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Copyright and trademark in the ASEAN

“A power ‘to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for a limited time, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.’… The right to useful inventions seems with equal reason to belong to the inventors. The public good fully coincides in both cases with the claims of individuals.”

— James Madison,
The Federalist Papers,
No. 43, 1788.

This argument by Madison would be among the basis for the enactment of the USA’ first copyright law in 1790. The US patent law was also enacted that year while its trademark law was made in 1881, revised and expanded in 1905.

The Philippines’ law on these are contained in the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA 8293, 1997). A report in BusinessWorld, “Intellectual property applications climb 11% in first half” said:

“‘Society is now appreciating the IP (intellectual property) system more than ever,’ IPOPHL (Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines) Director-General Josephine R. Santiago said. Trademark filings rose by 11% year-on-year to 18,964 in the first half… Patent filings grew 4% to 1,991… Utility model filings grew 31% to 1,173… Industrial model filings rose 14% to 824… Copyright filings rose 53% to 990.”

These are good numbers. I checked the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI) database, data on trademark application. Then, I also checked the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2018 report — Pillar No. 12 is Innovation capability, and among the sub-pillars are patent applications and trademark applications per million population.

So for the numbers in the table, trademark applications are in absolute amounts, both country residents and non-residents, while the index for patent and trademark applications refers to per capita applications. China and India lead in absolute amount while Singapore and the Philippines are the laggards as of 2017. But in patent applications ranking, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea were the world’s top three (See Table).

The good news for the Philippines then is that we are fast catching up on the use of intellectual property rights (IPR). Trademark applications have doubled from 2007 to 2017, and for copyright, IPO’s first half data for 2019 show a huge increase of more than 50%.

Recall also that the fastest-growing sub-sector in the Philippine economy over the past 5-1/2 years, 2014 to H1 2019, is intellectual property products, under Capital Formation (or private investments). It was growing at 28% per year, capital formation growing at 14%, and GDP at 6.3%.

Fast growth in IPR use also means fast growth in IPR infringement. This was tackled in the last panel of the BusinessWorld Industry Summit 4.0 last week, Sept. 9, at Shangri-La at The Fort at BGC. The last panel was about “Content and piracy” with speakers from the Coalition Against Piracy, the Optical Media Board, Globe Telecoms, and a film director.

So the role of the state in protecting private property, both physical and intellectual property, is reasserted by the current situation. And on this, two IPR-related events will be co-sponsored by our think tank, Minimal Government Thinkers (MGT).

The first is the launching of a new report, “The importance of IPR for progress: reform agenda for ASEAN countries,” in partnership with Geneva Network (UK), on the afternoon of Sept. 24 at the Holiday Inn Makati. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez will give the keynote speech and, since the DTI is the mother agency of the Intellectual Property Office, he has a good overview of the sector in relation to the overall trade and investment environment.

The second is the global launch of the International Property Rights Index (IPRI) 2019 by the Property Rights Alliance (PRA, Washington DC) on Oct. 16 at Fairmont Hotel Makati. MGT and the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) will be the local partners in launching this big event. The author of the report, Dr. Sary Levy-Carciente, and PRA Executive Director Lorenzo Montanari will come to Manila to present the report. Both events are by invitation only, but we will consider some interested individuals working on the sector who are not in our list. Send me an e-mail.

Private property is the cornerstone of economic freedom and free enterprise. Both physical property and intellectual property. Investors come if they are assured that their offices, investments, corporate brands/trademarks, patented and copyrighted inventions are respected and protected by the government against pirates and IPR thieves.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

What now Gilas Pilipinas?

We are all familiar with the story of David and Goliath, the Biblical account of a shepherd boy beating with a mere sling shot a giant warrior. How did a boy not trained for armed combat defeat in battle a giant of a veteran warrior?

Students of ancient wars say that opposing warriors engaged in hand-to-hand combat. They went to battle armed with a javelin and a sword. To protect themselves from the blows of the enemies, they wore armor, a helmet, and shin guards, all made of metal.

That was how Goliath of the Philistine forces readied himself for hand-to-hand combat with whoever the Israelites sent to engage him. But no such Israelite warrior came to do battle with him. Instead a shepherd boy, with a sling in one hand and stones in the other, showed up to confront him.

But David provoked him from a distance, rendering Goliath’s weapons, designed for in-fighting, useless. The shepherd boy, David, adept at slinging stones at the predators of his sheep, then slung a sharp stone at the exposed part of Goliath’s head. Dazed by the sharp blow to his head, the giant fell. David rushed to him, and with the fallen warrior’s own sword, cut off Goliath’s head.

Yeng Guiao, head coach of the national basketball team Gilas Pilipinas that competed in the just concluded FIBA World Cup in China, should have read the story of David and Goliath when he was in grade school and learned a few lessons from it. Obvious from his own life story, Yeng drew from the David and Goliath legend these lessons: 1. Believe in yourself; 2. know your opponent; 3. might or size does not matter; 4. there is always a novel way of beating the mighty.

Short he may be but Yeng played varsity basketball when he was in the University of the Philippines. He coached a team made up of aging veterans, second-round draft picks, and undrafted players to Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) championships. He accepted his appointment as coach of Gilas Pilipinas even if he knew the team would go up against the best in the world.

Upon learning that the Philippines was grouped with Italy, Serbia, and Angola in the qualifying round and that Gilas Pilipinas’ first encounter would be against Italy, Yeng remarked: “They are big. We will try to beat them with three-point shooting and speed.” He had planned to beat the lumbering Goliaths of Italy with the agility and sling shots (three-point shots) of Gilas Pilipinas Davids.

While the final lineup had not been chosen, Yeng was decided on including three-point shooters Paul Lee, Matthew Wright, Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Mark Barroca, and Keifer Ravena in the national team. He had hoped that Marcio Lassiter’s injury would heal before the start of the qualifying round so that Super Marcio could join the team. As for speed, the same guys and Gabe Norwood can run the breaks.

But then Wright got injured and Lassiter’s injury had not healed by the time the tournament was to start. So, CJ Perez and Robert Bolick, both outside shooters and run-and-gun players, replaced Wright and Lassiter.

Gilas assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga went to China ahead of the team to scout the Italian team. Sandy reported: “They have a lot of post-up plays, not for their center, but for their point guard, small forward, and power forward. They also like to make the extra pass. So, our defense has to be very solid against them. They have a lot of weapons that we have to stop.” Coach Yeng went to China hoping Italy underestimated Gilas Pilipinas and that his coaching staff had prepared for the game better than the Italians did.

It turned out it was Coach Yeng who underestimated the Italians. They were giants as Yeng knew, but they were not slow and lumbering Goliaths as Yeng thought they were. They had the agility of David. They played with precision. As Assistant Coach Sandy had reported, they passed the ball around crisply, the ball always ending up in the hands of an open man. As a result, they had 30 assists, making 48% or 15 out of 31 attempts.

The Italians also took care of the ball very well. In contrast, our dribblers turned the ball over 23 times leading to 34 points off turnovers for the Italians. Our giant, Andray Blatche, was more like the Goliath of Biblical times — lumbering, maybe because he was at least 20 pounds overweight, and fumbling. He turned the ball over nine times.

Not only did Italy have superior “gilas” (elegance) than Gilas Pilipinas, its defense was as solid as Goliath’s metal armor. Yeng had counted on outside shooting to beat Italy. But Italy’s solid defense disabled Gilas Pilipinas’ main weapon. The national team shot only 13% from beyond the arc (three out of 23) and those treys came only after Italy loosened its defense towards the end of the game when the win was in the bag. Italy beat Gilas Pilipinas by 46 points, 108-62.

Coach Yeng noted that Italy’s guards were so tall that they could defend the Gilas Pilipinas big men, and that they were so athletic that they could stay in front of Gilas Pilipinas’ shorter guards.

The next game was against Serbia, regarded by many as the team that could give the USA a run for its money. Four members of the team play in America’s premier basketball league, the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nikola Jokic, the 24-year-old who plays for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, was a contender for the Most Valuable Player award in NBA’s 2019 season.

Gilas Pilipinas went down in defeat in a more humiliating way, losing to Serbia by 59 points, 126-67. The ridiculous outcome led Serbia’s coach to ask if the Philippines had the material to compete in the World Cup. “Obviously, you’re missing quality. But two European top teams who know how to play tough, physical basketball (give you) results to think about (for the future),” Serbia’s Coach Sasha Djordjevic said.

As Coach Yeng lamented, “There’s no way we could beat them inside the paint, they’re just too big and too good. Even their bigs were shooting the outside shot really well. Even if we tried to put our hands in their face, it was not enough for us to disrupt their shots. We’re playing Asian-level basketball but of course, the world level is different, several notches different.”

But Serbia was eliminated from the Semi Finals. The team whose coach asked why the Philippines was in the World Cup ended up only No. 5 in the world ranking.

So, where does Gilas Pilipinas go from here?

There is lots of talk about the formation of a national team made up of the PBA’s outstanding players long before the next World Cup to achieve chemistry among the team members. But the early formation of a national team does not necessarily mean the players will grow taller and heftier.

Pulling out players from their PBA mother teams would also mean players giving up fat paychecks, big bonuses, and endorsement opportunities. It is very likely the chosen players would decline inclusion in the national team. We will send to the next World Cup a weaker team.

The national team failed to win a game in the consolation round of the just concluded World Cup, making relevant Sasha Djordjevic’s question why the Philippines is in the World Cup. The Philippines will host the next World Cup — in 2023. Will coaches of the participating teams be asking why the Philippines was chosen as host?

 

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a retired corporate executive, business consultant, and management professor. He has been a politicized citizen since his college days in the late 1950s.

Cardinals look to sustain assault on top half spot

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE Mapua Cardinals seek to continue their assault on the top half of the standings of Season 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association when they trek back to action today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Set to take on the College of Saint Benilde Blazers in the scheduled 2 p.m. match, the Cardinals, currently at sixth place with a 4-6 record, will try to forge ahead and catch up with the league leaders as competition in the country’s oldest collegiate league hits the critical stretch.

Mapua is coming off a gutsy double-overtime win, 105-101, over the Letran Knights on Sept. 13 where Noah Lugo exploded for a career-high 31 points.

The Cardinals played catch-up for much of the contest but delivered when it needed the most to outlast the Knights and fashion out the upset win which set off their second-round campaign to a good start.

Cyril Gonzales tallied 18 markers in the Mapua win with Laurenz Victoria and Justin Serrano adding 13 and 12 points, respectively.

“The players really worked hard to get this win [against Letran] both offensively and defensively. We held on in overtime and in the second overtime. It was not easy but I give credit to the players for not giving up and fighting all the way to the end,” said Mapua coach Randy Alcantara after their hard-earned victory.

Out to stop Mapua is Saint Benilde (6-4), which has experienced some slowing down after opening their season campaign with five straight victories.

The Blazers have lost four of their last five matches, including their last two against Letran and the San Sebastian Stags, in that order.

James Pasturan is leading the way for CSB with 10.3 points per ball game.

Justin Gutang has been good for 10.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists while Yankie Haruna is adding nine points a game for the TY Tang-coached Blazers.

Also playing today are San Sebastian (7-3) against the Perpetual Help Altas (3-7) at 12 noon and the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (4-7) versus the Arellano Chiefs (2-9) at 4 p.m.

Meanwhile, San Sebastian’s Allyn Bulanadi is the reigning NCAA player of the week after dropping a career-high 32 points in their win over CSB on Sept. 13.

The veteran wingman shot 11-of-21 from the field, punctuated by five triples.

In winning the award, given by media covering the league, Mr. Bulanadi bested Lugo of Mapua, Donald Tankoua of San Beda, and Reymar Caduyac of Lyceum.

Falcons score late, hang on to defeat Eagles

ATLANTA — Matt Ryan connected with Julio Jones for a 54-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-3 with 2:10 left in the game, and the Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 24-20 home win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night.

After Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz scored on a 1-yard touchdown dive with 3:13 left to cap a 13-play, 73-yard drive and hit Zach Ertz with a 2-point conversion pass to give the Eagles a 20-17 lead, Ryan (27 of 43 for 320 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions) came through with his own heroics.

He hit Jones (five receptions, 106 yards, two touchdowns), who took the receiver screen and sprinted more than half the field for the eventual winning score. The Falcons improved to 1-1, the same as the Eagles, who got down to the Atlanta 16-yard line before Ertz was held a yard short on fourth-and-8 with 38 seconds left.

Wentz, who took a shot to the ribs and spent time in concussion protocol during the first half, was 25 of 43 for 231 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He spent most of the game minus his two top receivers Alshon Jeffery (calf) and DeSean Jackson (groin), who left in the first half with injuries.

Calvin Ridley caught eight passes for 105 yards with a touchdown for the Falcons, who went up 3-0 at the 9:28 mark of the first quarter with a 50-yard field goal from Matt Bryant. Philadelphia tied it in the second quarter on Jake Elliott’s 34-yard field goal.

Desmond Trufant picked off Wentz for the second time, and Atlanta scored five plays later when Ryan hooked up with a leaping Ridley for a 34-yard touchdown connection to make it 10-3 with 4:56 left in the half.

Backup Josh McCown started the Eagles’ final drive of the first half while Wentz was in concussion protocol and got them into the Atlanta red zone. Wentz returned, but Philadelphia settled for Elliott’s 41-yard field goal.

Things got worse for the Eagles right out of halftime as Corey Clement fumbled the kickoff, which Atlanta recovered at the visitors’ 33. Three plays later, Ryan found Jones for a 4-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-6.

However, Ronald Darby intercepted Ryan in Falcons’ territory, and Philadelphia went for it on fourth down from the 4. Wentz drilled a bullet to Nelson Agholor (eight receptions, 107 yards) for the touchdown. It stayed 17-12 after Wentz failed to score on the 2-point try with 4:57 left in the third. — Reuters

Terrific 12 tourney in Macau to be aired over ESPN5

TOP-CLASS Asian club basketball action takes center stage beginning today as the East Asia Super League — Terrific 12 tournament unfolds in Macau, China, with ESPN5 bringing the proceedings live in the country.

Happening from Sept. 17–22 at the Tap Seac Multi-Sport Pavilion in Macau, The Terrific 12 will gather some of the top teams in the region, including Philippine Basketball Association champion teams San Miguel Beermen and TNT KaTropa and Blackwater Elite.

The six-day tournament will also see Liaoning Flying Leopards, Shenzhen Aviators, and Zhejiang Guangsha Lions from China; Chiba Jets, Niigata Albirex, Ryukyu Golden Kings and Utsunomiya Brex from Japan; and Jeonju KCC Egis and Seoul SK Knights from Korea.

Now on its third year, the Terrific 12 has grown in stature and scope with 22 networks set to cover it on major global broadcast and streaming platforms this year, including ESPN5 for the Philippines.

In the tournament, the ball clubs will be grouped into four brackets with the top team from each group advancing to the semifinals scheduled on Sept. 21.

The finals will be played on Sept. 22 with the champion going home with a $150,000 prize. The runner-up will receive $100,000 while second runner-up gets $50,000.

The Beermen will have majority of their champion team in harness for the tournament, backstopped by imports Dez Wells and Lester Prosper, who impressed with his performance with the Columbian Dyip in the recent PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

TNT will have old reliable Jayson Castro leading the way, helped by reinforcements McKenzie Moore and KJ McDaniels.

Blackwater, for its part, will have do-it-all rookie Ray Parks, Jr., joined by imports Alex Stepheson and Marqus Blakely.

The PBA teams are using the tournament as well as part of their preparations for the PBA Governors’ Cup which tips off later this week.

Also set to see action in the tournament are former National Basketball Association campaigners Lance Stephenson and Shabazz Muhammad.

Apart from ESPN5, Terrific 12 games can also be seen over ESPN YouTube Live. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Spain wins FIBA World Cup

BEIJING — Spain beat Argentina 95-75 to win the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2006 on Sunday, completing a stunning campaign for a squad considered by many to be among the outsiders when the 32-team tournament began.

The Spaniards scored first and never relinquished the lead, relying on swarming interior defence and superior rebounding to snuff out the offensive threat of 2004 Olympic champions Argentina.

Point guard Ricky Rubio racked up 20 points and three assists and Marc Gasol and Willy Hernangomez swatted three shots each as Spain pulled down 47 rebounds, 20 more than Argentina, en route to a comprehensive victory.

For Gasol it was the crowning achievement of an incredible year that saw him win an NBA World Championship with the Toronto Raptors before leading his national team to glory.

His 33 points in the semi-final victory over Australia put them in a position to fight for the gold medal, but it was his defence that put them on the top step of the podium.

From the opening tip, the 34-year-old dominated the driving lanes to the basket that Argentina had used to such great effect against France, forcing them into outside shots that would not fall.

He was equally effective banging under the basket at the other end and, though he made only two of his nine field goal attempts, he hit nine of his 12 free throws to maintain the gap between the two teams.

He and Rubio were rewarded for their performances in Spain’s unbeaten run to the gold medal with a place in the tournament’s five-man All-Star team, which was announced after the final, with Rubio named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Earlier in the day, Nando De Colo netted 19 points as France shot 43% from behind the arc to take their second consecutive World Cup bronze medal with a 67-59 win over Australia. — Reuters

PVL doubleheader in Bacolod up

VOLLEYBALL fans in Bacolod are up for a treat as the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference will have an explosive doubleheader in the City of Smiles on Oct. 13 at the USLS Coliseum.

Defending champion Creamline will take on PetroGazz in a rematch of the Reinforced Conference championship at 4 p.m., right after Pacifictown-Army and BanKo-Perlas take the floor at 2 p.m.

The Cool Smashers have won their first meeting against the Angels, 25-19, 28-26, 25-20, last Aug. 24, while the Lady Troopers have reasserted their mastery of the Perlas Spikers, 25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20 last Aug. 14.

Those two matches will have a lot of implications in the semifinals race as the season-ending tournament reach the crucial phase of the second round.

A long-time promoter of volleyball in the different areas of the country, organizing GRID Athletic Sports is bringing to the people of Negros exciting PVL volleyball games for them to watch thrilling and action-packed games between the league’s powerhouses live in time for the MassKara Festival.

In partnership with PVL, GRID Athletic Sports will also conduct several other activities lined up to strengthen the volleyball program locally through coaching seminars, grassroots volleyball workshop and motivational guest speaking from volleyball athletes all happening prior to the much awaited games.

PHL esports team members for SEA Games bared

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

FOR the first time this year esports will be a medal event in the Southeast Asian Games and the Philippine team set to compete in it took further form with the unveiling of its final roster.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Sibol, the Philippine national esports team, announced the names of players competing in the six games included in the 30th SEA Games which the country is hosting from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

The players will compete in six titles, namely, DOTA 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.

Among the considerations for inclusion were the players’ mastery of the esport they are going to compete in as well as their ability to work with the team.

Sibol DOTA 2 team is made up of Marvin Salvador “Boomy” Rushton, John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas, Bryle Jacob “cml” Alvizo, Jun “Bok” Kanehara, Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva, James “Erice” Guerra and “Van” Jerico Manalaysay.

StarCraft II has Caviar “EnDerr” Acampado and Justin “Nuks” Santos while for Hearthstone it will be Jacinta “Jia” Dee and Dustin “WaningMoon” Mangulaban.

For Arena of Valor it will be the team composed of Kevin Kio “Gambit” Dizon, Jeremiah “1717” Camarillo, Miguel Klarenz “Miggie” Banaag, Jevan Lorenzo “Bents” Delos Santos, Lawrence Anthony “Rubixx” Gatmaitan, Bradie Ryan “Yatz” Velasquez, and Kyle Jepherson “Vindicated” Padlan.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel, Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, Carlito “Ribo” Jr., Jason Rafael “Jay” Torculas, Jeniel “Haze” Bata-Anon, and Allan Sancio “Lusty” Castromayor.

Competing in Tekken 7, meanwhile, are Andrei Hosea “Doujin” Albar and Alexandre Gabrielle “AK” Laverez.

Esports competition in the SEA Games begins on Dec. 5. Venue is the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The team captains competing in all six titles featured in the esports event of the 30th Southeast Asian Games — Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.

MY Football League kicks off Saturday

THE best of youth football will be showcased in the NCRFA’s Manila Youth Football League (MY Football League) which opens on Saturday at The British School Manila.

The opening tournament will feature 50 teams, which includes The British School Manila, Makati Football Club, De La Salle Zobel, Tanauan, Atheltico Diliman, G8, Manila Japanese Football Club, Tuloy sa Don Bosco, Angono Rizal and RAYA FC.

Guided by FIFA Grassroots, the NCRFA League was formed to create a program that will bring together as many people as possible through the league and its patrons. It is designed to reach out to the young and create a process that connects them to the future.

The father and son duo of Tomas and SeLu Lozano of pioneer youth club Makati FC has created a league whose thrust is growing the sport.

Tomas Lozano has been bringing Makati FC to Gothia Cup in Sweden to represent the Philippines for 37 consecutive years. Through NCRFA, it aims to elevate the level of youth tournaments locally as what the club have experience abroad.

Aside from the Gothia Cup, Makati FC was also invited to the Paris World Games last July, where its two age groups teams made it finals appearance with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop.

After the opening ceremony, the continuation of matches will be on Oct. 5, 12, 26, with the semifinal and final to be played on Nov. 9.

World Cup madness

A total of 128 players and their coaches and seconds gathered in Khanty-Mansiysk (Siberia, Russia) last Monday to participate in the 2019 World Cup. These include:

The four 2017 World Cup semi-finalists: Ding Liren, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So and Levon Aronian

World Junior Champion in 2017 (Aryan Tari) and 2018 (Parham Maghsoodloo)

Qualifiers from the European Championships in 2018 and 2019, 46 players

Qualifiers from the American Continental Championship 2018 and 2019, 8 players

Qualifiers from the Asian Chess Championships in 2018 and 2019, 10 players

Top 2 from the African Chess Championship 2019

Zonal Champions and Qualifiers: 26

Highest rated players not otherwise qualified: 18

Others (seeded players, invitees, etc)

The tournament is a 77-round Knock-Out (KO) event. The matches from round 1 to 6 consist of two classical games with time control of 90 minutes per 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1. The finals and the match for the third place consist of four classical games.

If the score is tied after the classical games tie breaks are played the next day. The tiebreaks start with two games of 25+10, meaning 25 minutes per game per player with 10 seconds added to your clock after every move. In the case of another tie, two more games follow with time control of 10+10. If the score is still tied, two blitz games follow (5+3). Finally, if all else fails then an armageddon game is played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. White has 5 minutes per game and Black has 4 minutes, with an increment of two seconds per move starting from move 61. White needs a win to advance to the next round.

In round 1 half of the participants were eliminated and had to go home. Don’t feel too bad for them though as they each get $6,000 just for being there. There were too many interesting games and match-ups to cover here so let me just touch on some matches which interested me.

Wesley So defeated Sergio Duran Vega, a 26-year-old International Master from Costa Rica who qualified through the 2019 American Continental Championship. He won a pawn with a small combination in the first game and quickly and efficiently brought the game to a close:

So, Wesley (2767) — Duran Vega, Sergio (2387) [A29]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.1), 10.09.2019

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.d3 0–0 9.Be3 Re8 10.Rc1 Bf8 11.Bg5 f6 12.Be3 Be6 13.Nd2 Rb8 14.Nb3 Qc8 15.Bc5 Bh3 16.Bxh3 Qxh3 17.Nb5 Qc8? <D>

POSITION AFTER 17…QC8

18.Nxa7! Nxa7 19.Bxb6 Nc6 20.Bc5 Qh3 21.Bxf8 Rxf8 22.Nc5 Kh8 23.e3 Ne7 24.Rc4 c6 25.Qg4 Qxg4 26.Rxg4 Rfd8 27.Rd1 Rd5 28.Rc4 Ra8 29.Ra4 Rb8 30.Nb3 Rbd8 31.Kf1! Kg8 [31…Rxd3 32.Rxd3 Rxd3 33.Ra7 Rd7 34.Nc5 wins back the pawn with a winning endgame] 32.Ke2 Kf7 33.d4 Nf5 34.f3 exd4 35.e4 Re5 36.Kf2 Ne7 37.Rdxd4 Rxd4 38.Nxd4 f5 39.Ra7 fxe4 40.Rxb7 Kf6 41.Rb6 exf3 42.Nxc6 Re2+ [42…Re6? 43.Nxe7 Rxb6 44.Nd5+] 43.Kxf3 Rxh2 44.Nxe7+ Kxe7 45.a4 [With two distant passed pawns on the queenside to contend with Black throws in the towel] 1–0

In the second game Wesley settled matters with a direct attack to finish the mini-match at 2-0.

As expected Russia had the biggest delegation with 28 players and 21 of them topped their opponents in the first round to qualify for the second. In rating order they are: Ian Nepomniachtchi 2776, Sergey Karjakin 2760, Alexander Grischuk 2759, Valdislav Artemiev 2746, Dmitry Andreikin 2741, Nikita Vitiugov 2732, Peter Svidler 2729, Evgeny Tomashevsky 2718, Maxim Matlakov 2716, Daniil Dubov 2699, Ernesto Inarkiev 2693, Dmitry Jakovenko 2681, Kirill Alekseenko 2671, Vladimir Fedoseev 2664, Sanan Sjugirov 2662, Alexandr Predke 2657, Anton Demchenko 2655, Evgeniy Najer 2635, Andrey Esipenko 2624, Aleksandr Rakhmanov 2606, Daniel Yuffa 2577. Quite an imposing line-up. Even their lowest rated player, Daniel Yuffa, is an amazing talent — in September 2017 he appeared on the Russia-1 talent show “Amazing People,” playing three blindfold simultaneous games while performing classical music pieces on the piano!

Yuffa’s chess is not too shabby either as he eliminated one of the big fish, the Czech GM David Navara, with some very precise calculation.

Navara, David (2724) — Yuffa, Daniil (2577) [B12]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.2), 12.09.2019

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nd2 e6 5.Nb3 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Nxc5 Qa5+ 8.c3 Qxc5 9.Be3 Qc7 10.f4 Nc6 11.Nf3 Nge7 12.Be2 0–0 13.0–0 h6 14.Kh1 Be4 15.Nd2 Bh7 16.Nb3 Na5 17.Bc5 Rfe8 18.Bd6 Qb6 19.Nxa5 Qxa5 20.b4 Qd8 21.a4 Be4 22.Bb5 Nf5! 23.Bc5 [23.Bxe8 Bxg2+! 24.Kg1 (24.Kxg2 Ne3+) 24…Bxf1 25.Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.Qxf1 Rc8 material is even but Black is clearly better because of his powerful knight] 23…b6 24.Bf2 Rf8 25.a5? d4! 26.Bxd4?! Bxg2+! 27.Kxg2 Qd5+ 28.Rf3 Qxb5 29.Qd3 Qc6 30.b5 Qb7 31.Bf2 Rfd8 32.a6 Qe7 33.Qe2 Qd7 34.c4 Rac8 35.Raa3 Qe7 36.Rad3 Re8 37.Rb3 Rc7 38.c5 bxc5 39.b6 axb6 40.Rxb6 c4 41.Rc3 Rec8 42.Rb2 Qd7 43.Kh3 Ne7 44.a7 Nd5 45.Rf3 c3 46.Rc2 Qa4 47.Ra2 Qe8 48.Ra1 c2 49.Be3 Rxa7 50.Bxa7 c1Q 51.Rxc1 Rxc1 52.Bf2 f5 53.exf6 Qh5+ 54.Kg3 [54.Kg2? Nxf4+] 54…Qg6+ 55.Kh3 Qf5+ 56.Kg3 [56.Kg2 Qg4+ 57.Bg3 Nxf4+]

56…Nxf6 57.Kg2 Rc2 58.Qd1 Ng4 59.Qe1 Qg6 60.Kh3 [60.Rg3 e5! opening up the long diagonal 61.fxe5 Qc6+ 62.Kg1 Nxf2 63.Qxf2 Rc1+] 60…h5 61.Bg3 Ne3 [with unstoppable mate on g4] 0–1

This round was also a big triumph for the players from St. Petersburg, as all of their native sons won: Kirill Alekseenko, Vladimir Fedoseev, Nikita Vitiugov, Peter Svidler and Maxim Matlakov.

Matlakov eliminated the youngest player in the field, Uzbekistan’s 14-year old GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Matlakov, Maxim (2716) — Abdusattorov, Nodirbek (2608) [B91]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.4), 12.09.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.Bg2 b5 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Nec3 Bb7 11.0–0 0–0 12.Be3 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Nf6 14.a4 Nxd5 15.exd5 f5 16.axb5 axb5 17.Qd3 Qd7 18.Rfd1 Rxa1 19.Rxa1 Ra8 20.Rxa8+ Bxa8 21.Qb3 [threat: Bf1] 21…Qb7 22.h4 Kf7 23.h5 Bf6 24.Qb4 Ke7 25.g4 e4 26.g5 Be5 27.f4 exf3 28.Bxf3 Qa6? [Black underestimates the danger. He should have played 28…Qc7 so that after 29.Bd4 he has the counter 29…Kf7 30.Bxe5 dxe5 31.Qxb5 e4!] 29.Bd4! Kf7 30.Bxe5 dxe5 31.Qc5 Qb7 32.Qd6 Qa7+ 33.Kg2 Qe3 34.Qd7+ Kf8 35.Qxf5+ Ke8 36.Qc8+ Ke7 [and now, instead of the “obvious” 37.Qxa8, Matlakov sank into deep thought and after 90 seconds (remember this is a rapid game) blitzed out all of his remaining moves] 37.d6+ Kxd6 38.Qf8+ Kc7 39.Qxg7+ Kb6 40.Qf6+ Ka5 41.Qd8+ Kb4 42.Qf8+ Kc4 43.Qc8+ [43.Qc8+ Kd4 (43…Kb4 44.Qc3+ Qxc3 45.bxc3+ Kxc3 46.Bxa8) 44.Qd8+ Kc4 45.Qc7+ Kd4 (45…Kb4 still cannot be played for the same reason: 46.Qc3+) 46.Qa7+ wins the queen] 1–0

The leader of the St. Petersburg School of Chess Peter Svidler came through with his own brilliancy.

Svidler, Peter (2729) — Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel (2581) [B51]
Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup (2.19), 11.09.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.0–0 Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.c3 a6 7.Bf1 Bg4 8.d4 Bxf3 9.gxf3 cxd4 10.cxd4 d5 11.e5 Nh5 12.e6! g6 13.Nc3 f5? [After the game Svidler said that this was a very bad move and Black should have continued 13…Bg7 14.exf7+ Kxf7 15.Bh3 Nxd4 16.Be3 Nf5 17.Nxd5 e6 and Black is not doing so badly] 14.Qb3 Nxd4 15.Qxb7 Rb8 16.Qxa6 Nxf3+ 17.Kh1 Qc7 [17…Nxe1? 18.Qc6+ Qd7 19.Qxd7#] 18.Qa4+! Kd8 19.Bf4! Nxf4 [19…Qxf4 20.Qd7#] 20.Nb5 Qb6 21.Nd4! [21.Nd4 threatens mate on d7. Now if 21…Qc7 (Or: 21…Qb7 22.Nc6+ Kc7 23.Qxf4+ Kxc6 24.Rac1+ Kb6 25.Qb4+ Ka7 26.Qa5+ Qa6 27.Qxa6#; 21…Rb7 22.Nc6+ Kc7 23.Qxf4+ Kxc6 24.Rac1+) 22.Nc6+ Kc8 23.Ba6+ Rb7 24.Bxb7+ Qxb7 25.Na5 followed by Qe8+] 1–0

India had 10 players in the World Cup and fortunately none of them were matched against each other. The delegation was immediately halved after the first round. 20-year-old GM Chithambaran Aravindh (Aravindh is his given name, Chithambaran his father’s) scored a huge success by eliminating one of the chess greats Michael Adams (England). The other prodigy, 15-year old Nihal Sarin (Nihal is his given name) was also successful, defeating the tough Peruvian GM Jorge Cori 2-0. Other successful Indian GMs were Penteala Harikrishna (2-0 versus Cuban Yuri Gonzalez Vidal), Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (1.5-0.5 against Alan Pichot of Argentina), and Baskaran Adhiban (1.5-0.5 against the very strong GM from Venezuela Iturrizaga).

The five who lost were Surya Shekhar Ganguly versus Vladimir Fedoseev (2-4), Muraily Karthikeyan to Ernesto Inarkiev (0.5-1.5), Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan against the Spaniard Anton Guijarro (1.5-2.5), SP Sethuraman in a thriller against the Israeili GM Tamir Nabaty 3-1, and Abhijeet Gupta to Anton Korobov (2-4).

The Nabaty versus Sethuraman match was one of the most exciting of the 1st round, as both are fierce tacticians with great fighting spirit. Nabaty won the first game after a slugfest but Sethuraman came back to win the second.

Nabaty, Tamir (2658) — Sethuraman, S.P. (2624) [B22]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.2), 12.09.2019

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 g6 5.Na3 Bg7 6.Bc4 Qd8 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qb3 e6 9.Bg5 Nf6 10.Nxd4 0–0 11.0–0–0 Qe7 12.Rhe1 Na6 13.Bf4 Nc5 14.Qb4 Nh5 15.Be3 b6 16.Nc6 Qc7 17.Bxc5 bxc5 18.Qxc5 Qxh2 19.g3 Bb7 20.Ne7+ Kh8 21.Nb5 Nf6 22.Nd6 Bf3 23.Be2 Ne4 24.Qc6 [the idea is to play 24.Bxf3 Nxf2 25.Nxf7+ Rxf7 26.Qxa8+] 24…Bh6+! 25.Kc2 Qxf2 26.Nxf7+ Rxf7 27.Qxa8+ Rf8 28.Rd8 Bxe2 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8 30.Qd8 Bc4+ 31.Kd1 Bd5 32.Nxg6+ [32.Nxd5 Qd2#] 32…hxg6 33.Qh4+ Kg7 34.Rxe4 Bxe4 35.Qxe4 Kf6 36.Qa8 Qf1+ 37.Kc2 Qf5+ 38.Kd2 Qd5+ 0–1

In the tie-breaks GM Tamir won the first rapid game and then sewed up the match with a beautiful finish in the next game:

Nabaty, Tamir (2658) — Sethuraman, S.P. (2624) [A48]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.4), 12.09.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nbd2 g6 4.e4 Bg7 5.c3 0–0 6.a4 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Be2 Nc6 9.0–0 Qc7 10.Qc2 b6 11.Nc4 Bb7 12.Bg5 Rad8 13.Rfd1 h6 14.Bh4 Nh5 15.Ne3 g5 16.Nd5 Qc8 17.Bg3 Nxg3 18.hxg3 e6 19.Ne3 Ne7 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Rd1 Rxd1+ 22.Bxd1 Qc6 23.Qd3 Qxe4 24.Qd8+ Bf8 25.Bc2 Qc6 26.Ng4 Kg7 27.Nf6 Qc8 28.Nh5+ Kh8 29.Ne5 f5 30.Qd6! Bd5 31.c4 Bc6? 32.Nf7+! Kh7 33.Nd8 Kg6 [33…Bd7 34.Nf6+ Kh8 35.Qxd7] 34.Nxe6 Kxh5 35.Ng7+! Bxg7 36.g4+ fxg4 [36…Kxg4 37.Bd1+ Kh4 38.Qg3#] 37.Qh2# checkmate! 1–0

Percentage-wise the best performing delegation was from Azerbaijan as all four of their representatives (Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Eltaj Safarli and Nijat Abasov) won their matches and qualified for the second round.

All in all there were only a few surprises in the first round of the World Cup. The top 15 seeds won and the few upsets are:

Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (NOR 2558) beat Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL 2739). Johan-Sebastian was in excellent form and dominated the match 2-0. His opponent, the Polish no. 1, is known as the long-time second of Vishy Anand and assisted him during most of his world championship matches.

Daniel Yuffa (RUS 2577) beat David Navara (CZE 2724).

Xu Xiangyu (CHN 2576) beat Bu Xiangzhi (CHN 2721) — the hardest match-up to pronounce! You will recall, by the way, that Bu Xiangzhi was the one who eliminated Magnus Carlsen in the previous World Cup.

Eltaj Safarli (AZE 2593) beat Samuel Shankland (USA 2705). The former US Champion did not seem to be in his best shape but he can be forgiven for he was playing with a heavily bandaged left hand. As explained in the chess.com website he hurt it last month while trying to catch a falling glass container. He severed the flexor tendon just below his left pinky and needed surgery to reattach it.

So, onwards to the second round!

 

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

All eyes on Brown

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was understandably cautious in assessing new acquisition Antonio Brown’s progress on the field prior to yesterday’s match. Just a week removed from inking a contract that would net him $15 million for the 2019 campaign, he couldn’t possibly know all the play calls of the defending champions heading into yesterday’s set-to. “A long way to go,” the bench tactician told members of the media after practice Friday. “The systems that he’s been in are quite different … He’s working hard to pick [ours] up, and we’re working hard to get it to him.”

That said, all eyes stayed on Brown as the Patriots took on the Dolphins at the Hard Rock Stadium. And, to his credit, he didn’t disappoint. Never mind his late signing, or his controversial offseason that kept him from staying sharp under organized drills, or the civil lawsuit that figures to divide his time and focus. Before the second quarter of his first stint with his third team of the summer ended, he managed to score a touchdown off a 20-yard beauty from quarterback Tom Brady. It was his fourth catch of the half, during which he participated in roughly a third of the snaps.

Looking back, Brown couldn’t have had a better start. He was called up on the Patriots’ second set of the day, and Brady immediately went to him down the middle for 18 yards. They would connect twice more for 10 and eight yards on the opening drive; in fact, he proved to be the only on-air target through 11 plays that ended with a one-yard touchdown run. He wasn’t as successful after the half; three attempts to find him in the red zone ended up incomplete, clearly borne of lack of familiarity with places, preferences, and predilections. Still, his mere presence served to keep the Dolphins guessing. Between Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett, and him, the defense was hard-pressed to keep up.

To be sure, there wasn’t much need for Brown yesterday, not with the Dolphins so thoroughly overmatched that oddsmakers pegged them to be 18-point underdogs going in. And the Patriots, true to form, didn’t let up. Brady handled the pigskin to the finish, overseeing a shutout that saw them run up their own score to 43. Nonetheless, the unanimous first-team All-Pro selection cannot but be a valuable asset moving forward — assuming, of course, that the National Football League doesn’t step in while his sexual assault case is being tried.

Brown was gone by the time scribes were allowed inside the Patriots’ locker room. Even his name plate was out of sight, in violation of NFL policy requiring teams to “ensure that name plates with players’ names and numbers are left in position until after the locker room has cleared of media.” Which, if nothing else, underscores the fragility of his situation. In any case, life goes on for the titleholders, who, at the very least, proved once more that, under Belichick, talent begets results regardless of circumstance.

 

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.

Bargain hunt fuels last-minute rebound to flat end

THE MAIN INDEX managed to stage a last-minute rebound on Monday due to bargain hunting, ending nearly flat from Friday.

For much of the day, however, stocks reeled from concerns about global oil stocks in the wake of the attack on Saudi Aramco’s processing plants last weekend that was estimated to have shut five percent of the world’s supply.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) edged up 0.05% or 4.58 points to close at 7,996.90, while the broader all shares index was largely unchanged at 4,823.05, up by 0.002% or 0.08 points.

“Last-minute bargain hunting lifted the local market by 4.58 points to 7,996.90,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a market note.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, however, said fears about the impact of the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities capped the last-minute lift. “Local shares closed flat following the news of drone attack on Saudi oil assets over the weekend,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

The Saturday attack is estimated to have halved the output of Saudi Arabia — the world’s biggest supplier — and cut global supply by five percent or about 5.7 million barrels a day. Reports say this is the single biggest disruption in oil supply that country has seen.

Oil prices surged on Monday following the disruption. Meanwhile, US President Donald J. Trump gave the go signal for the release of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The International Energy Agency also said it was monitoring the situation.

“The sudden spike in prices is deemed as a negative for the Philippine economy, as the country imports almost all its petroleum requirements. Overseas, there was little news to offset attack in Saudi Arabia as US stocks were mixed on Friday despite the sentiment surrounding the US-China trade relations improving,” Mr. Limlingan said.

Asian markets ended mixed following the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s key oil facilities. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.05% or 228.68 points to 21,988.29; the Hang Seng index lost 0.83% or 228.14 points to 27,124.55, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.02% or 0.48 points to 3,030.75.

Back home, the six sectoral indices were equally divided between those that lost and those that gained. Those that ended with gains were the industrial counter, which rose 0.36% or 39.99 points to 11,051.93, property which went up 0.1% or 4.08 points to 4,068.16 and mining & oil which edged up 0.02% or 2.17 points to 9,593.63. Financials dropped 0.16% or 3.05 points to 1,829.57, holding firms shed 0.14% or 11.69 points to 7,906.90, while services slipped 0.08% or 1.34 points to 1,622.27.

Some 942.233 million shares worth P4.967 billion switched hands, compared to last Friday’s 7.12 billion issues worth P4.53 billion. Stocks that lost were more than double those that gained 131 to 68, while 47 others ended flat.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the second straight session at P130.4 million, though slightly lower than Friday’s P140.55 million. — Arra B. Francia

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