Anton Filipov bags Pichay Cup, Florencio Campomanes starts Saturday

2nd seed GM Anton Filipov emerged as the sole winner of the just held 6th Prospero Pichay Chess Open, half a point ahead of 2nd placer and top seed Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazakhstan and Tamaz Gelashvili of Georgia. Filipov garnered a total 7.o points out of possible 9.0 and was undefeated with 5 wins and 4 draws. Filipov has a tournament performance rating of 2701. This is the second major international chess tournament Filipov won in the Philippines. Last year, he also won the 4th President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup. GM John Paul Gomez emerged as the highest Filipino finisher with 6.0 points, good for 4th place finish. Anton Filipov pocketed $6,000.

Two days from now, the much anticipated first leg of the 1st ever Florencio Campomanes Memorial Tournament will kick off also here in Manila, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Money wise, with funding amounting to $100,000, the Campo memorial is among the richest tournament to be held in the country. The complete list of participants has yet to be announced in the mainstream media at this moment but expect a much stronger cast of participants compare to the Pichay Cup.

6th Prospero Pichay Open important links:

Final Rankings after 9 rounds
Round 9 results
Replay of all games

6th Prospero Pichay Cup International Chess Championship

The 6th edition of Prospero Pichay Chess Open is already underway and is currently being held at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. After two rounds, 7 players are sharing the lead with perfect 2.0 score. There are total of 9 GMs seeing action here and the championship offers a total cash prize of $30,000 and $6,000 goes to the winner.

The Pichay cup is the first of the two series of major international chess tournament in Manila. Right after the Pichay Cup, the much awaited $100,000 1st Florencio Campomanes Memorial tournament will take place at the same venue on Aug. 28-Sept. 3.

As we know, Wesley So is not competing as he is participating in "Rising vs Experienced", in the Netherlands.

We don't have the time to check on the venue for the Pichay Cup but the Campomanes Memorial is something we should not miss. Hope to dropped by for the Campo Mem. and hopefully, take some good photos and scribe some detailed notes. For the meantime, here's some important links of the tournament.

Ranking after 2 rounds
Round 2 results
Round 3 pairings

GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili wins the 5th Prospero Pichay Cup:

Prior to the ninth and final round, both GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia and Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami shared the top spot with 6.0 points. Not taking anything for granted, both co-leaders defeated their respective opponents in the final round. Mchedlishvili beats current world junior champion, Abhijeet Gupta of India and Gaemmaghami beats defending champion, Li Shilong of China. But at the end of the day, it was the Georgian grandmaster who emerges victorious by piling up with the most superior tie break points over his Iranian rival, giving him the rights to claim the 5th Prospero Pichay International Chess Cup held from October 2 - 7 in Quezon City, the Philippines. The Pichay Cup, named after the current president of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, Congressman Prospero Pichay Jr, is the twin tournament of the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Chess Cup, an annual two weeks chess festival organized by NCFP.

With the win, the 30 year old Mikheil Mchedlishvili and rank no.4 in his native Georgia became the first European player to capture the tournament usually dominated by Asians. Mchedlishvili was very consistent all through out the tournament, always on top of the leader board from the first till the final round. Seven of his eight opponents he faced were all grandmasters and was undefeated with five wins and four draws with performance rating of 2752. GM Mchedlishvili recently won the Ravana chess challenge held in Sri Lanka where many grandmasters who saw action in that event also joins the 4th PGMA and Pichay Cup.

The same rule and system as the 4th PGMA Cup was also applied at the Pichay Cup. A nine roound Swiss system and the time control of 90 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. And to prevent an early draws, players are not allowed before the completion of Black’s 30th move unless by the repetition of position rule. Pichay Cup offers a total prize of $30,000 and $5,000 goes to the winner.

Final Standings after 9 Rounds

1 GM MCHEDLISHVILI Mikheil GEO 2613 7,0
2 GM GHAEMMAGHAMI Ehsan IRI 2579 7,0
3 GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr PHI 2557 6,5
4 GM NGUYEN Ngoc Truong Son VIE 2589 6,5
5 GM ZHANG Zhong SIN 2606 6,5
6 GM LAYLO Darwin PHI 2537 6,0
7 GM DAO Thien Hai VIE 2542 6,0
8 GM DAS Neelotpal IND 2471 6,0
9 GM KOTANJIAN Tigran ARM 2553 5,5
10 GM GUPTA Abhijeet IND 2584 5,5
11 GM PARAGUA Mark PHI 2501 5,5
12 GM FILIPPOV Anton UZB 2595 5,5
13 GM GAGUNASHVILI Merab GEO 2564 5,5
14 GM LI Shilong CHN 2531 5,5
15 GM TORRE Eugenio PHI 2535 5,5
16 IM DABLEO Ronald PHI 2417 5,5
17 GM ISMAGAMBETOV Anuar KAZ 2528 5,5
18 IM NOLTE Rolando PHI 2424 5,5
19 GM KOSTENKO Pyotr KAZ 2491 5,5
20 IM DIMAKILING Oliver PHI 2434 5,5
21 FM DONGUINES Fernie PHI 2373 5,5
22 TIRTO INA 2407 5,0
23 ANDADOR Rolando PHI 2260 5,0
24 IM GARMA Chito PHI 2331 5,0
25 IM SENADOR Emmanuel PHI 2367 5,0
26 LUMANCAS Lyndon PHI 0 5,0
27 GM VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura PHI 2426 5,0
28 FM PASCUA Haridas PHI 2310 4,5
29 GM GOMEZ John Paul PHI 2521 4,5
30 MAGA Mirabeau PHI 2230 4,5
31 ELORTA David PHI 2326 4,5
32 BITOON Richard PHI 2490 4,5
33 ROQUE Merben PHI 2209 4,5
35 DATU Alcon John PHI 2188 4,0
36 MARIANO Nelson III PHI 2095 4,0
37 MACALA Allan PHI 2266 4,0
38 BRANZUELA Ali PHI 2288 4,0
39 LEGASPI Rhobel PHI 2325 4,0
40 MORAZO John Ranel PHI 2172 4,0
41 SEGARRA Randy PHI 2300 4,0
42 OLAY Edgar Reggie PHI 2325 4,0
43 WGM NADIG Krutika IND 2273 4,0
44 MILAGROSA Alexander PHI 2254 4,0
46 LAO Elias PHI 2233 4,0
47 FM CARLOS Leonardo PHI 2334 3,5
48 RICANA Leodegario PHI 2082 3,5
49 CAUSO Deniel PHI 2334 3,0
50 RIVERA Albert PHI 2172 3,0
51 POLAO Ben PHI 0 3,0
52 BAGAMASBAD Efren PHI 2311 3,0
53 BERNALES Christy Lamiel PHI 2056 3,0
54 PORTUGALERA Ric PHI 2221 3,0
55 LEE Elgin MAS 1810 3,0
56 CAUMBAN Jose Piff PHI 0 3,0
57 BAUTISTA Paolo Lorenzo PHI 0 2,5
58 BAGAYNA Magellan PHI 0 2,0
59 LEE William MAS 0 2,0
60 PINERO Arnel PHI 0 0,0

5th Pichay Cup round 7-8: Mikheil Mchedlishvili, Ehsan Ghaemmaghami leads with 1 round to play

If my memory serves me correctly, no European player ever won this tournament. If Georgian GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili win this thing, he will be the first to do so. With one round to play, he's thinly holding the top spot with Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami, the man who won the 2nd Subic international chess championship and accountable for Wesley So's final GM norm two years ago at the 3rd Pichay Cup in DutyFree Mall in Paranaque via short draw in the final round. Both Mchedlishvili and Ghaemmaghami posted similar score of 6.0 after eight rounds. Chasing them going into the final round, literally breathing behind their necks are nine players with 5.5 points, Laylo, Antonio, Truong Son, Zhang, Gupta, Gagunashvili, Li, Torre, and Ismagambetov. So there's still a lot of if and what if here. Naturally, the two leaders won't face each other on the final round so everything is not yet settled here and just like the recently held 4th PGMA Cup, expect another photo finish dash at the finishing line. Their differences on the board may once again be decided on tie break points. That's how balanced the competition of the PGMA and Pichay Cup this year. Mchedlishvili will have world junior champ, Abhijeet Gupta in the final round while Ghaemmaghami will face last year champ, Li Shilong of China.

Final round will start tomorrow at 9:00 am at the same venue at the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City. Awarding ceremony will begin soon after round 9.

Round 8 results
Standings after 8 rounds
Final round pairings

5th Prospero Pichay Cup round 4 and 5: seven leads, Torre is catching up.

Don't look back now. But the 57 year old GM who pulled out from the 4th PGMA Cup to save his reputation suddenly finds himself among the leaders after 5 rounds of the Pichay Cup. Don't know how he did it since there's still no available PGNs, I believe, from the tournament at this moment but we know that Torre scored three straight wins in the 3rd, 4th and 5th round. And the 4th and 5th rounds were played in one day. GM elect Ronald Dableo in the 4th and current world junior champ, Abhijeet Gupta of India in the 5th round. Closing in from being dramatic, huh? Torre currently shares the top spot with six others. No notable upsets in round 4 and 5 at the top boards. GM Filippov, who is hoping to become the first player to sweep the twin tournament settled for his third straight draws, half a point behind the leaders. He has faced five straight Filipino in as many rounds.

Tournament resumes today at 4:00 PM for round six at the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.

Round 5 results
Standings after 5 rounds
Round 6 pairings

PGN for sale anyone?

I think it was early this year, at the Battle of Grandmaster held in Dapitan when we first received an email, offering us a couple of recorded games from the event in exchange of a fee. Unfortunately, I had to respectfully decline. ChessHeroes blog, being a pure volunteerism on our part, couldn't do much to spend a couple of money for such an offer, much as we love to have them. In fact, as far as I know, PGN shouldn't be made for sale. Since the PGMA Cup started more than a week ago, our friends were asking where we could find, if we can't post anything here, the PGN or replays of games, causing some unnecessary stress to everyone. But like them, believe me, yours truly is also in the same plight as everyone else on where we could find one. Unfortunately, the NCFP site doesn't have an official media partner to do task of uploading PGNs, taking photos or conduct an interview with players. We have to cope with that.

The moment somebody notifies us where we can get the PGNs of the games, we will link it to this blog. For now, let us just enjoy whatever little resources available for us.

5th Pichay Cup standings after 3 rounds
Round 3 results
Round 4 pairings

5th Prospero Pichay Cup round 2: 9 players stays unbeaten

Results from Round 2 is already out. Check them out HERE. 9 players remains unbeaten with local untitled players Deniel Causo as the surprise leader. Pairings for Round 3 is HERE and rankings after 2 rounds is HERE.

Round 3 resumes later this day at 4:00 pm.


Rank after Round 2 (Top 20)

1 CAUSO Deniel PHI 2334 2,0
2 gm MCHEDLISHVILI Mikhael GEO 2613 2,0
3 gm FILIPPOV Anton UZB 2595 2,0
4 gm LAYLO Darwin PHI 2537 2,0
5 gm DAO Thien Hai VIE 2542 2,0
6 gm LI Shilong CHN 2531 2,0
7 gm PARAGUA Mark PHI 2501 2,0
8 gm GOMEZ John Paul PHI 2521 2,0
9 BITOON Richard PHI 2490 2,0
10 im NOLTE Rolando PHI 2424 1,5
11 gm VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura PHI 2426 1,5
12 TIRTO INA 2407 1,5
13 im DABLEO Ronald PHI 2417 1,5
14 gm GUPTA Abhijeet IND 2584 1,5
15 gm NGUYEN Ngoc Truong Son VIE 2589 1,5
16 gm KOTANJIAN Tigran ARM 2553 1,5
17 gm ANTONIO Rogelio Jr PHI 2557 1,5
18 gm GHAEMMAGHAMI Ehsan IRI 2579 1,5
19 gm GAGUNASHVILI Merab GEO 2564 1,5
im DIMAKILING Oliver PHI 2434 1,5

5th Prospero Pichay Cup round 1: two upsets

Two major upsets from the top boards. First was by 47th seed, Alcon John Datu (2188) who upsets Pyotr Kostenko (2491) of Kazakhstan. And second was by 31st seed David Elorts (2326) who surprised Singapore's no.1 and 2nd seed, GM Zhang Zhong (2606). Another player to watch from the tournament is current world junior champion, Abhijeet Gupta (2584) who also won his first game of the tournament against 34th seed Efren Bagamasbad (2311). GM Eugenio Torre (2535), who pulled out in round 7 of the PGMA cup due to bad showing, was held to a draw, perhaps not a surprise anymore, by Rolando Andador (2260).

Round 1 results
Round 2 pairings
Starting rank list

By the way, over there at Nanjing. Carlsen had just defeated Radjabov in just 25 moves! the Norwegian wunderkind tallied 4.5 out of 5.5 and is performing at 3128!

5th Prospero Pichay Cup: PGMA titlist Anton Filippov leads foreign cast

As of today, Friday, where the 5th Pospero Pichay Cup begins at 1:00 pm at the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) building in Quezon City, names such as Singapore GM Zhang Zhong and GM Abhijit Gupta of India emerges as among the new top rated players expected to compete and challenge GM Filippov's ambition to become the first ever player to sweep the twin tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP). Positive News Media and Inquirer.net had just confirmed this. These two grandmasters did not made it to the final cut of participants at the just concluded 4th PGMA cup where they're earlier listed as among the participants. The other foreign players who saw action at the last PGMA cup and expected to stay for one more week here in Manila for the Pichay cup are GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran, GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia, GMs Anuar Ismagambetov and Pyotr Kostenko of Kazakhstan, GMs Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam, GM Li Shilong of China, IM Tirto of Indonesia and WGM Krutika Nadig of India.

GM Eugenio Torre who experience one of the worst tournament performance in many years at the PGMA cup is also reported to have confirmed his participation and give another shot to redeem his reputation. Other Filipino grandmasters who competed at the 4th PGMA Cup are also set to compete.

The same rule and system as the 4th PGMA Cup will also be applied at the Pichay Cup. A nine roound Swiss system and the time control of 90 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. And to prevent an early draws, players are not allowed before the completion of Black’s 30th move unless by the repetition of position rule. Pichay Cup offers a total prize of $30,000 and $5,000 goes to the winner(s).