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Respect, renunciation, and resilience

By Raju Mandhyan

IT’S SAD enough that the world is broken up into so many geographical parts. We have drawn lines of differentiation from the North to the South Pole, from the East to the West. Our beliefs, ethnicities, and cultural mindset further influence our attitude and treatment of others, putting them into stereotyped segments. Effective and successful leaders must strive to rise above all this murk. They must have an open and supportive mindset backed by immense tolerance for other people who do not reason, romanticize, or react to issues the way they do.

Although the human brain is divided into the three functional segments of reasoning, romanticizing, and reacting, every single one of us is a unique individual because of different genetic permutations, diverse backgrounds, and variances in education and exposures. Unfortunately, societal programming leads us into generalizing and stereotyping people at first glance. Effective and successful leaders respect diversity by accepting that people are different. Their behavior is simply different; not necessarily bad or worse than our own uniqueness. In addition, leaders and successful salespeople profoundly recognize that human circumstances and perspectives are in a state of constant flux. Perceived realities vary and these realities change from moment to moment all the time.

A buyer who shows an interest in your product on Monday morning may suddenly have a shift in his circumstances and could change his mind on Tuesday afternoon. The ultimate reality is different realities — and they are changing all the time. It’s easy to say “different strokes for different folks” or “the only constant in this world is change” but it’s totally another matter to live out these truths. To succeed across diversity and constant change, we must live out these beliefs and practice open-mindedness, flexibility, and adaptability… all the time, every time.

In the world of neurosciences and its application to work, there exists a respected group of consultants who do not at all use the word “is” when describing another person in their communications and interactions. Why? They believe what “is” means to the speaker is simply that particular speaker’s perspective; not solid fact. What “is” today may not be what “is” tomorrow. Everything and everyone is always changing.

Respecting diversity amongst people is a challenging habit to live out and practice. Yet it can grant us the power of being a super sales performer and a human being above par. With this habit we can become active learners, early adapters, and resilient Samurais of interpersonal skills in every sales and selling interaction. It keeps our proverbial “saw” eternally sharp so it can cut, softly and subtly, through the hardest of challenges.

An attitude and mindset like this builds resiliency, helps us practice Zen-like renunciation from short-term results and instant gratification common in the business of selling and driving positive change. So go leap of those cliffs every day and, should you fall, then get up, dust yourself off, and get into the pit again and again. Remember to respect differences, renounce the anguish of failure, and keep your spirits bouncy.

 

Raju Mandhyan author, coach and learning facilitator.

www.mandhyan.com

Big oil tussles with teens, tweets and trust

By Liam Denning

IN CAPITAL MARKETS, trust boils down to — what else? — money. The more trusted you are, the more money investors will give you at a relatively low cost. Trust is in the eye of the beholder, of course. The US government borrows fantastical sums at next to nothing, as you might expect. Then again, WeWork was also showered with cash despite a gaping wound of a P&L statement and multiple red flags.

Some of the world’s biggest oil companies were grappling with this squishy concept at a Monday gathering on the fringes of United Nations Week in New York. The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is a group of 13 majors representing roughly a third of global oil and gas production. Founded in 2014, it aims to provide a reasonably unified industry response to climate change, with a particular focus on such things as reducing methane emissions and encouraging carbon capture technologies.

Or maybe it’s greenwashing. That, at least, was the gist of one of the opening, and more provocative, questions posed in a long afternoon session at the Morgan Library & Museum. Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, gamely took it on, arguing the sheer scale of the climate-change challenge means big, motivated companies like his must play a crucial role. It’s a valid point, and Shell has moved perhaps the furthest in realigning its business and targets in this way.

But the industry must contend with the reason he had to answer the question in the first place: decades of opposition to taking action. That same day, not too far from the OGCI’s gathering, teenage activist Greta Thunberg delivered a scathing speech on that very subject to assembled world leaders. While many, including the US president, have reacted with sarcasm or worse to Thunberg’s campaign, millions have come out in support; and her frustration at the lack of urgency about climate change is justified.

Darren Woods, CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp., framed the challenge of meeting energy demand while reducing carbon emissions as an “evolution” of the industry, which will be led by technology. He is right about the latter, but I suspect technologies like Twitter and other social media could play an even bigger role than things like biofuels from lab-grown algae.

Ignoring or obfuscating climate change for many years has had a similar effect to pulling on an elastic band. Frustration and a sense of urgency on the issue have grown, dovetailing with our wider political environment of anger, memes and divisions between party tribes and generational cohorts. A carbon tax, as the OGCI calls for, would constitute an evolution of sorts, albeit a wrenching one. Bold as that might seem, though, the long delay means it now jostles with more prescriptive proposals that could truly snap the elastic back, disrupting the oil and gas business and maybe stranding assets.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg — REUTERS

Voters still love the things that oil and gas provide, of course, so there is no guarantee Thunberg’s words or Green New Dealers’ sweeping plans will be anything more than that. Yet the inexorable logic of climate change and falling costs of renewable technologies and electric vehicles suggest change is coming in some form. The point is, the range of potential outcomes may be wide, but that’s a lot different from the more certain world in which the oil majors have been used to operating, where prices swing about and there’s the odd expropriation of assets or war but, in the end, demand always goes up.

While videos of Thunberg’s speech zipped around the ether, another UN-led announcement that day got less attention: namely the formation of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance by a group of institutional heavy hitters managing more than $2 trillion. The group aims to not merely shift their portfolios to compliance with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century but also to advocate for companies to similarly align themselves.

What makes this pressure especially troublesome is that it comes at a time when the sector has only recently begun trying to rebuild trust with capital markets after the oil crash. Scarred by poor returns and wary of the climate-change crapshoot, generalist investors have backed away. This is trust, or the lack of it, manifested as money. As I wrote here with my colleague Nathaniel Bullard, energy stocks now sport dividend yields at their highest levels in 25 years.

The day after attending the OGCI gathering, Patrick Pouyanné, the CEO of Total SA, announced the French oil major would bump its dividend growth from 3% to 5-6% a year, effectively distributing an extra $5 billion to investors through 2025. This both advertises Total’s confidence in its low breakeven oil prices and bumps its own yield closer to 6%. In other words, it’s a big call on investors to trust the company’s got this.

This is the difficult balancing act the industry must now pull off. In the year through June, the OGCI’s members collectively paid out $138 billion of dividends. Technically discretionary, they are now more like the ante just to play. Yet investors are demanding a bigger cut of cash flow even as these companies, to varying degrees, are trying to not only maintain their current operations but also invest in newer technologies that aren’t likely to generate the cash needed to support those payouts anytime soon.

Investors’ trust in the industry’s ability to deploy capital effectively in its core business has waned. Now it must rebuild that while also asking for trust to spend money on entirely new ventures — and all against the backdrop of denuded societal trust. The companies are compelled to try anyway. You can trust it won’t be easy.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

TNT opens campaign on winning note, routs Elite

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE TNT KaTropa got their Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup campaign to a winning start, routing the Blackwater Elite, 135-107, in their battle of debuting teams on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Found their offensive groove early in the contest, the KaTropa, runners-up in the previous conference, charged no end and built on it the rest of the way.

The KaTropa had a fiery start with contributions coming from different directions.

They would hold a 53-30 lead with 6:32 left in the first half and threatened to pull away.

But Blackwater made a spirited 13-0 run in the next three minutes to make it a 10-point affair, 53-43.

KJ McDaniels and the rest of the KaTropa though steadied their ship after to widen their advantage anew, 63-46, at the half.

In the third quarter the Elite were able to build momentum to gain some real estate on the lead of forward Mac Belo.

They came to within 12 points, 66-54, with just two minutes lapsing.

Like what they have been doing for much of the game, however, the KaTropa continued to find ways to cap any headway by the Elite.

Roger Pogoy and Don Trollano helped TNT answer with a 19-6 run to make it a 23-point lead by the 5:14 mark of the quarter.

The Elite tried to narrow the gap for the remainder of the period but with little success as the KaTropa continued to hold sway, 97-80, with one final quarter to play.

With firm control of the match, TNT spent the fourth quarter fortifying their lead some more before going for the closeout.

The score was at 122-94 for the KaTropa with 4:12 remaining and by then it was all over.

Mr. McDaniels led the balanced and thorough attack by TNT with all-around numbers of 41 points, 22 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and two steals.

Mr. Pogoy had 22 points with Troy Rosario and Mr. Trollano adding 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Jayson Castro, meanwhile, had a near triple-double of 17 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for the KaTropa.

TNT shot 60% from the field and had 32 assists for the game.

For Blackwater it was Ray Parks Jr. who showed the way with 39 points with Allein Maliksi adding 15 and Roi Sumang 14.

Import Marqus Blakely had a poor showing, finishing with just four points and four rebounds before limping out because of cramps in the third quarter and did not come back.

TNT next faces the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sept. 28 while Blackwater battles the NLEX Road Warriors on Sept. 29.

NU Bulldogs finally get a win in UAAP Season 82

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE streak of futilities of the National University Bulldogs in Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines finally ended on Wednesday after they defeated the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 61-39, in the first game of the league midweek offering at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Opened their campaign in the season with five straight defeats, NU notched its maiden victory, using an strong push in the second quarter and never looking back after.

Dave Ildefonso led a balanced attack by the Bulldogs with 20 points to go along with eight boards.

Migs Oczon chipped in nine points and seven rebounds, Shaun Ildefonso added eight points, six boards, and two steals, and Issa Gaye unfurled seven points, 13 rebounds, and one block for NU as it improved its record to 1-5.

Both teams struggled early in the match, fighting to a low 14-6 count at the end of the opening quarter.

Then NU pulled away in the second frame, outscoring FEU, 23-7, to go on top, 37-13, at the half.

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 29 points, 44-15, in early goings of the 3rd quarter and from there they just stayed the course and did not allow the Tamaraws any traction for a comeback.

Barkley Ebona had a solid game for FEU with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds but it was not enough to pull the Tamaraws, who shot a poor 19% from the field and an even worse percentage from beyond the arc of 7%.

Finally barged into the win column, NU coach Jamike Jarin heaved a huge sigh of relief and gave credit to his players for staying competitive despite their string of losses and heartbreaks.

“Before anything else, we’d like to thank God Almighty for giving us the victory, for making us still very competitive even [after] all the losses, we’re still here. The reason why I brought all these young men here because we win together, we lose together,” said Mr. Jarin following their breakthrough victory.

NU plays its final game of the first round on Sunday, Sept. 29, against the University of the East Red Warriors, who were battling the defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles as of this writing.

FEU (2-4), for its part, takes on next the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Saturday, Sept. 28.

BTV and NBA Premium TV to cease broadcast, operations on Oct. 1

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

FANS of the National Basketball Association in the country face a possible huge void in their league fixtures after cable channels broadcasting them announced they will cease to broadcast and operate effective Oct. 1 this year after not being able to renew their contract with the NBA.

In an announcement posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday morning, Basketball TV said that the channel, as well as NBA Premium TV, will stop broadcast of NBA games and shows after the current contract of Solar Entertainment Corp. with the NBA lapses on Sept. 30.

Solar Entertainment operates the BTV and NBA Premium TV channels. The two are widely acknowledged as the go-to source for comprehensive NBA coverage in the country.

The development was confirmed by Paulo Fernandez, Solar Sports marketing manager.

“Yes unfortunately [we’ll stop broadcast]. We were not able to renew with the NBA and current contract expires Sept. 30,” Mr. Fernandez wrote in an online correspondence.

He, however, did not give further details on what went down in contract negotiations.

The surprising turn of events will mark an end to what has been a fruitful partnership between Solar Entertainment and the NBA spanning nearly two decades.

Started in 2001 of simply bringing NBA games to Filipino households, the NBA-Solar Entertainment partnership has grown considerably since then and is credited for its role in enhancing and growing the fan base of The Association in the country.

Apart from Solar, also broadcasting NBA games are ABS-CBN S+A and FOX Sports.

The NBA is reportedly the biggest property in the portfolio of Solar as far as sports is concerned.

The set-to-lapse contract between Solar and the NBA was for four seasons.

With the NBA now out of its roster of offering, Mr. Fernandez said they are moving on, focusing on their other properties.

“We still have our other channels so we will focus on ETC, Jack TV and Solar Sports,” he said.

According to reports several groups have expressed interest in picking up broadcast duties for NBA games, including ABS-CBN and TV5.

BusinessWorld reached out to the local office of the NBA for comment over the development but as of this writing it had yet to issue a detailed response.

The 2019–20 season of the NBA kicks off on Oct. 22.

PHL Blu Girls dominate Korea in Olympic Qualifier

THE Philippine women softball team opened its bid for a 2020 Tokyo Olympics slot with a 10-1 victory over Korea in Group B at the WBSC Softball Asia/Oceania Qualifier on Tuesday at the Shanghai Chongming Sports Training Center.

The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls dominated the match right from the start but national coach Randy Dizer remained modest with the team’s feat saying “the game was close and only their (Koreans’) three errors saw us score five runs in the sixth innings to pull away”

Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (ASAPHIL) president Jean Henri Lhuillier, however, was elated with the inspiring win by the world No. 13 ranked Blu Girls against No. 23 Korea and hoped the team can sustain its winning ways.

“I’m very happy with the strong performance that the Philippine Blu Girls showed today, let’s continue to cheer them on and hopefully they can clinch the Olympic spot,” said Lhuillier, who is also President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.

Eight countries are playing in this tournament with the winner getting the sixth and last spot for the women’s softball event of the 2020 Olympics. In the other Group B match on Tuesday, world No. 8 China outplayed No. 11 New Zealand, 8-3.

In Group A action, No. 37 Indonesia edged No. 42 Hong Kong, 5-6; and No. 7 Australia defeated No. 6 Chinese Taipei, 5-1.

Five countries have already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Japan claimed the first spot as host of the Games. USA got the second berth as the 2018 WBSC world champion followed by Italy, the Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier winner. The next two slots were secured by Mexico and Canada from the WBSC Softball Americas Olympic Qualifier.

Mapua out to get solo fifth place in the standings

THE now-rolling Mapua Cardinals seek to continue with their turnaround in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 when they play the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers at 4 p.m. in league action today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

After opening their campaign with five straight losses, the Cardinals (6-6) have turned things around, winning five of six games since, including their last three, to steadily climb from the back of the pack to the middle.

Mapua is currently tied for joint fifth place with the College of Saint Benilde Blazers (6-6), very much in the thick of the fight for a spot in the Final Four.

The latest of the victories of the Cardinals came on Tuesday over season hosts Arellano Chiefs, 93-67.

It was a dominant performance by Mapua, which steadily lorded it over Arellano as the game progressed on its way to the big win.

Justin Serrano led six Cardinals in double figures with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Cyril Gonzales added 14 points and Joaqui Garcia 12.

Noah Lugo, Warren Bonifacio and Laurenz Victoria, meanwhile, finished with 11, 11 and 10 points, respectively for Mapua.

“The players really worked hard on both ends to get this win. Credit to them,” said Mapua coach Randy Alcantara after their latest win.

Meanwhile, out to stop the Cardinals is JRU (4-8).

The Bombers are coming off a loss at the hands of defending champions San Beda Red Lions, 65-47, on Sept. 19.

Agem Miranda and John Amores are leading the way for JRU with averages of 14.3 and 10.7 points, respectively.

Also playing today at 2 p.m. are the San Beda (13-0) and the Perpetual Help Altas (3-8). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Philippine men’s 3X3 team rises to no. 21 in world rankings

THE Philippines has risen to number 21 in the FIBA 3X3 Men’s World Rankings with 8,156,366 points after the 2019 Chooks to Go Pilipinas 3×3 season ended last Sunday and just barely a month before the October 31 FIBA imposed deadline to rack up points.

The country is now inside the Top 24 that is qualified to play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

“All the hard work of our players, our team owners, our staff, and the federation has paid off,” said Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas league owner Ronald Mascariñas.

Back in February, the men’s side of the Philippines was ranked at a lowly 59. But ever since the league opened its curtains last February 16, the country’s rankings steadily rose.

The first-ever season of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 had three conferences, namely the President’s Cup, the Patriot’s Cup, and the Magiting Cup — all of which had level-seven tournament ratings with level-10 as the highest.

The country also hosted the world’s first-ever Super Quest last April, a level eight tourney, and the country’s first-ever Challenger tournament last Sept. 7, a level nine event.

Moreover, the club teams from the league competed in a World Tour and multiple Challenger tourneys — including the Doha Masters and Challenger tournaments in Moscow, Haining, Poitiers, Xiongan, Sukhbaatar, and Kaohsiung.

The league also houses 49 of the top 50 3×3 players in the country and almost 90% of the top 100.

Twenty (20) teams will compete in the OQT for four slots to the Olympics while the last slot will be battled in a Universality OQT.

The three highest-ranked federations will automatically qualify for the Olympics while host Japan has gained automatic entry.

Though the Chooks 3×3 season is over, Mascariñas and league commissioner Eric Altamirano are planning more 3×3 activities this October to protect the country’s ranking within the Top 24 leading to the October 31 deadline.

“We can’t just wait and leave our fate to chance. We have to continue pushing until the goal is met,” said Mascariñas.

Milwaukee Bucks fine $50,000 for Antetokounmpo comments

THE NBA fined the Milwaukee Bucks $50,000 for public comments about an extension offer for reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league announced Tuesday.

The fine pertains to recent comments from Bucks general manager Jon Horst regarding a supermax extension for Antetokounmpo, which the team cannot offer until next summer.

Asked about Antetokounmpo’s contract situation on Sept. 12 at a town hall event, Horst replied, “The answer right now is we can’t talk and negotiate anything. Giannis, basically a year from now, will be eligible for a supermax extension. At that time, of course, he’ll be offered a supermax extension.”

Horst went on to detail the Bucks’ efforts to establish a culture and environment that would keep the Greek star around for the long term.

The NBA MVP Antetokounmpo signed a four-year, $100 million rookie extension in September of 2016 that runs through 2021, with base salaries of $25.8 million this season and $27.5 million in 2020–21. — Reuters

Wesley’s masterpiece

In the first game of round 3 Wesley So took down Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, only 24 years old but already the third highest rated from India (1. Anand 2765, 2. Harikrishna 2746) and widely touted to be the heir apparent of former world champion Vishy Anand.

So, Wesley (2767) — Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi (2718) [D38]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk (3.1), 16.09.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 0–0 7.Qc2

[7.Bd2 is best answered by the immediate 7…dxc4! 8.Bxc4 Bd6 getting ready for e6–e5, which is the main idea in the Ragozin. 9.0–0 e5 10.h3 a6 11.Qc2 exd4 12.exd4 b5! 13.Be2 Nb4 14.Qd1 Bb7 Yermolinsky-D. Zilberstein, San Francisco 2007]

7…Re8

The idea is to support the …e6–e5 break.

8.Bd2 a6

Radjabov beat Vidit earlier this year in the Wijk aan Zee tournament. They arrived at the position after White’s 8th move but then Vidit continued 8…Bd6. In annotating this game for NIC Yearbook Radjabov remarked that Vidit is mixing up the move order. “A better way for Black is to start with 8…a6! as now I could have played 9.c5!.” He continued that after 9.c5 Bf8 10.Bb5 Black is already worse and White’s play is also much easier 9.h3 a6 10.a3 Bd7 11.Be2 dxc4 12.Bxc4 h6 13.g4!? e5 14.g5 b5 15.Ba2 exd4 16.gxh6!! White threatens Qg6! 16…dxc3 17.Bxc3 Be6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Rg1 Ne8 20.Bxg7 Nxg7 21.Rxg7+ Kf8 22.Qh7 White had a winning attack. Radjabov, T. (2757)-Vidit, S. (2695) Wijk aan Zee 2019 1–0 36. You would expect that Vidit studied this game very intensively.

9.a3 Bd6 10.Rd1 Bd7 11.h3 h6 12.c5 Bf8 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Ne4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Ba5 Qc8

Otherwise White will play 17.c6! bxc6 18.Qd2 and, surprisingly, wins a piece.

17.g4 Bc6 18.Bg2 Rd8 19.Rxd8 Qxd8 20.Bxe4 Bxe4 21.Qxe4 Bxc5 22.Qxb7 .Rb8 23.Qxc7 Qxc7 24.Bxc7 Rxb2 25.0–0 Rc2 26.Bd6 Bxd6 27.exd6 Rd2 28.Rb1 Rxd6 <D>

POSITION AFTER 28…RXD6

As you might imagine this position is completely equal. After the game the commentators on the website Chess24, GMs Yermolinsky and Miroshnichenko, reproached Visit with “how can you lose a position like this?” Take note that Vidit is rated 2718, a legitimate super GM and you don’t get to this level without knowing your endgames. Yermolinsky summed up for Wesley So: “after playing so many games with Magnus Carlsen you learn a thing or two about endgames.” Yermo is absolutely right, this game is akin to a Magnus Carlsen grind-it-out win.

29.Rb8+ Kh7 30.Rb7 Kg6 31.Ra7 Kf6 32.h4 Rc6 33.Kg2 g5?!

During the on-line commentary on Chess24 GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko threw up his arms “what is black doing here?” Indeed, Vidit should have just left his kingside pawns intact.

34.Kg3!

Perhaps Vidit expected White to just exchange pawns and everything is okay for him.

34…gxh4+ 35.Kxh4

Black’s position is still OK, but it was completely unnecessary for him to split his pawns ad leave a weakness on h6.

35…Kg6 36.a4 Rc2

In the post-game interview Wesley remarked that all Vidit had to do was put his pawn on f6, K on g6, and there is no way for White to break through. Instead the Indian GM starts taking a lot of time on his moves and made a few weird king moves.

37.Kg3 Rc6 38.a5 Kf6 39.e4 Kg6 40.f3 Kf6 41.Kf4 e5+

Might not be best. He should just follow Wesley’s suggestion of …Kg6 and …f6.

42.Kg3 Kg7 43.Ra8 Kh7 44.Rd8 Kg7 45.Ra8 Kh7 46.Kf2 Kg7 47.Kg2 Rc2+ 48.Kg3 Rc6 49.Ra7 Kf8 50.Kf2 Kg7 51.Kg2 Rc2+ 52.Kg3 Rc6 53.Rd7

The position is equal but Wesley is still casting around looking for possibilities. He spots that the ideal position of his rook is on the 5th rank where it simultaneously attacks Black’s e5 pawn and defends his own on a5.

53…Kf8?!

Vidit spent 15 minutes studying 53…Rc5 54.Rd5 Rxd5 55.exd5 Kf8 which siimplifies the position and brings it that much closer to an agreed draw. Finally he decides “what’s the rush?” and plays a non-committal move. Wesley pounces on it immediately. The chessbase website says that “Nevertheless, converting after the text move is no easy task, but So continued to stun the commentators with his technique until finally scoring a 93–move victory.” Tremendous praise indeed.

54.Rd5!

The result of Vidit’s vacillation is that the 5th rank is now controlled by White and …Rc5 is no longer a possibility.

54…Re6 55.Rc5 Ke8 56.Kh4 Kf8 57.Kh5 Kg7 58.g5

After this move Wesley said that he felt he was winning already. Well, perhaps not quite 100% winning, but already close to that.

58…hxg5 59.Kxg5 Rh6 60.Kf5 Rf6+ 61.Kxe5 Rxf3 62.Rc6 Rh3?

I haven’t seen anyone point it out but 62…f6+! is correct here. After 63.Kd5 f5 64.Rxa6 (64.e5 Ra3 65.Rxa6 f4 66.e6 f3 67.Ra7+ Kg6 68.Kd6 f2 69.Rf7 Rxa5 70.Rxf2 Ra6+ 71.Ke5 Ra5+ this is a book draw) 64…fxe4 65.Kxe4 The general rule here is that Black must check the white king from the side as the monarch has no escape from the checks.

65…Ra3 loses because, as I explained earlier, the rook cannot “check the white king from the side.” I will show you the king maneuver: 66.Kd5! Rc3 (66…Rg3 is already too late. 67.Re6! Rg5+ 68.Re5 Rg6 69.Rf5 Ra6 70.Kc4 Kg6 71.Rd5 Kf6 72.Kb5 with the Black king cut off this is a relatively easy win) 67.Ra7+ Kf6 68.a6 Ra3 69.Ra8 Ra5+ 70.Kc6 Ra3 71.Kb6 Rb3+ 72.Ka7 Ke7 73.Rb8 Rd3 74.Kb6 Rd6+ 75.Ka5 Rd5+ 76.Rb5 Rd7 77.Rb7 game over.

65…Rg3! this is the way 66.Rb6 (66.Kd5 Rg5+ 67.Kc6 Rg6+ 68.Kb7 Rg5 69.Ra7 Kh6! 70.a6 Rg7+ 71.Kb6 Rg6+ draw) 66…Rg5! (66…Ra3 loses because of 67.Rb5! Kf6 68.Kd5 Ke7 69.Kc6 the king is on time to assist his passed pawn) 67.a6 Ra5 68.Rb7+ Kf6 69.a7 Ke6 draw.

63.Kd5!

Remember what I told you about black’s rook needing to check the white king from the side? The text is a perfect example and now if 63…Rh5+ then 64.e5 blocks and Black will need to go down the board to the 1st or 2nd rank to keep checking the king, which is doomed to failure.

In contrast 63.Rxa6? is only a draw. 63…Rh5+! 64.Kd4 (64.Kd6?? Rh6+ loses the rook) 64…Rb5! 65.Ra8 and now, unbelievably, Black has only one move to draw. 65…Kh7! this is to ensure that the white rook cannot check the black king from behind. I will show you what I mean later 66.a6 Rb6 67.a7 Ra6 White can make no progress. Now you see why the black king should be on h7. If it was on g6 or h6 the white rook will check on either g8 or h8 and then queen his pawn.

63…Rd3+ 64.Kc5 Re3 65.Kd4

[65.Rxa6? Rxe4 66.Rd6 Ra4 67.a6 f5! 68.Kb5 Ra2 69.Rd7+ Kf6 70.a7 Ke5 71.Kb6 f4 72.Rd8 Ke4 73.a8Q+ Rxa8 74.Rxa8 Ke3 the white king is too far away — this is a book draw]

65…Ra3 66.Rxa6 Ra1 67.e5 Rd1+ 68.Kc5 Rc1+ 69.Kd5 Rd1+ 70.Kc6 Re1 <D>

POSITION AFTER 70…RE1

Now for the four-star move.

71.Rb6!

Putting his king of d6 or d5 will not spoil the win, but RB6 is the correct winning maneuver.

71…Rxe5 72.a6 Re7

[72…Ra5 73.Kb7 f5 74.a7 Ra1 (74…f4? 75.Ra6) 75.Ra6 Rb1+ 76.Kc6 Rc1+ 77.Kd6 Rd1+ 78.Ke5 Re1+ 79.Kxf5 Rf1+ 80.Ke4 the pawn queens]

73.Rb7 Re6+ 74.Kb5 Re5+ 75.Kb6 Re6+ 76.Ka5 Re5+ 77.Rb5 Re7 78.Rc5!

To leave space for his king on b7 and the white rook will interpose on c7 when Black’s rook checks him from the side.

78…Kg6 79.Kb6 f5

Of course, during his 7–minute think on move 71 Wesley had to ensure that his king can come back in time to stop the black pawn.

80.a7 Re8 81.Kb7 Kg5 82.Rc8 Re7+ 83.Kb8 Rxa7 84.Kxa7 Kf4 85.Kb6 Ke3 86.Re8+!

The only move which wins.

86…Kd3 87.Rf8 Ke4 88.Kc5 f4 89.Kc4 Ke3 90.Kc3 f3 91.Re8+ Kf2 92.Kd2 Kf1 93.Ke3 [Right on time!] 1–0

This game filled me with joy, pride and also sadness. Sadness because I know that I can never play like this.

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Sparks’ woes

The pressure was evident from the moment the Sparks announced the appointment of Derek Fisher as their head coach for the 2019 season. Christmas was just three weeks away, and yet members of the media didn’t seem to be in a giving mood. They peppered him, general manager Penny Toler, and star Candace Parker with queries on the hiring process and his capacity to meet always-outsized expectations of the proud franchise and its demanding fan base conditioned to consider success as coming with the territory. And they had reason to; after all, the purple and gold boast of three WNBA championships off five Finals appearances in 17 postseason berths.

Put simply, the Sparks are projected to contend for the hardware year in and year out. Which was why a coaching vacancy occurred in the first place. Fourth-year mentor Brian Agler, whose otherwise-stellar record included the singular distinction of having claimed titles with two different franchises, had to step down following a rocky 19-15 season and a second round exit last year. Naturally, a “search” for his successor followed — never mind that it involved exactly one name, leading to even more heat accompanying Fisher’s assumption of the position.

To be fair, the Sparks had a right to hire whomever they wanted, and Fisher wasn’t exactly without experience in mentoring under the klieg lights. He certainly did well to steer them to a three-game regular-season improvement year on year despite the injuries that plagued them. That said, the final outcome is all that matters; so-called moral victories count for squat in La-La Land. And even if they were predisposed to look for silver linings, doing so given the way the campaign ended would have smacked of desperation. There’s just no going around the shellacking they absorbed at the hands of the Sun.

Perhaps the scrutiny in the aftermath wouldn’t have been intense were the Sparks at least able to make a series out of their semifinal-round stint. Instead, they stank up the joint. They weren’t merely swept; they lost by nine, 26, and 22, exposed from the get-go as ridiculously overmatched on the court and in the sidelines. In fact, so disjointed were they that Fisher saw fit to bench his starters in the fourth quarter of the final contest — a bad look all around. Parker herself saw action for only 11 minutes and 14 seconds, and it’s telling that she will be remembered more for muttering “Why would you do that now?” to her coach as she rode the pine than for her Game One gem of 24, 10, three, two, and six.

Parker was still distraught in the locker room after the Game Three debacle, insisting that she was primed to play physically and mentally, and that Fisher would be in better position to explain why she burned rubber for less time than all but two players on the team. He did, or at least he tried to, disclosing that he was looking to inject energy for the Sparks. Well, it didn’t work, as the lead grew even more. And, if nothing else, his unconventional — okay, decidedly bizarre — moves will be second-guessed as a result. As ineffective as she may have been to him, she remains the face of the franchise, and arguably the league’s biggest name considering her sideline as analyst for Turner Sports.

How the turn of events affects the relationship between Fisher and Parker, which went beyond work, remains to be seen. If the Sparks are to make the sort of headway they believe they’re destined to, however, bench tactician and marquee name must see eye to eye. A lot of mediating looks to be in the offing. A long offseason lies ahead.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Bourse manages last-minute turnaroud to end flat

THE MAIN INDEX made a last-minute turnaround on Wednesday — on the eve of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) meeting where a 25-basis-point cut on benchmark interest rates is widely expected — after spending much of the day in the red as investment sentiment worldwide took a hit from the US House of Representatives move to start an impeachment inquiry against US President Donald Trump.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 0.02% or 2.30 points to close at 7,896.24 yesterday, while the broader all-shares index slipped 0.01% or 0.88 point to 4,770.09.

“Philippine stocks fell before closing flat in volatile trade… as a push for the impeachment of US President Donald Trump gained momentum among Democrats in the US Congress,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

The news hit the three major Wall Street indices, making the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite index slide by 0.53%, 0.84% and 1.46%, respectively.

Major Asian markets followed suit, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices giving up 0.36% and 0.18%, respectively, the Shanghai Composite falling by one percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index retreating by 1.29%, South Korea’s Kospi index dropping 1.32% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex Index falling by 1.28%.

Back home, four sectoral indices moved to negative territory, led by industrials which lost 1.43% or 155.53 points to 10,655.43, followed by mining and oil which dropped 0.79% or 73.32 points to 9,144.58, services which shed 0.27% or 4.32 points to 1,554.89 and financials which went down 0.14% or 2.68 points to 1,792.20.

On the other hand, property climbed 0.26% or 10.89 points to 4,108.82 and holding firms rose 0.25% or 20.24 points to 7,845.68.

“The index’s movement for the last two days of the week should be dictated by whether or not heavyweight SMPH (SM Prime Holdings, Inc.) continues its rally, and by US market movement. The BSP is also set to meet tomorrow where consensus expects a 25 basis point rate cut,” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail.

SM Prime shares rose 1.36% to P37.20 apiece, making it one of Wednesday’s biggest winners.

The day’s list of 20 most active stocks also saw eight that fell, led by Megaworld Corp. and Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) which fell 5.03% and 4.72%, respectively. “Megaworld and AGI had the largest losses of the day following news early in the morning regarding the POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operator) office in Eastwood that was shut down for tax violations,” Mr. Perez said.

Stocks that lost were more than double those that declined 145 to 59, while 48 others closed flat. Some 617.20 million shares worth P5.79 billion changed hands, from Tuesday’s 899.97 issues worth P8.50 billion. Foreign investors were back as net sellers at P309.58 million, against a P111.09 million net inflow the previous session. — Arra B. Francia

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