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Chinese business delegations visit Davao as consular office prepares for opening

MORE CHINESE investors have been visiting Davao City to scout for business opportunities in the southern islands, according to Mindanao Development Authority Deputy Executive Director Romeo M. Montenegro. “We hope they will eventually invest in Mindanao as they are eager to explore its potentials, particularly in agriculture,” Mr. Montenegro told BusinessWorld yesterday, noting that they gave a briefing last week to one Chinese delegation and have been replying to numerous inquiries. Last week, Chinese Consul General Li Lin said during the Mindanao Business Conference that he has been actively inviting investors from his country to look for opportunities in Mindanao. China is currently setting up its consular office here, with opening expected before the end of the year. “Mindanao is facing a rare opportunity of (economic) growth,” he said. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

3 Indonesian captives released by Abu Sayyaf amid military pursuit

THREE INDONESIAN fishermen held by members of a notorious Islamist kidnap-for-ransom group have walked free 18 months after they were abducted off the southern Philippines, the military said on Sunday. The men were kidnapped in January 2017 while on board a speedboat off the southernmost island group of Tawi-Tawi, which together with the nearby Sulu archipelago are preyed on by Abu Sayyaf militants. The Indonesians were freed in the town of Indanan in Sulu on Saturday and “turned over” to authorities following “intensified military operations” against the Abu Sayyaf, a regional army spokesman said without giving details. Asked if a ransom was paid, Lieutenant Colonel Gerry M. Besana told AFP: “No, there was definitely no ransom given. (They) were pressured by our operations.” The Abu Sayyaf has been known to behead hostages unless ransom payments are made. The Philippine military identified the three Indonesians as Hamdam Bin Salim, 34, Subande Satto, 27, and Sudarlan Samansung, 41. The Abu Sayyaf is still holding 11 hostages, including a Dutch bird-watcher abducted in 2012 and a Vietnamese captive, according to Mr. Besana. — AFP

Nation at a Glance — (09/18/18)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Altas gun for skid-halting win over Chiefs in San Juan

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
CURRENTLY right smack in a campaign-hampering losing skid, the Perpetual Help Altas try to wiggle out of it when they take on the Arellano Chiefs in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 94 action today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Losers of their last three games after winning five of its first seven matches in the ongoing season, the Altas (5-5), the Season 94 hosts, try to go back on the winning track in their 4 p.m. match with the Chiefs (4-6).
The most recent of Perpetual Help’s losses came at the hands of College of Saint Benilde, 91-87, on Sept. 6.
In said game, the Altas rode on the career game of Prince Eze, who finished with 36 points and 17 rebounds, but it was not enough to tow his team to the victory.
Perpetual Help continued to miss the services of floor general Edgar Charcos, something the team is seemingly having a hard time adjusting to.
Charcos, who is averaging 17 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals before hurting his knee at the tailend of the first round, has missed his team’s last three matches which had all been losses.
Out to add to the misery of the Altas, meanwhile, are the Chiefs, who were tripped in their last game by the Letran Knights, 99-82, on Sept. 6.
Arellano kept in step with Letran for much of the contest but faltered in the end to begin its second-round bid on the off foot.
Michael Canete and Archie Concepcion led the way for the Chiefs with 17 points apiece.
With the loss, Arellano lost further ground in their attempt to hitch a ride for the playoffs midway into the tournament.
Playing in the 2 p.m. game are the College of Saint Benilde Blazers (7-4) and the Mapua Cardinals (3-8).
Today’s double-header marks the return of the NCAA after games on Friday, Sept. 14, were postponed because of Typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut), which wreaked havoc with strong winds and gust to much of Luzon.

Danny Kingad seeks to keep groove going

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
NOW in the upswing anew after being dealt his first loss nearly a year ago, Filipino mixed martial arts fighter Danny “The King” Kingad is seeking to keep the winning momentum going and throw himself back in the mix as one of the top fighters in his class in ONE Championship.
Won his last two fights following his submission defeat at the hands of erstwhile ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes of Brazil in their title clash in November 2017, Mr. Kingad (10-1) of Team Lakay is gunning for an official win streak once again when he battles Japanese Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu at “ONE: Conquest of Heroes” in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 22 as part of the main card.
The 22-year-old Kingad enters the contest confident that he has improved as a fighter in the last year and cannot wait to showcase such form in his upcoming fight to be held at the Jakarta Convention Center.
“My last bout was one of my hardest, and I learned a lot from it,” Mr. Kingad was quoted as saying by the ONE Championship Website, referring to his bout with Chinese Ma Hao Bin in June in Macau where he won by unanimous decision.
“Props to Ma Hao Bin — he showed his strength and toughness. He was a really tough opponent and was hard to finish. He had some good takedowns and submission defense. Every time I wanted to stand and trade, he would shoot on me, which was tricky. I couldn’t land many clean strikes. I definitely proved to myself that I can beat a scrappy opponent in a hard fight,” he added.
Prior to defeating Mr. Han, the Filipino warrior defeated Bulgarian Sotir Kichukov in March also by way of unanimous decision.
Zeroing in on his fight against Mr. Wakamatsu (10-2), a Pancrase flyweight tournament champion, Mr. Kingad said he is expecting nothing easy but expressed readiness to take on the challenge.
“He is a dangerous opponent with a lot of knockouts. His style appears to favor striking over grappling. I think that is his strength,” Mr. Kingad said.
“I would love to test his striking to see what that’s all about, and he looks skilled on the ground, also. He is a well-rounded fighter, and I think this will be a good test for me. I’m prepared to go wherever this fight takes me, whether that’s on the feet or on the ground. I’m ready,” Mr. Kingad added.
TORRES RETURNS
Meanwhile, ONE: Conquest of Heroes also marks the return of streaking Filipino women’s atomweight fighter Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres of Catalan Fighting System.
Back in ONE action for the first time since her explosive victory over compatriot April Osenio in January this year, Ms. Torres (4-0) is out to keep her unblemished record intact and fortify her claim for a title shot when she collides with hometown bet Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol.
Against Ms. Osenio, Ms. Torres was on top of her game, finishing the fight in just 40 seconds in the opening round by way of knockout (slam and punches).
Experiencing much success as an MMA fighter since making it a career in 2016, Ms. Torres said she is happy how things are panning out for her in the sport and is looking forward to advancing further.
“I am happy to be part of this sport. It’s now considered as the fastest-growing sport in the world. Making a mark as an international competitor of mixed martial arts gives me a sense of fulfillment. I truly believe I am destined to be a professional fighter,” she said.
ONE: Conquest of Heroes is headlined by the ONE strawweight championship fight between reigning champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito of Japan and challenger Joshua “The Passion” Pacio of the Philippines.

Croatia defeats US to set up Davis Cup final with France

ZADAR, CROATIA — Croatia will meet France in the Davis Cup final after defeating the United States 3-2 as Borna Coric triumphed in the decisive match in Zadar on Sunday.
Coric defeated Davis Cup debutant Frances Tiafoe 6-7 (0/7), 6-1, 6-7 (11/13), 6-1, 6-3 to end a thrilling fightback by the Americans over the weekend.
Croatia will play in their third final in November, after winning the 2005 title and losing in 2016 to Argentina.
They also faced France in the final of this summer’s football World Cup, with Les Bleus winning 4-2.
“This is the most special day in my life,” Coric, the world number 18, told reporters as local media hailed him as a “hero.”
“I had bigger victories, but this feeling cannot be compared to any other, when the whole nation stands behind you,” the 21-year-old Croat added.
“Now we have a ‘Dream Team’,” Croatia coach Zeljko Krajan said.
Looking ahead to the final against France, Krajan said that the “goal is that everyone remains healthy.”
“France are strong… Davis Cup defending champions. But, we will get our chances and we should believe we will use them.”
Croatia have now beaten the US in all five of their Davis Cup meetings.
“I’m very proud of my boys,” US coach Jim Courier said.
“It was really an exciting day, with a lot of fight.”
Coric’s victory followed Sam Querrey’s surprise 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/6), 6-3, 6-4 win over world number six Marin Cilic in Sunday’s first match which hauled the visitors level at 2-2.
“I was more nervous in this match than the first day. I had difficulties to find a rhythm… My game was not at the top level,” a visibly unhappy Cilic told reporters.
Cilic was warned by chair umpire Carlos Ramos, the same official who issued three code violations to Serena Williams during the US Open final, after slamming his racket to the ground.
He received only a warning as it was the first violation of the match.
“It was a certain frustration, I tried to run away from negative thoughts in such a way,” Cilic said of his outburst.
Both Cilic and Coric had won their singles matches on Friday, before the US cut Croatia’s lead to 2-1 as Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison beat Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic in a dramatic doubles rubber on Saturday.
Courier’s team were without two top players — John Isner, the world number 10 who stayed home for family reasons, and the injured Jack Sock. — AFP

Mahomes, Fitzpatrick continue air assaults in NFL’s week two

LOS ANGELES — Two unheralded quarterbacks dazzled for the second week in a row and a pair of clutch field goal kickers were in the spotlight during the second week of the National Football League season.
Patrick Mahomes equalled a franchise record with six touchdown passes as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 42-37 on Sunday.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is making his case for being a starter by throwing for four touchdowns and 402 yards to power the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 27-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Second year player Mahomes delivered another impressive offensive display as he tied Len Dawson’s team record for touchdowns in a game. Dawson threw for a half a dozen touchdowns against the Denver Broncos in 1964.
Mahomes was one touchdown pass from tying the NFL record of seven touchdown passes in a game shared by eight others, including Drew Brees for the New Orleans Saints in 2015.
He also now has a NFL-record 10 touchdown passes through the first two games. Brees (2009) and Peyton Manning (2013) previously held the record with nine each in their team’s first two games.
Fitzpatrick is right behind Mahomes with eight touchdowns on the season so far.
He has more than 800 passing yards the last two weeks while stepping in for suspended starter Jameis Winston.
Against the Eagles, Fitzpatrick added a couple more long touchdown passes. His four 50-plus-yard touchdown throws tied him with Joe Namath, in 1972, for the most through a team’s first two games in league history.
Fitzpatrick credited his teammates for helping him get off to a blazing start.
Said teammate DeSean Jackson, “He’s playing his tail off. He said he’s 36, but he’s playing like he’s 28.”
In Nashville, Tennessee, Ryan Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:00 left, and the Tennessee Titans held off the Houston Texans 20-17 for Mike Vrabel’s first win as an NFL head coach against the team he coached for the past four seasons.
Succop also kicked a tying 42-yarder in the fourth quarter as Tennessee improved to 1-1 on the season.
Not to be outdone, Brandon McManus booted a 36-yard field goal with six seconds left, pushing the Denver Broncos to a 20-19 win over the Oakland Raiders and denying Jon Gruden his first win as a head coach since 2008.
With no time outs and 18 seconds left, Case Keenum hit Tim Patrick for a 26-yard gain to the Oakland 18.
Cornerbacks Gareon Conley and Leon Hall failed to keep him inbounds and McManus came on to kick the game winner.
Quarterback Derek Carr had a stellar outing by completing 29 of 32 passes for 288 yards and a score in the loss.
RODGERS PLAYS WITH BRACE
Elsewhere, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 281 yards and a touchdown while playing with a brace on his injured left knee as the Packers settled for a 29-29 tie with the Minnesota Vikings.
The 34-year-old Rodgers was questionable for the game after injuring his knee in a hotly-contested game last Sunday.
A hobbled Rodgers suffered a sprain in the first half then returned to throw three touchdown passes to lift the Packers to a 24-23 comeback victory.
He took part in just one practice this week but didn’t skip a beat against the Vikings.
Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson missed two field goals in overtime, including one from 35 yards as time expired.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby matched a career high with five field goals, but his potential game-winner from 52 went wide left as time expired in regulation. — AFP

UP Diliman football field earns FIFA quality seal

THE newly built University of the Philippines football field has been ruled at par with international standards after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) recently awarded it with a quality certification seal.
Located off Ylanan St. in the north part of the Diliman campus, the field, installed by E-Sports International, went through stringent and globally recognized tests, anchored on a set of criteria for safety, durability and performance.
The UP Diliman football field passed all of them, said E-Sports International.
“We at E-Sports International are committed to create facilities that provide the ultimate sporting experience,” said Audris Romualdez, Managing Director of E-Sports International.
“For UP to receive this certification means that it is capable of holding matches of premier caliber, providing opportunities for more home-grown football players see the global stage. This only shows how serious we are in providing world-class sports facilities,” she added.
Locally based E-Sports International said for the UP project it used Duo Shape P+ 45mm turf with a Shockdrain system for the football pitch.
Test engineers from Acousto-Scan visited the football grounds to conduct the FIFA Quality field test, a two-phase procedure that carefully evaluates the turf’s surface composition, ball bounce, player interaction, weather resistance, among others.
“Our longstanding promise is to give athletes exceptional pitches so they can train to be the best they can be. High-quality turf systems should be properly installed and be well maintained to prevent rapid pitch deterioration,” said Ms. Romualdez.
Adding, “Paying close attention to these factors will guarantee a field’s safety, superior performance, playability, and pitch longevity.”
The brand-new football pitch will be the home of reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines football champion UP Maroon Booters.
The UP Diliman football field is an addition to other pitches that E-Sports had installed and got FIFA quality certification for, which include the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila and the Biñan Football Stadium in Laguna.
E-Sports International said it is currently building six additional football fields around the Philippines, two of which will undergo testing by the FIFA Quality Program by the end of the year. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

World champion French decathlete Kevin Mayer smashes world record

TALENCE, FRANCE — World champion Kevin Mayer set a new world record in the decathlon with 9,126 points at the Decastar meet on Sunday to eclipse Ashton Eaton’s previous mark of 9,045.
The Frenchman threw a personal best of 71.90 meters in the javelin in the penultimate event to leave him with the relatively simple task of needing to finish inside four minutes 49 seconds in the 1500 meters.
The 26-year-old cruised home in 4:36 to become just the third decathlete to surpass the mythical 9,000-point barrier, joining double Olympic champion Eaton and Czech icon Roman Sebrle.
Mayer put the recent disappointment of missing out on adding to his world crown and Olympic silver medal well and truly behind him on the opening day on Saturday with personal bests of 7.80m in the long jump and 10.55sec in the 100m.
A shot put throw of 16m, then 2.05m on his third and last effort in the high jump and a 400m time of 48.42sec earned him a total of 4563 points at the midway stage.
Mayer opened Sunday with 13.75sec in the 110m hurdles and threw a whopping 50.54m in the discus before excelling at the pole vault in front of a partisan crowd. — AFP

Games from Satka

71st Russian Championship
SuperFinals, Satka, Russia
August 24-September 6, 2018

Final Standings
1-2. Dmitry Andreikin 2710, Dmitry Jakovenko 2748, 7.0/11
3. Evgeny Tomashevsky 2702, 6.5/11
4-6. Ernesto Inarkiev 2690, Vladimir Fedoseev 2707, Ian Nepomniachtchi 2768, 6.0/11
7. Grigoriy Oparin 2609, 5.5/11
8-9. Alexey Sarana 2613, Daniil Dubov 2691, 5.0/11
10-11. Mikhail Kobalia 2619, Nikita Vitiugov 2730, 4.5/11
12. Denis Khismatullin 2634, 3.0/11
Average ELO 2685 Category 18
Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves then another 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.
The two Dmitry’s tied for first in the Russian Superfinals; there was a play-off the Grand Master (GM) Andreikin won the title of Russian Champion and a new car which went with it, a Renault Kaptur — roughly, it looks like the new Toyota Rush. This is his second time — in 2012 Andreikin figured in a gigantic six-way tie for first in the SuperFinals with Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler, Jakovenko, Evgeny Alekseev and Vladimir Potkin and he won the subsequent play-off. This was the beginning of Andreikin’s reputation of “nerves of steel.”
Dmitry Jakovenko (born June 29, 1983) had to content himself with the silver medal but at least this is an affirmation of his current good form — last November he shared first place with Levon Aronian in the Palma de Majorca leg of the FIDE Grand Prix and then in June 2018 he won the 2018 edition of the Karpov Poikovsky super GM tournament. Also, just last month he was named to the Russian national team to the 2018 Batumi Olympiad.
I think though that although Daniil Dubov finished in 9th place out of 12 he did a lot to advance his reputation. In his younger days Dubov was coached by GM Sergey Dolmatov, one of the top students of the famous Soviet/Russian chess trainer and coach Mark Dvoretsky. Dolmatov had cut off working with Dubov because the student was “unpromising.”
GM Sergey Shipov then took over. At that time Dubov had a solid and strategic style but his new coach sharpened it up and successes followed: the grandmaster title at 14, he won the Russian Higher League in 2012 at 16 (this is the qualifier for the Russian SuperFinals. In 2013 he knocked out former world champion and KO Tournament specialist Ruslan Ponomariov from the World Cup in their 2nd round match which went all the way from two classical games, two rapid games, four blitz games up to Armageddon. That one was really impressive.
The following game is nowadays typical of Dubov’s style — good opening preparation and once he gets a grip he is merciless.

Inarkiev, Ernesto (2690) — Dubov, Daniil (2691) [E61]
RUS-Ch SuperFinals Satka RUS (3), 27.08.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.e3
This system with 4.e3 and 5.Be2 has become popular of late. One of the ideas behind it is that the usual 4.Nc3 can be met by 4…d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5. In the Anti-Gruenfeld we see in this game White’s knight is not on c3, so if Black now plays 4…d5 then 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 and the black knight cannot exchange itself off and has to retreat.
4…0–0 5.Be2 c5
Black can either go for a King’s Indian formation with 5…d6 followed by 6…Nbd7 and 7…e5 or he can play as Dubov does here and transpose to the Modern Benoni. In either case we get a fighting game.
6.d5 e6 7.Nc3 exd5 8.cxd5 d6 9.0–0 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nbd7 12.Qc2 a6 13.a4 c4
Aiming to put his knight on c5. The drawback of this move, of course, is that he might lose the pawn on c4. In fact, White immediately goes for it.
14.Be2 Rc8
Black can also play 14…Qc7 . After the game Dubov indicated that he preferred the text move as then his rook can go to c5.
15.a5 Rc5 16.Qa4 Re8 17.Rd1
[17.Bxc4? b5 18.axb6 Nxb6 Black wins a piece]
17…Ne4 18.Nxe4 Rxe4 19.Bd2 f5
Not 19…Bxb2 right away as 20.Rab1 Nf6 (the idea now is that 21.Rxb2? is refuted by 21…c3. However, White need not take the bishop right away) 21.Bf3! c3 22.Bxe4 Nxe4 23.Qxe4 c2 24.Re1 cxb1Q 25.Rxb1 Rb5 material is equal but Black’s pieces are awkwardly placed.
20.Qa3!
Best as 20.Bb4 is met by 20…c3! exploiting the pin along the 4th rank.
20…Rb5 21.Rab1 Rb3
Dubov’s play is like a symphony — each move flowing into the next and pushing back Black’s forces.
22.Qa2
[22.Qxd6? Be5 the white queen is in danger. It can only go to e6 and after 23.Qe6+ Kf8 Black will be winning White’s queen with …Nc5]
22…Nc5 23.f3 <D>
POSITION AFTER 23.F3
23…c3! 24.fxe4?
White probably figured that since he was going to fall under attack he might as well have some material for it. However, 24.bxc3 was forced. After 24…Rxb1 25.Qxb1 Re7 26.c4 Bh6 White is under pressure but he is still fighting.
24…cxd2 25.Bc4 Qg5!
Dubov gives away his b3 rook but has obviously calculated his attack to the end.
26.Bxb3 Qxe3+ 27.Kh1
Where else can the king go?
27.Kf1 Nxe4 and next move either …Ng3 or …Qf2, with mate in either case.
27.Kh2 Nxe4 28.Bc4 Be5+ 29.Kh1 Nf2+ 30.Kg1 Nxd1+ 31.Kh1 Qe1+ the end.
27…Nxe4
With …Be5 coming up.
28.Rf1 Be5 0–1
Inarkiev resigns with the devastating …Ng3+ staring him in the face.
Playing White in the next game is GM Denis Khismatullin. He is the long-time second of GM Dmitry Jakovenko but is a very strong player in his own right. Back in 2014 the UAE player Salem A.R. Saleh (I believe he was rated around 2550 at that time) was making a big push to compete on even terms with the chess elite and some sponsors organized an 8-game training match with Khismatullin. This was a demoralizing affair, for GM Saleh was wiped out by a score of 1-7. And the Emirati player is no slouch — later that year he won both the Asian Championship and the Asian Blitz. His current rating is 2660!
Here in the SuperFinals though Khismatullin was not in good form and finished last with 0 wins 6 draws and 5 losses.

Khismatullin, Denis (2634) — Dubov, Daniil (2691) [A48]
RUS-Ch SuperFinals Satka RUS (4), 28.08.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Be2 0–0 5.0–0 d6 6.b3 Nc6 7.Bb2 Bf5 8.c4 e5 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qc1
Now White realizes that his 9th move was a mistake. He cannot exchange queens because 10.Qxd8 Rfxd8 11.Nxe5 Ne4! 12.g4 (12.f4 Nd2 wins material for Black) 12…Bxg4 13.Bxg4 Nxe5 the vulnerability of his bishop on b2 is going to cost White 14.Be2 Nf3+ 15.Bxf3 Bxb2 16.Bxe4 Bxa1.
Nor can White take the e5–pawn now: 10.Nxe5 Qxd1 11.Rxd1 Ng4! 12.Bxg4 Bxg4 13.Rd5 (13.f3 Nxe5 14.fxg4 Nf3+) 13…Be6 14.Rc5 Rad8 15.Na3 Rd2 16.Bc3 Nxe5! 17.Bxd2 Nd3 both of white’s rooks are attacked.
10…Qe7 11.a3 Rad8 12.b4 Bg4 13.Ra2
On 13.h3 the Chessbase website notes that Dubov’s intention was to play 13…Bh5! On 14.g4 he planned further 14…Nxg4 15.hxg4 Bxg4 “with a tough-to-play position for White, while Black doesn’t risk anything.” (Dubov) For instance, 16.Nc3 e4 17.Nh2 Bh3 with the threat of Qg5+. 18.Kh1 Bxf1 19.Nxf1 Qh4+ 20.Kg1 Ne5 and Black has a big edge..
13…e4 14.Bxf6
Now you see why White played Ra2.
14…Qxf6 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.Bxg4 h5! 17.Bd1
[17.exd4 hxg4 is no good for White. After 18.d5 Qe7 and then f7–f5 and possibly Kf7 with Rh8 and an attack along the h-line. (Dubov).
17…Nf3+! 18.Kh1
[18.gxf3 exf3 threatening …Qf6–g5+–g2 checkmate. It looks like White cannot save the game: 19.Kh1 (19.e4 Rd3! followed by …Qf6–h4–g4) 19…Qh4! 20.Rg1 (20.Bxf3 Be5 mate next) 20…Be5 21.Rg3 Bxg3 22.fxg3 Qxc4! with a triple threat on f1, c1 and a2]
18…Qh4 19.h3
[19.Bxf3 exf3 20.gxf3 Qh3 21.Nd2 h4 doesn’t save White either plus of course he didn’t want to mangle the kingside pawns]
19…f5 20.c5 Ng5 21.Qc4+ Kh7 22.f4
A trick. 22…exf3 is of course met by 23.Qxh4.
22…Nxh3! 23.gxh3 Rxd1! 24.Kg2
[24.Rxd1 Qxh3+ 25.Kg1 (25.Rh2 Qf3+) 25…Qg4+ snares the rook on d1]
24…Rd3 25.Re2 g5 0–1
After 25…g5 Khismatullin resigns as he had no wish to see 26…gxf4 27.Rxf4 Qg5+ 28.Kf1 Rxe3! unfold over the board.
GM Daniil Dubov was in the lead for the first half of the tournament but noticeably tired at the end and suffered several reverses. He should not worry about that too much though — he is only 22 years old — still a lot of tournaments for him to win in the future!
 
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

One Last Dance

Dwyane Wade took just 17 seconds short of 10 minutes to get his point across in a video he uploaded for public consumption, but the title says it all. “One Last Dance …” Indeed. For a final run, he will be donning a jersey and going through the rigors of a grueling season, his 16th in the National Basketball Association. Just like most of his immediate past, he will be coming off the bench. And, again, he won’t be a freeloader; he will be on the floor in the closing stages of games, and often with the ball in his hands, deciding outcomes.
Truth to tell, the length of the YouTube clip isn’t the only indication of the internal struggle Wade had to, well, wade through before making a decision in his future. That it took him two and a half months since free agency began speaks even more volumes of the extent of his vacillation. And he came close to putting his sneakers to storage, proud of his body of work and looking forward to life away from hoops and with his family.
In the end, the call of competitiveness was too compelling to contravene. It helped, of course, that the Heat — who had Wade’s heart from the get-go save for brief flirtations with the Bulls and the Cavaliers — continued its courtship and sold him on his importance moving forward. It was what most mattered to him, with his $2.4-million salary merely gravy and ultimately immaterial. And it was definitely what most mattered to fans intent on giving him a proper sendoff.
Parenthetically, Wade’s 2018-19 campaign will be one long retirement ceremony. Everywhere he goes, he will be feted and praised for his accomplishments. And while he won’t always appreciate being fussed over, he cannot but acknowledge that it’s what he deserves. He’s a 12-time All-Star, a former Finals Most Valuable Player, and, for a while prior to the turn of the decade, the best of the best at the two spot. He will be sorely missed, which is why everybody and his mother will want to appreciate him while they can.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Landslide victims were “illegally operating” in area, mining company says

“Subsequent warnings, and notices from the company for the small scale miners to vacate the area were met with resistance and outright refusal,” said Benguet Corp. in a disclosure filed on Monday. — PHILSTAR

By Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
MINING company Benguet Corp. said that the small-scale miners who were struck by the landslide in Barangay Ucab in Itogon, Benguet were illegally operating in its Antamok property.
In a disclosure to the Stock Market on Monday, Benguet Corp. said that its Antamok mines were “gradually encroached by small-scale miners” after the company suspended operations in the late 1990s to study new technologies for mining low-grade ores. The company said it had issued notices warning the small-scale miners that the areas they illegally operated in were considered unsafe by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
“Their unregulated mining activties are without permission of the company,” the disclosure stated. “Subsequent warnings, and notices from the company for the small scale miners to vacate the area were met with resistance and outright refusal.”
Following the recent landslide caused by Typhoon Ompong, Benguet Corp. had provided medical assistance as well as collaborated on rescue operations with the local government unit and MGB-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
According to official reports, 43 bodies had been recovered from the landslide. One survivor was also found, with 30 others still missing.
As Ompong swept through the region, dozens of Ucab locals — mostly miners and their families — took shelter in a mining bunkhouse-turned chapel, Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. When the rains reached their height, the mountainside collapsed on them, obliterating the structure.
On Monday, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu had ordered all temporary permits of small-scale miners in CAR to be revoked as a preventive measure.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources had been grappling with the issue of small-scale miners in Northern Luzon as the the Minahang Bayan, made possible by the Republic Act No. 7076, or the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991, is not covered by the moratorium on processing and approving new mining operations.
Mr. Cimatu last year also lamented that the small-scale miners had been breaching on the property of the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio city. The department has since been moving to fast track the passage of Minahang Bayan applications to improve the regulation of small-scale miners.

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