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Korea downs PHL in QF

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

SOUTH KOREA defeats the Philippines, 91-82, in their quarterfinal match on Monday at the Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia. — ASIAN GAMES WEBSITE

SOUTH KOREA advanced to the semifinals of the basketball competition at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia after defeating the Philippines, 91-82, in their quarterfinal matchup at the Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall in Jakarta on Monday.
Boosted by solid work on the rebounding department, particularly on the offensive end, to complement its steady outside shooting, Korea proved to be a handful for the Philippines late in the game to run away with the victory and advance to the final four of the tournament while relegating the Philippines to the consolation battle.
The Koreans jump-started things with a 9-2 blast in the first three minutes of the opening quarter, extending their lead to 10 points, 17-7, at the 4:42 mark thanks to naturalized player Ricardo Ratliffe.
But the Philippines got its footing for the remainder of the frame with Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle towing their team to a narrower deficit, 22-18, at the end of the first 10 minutes.
The Filipinos picked up where they left off at the end of the first quarter, firing their way to open the second quarter behind Paul Lee, Jordan Clarkson and Mr. Standhardinger.
They overtook the Koreans, 25-24, with 6:30 left on the clock.
Korea though went on a 5-0 blast in the next minute to seize back the lead, 29-25.
Instead of folding, however, the Philippines took on the challenge, stepping up its game on both ends to fight back, going on a 12-2 run to build its biggest lead of the first half of six points, 37-31, with 3:37 left in the half.
The Koreans tried to fight back but the Filipinos would hold them off, taking a two-point advantage, 44-42, by the halftime break.
At the beginning of the third period, the Philippines started things by outgunning its opponent, 10-4, to stretch its lead to eight points, 54-42, by the 7:06 mark.
But another fight back by the Koreans saw it retake the lead, 64-62, with 1:27 remaining before a triple by Mr. Clarkson gave the advantage back to the Philippines, 65-64, heading into the fourth quarter.
Able to get some momentum, Korea rode it to get it going at the start of the fourth quarter.
Mr. Ratliffe, Junbeom Jeon and Sunhyung Kim were catalysts as Korea ran with an 86-74 lead with 2:38 left in the game.
The Philippines scrambled to make its way back but only managed to come within nine points, 89-80, with 41 ticks to go before bowing out.
Mr. Ratliffe, who had stints in the Philippine Basketball Association as a reinforcement, led Korea with a solid double-double of 30 points and 15 rebounds.
Mr. Kim and Ilyoung Heo each had 17 points while Seounghyun Lee finished with 11.
For the Philippines it was Mr. Clarkson who top-scored with 25 points with Messrs. Standhardinger and Pringle adding 16 and 14 points, respectively.
“We were just not comfortable with the zone. Even Jordan (Clarkson) had problems with the zone. They just zoned us all game long and we just could adjust on time. Korea played well especially in the fourth period but our players gave a great effort and I could not have asked for more from them,” said Philippine coach Yeng Guiao after the game.
The PBA-backed Philippine team now hopes to improve on its seventh place finish in the 2014 Asian Games in the consolation battle.

Serena, Nadal begin US Open campaigns

NEW YORK — Serena Williams launches her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title on Monday, sharing the Arthur Ashe Stadium stage with defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal in a blockbuster US Open opening night.
The two superstars, who own 40 Grand Slam titles between them, headline an opening day that sees eight former US Open champions in action.
Williams counts six US Open titles among her 23 Grand Slams, and with one more she will equal Margaret Court’s all-time record for major titles.
But the US superstar is something of an unknown quantity as she seeks her first Slam title since the birth of daughter Olympia last September.
“I can just continue to strive,” says Williams, the 17th seed who called it “interesting” to be tipped as a favorite to win her first US Open title since 2014.
She’s shown flashes of the old brilliance since her return in March, reaching the final at Wimbledon only to fall to Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
Williams opens her campaign against Poland’s Magda Linette, the world number 60 whose first career match against the imposing American will thrust her into the glare of the Ashe stadium lights on a night when organizers are pulling out all the stops in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the US Open.
Defending men’s champion Nadal, ranked number one in the world and seeking a second Slam title of the season after yet another Roland Garros triumph, faces an emotional duel with old friend and Davis Cup teammate David Ferrer.
“It will be a special meeting,” said Nadal, well aware that the slumping Ferrer will call time on his career at the end of the year.
Nadal was looking forward to playing in front of the boisterous New York fans.
“I always had a great connection with the crowd here,” he said. “The crowd brings me to another level of energy. That’s something that I enjoy.”
Ashe stadium will be rocking after a pre-match ceremony to honor past US Open champions and a musical set headlined by Kelly Clarkson, with entertainer Maxwell tapped to perform the national anthem.
The festivities won’t be confined to the main court either as the new Louis Armstrong Stadium hosts a night twin-bill featuring former world number one Victoria Azarenka and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Azarenka, runner-up to Williams in Flushing Meadows in 2012 and 2013, is unseeded as she, too, seeks to return to the top after time off to have a baby. She faces Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova while del Potro, seeded third behind Nadal and No. 2 Roger Federer, takes on American qualifier Donald Young.
Murray, still on the road back from a hip injury and downplaying his chances in his first Grand Slam in over a year, takes on Aussie James Duckworth in an Armstrong day match while Wawrinka, further along in his return from knee surgery, opens the action on Ashe against eighth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov.
It’s a nightmare scenario for Dimitrov, who was seeded sixth when he lost to Wawrinka in the first round at Wimbledon.
Venus Williams, whose seven Grand Slam titles include two US Opens, faces a tough afternoon opener on Ashe against former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.
Women’s world number one Simona Halep launches the dayside action on Armstrong against Estonian Kaia Kanepi, a quarterfinalist last year, while defending women’s champion Sloane Stephens, seeded third, plays Russian Evgeniya Rodina.
Stephens endured a sharp drop in form after her maiden Slam victory here last year. She halted the skid with a victory in Miami, then reached finals at Roland Garros and in Montreal — losing both to Halep.

A successful initial Asian Games foray for Filipino-Japanese golfer Yuka Saso

MADE her Asian Games debut for the Philippines, Filipino-Japanese Yuka Saso had it auspicious as she bagged the second gold for the country in the ongoing continental sporting meet on Sunday.
Holding her nerve in the final round of the golf competition at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia at the Pondok Indah Golf and Country Club course, 17-year-old Saso sank a pressure-laden eagle putt from 10 feet on the par-five 19th to thrust herself to the top and win gold.
With identical three-under 33s in the front nine, Ms. Saso wound up with a four-round tally of 275, three shots better than second-running Liu Wenbo of China, who slumped to a 73 to settle for the silver with a 278 aggregate.
Ms. Saso’s teammate Bianca Panganiban made it a double podium finish for the Philippines on the greens on Sunday as she latched on the individual bronze medal with a combined 72-hole score of 279.
The podium finish of Misses Saso and Panganiban also allowed the Philippine women’s golf team, which also included Louis Kay Go, to bag the team championship trophy with a four-round output of 554, ahead of South Korea (557), which finished with the silver, and China (558) with the bronze.
Unsurprisingly, Ms. Saso was very happy to have made it a successful initial foray in the Asian Games for the Philippines, underscoring how her and their team’s hard work paid dividends.
“I feel very happy. I really don’t know what to say. My experience here the whole week has been wonderful,” said Ms. Saso after their gold conquest.
“I just never lost faith in myself and I never doubted this team from the beginning. We are all fighters and we really fought hard for our country,” she added.
Ms. Saso’s and Team Philippines’ gold medals were in addition to the country’s medal haul after that of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won on Aug. 21.
Ms. Panganiban’s bronze, meanwhile, was the 10th for the Philippines after those won by the taekwondo poomsae men’s and women’s teams, taekwondo jin Pauline Lopez, wushu’s Agatha Wong and Divine Wally, BMX cyclist Daniel Caluag, jiu-jitsu’s Meggie Ochoa, and pencak silat’s Jeffrey Rhey Loon and Dines Dumaan. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Crypto tycoons are about to learn how rich they really are

Some of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency tycoons are about to find out how much they’re really worth.
The secretive bosses of Bitmain Technologies Ltd., Canaan Inc. and Ebang International Holdings Inc. — three of the largest makers of cryptocurrency mining gear — are all facing the prospect of public-market scrutiny for the first time as they pursue stock listings in Hong Kong. Bitfury, another industry heavyweight, is open to the idea of an initial public offering, though it doesn’t yet have any concrete plans.
If they proceed, the share sales will represent a major test of whether the fortunes amassed by the likes of Bitmain’s Jihan Wu, Canaan’s Zhang Nangeng and Ebang’s Hu Dong are sustainable, or destined to fizzle. While all three companies enjoyed breakneck growth as Bitcoin soared 15-fold last year, the cryptocurrency and most of its peers have lost more than half their value in 2018 amid mounting regulatory scrutiny and concerns over exchange security flaws and market manipulation.
The risk is that a lengthy bear market will erode demand for the companies’ specialized computer chips, which miners use to verify virtual currency transactions in a race for crypto-denominated rewards. Bitmain, Canaan and Ebang are trying to adapt their technology for use in other fields such as artificial intelligence, but they’ve yet to prove that the new applications are scalable. Publicly traded shares would offer a real-time gauge of how investors view their prospects.
“These IPOs will be a litmus test,” said Rohit Kulkarni, a managing director for private investment research at SharesPost.
Given the limited public information on the financial results of crypto-mining gear makers and the other assets owned by their founders, pre-IPO estimates of their net worth involve a significant amount of guesswork. The projections in the following table incorporate information from exchange filings, interviews and data compiled by Bloomberg. Valuation multiples were derived from publicly traded chipmakers such as Nvidia Corp. and MediaTek Inc.
Bitmain, the industry’s dominant player, is planning an IPO that could raise as much as $3 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said this month. Wu, the company’s controversial 32-year-old leader, said in an interview that he and co-founder Micree Zhan together owned about 60 percent of the business, and that it booked $2.5 billion of revenue last year.
In addition to selling mining gear, Bitmain also operates some of the world’s biggest mining collectives, in which members combine their processing capacity and split the rewards. It’s unclear whether that part of Bitmain’s business would be included in a share sale.
Bitfury recorded $450 million of revenue in the 12 months through March, according to a spokesman. Chief Executive Officer Valery Vavilov and co-founder Valery Nebesny share a majority stake in the company, Vavilov said in an email interview.
Three founders of Canaan — Zhang, Liu Xiangfu and Li Jiaxuan — each control stakes of around 17 percent in their company, while Hu and his family own 68 percent of Ebang, according to exchange fillings. Canaan and Ebang have already filed preliminary applications to list shares in Hong Kong, though the timing of the IPOs is unclear and the companies aren’t obligated to pursue them.
Bitmain and Bitfury declined to comment, while Canaan and Ebang didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Declining cryptocurrency prices may be one reason why the mining companies are selling shares now, so that existing owners can “capture some of the gains they’ve made from growing the business to this point,” said Gil Luria, director of institutional equity research at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Portland, Oregon.
Bitcoin was little changed at about $6,700 as of 5:08 a.m. in Hong Kong on Monday. It’s down 53 percent this year.
The offerings may appeal to money managers who are bullish on crypto but want to avoid the risks that come with holding virtual currencies, including unwieldy custodial arrangements, Luria added.
“It’s like buying shovels and Levis jeans during the gold rush,” he said. “These are real companies generating a decent amount of revenue.”
The stocks would also offer investors exposure to the growth of artificial intelligence, said Kevin Wang, a Hong Kong-based analyst who covers semiconductor companies for Mizuho Securities. The application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, designed by Bitmain and its peers for crypto miners are useful for the heavy workloads associated with some forms of AI, such as machine learning.
The companies’ AI ambitions may partly explain their decisions to pursue IPOs rather than initial coin offerings, which have been banned in China and some other countries. The Chinese government is a major backer of AI technology. Still, the decision to shun ICOs may irk some cryptocurrency purists, especially considering that some of the mining-gear companies have benefited from the proliferation of tokens generated by the ICO boom.
For potential stock investors, cutthroat competition in the crypto mining industry may be just as large a risk as falling virtual currency prices. Concern that Bitmain is losing its technological edge prompted Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts to warn in an Aug. 22 report that the company may need to take a major writedown on its inventory.
“It’s a very competitive space,” Luria said. — Bloomberg

Pencak silat, karate add bronze medals to haul

THE PHILIPPINES added bronze medals to its total medal haul at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on Monday with pencak silat and karate athletes winding up on the podium.
Cherry Mae Regalado nabbed the bronze in the women’s single division of pencak silat while karatedo athlete Junna Tsukii placed third in the women’s -50kg event.
Ms. Regalado finished with 444 points to finish third in her event behind Puspa Arumsari of host Indonesia (467) and Singapore’s Nurzuhairah Mohammad Yazid (445).
The bronze was the third for the Philippines from the sport of pencak silat, a traditional Indonesian martial arts form, after those by teammates Jeffrey Rhey Loon and Dines Dumaan on Sunday.
Ms. Tsukii, meanwhile, gave the first medal from karate after toppling Thailand’s Paweena Raksachart, 4-1, in the women’s -50kg semifinal.
The two bronze medals padded the Philippines’ total haul to three gold and 12 bronze medals, good for 16th place in the medal standings as of 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
IMPRESSED WITH SU
Meanwhile in Jakarta, Su Bingtian’s Asian Games gold in the 100 meters on Sunday came as little surprise to many, including athletics boss Sebastian Coe, long admirer of the pint-sized Chinese sprinter.
The 28-year-old streaked to victory in a competition record of 9.92 seconds in Jakarta at the weekend, missing the continental record by the tiniest of fractions.
Su edged out Nigeria-born Qatari Tosin Ogunode — younger brother of Femi Ogunode, with whom the Chinese star shares the continental best of 9.91 — on a night when six African-born athletes bagged six track and field golds at Asia’s showcase sports event.
Ryota Yamagata — part of the 4x100m Japan team that took silver behind Usain Bolt’s Jamaica at the 2016 Rio Olympics, took bronze, underlining Coe’s confidence in the future of Asian sprinting.
“You could argue Japan and China are two of the most improved athletics nations over the last six or seven years,” the Briton said in an interview with news agencies.
“For me it’s very clear — they’re making very good progress. If we’d been sitting here a decade ago, talking about potential here for a China athlete to run 9.8, you’d have probably taken quite long odds on that.”
Coe, president of track and field’s governing International Association of Athletics Federation, pointed to China’s willingness to embrace overseas coaches after years of fostering suspicion of state-sponsored doping.
“If you look at the Chinese federation, they’ve been quite global,” said Coe. “They’ve recognised there are gaps in their own coaching structures and said ‘Hey, let’s bring that talent to the table.’
“It’s a pragmatic approach. There’s been a greater clarity around the importance of coaching.” — Michael Angelo S. Murillo with reports from AFP

First-round play of NCAA Season 94 ends today

FIRST-ROUND action in the elimination phase of Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association hits the end today with a double-header at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Season hosts Perpetual Help Altas (5-3) take on the Arellano Chiefs (3-5) at 2 p.m. while the defending champions San Beda Red Lions (7-1) will collide with the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (2-6) at 4 p.m.
Losers in their previous assignments, both the Altas and Chiefs look to finish the opening round on a winning note and have something to build on heading into the second phase of classification.
Perpetual Help lost to the College of St. Benilde Blazers, 84-77, on Aug. 24 to fall a step behind and drop outside of the top four.
The Altas fought the Blazers toe-to-toe until main playmaker Edgar Charcos came down with a hyperextended right knee in the third quarter and was not able to finish the game.
Prince Eze tried to tow his team to the win with 24 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks while Kim Aurin added 23 points but they were not enough to complete the task.
Perpetual Help with a win today ties St. Benilde and the Letran Knights for joint third place with a 6-3 card.
Arellano, meanwhile, tries to shake off back-to-back losses and finish the opening round just below the .500 mark.
The most recent of the Chiefs’ defeats came last Friday at the hands of San Beda, 98-79, where Arellano was simple hard-pressed in stopping King Lion Robert Bolick who finished with 50 points.
Kept the game close up to the halftime break, down by just two points, 42-40, Arellano saw the game slip away from them as Bolick took charge with his offensive explosion.
The loss prevented the Chiefs from ending up with a 4-4 record and staring at a losing card midway into the season.
BOLICK
In the second game, Bolick looks to lead the Lions to back-to-back wins after absorbing their first loss of the season at the hands of the league-leading Lyceum Pirates.
The 50 points he had last time around against Arellano earned for Bolick co-player of the week honors with Letran’s Bong Quinto, who also had it stellar last week by averaging a triple-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds and, 10.5 assists in back-to-back wins.
“You can’t really compare Robert to anyone because his game is special in its own way,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez of his prized player.
Also making their presence felt in the last game were Javee Mocon and Donald Tankoua who combined for 28 points and 12 rebounds.
Out to stop the Lions are the Bombers, who have won two straight after opening their Season 94 campaign with six straight losses. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Oil holds gains as US rigs decline at fastest pace since 2016

Oil held gains above $68 a barrel on slowing American drilling and investor optimism after a breakthrough in a trade standoff between the U.S. and Mexico.
Futures in New York were little changed, following a 1.3 percent gain on Friday. Working oil rigs in the U.S. declined by the most since May 2016 last week, according to Baker Hughes data released Friday. Meanwhile, America and Mexico are poised to resolve their bilateral differences over the North American Free Trade Agreement as soon as Monday after breakthroughs on issues including automobiles and energy.
Crude has continued to trade below $70 this month as a trade war between the U.S. and China, coupled with the threat of contagion from the Turkish currency crisis, has weighed on prices. Still, slowing American output growth and pipeline bottlenecks are adding to supply risks as President Donald Trump is set to impose sanctions on oil exports from Iran in early November at a time when stockpiles are shrinking.
“Falling U.S. rig counts and last week’s decline in U.S. inventories are supporting oil prices amid a protracted U.S.-China trade war that could dampen global growth and weigh on oil demand,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading for the Asia Pacific region at Oanda Corp. “The markets will continue to get a fillip from U.S. sanctions against Iran.”
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery traded at $68.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 23 cents, at 10:03 a.m. in London. The contract rose 89 cents to $68.72 on Friday. Total volume traded was about 53 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent for October settlement traded at $75.65 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, down 17 cents. Prices on Friday added 1.5 percent to $75.82. The global benchmark crude traded at $7.16 premium to WTI.
The Joint Technical Committee of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers is scheduled to review oil-production cuts Monday. OPEC and allies are currently restoring output to 100 percent of a target set in late 2016 after a period of cutting supplies excessively.
Working oil rigs in the U.S. dropped by nine to 860 last week, according to Baker Hughes. Bakken operators led the way with a cutback of four in North Dakota. That’s after nationwide stockpiles slid more than forecast in the week ended Aug. 17.
Meanwhile, the U.S., Canada and Mexico have been negotiating for a year to overhaul the 24-year-old Nafta at the insistence of Trump. He said Saturday on Twitter that his country could have a “ big Trade Agreement” with its southern neighbor soon. Companies operating across North America have worried that some of the U.S. president’s demands could hurt the region’s economy. — Bloomberg

King’s Indian in Saint Louis

 

Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2018
Saint Louis Chess Center
Saint Louis USA.
Aug. 11-16, 2018

Final Combined Standings
(Rapid counts double)
1 Hikaru Nakamura, 22.5/36 (USD 37,500)
2 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, 21.5/36 (USD 25,000)
3 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, 21.0/36 (USD 20,000)
4 Fabiano Caruana, 20.0/36 (USD 15,000)
5 Levon Aronian, 18.0/36 (USD 12,500)
6 Sergey Karjakin, 17.0/36 (USD 10,000)
7 Leinier Dominguez, 16.0/36 (USD 7,500)
8 Alexander Grischuk, 15.5/36 (USD 7,500)
9 Wesley So, 15.0/36 (USD 7,500)
10 Viswanathan Anand, 13.5/36 (USD 7,500)
Mamedyarov and Nakamura shared first in the rapid with 6/9. MVL scored a crushing victory in the blitz making 13.5/18 a whole three points clear of Nakamura. The rules for the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz stipulate that the Rapid portion counts for double, so the overall winner was Nakamura with a joint first place in the Rapid and second in the blitz.
Wesley So finished near the bottom of the combined. This was a letdown because in the previous Rapid & Blitz events of the Grand Chess Tour he had won the first leg held in Lueven, Belgium, and finished third in the second leg held in Paris. In both Leuven and Paris Wesley had won the Rapid section.
Here in Saint Louis he started badly and could not recover. Seventh in the Rapid and ninth in the Blitz (out of 10 players) can be considered a relative failure. Let us concentrate on the bright spots in his tournament and hope that he recovers from his weaker moments here.

So, Wesley (2852) –
Grischuk, Alexander (2751) [E99]
Saint Louis Rapid 2018
Saint Louis (8), 13.08.2018

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0–0 6.Be2 e5
The famous Mar del Plata Variation of the King’s Indian Defense, I give a short history of the line below so you would appreciate the usual plans of attack for both colors.
7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.Bd2 Nf6 12.f3 f4 13.Rc1 g5 14.c5 Ng6 15.Kh1!?
A new move. Wesley has studied the Mar del Plata from the White side intensively since Nakamura and Ding Liren are so good with it from the Black side. Usually the continuation here is. 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Nb5 Rf7 17.Qc2 Ne8 18.a4 h5 with a lot of exciting chess ahead.
15…Rf7 16.Rg1 Bf8
As you will see from the game Najdorf vs Gligoric below this setup for Black was envisioned by Gligoric 65 years ago and it is still going strong!
17.g3 Rg7 18.cxd6 cxd6 19.gxf4 gxf4 20.Bf1 Bd7 21.Be1 Kh8 22.Qb3 Nh5 23.Nb5 Nh4 24.Rxg7 Nxg7 25.Nf2 Qb6 26.Nh3
26…Be7?
The losing move. After the game Grischuk himself pointed out the line 26…Nxf3! 27.Qxf3 Bxb5 28.Bxb5 Qxb5 29.Ng5 Qd7 30.Qg4! Qxg4 31.Nf7+ Kg8 32.Nh6+ Kh8 where White can win back the queen but is better off his giving perpetual with the knight.
27.Bf2! Qd8 28.Bxh4! Bxh4 29.Nxd6 Qe7 30.Qxb7
White is already winning.
30…Rg8 31.Rc7 Qxd6 32.Rxd7 Qc5 33.Rc7 Qe3 34.Qb3
White must of course not allow …Qxf3+
34…Qe1 35.Qd3 Ne8 36.Rc6 Bf2 37.Qe2 Qxe2 38.Bxe2 Bd4 39.d6 Nf6 40.Bc4 Rb8 41.b3 h6 42.Be6 Kg7 43.Rc7+ Kg6 44.Bf7+ Kg7 45.Be6+ Kg6 46.Bf5+ Kh5 47.d7 Rd8 48.Rc8 Bb6 49.b4 Ng8 50.a4 a5 51.Rc6 Bd4 52.bxa5 Rb8 53.Rc8 Rb1+ 54.Kg2 1–0
The Mar del Plata Variation was the invention of the Yugoslav chess legend Svetozar Gligoric, who unleashed this new plan of development for Black in this game against Miguel Najdorf in the Mar del Plata International Tournament in 1953. He was to use it again successfully later in the same tournament against the tough-to-beat Erich Eliskases.
Najdorf must have been very impressed with the idea, for he used it himself as Black against Mark Taimanov in the famous 1953 Zurich Candidates match-tournament and won quite a remarkable victory. From then on it became known as the “Mar del Plata Variation.”

Najdorf, Miguel –
Gligoric, Svetozar [E99]
Mar del Plata International–16 Mar del Plata (12), 28.03.1953

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0
Gligoric later remarked that the “Mar del Plata Variation” should have been named after him instead of the city where it was played, for he was really its creator. He drew a parallel with the great Akiba Rubinstein who invented the Meran Variation of the Semi-Slav, only to have the variation named after the place where they played it for the first time (1924 Meran) and not the person who developed it.
Surprisingly enough there is a line here named after Svetozar Gligoric, but it is from the White side, the one starting with 7.Be3 instead of 7.0-0 as in the game. Gligoric pointed out the irony here, for he played this way only to avoid facing his own Variation, the Mar del Plata!
7…Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3
In his notes Gligoric commented that the most normal move here would be to play 10.Be3, but Najdorf had pondered on that at length and decided not to give Black additional incentive to play …f7–f5–f4. Later in the tournament another famous player, GM Erich Eliskases, did play 10.Be3, and here is what happened: 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Nd3 Nf6 14.c5 Ng6 15.Rc1 Rf7 16.Qb3 g4 17.fxg4 Nxg4 18.Bxg4 Bxg4 19.Qxb7 f3 20.Be3 Nf4 21.Bxf4 exf4 22.gxf3 Bh3 23.Kh1 Bxf1 24.Rxf1 Bd4 25.e5 dxe5 26.Ne2 Rb8 27.Qc6 Qf6 28.Nxd4 exd4 29.d6 cxd6 30.Qd5 Kh8 31.cxd6 Rg7 32.d7 Rd8 33.Ne5 Rdxd7 34.Nxd7 Qg6 35.Qa8+ Rg8 36.Qxg8+ Qxg8 37.b3 Qg5 38.Re1 d3 39.Ne5 d2 40.Nf7+ Kg7 41.Rd1 Qh4 42.Kg2 Qe1 0–1 Eliskases, E-Gligoric,S Mar del Plata 1953.
10…f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bd2 Nf6!?
Gligoric’s new line of attack. Previously Black would go 12…Rf6 followed by 13.g5 and either …Rg6 or …Rh6.
13.b4 g5 14.c5 h5 15.Nf2 Ng6! Consistent with the overall plan. Black will continue …Rf7, …Bf8 and …Rg7 or …Rh7.
16.Rc1 Rf7 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.a4 Bf8 19.a5 Rg7 20.h3 Nh8!
Preparing to push the g-pawn.
21.Nb5 g4 22.fxg4 hxg4 23.hxg4 a6 24.Na3 Bd7 25.Nc4 Rc8 26.Nb6 Rxc1 27.Bxc1 Be8 28.Ba3 Nf7 29.Qc2 Nh6 30.g5
The g-pawn is doomed anyway, so Najdorf baits the Black rook to leave the 7th rank.
30…Rxg5 31.Rc1 Rg3 32.Bb2 Nfg4 33.Nxg4 Nxg4 34.Bxg4 Rxg4 35.Qf2 Bg6 36.Rc4 Qe7 37.Bc3 Qh7 38.Qe2 Rh4 39.Kf2 f3! 40.Qe3 Rf4 41.gxf3 Qh2+ 42.Ke1 Qh1+ 43.Ke2 Bh5 44.Kd2 Rxf3 45.Qg5+ Bg7 46.Kc2 Rf2+ 47.Bd2 Qd1+ 48.Kc3 Qa1+ 0–1

Here is the famous Taimanov-Najdorf game.

Taimanov, Mark E –
Najdorf, Miguel [E99]
Candidates Tournament Zuerich (4), 05.09.1953

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Nd3 Nf6 14.c5 Ng6 15.Rc1
Annotating this game many years later Vladimir Kramnik pointed out that the bishop on f2 would have been more useful if it was on d2.
15…Rf7 16.Rc2 Bf8 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Qd2?
White has to look for an improvement here. The text move appears to be too slow.
18…g4 19.Rfc1 g3
Kramnik: In general, in all positions of this kind, Black can always execute this pawn sacrifice without thinking or calculating. The prerequisite for this is that a white piece should be on f2, otherwise White may have the possibility h2–h3. If White has no piece on f2, i.e. can play h2–h3, Black must be able to sacrifice a piece as soon as possible on h3, preferably the Bc8 (d7). Otherwise, the lines on the kingside are closed and the attack is over.
20.hxg3 fxg3 21.Bxg3 Nh5
Black will be putting one of his pieces on f4 and then follow-up with …Qg5.
22.Bh2?
Clearly a mistake as the diagonal c1–h6 is now very vulnerable. For better or for worse the bishop should have gone to f2 so that he can relocate to e3.
22…Be7 23.Nb1 Bd7
[23…Bg5? 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Rxc8 Qxc8 26.Qxg5]
24.Qe1 Bg5 25.Nd2 Be3+ 26.Kh1 Qg5 27.Bf1 Raf8 28.Rd1 b5
Preventing Nc4.
29.a4 a6 30.axb5 axb5 31.Rc7 Rg7 32.Nb3 Nh4 33.Rc2 Bh3
Black already had 33…Rxf3! 34.gxf3 Qg1+ 35.Bxg1 Rxg1+ 36.Kh2 Nxf3#
34.Qe2
[34.gxh3 leads to mate: 34…Qg1+ 35.Bxg1 Rxg1+ 36.Kh2 Nxf3#]
34…Nxg2 35.Bxg2 Bxg2+ 36.Qxg2 Qh4 37.Qxg7+ Kxg7 38.Rg2+ Kh8 39.Ne1 Nf4 40.Rg3 Bf2 41.Rg4 Qh3 42.Nd2 h5 43.Rg5 0–1
White now resigns as he realizes that mate cannot be prevented.
And that, my dear readers, is the history of the Mar del Plata Variation.
 
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 for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

New dress code

PREDICTABLY, the French Tennis Federation’s decision to institute a new dress code for upcoming French Opens was met with almost universal derision. That it smacked of poor timing, having been announced publicly by president Bernard Giudicelli with the United States Open at hand, wasn’t even the primordial issue. For tennis greats, longtime fans, casual observers, and social media habitues alike, it smacked of the type of discrimination that stunted players’ freedoms.
Certainly, the Federation’s position wasn’t helped any by Giudicelli’s statements, which singled out Serena Williams, by far the most visible — and, not coincidentally, accomplished — practitioner on the distaff side for her attire choices at the French Open two months ago. He made particular mention of her catsuit, noting that “it will no longer be accepted. I think sometimes we have gone too far. One must respect the game and place.” Never mind that it actually served a technical purpose, aiding her blood circulation and thus minimizing the recurrence of blood clots resulting from post-delivery complications last year.
Parenthetically, Giudicelli’s emphasis on respecting the “place” introduces a bizarre twist. What “place” is appropriate for Williams’ catsuit? And what “place” could be better than supposedly progressive France to make fashion statements? In the face of a severe, if well-deserved, backlash, he should thank his lucky stars the primary subject of his pronouncements has chosen to be magnanimous. In response, she noted that “he’s been so easy to talk to … I’m sure we would come to an understanding and everything will be okay.”
Under the circumstances, Williams could have been rightly indignant. Instead, she chose to be diplomatic, her position aided in no small measure by the presence of French nationals in her team. Imagine that — the sport’s most accomplished predator on the court being subtle and nuanced off it. And because of her success in breaking barriers, all and sundry can rest easy in the knowledge that the outcome will be to her satisfaction.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
alcuaycong@bworldonline.com

Global stock markets swim higher in Wall Street's wake

Paris — Global stock markets rallied Monday, taking their cue from last week’s record showing on Wall Street, but trading in Europe was thin with London closed for a public holiday.
Share prices in Frankfurt were up by nearly half a percent after a widely watched survey showed business confidence in the German economy bouncing back as US trade war fears ease.
French stock prices were also up by around 0.4 percent, buoyed by the widespread gains in Asia.
The bank holiday in London was “keeping trading in Europe pretty thin,” said London Capital Group analyst, Jasper Lawler.
“Traders have had the weekend to digest all the central banker commentary from Jackson Hole.”
At the annual central bankers’ symposium in Wyoming, US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell suggested that, with the US economy showing no sign of overheating, there would be no acceleration in the timetable in interest rates rises.
“Equity market reaction… was one of either appreciation or disinterest,” Lawler said.
In New York on Friday, the S&P500 and Nasdaq had both reached all-time highs while the Dow gained over 100 points.
Trump’s political turmoil
Lawler said that the political turmoil engulfing Trump and his advisers “seems to have done little to dampen market spirits.”
But FXTM market strategist, Hussein Sayed, suggested that as speculation that the US president might be impeached grows, “investors who believe that Trump policies were the key attributes to the recent stocks rally may start becoming worried. After all, he’s the one who sets the path for fiscal policies.”
Nevertheless, looking at previous scandals, such as Watergate and the impeachment of Richard Nixon in 1974, “investors don’t really care who the president is,” Sayed said.
“It’s economic growth, fiscal policies, monetary policies, and earnings growth that matter. The current political turmoil won’t affect economic expansion or employment. US corporates continue to benefit from tax cuts and got the wanted deregulation,” the expert said.
In Germany, the widely-watched Ifo barometer of business confidence rose to its highest level since February as concerns about a trade war between the US and the EU were put on the back burner.
“Today’s Ifo index strongly suggests that the growth party will continue,” said ING economist Carsten Brzeski.
In Asia, Tokyo ended 0.9 percent higher, Hong Kong jumped more than two percent, Shanghai added 1.9 percent and Singapore put on 0.7 percent. Seoul gained 0.3 percent and Sydney added 0.4 percent while there were also gains in Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta.
In forex trading, the dollar was mixed, but OANDA trader Stephen Innes said that the euro could begin to face headwinds as a result of tensions between Italy’s populist government and the EU over Rome’s refusal to take refugees rescued from the Mediterranean. — AFP

S&P says Q2 slack a mere ‘setback’

HOUSEHOLD SPENDING, whose growth eased last quarter, remains an anchor of overall economic expansion. — BW FILE PHOTO

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS has kept its 6.7% Philippine growth forecast this year despite last quarter’s slower-than-expected expansion, amid signs that the economy’s “strength” remains intact.
“Despite the Q2 setback in the headline GDP (gross domestic product) figure, the continued impressive strength of the domestic economy leads us to hold on to our 6.7% growth forecast for now,” the credit rater said in its monthly report published last week.
The Philippine economy grew by six percent in April-June, settling below market expectations of 6.8% and the first quarter’s downward-revised 6.6%. This brought last semester’s growth to 6.3%, well below the state’s 7-8% growth goal for 2018 and the year-ago 6.6%.
GDP expansion eased to its weakest pace in three years due to slower growth of consumer spending, although this segment was offset by a surge in state spending and investments. By industry, exports contracted from a year ago while farm output was flat, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Capital formation grew 20.7% last quarter, which is expected to be sustained for the rest of the year.
While the slower overall economic growth was “unexpected,” there are signs that above-six percent momentum can still be sustained.
“[T]he breakdown suggests continued strength in the domestic economy, with consumption growth steady and investment growth surging to 20.7%. This strength generated a steep rise in imports, causing net exports to significantly detract from the headline number,” S&P noted.
To achieve at least seven percent growth, the economy needs to expand by a blistering 7.7% this semester compared to the year-ago 6.8% — a difficult but still “possible” feat, according to Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran.
A number of bank economists have already downgraded their GDP estimates for the Philippines following the disappointing second-quarter figure, while other credit raters said they will review their forecasts to factor in the latest print.
On the other hand, S&P sees that inflation could remain high over the next few months. Still, it recognized that price spikes triggered by new taxes that took effect this year are starting to ease.
“Regarding inflation, the one-off effects of the tax reform are probably starting to dissipate,” S&P said.
“But with global crude prices and the recent typhoon, food and fuel prices are likely to keep prices high in the next few months before peaking.”
Inflation hit a fresh multi-year-high 5.7% in July,pulling the year-to-date average to 4.5% against the central bank’s 2-4% target range for full-year 2018.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) sees full-year inflation hitting 4.9%, with signs that prices will accelerate further in August or September before easing closer to four percent.
The debt watcher noted that supply-side factors — particularly food and fuel — have been pushing prices up.
The BSP has raised benchmark interest rates by 100 basis points cumulatively this year in three consecutive policy reviews in a bid to temper price spikes.
S&P sees 2018 inflation averaging 4.3% before settling lower at 3.4% in 2019.

Economic managers to meet on economic impact of federal shift

tax filing
MOST of the country’s 17 regions remain heavily dependent on annual doleouts from national taxes.

ECONOMIC MANAGERS of President Rodrigo R. Duterte will meet this week to assess economic implications of the planned shift to a federal system of government in order to come up with a uniform position on this issue.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon told reporters that members of the economic team will meet on Wednesday to exchange views and assessments on the proposed federal charter drafted by the Consultative Committee to Review the 1987 Constitution.
Ms. Edillon said this will be the first meeting of the economic cluster to discuss federalism, adding that NEDA has its own study on the economic impact of the proposed shift in the form of government.
“That’s the reason why we (economic cluster) are meeting. I have not seen their position papers,” Ms. Edillon said on Friday, referring to others like the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management.
“What we can do is really inform them what our assumptions are. Our (NEDA) estimates are actually conservative,” she added.
“About the draft, there was already a memo given out by the OP (Office of the President) requesting all agencies to comment. In our case, we started working on the draft as soon as we received it.”
The NEDA got a copy of the draft charter on July 12 and has come up with its own position paper on it.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, who heads NEDA as director-general, had warned that the sudden shift to a federal form of government could ruin the country’s fiscal health and slow the Duterte administration’s infrastructure drive. Among others, most of the country’s 17 regions — which rely heavily on yearly doleouts from national taxes — are not ready to take on bigger government responsibilities.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has also warned that a federal form could be a “nightmare” for the Philippine economy given drastic changes in revenue-sharing between national and local governments. He also flagged “irreversible economic consequences” such as a bigger budget deficit that could spark credit rating downgrades, and massive job cuts in government.
Ms. Edillon said other matters likely to be tackled on Wednesday include updates on the rice tariffication bill pending in Congress as well as progress on the Foreign Investment Negative List, which the NEDA said has been awaiting Mr. Duterte’s approval for several months now. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

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