Pichay chess: Big start for So; Roca, Bancod stage upset wins
Written by Ms. Confuse on Wednesday, September 17, 2008GM Wesley So of the Philippines did not waste time in hurdling his opening-day assignment in the fourth Prospero Pichay Cup international chess championship at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall in Parañaque City on Sunday. So, ever so eager to redeem himself following a so-so performance in the recent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup, where he finished only 25th, made short work of IM Aleksander Wohl of Australia in 42 moves of the Sicilian Dragon to serve strong notice of his title aspirations before a big crowd. The 14-year-old high school student from St. Francis College of Bacoor, Cavite, who is set to breach the ELO 2600 mark in the coming month, capitalized on Wohl's faulty knight push on the 16th move and came away with a crushing victory with the disadvantageous black pieces. "He (Wohl) made a weak knight move and I took advantage. Magandang simula ito," said the soft-spoken So, who is playing in his fifth straight international tournaments in less than two months. When the end came, So had three unstoppable queening pawns in a bishop versus knight endgame.
Sharing the limelight were IMs Petronio Roca and Ronald Bancod who provided the biggest upset wins for the day. Roca toppled No. 12 seed GM Konstantin Shanava of Uzbekistan in 58 moves of the Sicilian Dragon while Bancod stunned No. 14 seed GM Saidlali Iuldachev of in 57 moves of the Pirc. Three other well-known Filipino campaigners –GMs Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo and Buenaventura "Bong" Villamayor – also made successful debuts.
Paragua shows top form
Paragua, the second highest-placed Filipino in the PGMA Cup, demolished NM Hamed Nouri in 40 moves of the Philidor, wile Laylo, a member of the Philippine team to the World Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany in November, crushed Jayson Salubre in a pair of all-Filipino matches. Villamayor outwitted WIM Irine Sukandar of Indonesia in 55 moves of the Queen's Indian. Top seed GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazkahstan whipped NM Ernesto Fernandez at the top board to lead the march of the favorites in this prestigious, nine-round tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP). Meanwhile, second seed GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore and third seed GM Mikhail Mched lishvili of Georgia also hurdled their opening-day matches, beating Reggie Olay and Amir Mallahi of Iran, respectively. Fourth seed GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran settled for a draw with Wang Li of China, while fifth seed GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam halved the point with compatriot Nguyen Van Huy.
Newly-crowned PGMA Cup champion GM EugeneTorre begged off from participation at the last minute, saying he is still tired from winning the grueling, nine-round tournament which ended only last Friday. Torre, however, graced the colorful opening ceremony. In other notable results, GM-candidate Julio Catalino Sadorra outplayed Karl Victor Ochoa; GM-candidate John Paul Gomez downed NM Mirabeau Maga; IM Ronald Dableo crushed Xu Tong of China; IM Richard Bitoon humbled Wang Xiaochui of China; IM Barlo Nadera stopped Leonardo Carlos; Deniel Causo trounced Ali Branzuela; Haridas Pascua bested David Elorta; and University of Manila standout IM Chito Garma drew with IM Rolando Nolte; Pichay and GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore made the ceremonial moves during the colorful opening ceremony. Pichay Jr, the driving force behind the revival of Philippine chess in recent years, reiterated his commitment to the annual staging of the event that bears his name. He also said that the Philippines will hold five to six GM tournaments next year as part of the APAC Pro Tour 2008-09.
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