri	1926	0	1			bye

See other news of Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 3: FM Malek Koniahli Grabs Solo Lead in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 2: Syrian Upsets Top Seed Iranian GM in Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 1: Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship