Up Close and Personal at the 19th ASEAN Age Group Chess Championships

For the first time in history, Davao City hosted the 19th ASEAN age group chess championships from June 18-28, 2018 and I was lucky enough to be among the participants. Venue was the Royal Mandaya Hotel located in the heart of the City. More than 300 players from 10 countries participated with the Philippines having the biggest delegation being the host country and Vietnam coming in second. I played in the seniors 50 + category while my daughter Florence Faith  played in the girls under 18 category.

Me w/ one of the arbiters Alfred Moulic & Cong. Pichay during the opening ceremonies.

Cong. Pichay, NCFP president making the ceremonial moves vs. a Vietnamese player to signal the start of the ASEAN age group chess championships.

(Me with my good friend & fellow Davaoweño PSC Commissioner Charles Maxey)

From the start it was a 2 way battle for ASEAN chess supremacy between host the Philippines, and the new emerging powerhouse Vietnam. Vietnam dominated the standard and rapid category while the Philippines reign supreme in the blitz category to regain the over-all crown. 

( My daughter Florence Faith, seeing action in the girls under 18 vs.a Vietnamese opponent)

(Players in action ).. 

Vietnam amassed a total of 70 golds, 56 silvers and 30 bronze medals, while the Philippines had 55 golds, 45 silvers and 26 bronzes. Indonesia was far behind with only 3 silvers and one bronze to show, having send just a few players. 

( RP's 1-2 punch in the under 20 IM Marvin Miciano and IM Paulo Bersamina in action w/ separate opponents ) 

The only consolation was IM Paulo Bersamina's  fine showing by ruling the under-20 standard, rapid and tying for first in blitz chess. Bersamina was awarded with a grandmaster norm for his effort in his last & final Asean age group competition. Another notable performance was that of Daniel Quizon, who won the gold in the rapid & blitz section in the under 14 category. On the distaff side, WFM   Shania Mae Mendoza, bagged the gold in the standard and rapid section of the girls under 20 category.  

( Me vs. FM Maung Maung Lwin (2076), President of the Myanmar Chess Federation in 1st round action in the rapid section. I won this one, my first ever against a foreign titled player)     

As for me, I had no high expectation  as I was the only untitled and unrated RP player in our field. Scored 4.5 pts in 9 rounds in the standard but exceed my expectation in the blitz scoring 5.5 pts with my 3 wins against much higher Vietnamese opponents which almost landed me with a bronze medal. 

(Surrounded by Vietnamese players). 

Below is my first win against a Vietnamese player in a standard game. 
Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr - Le Thien Vi 2044  1-0
BO7 ASEAN Age Group (3) 18-06-2018  

1.e4 d6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 g6 4.d3 Bg7 5.f4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be3 0-0 
8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e5 10.0-0 exf4 11.Qxf4 Nh5 12.Qf2 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Ne5
14.Bb3 Qe7 15.Rae1 a5 16.a4 c6 17.d4 Nd7 18.Bh6 Ng7 19.Re3 Nb6
20. g4 Rae8 21.h4 Qd7 22.Rg3 Qe7 23.Rg2 d5 24.e5 Nd7 25.c4 dxc4
26.Bxc4 Nb6 27.Bb3 Nd5 28.Bxd5 cxd5 29.Qf6 Qxf6 30.exf6 Nf6 31.Bxf8 
Kxf8 and Black resigned after 14 more moves.

Had a lot of fun and meet new friends, one of whom was Grabow Pouelsten Holm, a senior master from Denmark who won the standard and rapid section in the Seniors 65 & above category. He is already 70 years old but stil plays very good chess. I lost to him in the standard and rapid but had a winning position in the blitz which was eventually drawn.   

( Me vs. my new friend Grabow Pouelsten Holm from Denmark)  

It was a  great and unforgettable experience to rub elbows and actually play with some of the best senior players in the ASEAN region. And one thing more, finally after a long wait, I have now a FIDE rating. Got a respectable 1915 in standard, 1995 in rapid and a more respectable 2133 in blitz..      

I invited my new friend fron Denmark to go fishing with me after the tournament..

THE 2ND METROLIROT CUP

(Guests and participants of the 2nd Metrolirot Cup. From left, standing: 
allan.dinglasan, gmlet888, Jayson, me, IM Pau Bersamina, wordfunph, kardopov, Glen Paclar and Dante Lantayona. Kneeling from left: pulsar, 
spawn 2 and ricky). 

The 1st Metrolirot Cup was held on January 22, 2012 at the house 
of Allan Dinglasan at Woodside Village, Biñan, Laguna. The tourney 
has became a tradition among Barangay Wesley (BW) and GM Eugene
Torre Supporters (GETS) members who are based outside Metro Manila 
or abroad who want to sponsor a tourney in order to touch based with 
fellow members based in Metro Manila. The event is more like a get 
together complete with foods and drinks rather than a serious tourney 
whereby Metro Manila based players welcome their visiting member. I 
was lucky enough to emerged the champion of the 1st edition.

(Participants of the 2012 metrolirot cup, front row from left: spawn2, 
jasper, metrolirot,sheriff, and allan dinglasan. second row/at the 
back:coach vic, ricky, richee,shadowleaf, kardopov, pulsar and 
pinoymaster77. Not in photo was wordfunph who was the photographer) 


After a lull of 3 years, I was lucky to visit Manila again thus the 

staging of the 2nd Metrolirot Cup on February 28, 2015. Once again, 

the event was held at Woodside Village Binan, Laguna, the house of 

Allan Dinglasan. We were lucky enough as the occasion was graced 

by no less than International Master Paulo Bersamina, (spartan1998) 

RP's youngest IM and a member of the 2014 RP chess olympic team 

and his amiable father gmlet888. With me was my 2 friends from Toril, 

Davao City, Glen Paclar and Dante Lantayona.

( me with the huge tarpauline at the house of Allan Dinglasan ) 

After exchanging pleasantries with my fellow chess enthusiasts we 

partake the food that was prepared by the host and those brought by 

my fellow BW members. Ice cold SM light beer was also served and I 

drink 1 bottle before settling down for the start of the tourney.    

.

( BW/GETS stalwarts, from left: wordfunph, allan dinglasan, me and 

kardopov ). 


Ten players were officially entered in the tourney with a 1 game

knock-out format. I won my 1st round vs. kardopov ushering me

to the semi-final. Pulsar and spawn who both won in the 1st round 

had a play-off to determine who will play in the semi-finals. Pulsar

won and we were paired in the semi-finals.    

1st round (Knockout format) 
wordfunph vs spartan1998 0-1
spawn vs ricky 1-0
pulsar vs alland 1-0
kardopov vs metrolirot 0-1
gmlet vs jayson 0-1 
___________________________ 
playoff to determine who enters the semis:
spawn vs pulsar 0-1

( me vs. pulsar )

Pulsar had always been a dangerous opponent for me. I played
against him in the 2012 Metrolirot Cup and I was just lucky 
enough to win our match. I essayed my modern defense against
his e4 opening and emerged with a cramp position in the 
middle game. A few moves later, I was a pawn down and when
I was expecting his kingside attack to crash through, he 
hesitated enabling me to consolidate my position and 
liquidate into a won ending. Again a lucky escape for me. I
am now into the finals vs. IM Pau who won his semi-finals 
game vs. jason.              
___________________________ 
Semifinals: 
pulsar vs metrolirot 0-1
spartan1998 vs jayson 1-0
___________________________ 

( The start of the championship match between me and IM Pau )

The championship match was a best of 3 games. I was given odds
in time with 5 minutes for IM Pau and 10 minutes for me. I was 
white in the 1st game but mishandled the opening of a Sicilian
accelerated dragon and soon was a piece down and resigned. I
promised to myself to do better in the 2nd game.        

( The 2nd game of our match ).

Our second game was a King's Indian Saemisch- Panno variation. Again
I misplayed the opening and got a passive position. However due to
some inaccuracies from IM Pau ( probably due to his lower time), I was
given some chances. The game was nip and tuck until I committed a 
blunder that cost me the game.     

(me receiving the 2nd place prize from Allan Dinglasan ) 

Finals (Best of 3)
metrolirot vs spartan1998 0-1
spartan1998 vs metrolirot 1-0

( IM Paulo Bersamina receiving his champion's prize from Allan
Dinglasan and me ). 


I was not able to defend my crown in the 2nd Metrolirot 

Cup but losing to RP's youngest Olympian IM Paulo Bersamina

in the finals is already a great honor. Higit sa lahat, hindi 

mababayaran ng pera ang kaligayahan ko sa VIP treatment na 

ipinakita sa akin ng Barangay Wesley (BW) and GETS players 

who were there. Special thanks to the host Allan Dinglasan, 

wordfunph, spawn2, kardopov, pulsar ang mag-amang Bersamina 

at iba pang kasamahan nila at sa mga kasamahan ko from Toril 

( Glen and Dante) for making this event possible. Hopefully there 

will be a 3rd Metrolirot Cup next year. Sa muling pagkikita!!

Below is the 2nd game of my championship match vs. IM Paulo 
Bersamina with some annotations. Hope you enjoy it.. 

[Event "2nd Metrolirot Cup"]
[Site "Woodside Village, Binan, Laguna "]
[Date "2015.2.28"]
[Round "Finals- 2nd game"]
[White "IM Paulo Bersamina"]
[Black "Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2365"]
[BlackELO "1835"]

1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f3 Nf6 5. e4 O-O 

6. Nge2 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 Rb8 9. Rc1



This line is the latest wrinkle in the Samisch - Panno 
variation. IM David Vigorito in his book " Attacking 
Chess The King's Indian Vol. 1 has this to say, 
" White does not initiate any action just yet, but he 
does prevent 9... b5? because 10. cxb5 axb5 11. nxb5 
Rxb5 12. Rxc6 would win a pawn. Moreover, if Black 
plays too passively, White will slowly develop his 
kingside and look forward to a nice space advantage 
in the middle game,so Black must play with some 
purpose.   

9... Bd7

A good and flexible move according to IM Vigorito. Black 
also protects the c6- knight which will allow him to play
10... b5.

10. Nd1 e5?!



Thematic but not the best as White is already well 
positioned to make his queenside expansion. 10... b5! 
is more consistent.   

11. d5 Ne7 12. Nf2 Ne8 13. g3 f5 14. Bg2 Nf6 15.O-O Nh5




(15.. Kh8 16.Bh6 Bxh6 17. Qxh6 fxe4 18.fxe4 c5 19.dxc6 
1/2-1/2GM Khenkin, Igor 2602 - GM Fedorov, Alexei, 
Sigeman & Co. 2006)

 16. exf5?!

Best is 16. b4! to commence White's thematic queenside 
attack in the King's Indian Defense as black is hard pressed 
to organized a kingside attack.
  
 16... Nxf5 17. Bg5 Nf6 18. Ne4 Qe8 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. f4?

Fritz suggest 20. g4 Ne7 21. c5! maintaining the initiative.   

20... Bg7!

Preserving the black bishop which could have been activated 
after the exchange of black's pawn at e5. The position is 
roughly equal.

21.Rce1 Qe7 22. b3 Rbe8 23. Kh1 Bh6 24. Qd3 Qg7?



Black could have activated his queen by 24.. exf4 
25. Nxf4 Qe5

25. fxe5?!

25 g4! and black would be a piece down as his black bishop has 
no escape route due to his queen's occupation of the g7 square.. 

25... Rxe5 26. Nf4 Bxf4?

26.... Re7! according to fritz and the black queen has the black 
diagonal to operate.. 

27. Rxf4 Qh6 28. Ref1 Ree8?



The losing move. 28... g5 is the only move to save the game. 
Then after 29. R4f2 g4 in order to prevent white's next move.      

29. g4! 1-0



Final position..

Black resigns. After 29... Ne7 30.g5! then after the 
black queen moves then 31. Nf6 + follows.. 

You can replay the game below...

"MY BEST GAME IN THE 1ST MANNY PACQUIAO CUP ACTIVE CHESS TOURNEY-DIARY OF A CHESS TOURIST"

General Santos City is a good two and a half hours travel from where I lived

in Toril, Davao City. I and my 2 daughters Caissa Jane and Florence Faith 

thus decided to spent part of the holidays by visiting General Santos City and 

playing in the 1st Manny Pacquiao Cup Active Chess Tournament scheduled 

on Dec.21-23, 2014 at the Robinson's Mall, General Santos City. This was my 

1st out of town tourney after passing the bar and it was long time ago. I was 

enticed to join as there was a Class B category (1900 and below) with a 

champion's prize of P 30,000.00 which I thought I had a chance to win. We left 

Toril on Dec. 21, 2014 at around 6:30 A.M and arrived in GenSan at around 

9 A.M. We took our brekfast in one of the Jollibee outlet in GenSan. With us 

was Cerilo " Bata " Enobio, current president of Metro Toril Chess Association 

(MTCA) who hitched a ride as he was also playing in the Class B category

(1900 and below).    

( Me in the thick of the fight in 1900 and below category ).

After breakfast we proceeded directly to Robinson's Mall where we were 

told that the opening and start of the games will be at 2:00 P.M. We paid 

the registration fee of P 500/player and checked-in at Family Country Homes 

Hotel to have a short rest. At around 2:00 P.M  we return to Robinson's just 

in time for the opening ceremonies and start of the game. One of our wishes 

was to have a selfie with Manny Pacquiao but he was not present during the 

opening.       

( NM Rustum Tolentino and GM Richard Bitoon making the ceremonial move
 during the opening ceremony )   


Two games were played on the 1st day and I had mixed results. I had an
escape win in my first game but committed an illegal move in a won position 
in round 2 when I pushed my pawn to the e1 square without replacing it 
with a queen.  

(My 2nd round game vs. Daniel Salazar where I committed an illegal move 
and lost the game ).

Had a good second day scoring 4 points in 5 rounds. My wife also joined us
and we had a sumptuous lunch at Fiesta Grill and KTV Bar whose tuna kinilaw 
was one of the best I ever tasted. Just to remind you, GenSan is the tuna capital 
of the Philippines. 

( Lunch at Fiesta Grill and KTV Bar besides Robinson's with my wife and kids)  

( One of the best tuna kinilaw that I ever tasted)

On the 3rd and final day, I won a nice attacking game in the 8th round 
but  lost my final game which would have ensured me a tie for 3rd place 
and a share of the prize money. I ended up scoring 6 points in 9 games 
just good enough to tie for 16th-20th place out of 109 players. 

  (My 2 daughters Florence Faith and Caissa Jane also played in the Class 
B category and was paired against each other in the 9th and final round. 
Florence Faith scored 3.5 points while her older sister CJ scored 2.0 points).

The Open category was won by IM Oliver Dimakiling who scored 8 points in
the 9 rounds tourney. He was awarded the Manny Pacquiao Cup plus the
cash prize of P 100,000.00.

( My 8th round game vs Talib Tiboron )


My only consolation was that I had a nice attacking game in round 8 which 
left my opponent scratching his head after the heat of battle ended and 
earned me a number of high fives and handshakes from players and
 spectators. You be the judge...

I refer to this game as the " Caveman Smothered Mate ". 


[Event "1ST MANNY PACQUIAO CUP ACTIVE CHESS TOURNEY"]
[Site "Robinson's Mall, General Santos City"]
[Date "2014.12.22"]
[Round "8th"]
[White "Talib Tiboron"]
[Black "Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr."]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "1835"]
[BlackELO "1882"]

English Opening
(Reversed Grand Prix Attack)

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 f5 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. d3 Bc5 6. e3 d6 
7. Nge2 O-O 8. a3 a6 9. O-O Qe8 10. Rb1?! 

Too slow. The immediate 10. d4 or 10.Nd5 is better. 

10... f4! 



It's now or never. Black sacrifices a pawn in exchange for an
attack against white's castled king.

11. d4 Ba7 



Black's bishop at a7 would later play a crucial role in a mating attack
against white's king.

12. dxe5 dxe5 13. exf4 Qh5!



Black is now threatening 14... Bh3 followed by Ng4. GM Gawain Jones,
in his book Starting Up: The Grand Prix Attack refers to this attacking
pattern as the Caveman Attack. 

14. fxe5 Ng4!



Threatening mate with 15... Qxh2 and the capture of the f2 pawn.

15. h4 Nxf2 16. Qd5+ Kh8 17. Nf4!



It seems that White has weathered the attack as black's queen is
forced to retreat. However, more precise is 17. c5! locking out
black's bishop at a7.. 

 Ng4+ 18. Kh1 Qe8 19. e6 Nd4 20. Bh3 c6?

The immediate 20.. Bxe6 would give black the advantage. However,
the position is still messy and anything can happen.

21.  Qg5?



It's now the turn of white to err. 21. Qg2 would have retain the 
advantage but white is also on an attack mode and would not want
to retreat his queen.

 21...Nxe6!

Indirectly defending his knight at g4. 22. Qxg4 would be a blunder
because of 22... Nxf4! . Black now has the advantage. 

 22. Nxe6 Rxf1+ 23. Bxf1 Bxe6 24. Qf4 Qe7 25. Bd2 Rf8 



All of black's pieces are now directed against white's weakened
kingside.  

26. Qg5 Qd6 27.Bf4 Qd4 28. Bg2 Nf2+ 29. Kh2 h6 30. Qe7 Rxf4!



The succeeding moves are worthy of a chess puzzle..

 31. Qxe6 Rxh4+ 

Sacrificing the rook to open up the diagonal for black's bishop. 

32. gxh4 Bb8+ 



Finally, the black bishop joins the fray and delivers a venomous check.

33.Kg1 Nh3+ 34. Kh1 Qg1+ 



After the rook, it is now the turn of black's queen to be sacrificed.

35. Rxg1 Nf2# 



In the final position, black has only a bishop and knight but their
team up was enough to deliver checkmate. Such is the beauty of
chess!

At this point, my opponent called the arbiter as both of our flags fell 
down. When the arbiter came, I told him, " Mate prevails ", which was
seconded by the other players who watched the game. I was awarded 
the  full point. Sha Mat. The king is dead. Long live the king!   

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