Antonio’s determination is what sets him apart By: Ed Andaya KIBITZER

IF I were to tell you one of the country’s best chess players -- if not the best -- would be appearing in the lobby of the Subic International Hotel to sign autographs this week, would you go there expecting to see (1) Eugene Torre, (2) Wesley So, (3) Mark Paragua, (4) John Paul Gomez or (5) Darwin Laylo?

What you would find there, however, is none of the above.

But what you would find is a player who is just as talented as all of the above, a player who loves winning and hates losing, who shows up in the playing venue always dressed to kill and expectedly, always ready to slaughter his opponent on the chessboard.

Well, GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. gave us one more reason to believe he is truly one of the best Filipino chess players of all time.

Antonio finished in a tie for third place in the 2009 Asian Continental individual chess championship in Subic over the weekend.

And more importantly, he became the only Filipino player to earn a spot in the World Chess Cup scheduled in Khanty-Mansisyk, Russia later this year. The only one of 19 players from the host nation to make it.

So and Torre, the country’s top two players, tried to make it but didn’t.

Paragua, once the country’s highest-rated player, and Gomez, the newest chess sensation, failed miserably.

But Antonio?

The pride of Calapan, Oriental Mindoro did the country proud by finishing with seven points on five wins and four draws in the star-studded tournament which attracted the 86 players from 15 countries, including 40 GMs and 15 IMs.

And while his compatriots struggled in the wake of strong opposition during the tough, 11-round competition, the 47-year old Antonio did his thing quietly.

As coldly efficient as a serial killer on the loose.

Before his 10th-round setback to eventual champion GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly of India, Antonio won four of his previous five matches to keep Filipino pride intact.

Three of his five victories came against the top players of Vietnam, including against the ever-dangerous GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam in the pivotal ninth round.

Le, in case you don’t remember it anymore, is the same player who slammed the door on So in their final-round encounter.

That loss -- and an earlier draw with fellow prodigy Hou Yifan of China -- caused the second-seeded So a chance to finish in the Top 10 and a slot to the World Cup.

There’s no such problem for Antonio in Subic.

After winning 10 of 11 tournaments during a five-month campaign in the United States and finishing runner-up to So in the Phoenix Petroleum-Dapitan City “Battle of GMs,”, Antonio arrived in the former American naval base in Olongapo City with only one goal: make it to the World Cup.

He left Subic with a big smile yopu would think he has just accomplished the “Twelve Labors of Hercules."

“It’s a dream come true," said Antonio, who will make his second appearance in the world’s biggest chess stage after 10 long years.

“To play in the World Cup is already a big achievement. Winning there will be an even bigger prize,” added Antonio, who finished in a tie for eighth to 14th places in the 2007 edition held in Mandaue City and missed a slot due to tiebreak.

There was no sorry tale this time.

Antonio made his first-ever appearance in the World Cup in Las Vegas in 1999, losing to GM Vladimir Akopian of Armenia in the second round of the Wimbledon-style knockout phase.

A mainstay of Philippine Army, Antonio opened the tournament with back-to-back draws against FM Awam Wahono of Indonesia and GM Niaz Murshed of Bangladesh.

The came the third round.

Antonio made short work of CM Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam for his first win in the tournament.

After drawing with compatriot GM Jayson Gonzales in the fourth round, Antonio turned his game several notches higher to win four of his next five matches -- all against foreign opponents.

Only GM Elshan Moradiabadi of Iran survived Antonio’s winning spree, salvaging a draw against the Filipino champion.

A loss to Ganguly in a keenly-watched showdown on the penultimate day slowed down Antonio.

But a final-round draw, which was all he needed, against highly-rated Chinese GM Zhou Weiqi of China, enabled Antonio to secure his rightful place in the World Cup.

But his goal is not just to make it to the World Cup. It is just not to win his first-round assignment. Or second round. Or third round.

Chess is not just about playing the game.

For Antonio, winning is everything. And he is determined to win the game.

To him, it’s the only thing that matters.

And this is what sets true champions apart.

Antonio Books World Chess Cup

Sunday, May 24, 2009


Antonio books World Chess Cup slot

By Emil C. Noguera, Correspondent

Grandmaster Rogelio Antonio Jr. settled for a draw with GM Zhou Weiqi of China in the 11th and final round of the 2009 Asian Continental individual chess championship Saturday at the Subic Exhibition and Convention Center.

The truce was reached after only 12 moves of the Ruy Lopez.

The draw secured Antonio his rightful place in the World Chess Cup scheduled in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from November 20 to December 15.

The 47-year-old campaigner from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro finished with 7.5 points on five wins, five draws and only one loss.

“This is another memorable tournament for me. Except for my 10th-round setback, I think I played well overall,” said Antonio, who duplicated the feat of GM Darwin Laylo as the only Filipino player to earn a berth to the World Chess Cup in 2007.

“Sana maging maganda din ang performance ko sa World Cup,” said Antonio, who barely missed a berth in the 2007 World Cup after landing in a tie for eighth to 14th places in the previous eiditon held in Mandaue City.

Antonio’s success, however, turned out to be the only reason for celebration for the Filipinos.

The country’s top two players— GM Wesley So and GM Eugene Torre —went out with a big thump.

The 15-year-old So, the country’s brightest hope for international recog­nition, suffered a heart­breaking set­back to GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam in 34 moves of another Sicilian.

And Torre, the country’s most-experienced player for more than four decades now, yieleded to top seed GM Krishan Sasikiran of India in 44 moves of the Nimzo-Indian.

The twin setbacks left So and Torre with only 6.5 points.

So, a high school student of St. Francis College (Bacoor), finished with 6.5 points on four wins, five draws and two losses.

Torre wound up with the same total on five wins, three draws and three losses.

GM Surya Shakhar Ganguly of India and GM Zhou Weiqi topped the 11-round tournamnet with identical scores of eight points.

Ganguly, one of 12 Indian players who saw action here, drew with GM Zhou Jianchao of China in only 16 moves of the Gruenfeld.

Ninth seed GM Hou Yifan of China and GM Parimarjan Negi of India also agreed to a draw in 27 points of the Sicilian while GM Chanda Sandipan of India and Yu Shaoteng of China also split the point in 14 moves of the Catalan to book their places in the Top 10 and a spot in the World Chess Cup.

Also making it to the prestigious competition is Le, whose dramatic, final-round triumph over the second-seeded So provided the biggest story for the day.

The rest of the Filipino players did not fare any better.

Round 10:Board 1, GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar vs GM Rogelio Antonio

GM Rogelio Antonio



GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar

Round 9:GM Antonio win, take a lead for 2 rounds left

[Event "8th Asian Open Individual 2009"]
[Site "Subic, Philippines"]
[Date "2009.5.21"]
[Round ""]
[White "GM Rogelio Antonio"]
[Black "GM Le, Quang Liem"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B53"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 a6 5.c4 Nc6 6.Qe3 g6 7.Be2
Bg7 8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3 O-O 10.h3 Be6 11.Rb1 Rc8 12.b3 Qa5 13.Bd2
Qc5 14.Rbc1 Nd7 15.Ng5 Qxe3 16.Bxe3 Nc5 17.Rfd1 h6 18.Nxe6 fxe6
19.f3 g5 20.Bf1 Be5 21.Ne2 Kg7 22.Rd2 a5 23.Rb1 Kg6 24.a3 Na6
25.Rdd1 h5 26.Bd2 b6 27.b4 axb4 28.axb4 Nab8 29.Be3 Nd7 30.h4
Bf6 31.hxg5 Bxg5 32.f4 Bh6 33.g3 Kf7 34.Bf2 Rg8 35.Bg2 Ncb8 36.c5
bxc5 37.b5 Nb6 38.e5 Rcd8 39.Bf3 h4 40.Bh5+ Kf8 41.Bxc5 Nd5 42.Bd4
hxg3 43.Rf1 Nd7 44.b6 dxe5 45.fxe5+ Kg7 46.b7 Be3+ 47.Bxe3 Nxe3
48.Rf3 Nc4 49.Rxg3+ Kh6 50.Bg4 Ncxe5 51.Rh3+ Kg5 52.Bxe6 Rg6
53.Rg3+ Kf6 54.Rxg6+ Kxg6 55.Bxd7 Nxd7 56.Rd1 Kf6 57.Rxd7 Rg8+
58.Kf2 Ke6 59.Rc7 Rb8 60.Nd4+ Kd5 61.Nb5 e5 62.Ke2 e4 63.Kd2
Ke5 64.Kc3 Kd5 65.Kb4 e3 66.Kc3 e2 67.Kd2 Re8 68.Ke1 Rb8 69.Kxe2 1-0

8th Asian Continental Individual Open 2009 Round 7

[Event "8th Asian Individual Championship"]
[Site "Subic Free Port Philippines"]
[Date "2009.5.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "GM Wesley So"]
[Black "IM Mohammad Al-Sayed"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Eco ""]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1
a6 8.a4 b6 9.Bg5 Bb7 10.Qd2 c6 11.Bb3 Re8 12.Rad1 Qc7 13.Bxf6
Nxf6 14.d5 cxd5 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.Bxd5 Bxd5 17.Qxd5 Qxc2 18.Rc1
Qxa4 19.Rc7 Rac8 20.Ng5 Rxc7 21.Qxf7+ Kh8 22.Ne6 Bd8 23.Nxc7
Bxc7 24.Qxc7 Qb4 25.Re3 Qxb2 26.h3 Rg8 27.Qxd6 a5 28.Rg3 a4 29.Rxg7
Qc1+ 30.Kh2 Qf4+ 31.Rg3 h5 32.Qe6 Rxg3 33.fxg3 Qxe4 34.Qe8+ Kg7
35.Qe7+ Kg6 36.Qe6+ Kg7 1/2-1/2

8th Asian Continental Individual Open 2009 Round6

[Event "8th Asian Individual Championship"]
[Site "Subic Free Port Philippines"]
[Date "2009.5.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "GM Wesley So"]
[Black "GM Gao Rui"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B90"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 d5
8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Bd2 Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Ne4 Be7 12.c4 Nf6 13.Bg2
O-O 14.Bc3 Nxe4 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.Bxe4 Bd7 17.O-O-O Be8 18.Kc2
f6 19.f4 g6 20.h4 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 f5 22.Bf3 Bxh4 23.g5 Rc8 24.c5
h6 25.gxh6 Be7 26.Be2 Ra8 27.h7+ Kxh7 28.Rh1+ Kg8 29.Bc4 Bd8
30.Bxe6+ Kf8 31.Rh7 g5 32.Be5 Z0 1-0

17th World Computer Chess Championship

Clasificacion Programa Pais Hardware Resultado Juego Titulo
1 Rybka flag USA Intel Xeon W5580 @ 3.2GHz x 8 8.0 9 World Computer Chess Champion
2 Deep Sjeng flag BEL AMD 3.2Ghz x 4 (r1-7), Intel X5560 @ 2.8Ghz x 8 (r8-9) 6.5 9
2 Junior flag ISR Intel Xeon W5580 @ 3.2GHz x 8 6.5 9
2 Shredder flag DEU Intel Xeon W5580 @ 3.2GHz x 8 6.5 9
5 Hiarcs flag GBR Intel Xeon W5580 @ 3.2GHz x 8 6.0 9
6 Jonny flag DEU 4.5 9
7 The Baron flag NLD AMD Opteron 270 @ 2.0Ghz x 4 3.0 9
8 Equinox flag ITA 8x Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU X5355 2.66GHz 2.0 9
9 Pandix 2009 flag HUN 1.5 9
10 Joker flag NLD Core 2 Duo

8th Asian Continental Individual Open 2009 Round 5

[Event "8th Asian Continental /Individual Open"]
[Site "Subic Free Port Philippines"]
[Date "2009.5.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "GM Kunte Abhijiit"]
[Black "GM Wesley So"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Eco ""]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2
a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 a5 11.Nc3 Na6 12.Ne5 Bd5 13.Qb5
Nb4 14.e4 Bb3 15.Ra3 Bc2 16.Qc4 Nd7 17.Rc1 c6 18.Qe2 Nxe5 19.Bxe5
Bd3 20.Qg4 g5 21.d5 cxd5 22.exd5 Bf5 23.Qh5 exd5 24.Rd1 Bg6 25.Qe2
Qb6 26.Rb3 Qe6 27.Bxd5 Nxd5 28.Nxd5 Bd8 29.Re3 Qa6 30.Qd2 Rc8
31.Bc3 Rc6 32.Qd4 f6 33.Ne7+ Bxe7 34.Rxe7 Rf7 35.Qd5 Qc4 36.Rxf7
Qxd5 37.Rxd5 Bxf7 38.Rf5 h6 39.Rxa5 Ra6 40.Rxa6 bxa6 41.Bxf6
Bb3 42.a5 Kf7 43.Bc3 g4 44.Kf1 Ke6 45.Ke2 h5 46.f4 gxf3+ 47.Kxf3
Kf5 48.Bb4 Ba4 49.Be7 Bb3 50.Ke3 Kg6 51.Kf4 Bc4 52.b4 Bd3 1/2-1/2

8th Asian Continental Individual Open 2009 Round 1

World's Fastest Supercomputer Processing Unit

Fujitsu develops world's fastest processor
May 15th, 2009 Fujitsu Venus. Image credit: PC Watch

(AP) -- Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. said Wednesday that it has successfully developed the world's fastest supercomputer processing unit with more than twice the speed of the current leader.





A new central processing unit, or CPU, prototype successfully computed at 128 billion times per second - beating the current record, held by Intel Corp., by 2.5 times, company spokesman Masao Sakamoto said.

The company shrunk the size of each central circuit, thus doubling the number of circuits per chip, he said. The prototype is also energy-efficient and was able to cut power consumption to one-third of the conventional Fujitsu model.

Fujitsu aims to put the new CPU, with a code name "Venus," into practical application in supercomputers "within several years," Sakamoto said.

Computer makers, including IBM Corp., Cray Inc. and Intel, have been competing to develop a faster CPU.

Asia Continental Chess Championship, Subic 2009 Round 2

8th Asian Continental Individual Open 2009 Round 1

Asia Continental Chess Championship, Subic 2009

Sasikiran, Wesley So, and Zhou Jianchao top seeded
asia continental chess

The Asia Continental Chess Championship is going to take place in Subic Freeport, Philippines. The championship starts on May 12 and it is the qualification for the World Cup scheduled 20 Nov. to 15 Dec. 2009 in Khanty Mansiysk (Russia), and to the Women's World Championship next year. At stake in the tournament is a total of $50,000 in cash prizes for the top 40 places in the Men’s Division and $15,000 in cash prizes for the top 20 in the Women’s Division.





Here are the participant lists in the men and women events.
Participants (men)

1 GM Sasikiran Krishnan 2682 IND
2 GM So Wesley 2641 PHI
3 GM Zhou Jianchao 2635 CHN
4 GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2626 KAZ
5 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2625 IND
6 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2593 IRI
7 GM Negi Parimarjan 2592 IND
8 GM Hou Yifan 2590 CHN
9 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2588 VIE
10 GM Al-Modiahki Mohamad 2585 QAT
11 GM Filippov Anton 2584 UZB
12 GM Gupta Abhijeet 2570 IND
13 GM Zhou Weiqi 2563 CHN
14 GM Torre Eugenio 2561 PHI
15 GM Sandipan Chanda 2558 IND
16 GM Li Shilong 2557 CHN
17 GM Megaranto Susanto 2553 INA
18 GM Dzhumaev Marat 2552 UZB
19 GM Dao Thien Hai 2546 VIE
20 GM Gomez John Paul 2538 PHI
21 GM Abdulla Al-Rakib 2532 BAN
22 GM Hossain Enamul 2531 BAN
23 GM Paragua Mark 2529 PHI
24 GM Moradiabadi Elshan 2526 IRI
25 IM Khamrakulov Dzhurabek 2524 UZB
26 GM Rahman Ziaur 2523 BAN
27 GM Bui Vinh 2522 VIE
28 GM Antonio Rogelio Jr 2518 PHI
29 GM Nguyen Anh Dung 2518 VIE
30 GM Neelotpal Das 2514 IND
31 GM Kunte Abhijit 2513 IND
32 GM Laylo Darwin 2509 PHI
33 GM Tu Hoang Thong 2506 VIE
34 GM Yu Shaoteng 2504 CHN
35 Gao Rui 2500 CHN
36 GM Xu Jun 2498 CHN
37 GM Mahjoob Morteza 2498 IRI
38 GM Iuldachev Saidali 2497 UZB
39 GM Kim Alexey 2481 KOR
40 IM Bitoon Richard 2479 PHI
41 IM Nolte Rolando 2479 PHI
42 IM Toufighi Homayoon 2478 IRI
43 GM Villamayor Buenaventura 2474 PHI
44 GM Gonzales Jayson 2465 PHI
45 Gundavaa Bayarsaikhan 2461 MGL
46 Ding Liren 2458 CHN
47 IM Sadorra Julio Catalino 2451 PHI
48 IM Nguyen Thanh Son 2448 VIE
49 IM Irwanto Sadikin 2447 INA
50 FM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2441 IND
51 IM Dableo Ronald 2441 PHI
52 IM Wang Rui 2434 CHN
53 Wan Yunguo 2434 CHN
54 Yu Yangyi 2433 CHN
55 IM Dimakiling Oliver 2426 PHI
56 IM Mas Hafizulhelmi 2425 MAS
57 IM Barbosa Oliver 2425 PHI
58 CM Nguyen Van Huy 2423 VIE
59 Xiu Deshun 2422 CHN
60 Garma Edgardo 2421 PHI
61 Zhang Ziyang 2419 CHN
62 Yap Kim Steven 2419 PHI
63 Yang Kaiqi 2413 CHN
64 IM Ashwin Jayaram 2413 IND
65 IM Tu Hoang Thai 2412 VIE
66 FM Priyadharshan K 2411 IND
67 Lou Yiping 2410 CHN
68 GM Murshed Niaz 2407 BAN
69 IM Akshayraj Kore 2404 IND
70 Wang Li 2401 CHN
71 IM Nadera Barlo A 2400 PHI
72 FM Nava Roderick 2396 PHI
73 Fernandez Ernesto 2395 PHI
74 Dela Cruz Noel 2392 PHI
75 FM Wahono Awam 2391 INA
76 FM Batchuluun Tsegmed 2391 MGL
77 Ballecer Dino 2390 PHI
78 FM Abu Sufian Shakil 2378 BAN
79 FM Hoang Canh Huan 2378 VIE
80 FM Donguines Fernie 2373 PHI
81 IM Roca Petronio 2372 PHI
82 Elorta David 2372 PHI
83 FM Tologontegin Semetey 2369 KGZ
84 Causo Deniel 2367 PHI
85 Tolentino Rustum 2362 PHI
86 Senador Emmanuel 2360 PHI
87 Pascua Haridas 2359 PHI
88 IM Chiong Luis 2358 PHI
89 Legaspi Rhobel 2358 PHI
90 IM Bancod Ronald 2356 PHI
91 Nouri Hamed 2350 PHI
92 Olay Edgar Reggie 2348 PHI
93 FM Novita Anjas 2345 INA
94 Jia Haoxiang 2344 CHN
95 Carlos Leonardo 2337 PHI
96 Andador A 2336 PHI
97 Pak Evgeniy 2328 KAZ
98 IM Garma Chito 2327 PHI
99 IM Hassan Abdullah 2322 UAE
100 Yu Lie 2307 CHN
101 Habla Jony 2300 PHI
102 FM Alhuwar Jasem 2293 UAE
103 CM Nguyen Hoang Nam 2281 VIE
104 Celis Solomon B Iii 2007 MAC
105 CM Prasad Calvin 1912 FIJ
Participants (women)

1 GM Zhu Chen 2491 QAT
2 IM Harika Dronavalli 2474 IND
3 Ju Wenjun 2454 CHN
4 WGM Munguntuul Batkhuyag 2440 MGL
5 Tan Zhongyi 2436 CHN
6 IM Tania Sachdev 2423 IND
7 WGM Shen Yang 2420 CHN
8 WGM Huang Qian 2410 CHN
9 WIM Nadig Kruttika 2361 IND
10 WGM Karavade Eesha 2359 IND
11 WIM Zhang Xiaowen 2340 CHN
12 WGM Gu Xiaobing 2336 CHN
13 WGM Zhang Jilin 2335 CHN
14 WGM Swathi Ghate 2330 IND
15 WGM Le Thanh Tu 2326 VIE
16 WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An 2324 VIE
17 WFM Pham Le Thao Nguyen 2314 VIE
18 WGM Mohota Nisha 2304 IND
19 WGM Meenakshi Subbaraman 2303 IND
20 WGM Sukandar Irine Kharisma 2300 INA
21 WFM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung 2295 VIE
22 WFM Ding Yixin 2281 CHN
23 WIM Le Kieu Thien Kim 2277 VIE
24 WIM Pourkashiyan Atousa 2273 IRI
25 Wang Xiaohui 2265 CHN
26 WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram 2239 VIE
27 WIM Xu Tong 2231 CHN
28 WFM Le Thi Phuong Lien 2216 VIE
29 WIM Muminova Nafisa 2212 UZB
30 WFM Dang Bich Ngoc 2185 VIE
31 WFM Perena Catherine 2184 PHI
32 WFM Camacho Chardine Cheradee 2166 PHI
33 WIM Bui Kim Le 2165 VIE
34 WIM Ghader Pour Shayesteh 2156 IRI
36 Guo Qi 2147 CHN
37 Li Panru 2146 CHN
38 Sun Fanghui 2146 CHN
39 WFM Cua Sherily 2143 PHI
40 WFM Shamima Akter Liza 2125 BAN
41 WFM Hoang Thi Nhu Y 2123 VIE
42 Rivera Daisy 2094 PHI
43 Xu Huahua 2093 CHN
44 Jose Rulp Ylem 2054 PHI
45 WIM Mendoza Beverly 2045 PHI
46 Bernales Christy Lamiel 2041 PHI
47 Salvador Aices 2040 PHI
48 Lkhamsuren Uuganbayar 2038 MGL
49 WIM Mariano Cristine Rose 2037 PHI
50 WFM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat 1806 IRI
51 Sharmin Sultana Shirin 0 BAN

11th Dubai Chess Open 2009

GM Tigran Kotanjian wins the Dubai open




The 11th edition of the strong Dubai chess open tournament is over. The winner is the Armenian GM Tigran Kotanjian who finished with 7,0/9. With the same points finished GM Bocharov and GM Anastasian, but Kotanjian won the first place with a better tiebreak.

A total of 34 GMs participated in the event, most of them within 100 ELO margin. That created a very dynamic event and many surprises were seen during the course of the competition. One of the best performances was for IM Kidambi Sundararajan (IND), who finished 6th, just half a point behind the leaders. The two top youngsters GM Gopal and GM Safarli finished 19th and 20th with 6,0/9.

The Dubai chess open started back in 1999. Since then there are 11 champions, the last one being GM Tigran Kotanjian. Here is a flashback from the past events from Dubai. It is the tournament where Magnus Carlsen became a GM (6th edition), one of the first top events won by GM Wesley So, and among winners we can see Mamedyarov, Sargissian, Goloshchapov, Asrian, Jobava, Akopian.
10th Dubai chess championship

The Dubai Open celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008 with 131 players from 25 countries in the tournament with 29 GM/WGM, 21 IM/WIM and 22 FM/WGM seeing action at the Dubai Chess Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Sheikh Rashed Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup was awarded to the winner of the 9-round Swiss.

The world's youngest Grandmaster at the time, 14-year-old Wesley So of the Philippines, won the Dubai Open with 7 points out of 9 rounds. The Filipino tied with GMs Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran and Li Chao of China but prevailed in the tie break of higher average opponent rating. Eight other players tied with 6.5 points each. Wesley received a congratulatory telephone call from National Chess Federation of the Philippines President Prospero Pichay. Local hero FIDE Master Salem Abdulrahman Saleh, Asian under-14 champion, clinched his first GM norm with one round to spare. Salem Abdulrahman from UAE and Zhou Weiqi from China make Grandmaster Norm and and Also Soozankar Mohamad from Iran and Wu Xibin from China made International Master Norms.
9th Dubai chess championship

GM Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia won the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup finishing with 7 points in the 9th Dubai Open held 22 to 30 April 2007 at the Dubai Chess Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Pantsulaia won by tie break over GMs Amir Bagheri of Iran, and Gadir Guesinov and Sarhan Guliev of Azerbaijan. Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum awarded the champion's cup to GM Pantsulaia together with the Dubai Chess Club President Ibrahim Al Bannai.

The 9th Dubai Open saw the participation of 126 players from 24 countries including: 25 Grandmasters, 4 Woman Grandmasters, 15 International Masters, 3 Woman International Masters, 18 FIDE Masters, and 7 Woman FIDE Masters. The Dubai Chess Club provided excellent facilities for the players. Under the supervision of Mr. Ahmed Toukhi of the Dubai Chess Club, the official hotel, the Vendome Plaza, gave good service to the players. Bus service between the hotel and the tournament venue was on time and coordinated well by Mr. Ahmed Barakat of the Dubai Chess Club.
8th Dubai chess championship

GM Zviad Izoria of Georgia led a strong field of 22 Grandmasters, 19 International Masters, and 40 FIDE titled players in the 8th Dubai Open Championship.

GM Gabriel Sargissian, GM Tigran L Petrosian, and GM Fedorchuk tied for the champion title with 7 points. There were quick draws on all the top 5 boards that left to share the second place with 13 players. Prominent juniors like Sethuraman, Wesley So, and Eltaj Safarli made IM norms. The tournament was a grand success for the juniors who proved their talent and displayed their skills. Indian youngsters like Sethuraman and Sai Srinivas gained a lot of rating points.
7th Dubai chess championship

With record number of 60 grandmasters one expected the invited grandmasters to stamp their class and get going. The participants list included GM Kiril Georgiev, GM Alexander Motylev, GM David Navara, GM Mamedyarov, GM Ni Hua, GM Kobalia, GM Bu Xiangzhi, GM Sergey Volkov, GM Efimenko, GM Miroshnichenko, etc.

To everybody's surprise, the winner of the event did not have any international title. It was the Chinese player Wang Hao who finished clear first with 7,0/9, defeating GM Solak, GM Riazantsev, and GM Kacheishvili in the process, and finishing without a lost game. Second place was shared by 7 GMs.
6th Dubai chess championship

World Junior Champion 19-year-old Grandmaster Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan clinched the Dubai Cup with seven points after defeating overnight leader Grandmaster Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine in the last round.

Twelve players, GMs Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania, Viorel Iordachesvu of Moldova, Evgeny Vladimirov of Kazakhstan, Artashes Minasian of Armenia, Mohamad Al-Modiahki of Qatar, Ukrainian trio of Evgenij Miroshnichenko, Pavel Eljanov and Alexander Goloshchapov, International Masters Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan, Sasikiran and Harikrishna shared the second spot with 6.5 points each.

1990 born Norwegian kid Magnus Carlsen made his third and final Grandmaster Norm and became the 2nd youngest ever to make the Grandmaster title, just a little behind Ukraine's wonder boy Sergei Karjakin.
4th Dubai chess championship

GM Krishnan Sasikiran of India and GM Kharlov Andrei of Russia with an International Elo Rating of 2633 were the top seeds in the Dubai Open Chess championship for the Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan Cup with a record number for that time number of 104 participants from 30 countries. There was also a record number of 42 GMs.

GM Goloshchapov (UKR) became champion after multiple surprises in the strong competition.
3rd Dubai chess championship

The 3rd Dubai Open Chess Tournament was attendend by many Russian GMs: Andrei Kharlov, Valerij Filippov, Alexander Motylev, Andrey Shariyazdanov, Mihail Kobalija, Alexey Kuzmin, Evgeny Pigusov, Yuri Yakovich, Evgeny Sveshnikov, Andrew Volzhin, Alexander Galkin.

8 players shared the victory - Asrian, Ehlvest, Aleksandrov, Minasian, Motylev, Vladimirov, Kotsur, Ermenkov, with GM Karen Asrian winning with better tiebreak.
1st and 2nd edition of the Dubai chess championship

These were the first steps of what was going to become a traditional tournament. It did not have the large number of participants that we see in later editions, but still there were some very strong invited players. Among them are the winner in 2000 - GM Alexander Nenashev, and the first champion of the Dubai chess open championship - GM Vladimir Akopian.

Official site: www.dubaichess.ae

Chess in the Curriculum

Pasay City - The Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) which calls for the training in chess of DepEd officials by grandmasters belonging to the NCFP. This is part of the move to institutionalize chess in public elementary and high schools.

The MOA targets a 90-percent chess literacy in the Philippines. It also aims to regain Philippine chess supremacy in Asia.

Lapus cited studies which have shown that chess improves individual organization and analytical skills. Children when exposed to this game at an early age achieve academically better or even faster than those who have not been engaged in the same game.

The event also established the National Chess Academy (NCA) which will serve as the training venue for chess teachers, coaches and arbiters. NCA will hold office at De La Salle University under the supervision of NCFP Vice-President and Former CHED Chairman Rolando Dizon, FSC. The Executive Director is Bong Belen, whose school in Tanauan, Batangas, the First Asian Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH) will be the main training center.

Starting May 2009, Grandmaster Bong Villamayor will head a team of trainors who will provide training for 195 DepEd Chess Coordinators and School Coordinators who will be sent by their respective schools.

A three-day seminar workshop will be given, after which a Certificate of Chess Competence will be awarded to those who successfully pass a Competency Test to be administered by the NCFP through the NCA.

Chess will be implemented effective October of SY 2009-2010 in grades 3-6 (Edukasyon sa Pagpapalakas ng Katawan) and at high school 1-4 (Physical Education), as stipulated in DepEd Memorandum No. 1, s. 2009.

(via DepEd Communications Unit)