MANILA, Philippines -- FIDE Master Roderick Nava and Jenny Rose Palomo swept the individual titles while leading Far Eastern University Team A to the championship in the recent 12th Rakan Muda GACC (Grand Asean Chess Challenge) World Inter-Varsity Chess Championships at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.
Final standings:
27.5 points -- FEU Team A (RP); 25.5 -- National Univ. of Singapore (SIN), FEU Team B (RP); 24.0 -- Univ. of Colombo Team A (SRI); 23.0 -- Univ. of Malaya, Team A (MAL); 22.5 -- PTVA (IND); 22.0 -- Nanyang Tech. Univ. Team A (SIN); 21.5 -- Azad Islamic Univ. (IRN); 20.0 -- Univ. of Malaya, Team B (MAL), Univ. Pendidikan Sultan Idris Team A (MAL), Univ. Islam Antarabangsa Team A (MAL).
Nava, a member of the national training pool, split the point with International Master Shojaat Gharehgardeh of Iran’s Azad Islamic University to top the men’s division.
Palomo settled for a draw with compatriot Ronna Reigner Senora of FEU Team B to rule the women’s side.
Nava and Palomo wound up with seven wins, a loss and a draw each for 7.5 points. They won 1,000 ringgit (P12,000) and a gold medal each.
FEU Team A, which also had Luffe Magdalaga and John Ranel Morazo, amassed 27.5 combined points to pocket the team title and the top purse of 2,000 ringgit.
Nava’s only loss was dealt by fellow FIDE Master Hong Nguyen Ly of Singapore in the fourth round while Palomo bowed to Dawn Hui Sau Mun of NTA in the opening round.
Courtesy @ http://sports.inquirer.net
Monday, December 31, 2007
FEU Team A, Nava, Palomo sweep Asean varsity chess
Chess improvement v Chess enjoyment
Are chess improvement and chess enjoyment mutually exclusive? Improving one's ability at any game of skill takes dedication, study, practice and application. Where's the fun in that? I'm half joking here of course - I recognize that if I enjoy chess (which I do) then learning to play it better should also be enjoyable and motivation shouldn't be a problem.
So why is it a problem?
I believe that improving your chess ability requires much harder work than most patzers (myself included) realise, and are prepared to undertake. I don't think I'm lazy (not more than average, anyway) and I'm prepared to work hard at something if I feel it is worthwhile. The question is - is studying chess worthwhile? It is after all just a game - a beautiful, beguiling, compelling frustrating, uplifting game. Life is short and chess study takes a lot of time.
If the aim of life is to be happy, is there really any point in spending so much time on a game which can produce as much frustration and disappointment as happiness?
It may sound like I'm writing this on the back of a bad loss, but I'm on a winning streak at the moment (I'm playing correspondence games at chess.com). No, this post has been prompted by the impending new year and thoughts of resolutions.
I've decided not to make any resolutions, about chess or anything else. I will continue to try to balance enjoyment and study of chess in my leisure time and hope to end 2008 understanding chess a bit better than I do now.
My blogging friend Dan Scoones has suggested I finish reading 'The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played' by Chernev (one of the many books I haven't finished). So that's what I'm going to do - and continue playing as much as possible - given the time available!
Courtesy @ http://sonofpearl.blogspot.com
Maker of the best moves
Winning the World championship in Mexico ahead of Russia's Vladimir Kramnik has been a crowning glory in chess wizard V Anand's career. But that's not the only qualification for being Times Sport's Sportsperson of the Year.
It has been a stunning year for the 38-year-old. After an utterly forgettable Olympiad last year, Anand has bounced back in superb fashion. He began by winning the Wimbledon of chess - Linares. The Super GM event is not known for strawberry and cream but for the creamy layer of players it provides on the chess board. That performance took Anand to World No 1 for the first time in his career.
This was followed by superb wins over former World champion Veselin Topalov and the ever-improving Levon Aronian in Leon and Mainz, respectively. And then an unbeaten run in Mexico which gave him the undisputed World title.
Along the way, he didn't forget the contributions made by National champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Sandipan Chanda and V Saravanan in his preparation. That adds to his greatness because he understands unsung heroes and significance of small contributions.
With the advent of internet, chess is now a game for youngsters. So, what makes Anand tick after all these years - nearly two decades at top-level competition? It's his adaptability to various formats, his feel for the game, the great mix of a genius and hard worker in him and his endeavour to enjoy the struggle and ambition of finding ideas to succeed.
An achievement in the game of chess, which will remain a non-spectator sport, should get a bit more weightage for a variety of reasons.
First of all, in an individual sport there is no place to hide. Moreover, a great performance is not possible in a losing cause. Then, the luck element is at its minimum. In all super tournaments, chess players get equal number of blacks and whites. So advantage of the toss is thrown out of the window. Weather, playing surface, umpiring decisions don't influence the game of chess.
One mistake costs you a game in this 64-square sport. The chance to regroup and comeback is minimum because one game is one process (not a series of the same process like tennis, cricket or other sports).
In other words, no bluff (positive body language and aura) will give you results in chess as this is a complete knowledge sport where the emphasis is more on chess pieces than physical action of the players. The intent and results in other sports can vary. Being a square-specific sport, intent matches with results for almost 100 per cent.
The most demanding aspect of other sports is that you have to take the decision in split second (for example, whether to race the car in the same gear, whether to make bowling changes). The classical variety of chess (three and a half hours per player) don't force you to take split decisions. Rather it encourages you to give off your best. A player can take his own good time, study the position deeply, before making his move.
Anand has found the best possible moves for the large part of year. And that makes him, simply put, a cut above the rest.
The next year would start with a bit of bad news for Anand. For, Kramnik is likely to grab the World No 1 spot in the latest rankings on New Year's Day. But Anand will get plenty of chances to set the record straight when he meets the Russian at Wijk aan Zee and the World Championship return match in Bonn, Germany, this November.
And if Anand manages to retain his title, it would need a miracle to stop him from becoming Times Sport's Sportsperson of the Year for the second year in a row.
Courtesy - indiatimes.com @
http://sports.indiatimes.com/Sections/2007_The_Year_of_Young_Turks/Maker_of_the_best_moves/articleshow/2663093.cms
Sunday, December 30, 2007
INDIA - Year End Chess 2007 profile
Mixed bag For Indian Chess
Even as Viswanathan Anand continued to strive harder to take his game to the next level, most of the other Indian names did not have a great year.
Twenty years ago, a teenager by the name of Viswanathan Anand redefined excellence for Indian chess players. He combined speed with skill, imaginative ideas with intuition and reeled off results that did not go unnoticed by some of the best brains in the game. With the passage of time, his phenomenally consistent performances put him among the elite of this cerebral sport. His tireless work paid off this year and realised two of his long cherished goals. He captured the Wo rld number spot in April and went on to regain the World title, which he won in 2000.
Seldom has an individual made such a lasting impact on the future of any sporting discipline in India. His talent apart, what caught the nation’s imagination was his pleasing ways. His smile, wit and the ability to simplify the complexities of the game made him an instant hit. From becoming the World junior champion in August 1987 to becoming the game’s latest World Champion in September 2007, Anand has contributed more than any other Indian sportsperson for his or her chosen discipline.
He became the country’s first Grandmaster in December 1987 and since then only 16 more have joined the list, including two in the last two months. Interestingly, the last three Grandmasters — Parimarjan Negi, G. N. Gopal and Abhijeet Gupta — were born after Anand founded the country’s ‘GM Club’.
“I don’t want to leave behind some kind of legacy. I don’t think about it. I still have some more chess left in me,” is the reply from Anand when one touches the subject of his contribution to Indian chess or how he would like to be remembered. Indeed, Anand has kept his sights firmly on his goals and achieved them like few others in the world of sports. Delightfully, he has not finished yet.
Anand did have a glorious year during which he added the prestigious Moralia-Linares title in March and the rapid title in Monaco. He went on to retain rapid titles at Leon and Mainz. He has won the Chess Classic title 10 times including all the seven occasions since the event moved from Frankfurt to Mainz. In November, Anand braved indifferent health to finish runner-up to champion Vassily Ivanchuk in the World blitz championship in Moscow. Interestingly, Ivanchuk was considered the favourite when Anand won the world junior title in 1987. What more, Anand and Ivanchuk finished the year 2007 as the top two ranked players in the game. Surely, the duo, along with World Cup champion Gata Kamsky, showed that experience still was a handy weapon against the exuberance of youth.
Even as Anand continued to strive harder to take his game to the next level, most of the other Indian names did not have a great year. K. Sasikiran had his moments in the premier Mtel Masters where he let go of a golden opportunity to win the title ahead of the eventual winner, the 2005 World Champion, Veselin Topalov. Again, in the World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk, in Russia, Sasikiran moved to the last-16 stage. He did pick up three gold medals from the Asian Indoor Games where the Indians gave an impressive performance.
Surya Shekhar Ganguly won the Asian zonal title where the Indian entries formed a major part of the field. Otherwise, it wasn’t a happy year for Ganguly who again failed to breach the 2600-point mark. For P. Hari Krishna, it was a forgettable year during which he could take heart from his third place finish in the Montreal International. Even the Arjuna Award did not please him much since it came a wee bit late considering his consistent showings in the past years. His Andhra-mate K. Humpy did well to win two back-to-back events in the middle of the year and went on to cross the 2600-point mark in ratings. She also added an individual blitz gold from Macau.
Another Andhra girl, D. Harika won the Asian zonal title, collected five medals, including two gold, in Macau and went on to retain her Commonwealth title. R. B. Ramesh became the Commonwealth champion as the Indians expectedly dominated the event in New Delhi. Earlier in the year, S. Vijayalakshmi attained her third and final GM norm on way to the Curto Open title.
One of the finest moments for Indian chess this year came when National champion Tania Sachdev won the Asian ladies title in Teheran. Since she had picked up a GM norm earlier in the year, she was eligible to become an International Master from the 20-game IM norm that came her way on winning the Asian title. What more, she returned from Macau and retained her National title before picking up the silver medal for the ladies in the Commonwealth championship.
Among the men, Abhijit Kunte came third in the Asian championship while Gopal finished in the top-10 to qualify for the World Cup. Gopal gave an excellent account of himself by holding the former World champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov four times before surrendering in the blitz games in the World Cup opener.
Usually, the Indian age-group challenge is considered a formidable one at the World and Asian levels. The trend continued this year but not in the same way as last year. Ivana Furtado retained her World under-8 title but the Indians failed to hold on to four other world titles won in 2006. B. Adhiban won the Asian under-16 title to become the nation’s youngest International Master in July. The Indian boys claimed the World Youth (under-16) Olympiad in Singapore where leading nations like Russia, Armenia, Ukraine and China were missing from the line-up. In the Asian youth championship, India won 10 medals including five titles. The winners were Ivana Furtado (girls’ under-8), G. V. Revanth Reddy (boys’ under-8), Shardul Gagare (boys’ under-10), B. Pratyusha (girls’ under-10) and Priyanka Kumari (girls’ under-12).
Looking back, Anand and Ivana ended the year as world champions at the highest and the youngest levels of the game. The number of GMs increased but most members of this select group failed to show much motivation to move to the next level. The youngsters looked good but unless there is organised coaching in place in the country, they will not be able to reach their goals. With Anand atop the world rankings, it remains to be seen how the All India Chess Federation manages to bring in the much needed corporate patronage for the game in the country. Sadly, the Indians got only two norm-making opportunities this year in New Delhi. The need of the hour is to provide systematic and quality training for the talented youngsters besides many more opportunities at home to attain norms leading to the GM, IM, Woman GM and Woman IM titles.
Most chess champions in India remain products of the sacrifices made by their parents and individual coaches. Sadly, in that respect, not much has changed since Anand put India on the world chess map 20 years ago.
Courtesy Hindu @ http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/20071229500600700.htmFIDE RATINGS: Kramnik, Anand Tie for Top Spot in Jan 2008
Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik caught up with World Champion Viswanathan Anand to tie for the top position both with ratings of 2799 in the January 2008 FIDE Rating List. In the juniors, Magnus Carlsen edged out Sergey Karjakin for the top spot.
See calculations of Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand, and of Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin.
The tie between Anand and Kramnik is a precursor to their exciting World Championship Match this October in Bonn, Germany.
Another interesting points in FIDE rating list jan 2008 are
- Alexei Shirov gained 16 points to move from 10th to 7th;
- Magnus Carlsen gained 19 points to move from 16 to place 13;
- Sergey Karjakin gained 38 points to move from 24 to 14;
- Gata Kamsky gained 12 to move from 17 to 15;
- Ivan Cheparinov gained 43 (!) to move from place 42 to place 19.
Courtesy: Fide Article @ http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1556