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A tribute to Jose (Boy) Kalaw

JOSE “Boy” Kalaw, who served De La Salle University (DLSU) and the De La Salle Alumni Association (DLSAA) in various capacities over 25 years, passed away, at the age of 68, on Friday, Aug. 17. In keeping with his desire not to bother people or fuss over him, Boy valiantly but quietly fought the big “C” using a variety of traditional and nontraditional medicine.
After a long and heroic struggle, while on his hospital bed, Boy wrote a farewell letter authorizing family members and attending doctors not to perform any medical intervention to keep him alive. He said that he had thought hard about it, and yes, it was time to go and cease being a burden to the family.
Throughout his life, Boy always stayed in the background and did his work without fanfare, but effectively. Unknown to many, it was Boy who coined the term “Proudly Green,” the theme used in at least three huge alumni gatherings that promoted camaraderie and fellowship. He was secretary for many years of the DLSAA Grade School and High School chapters, and was a member of one of the last classes to graduate from De La Salle Taft High School in 1967. He served DLSAA alternatively as director and trustee as the DLSAA changed its organizational structure over the years.
Boy was a vital cog in attaining the vision and mission of the DLSAA regardless of its structure. As an outstanding student and alumnus, Boy was assigned tasks that would promote and encourage excellence in the Lasallian community. Thus, Boy was named a member of the low-key Exemplary Honors Committee, which, for obvious reasons, kept the details of its work far from public view. Only now can we say that Boy was one of those who screened nominees for various awards given by the DLSAA such as the Lasallian Achievement awards, Distinguished Lasallian Awards, and several other prestigious accolades.
A member of one of the first Liberal Arts (LIA) Honors class, which allowed an outstanding student to finish college in a shorter than usual time, Boy combined academic work with involvement in student and national affairs. Fond of sports, Boy and I were together in the sports section of the college paper, The Lasallian. After my stint as sports editor, Boy more than ably took over and used his literary genius to have his sports staff write stories with greater creativity and imagination.
Boy worked in different organizations throughout his professional career. As an economist, he joined the then Bancom and the Economic Development Foundation, and to be sure, found meaning in these two organizations in the company of equally smart and gifted men and women. But at the end of the day, Boy gravitated toward his original love and his main professional passion, DLSU.
Drafted back to the familiar surroundings of the DLSU Campus by the late Brother Andrew Gonzalez (himself a brilliant scholar and education leader and administrator), Boy agreed to take on the challenge of being Vice-President for Development and Alumni Affairs. Boy’s main mission was to raise resources to ensure that outstanding young men and women who were of modest or of no means could have access to and acquire a De La Salle education through well-deserved scholarships. Boy therefore played a crucial role in giving our many young men and women the chance to get a De La Salle education and perform their role as valuable assets for God, country, and their families. Boy’s target was, as mandated by the Christian Brothers, to have at least 20 percent of the DLSU student body as scholars. Truly, Boy’s job was to make the motto “a De La Salle education is accessible (not expensive)” come to life.
On the last night of the wake for Boy, his high school class 1967, joined by grade school 1963 and LIA 1970, honored him with, aside from the eulogies and tributes, the music of Boy’s time: the Beatles, Ventures, and the music of the 60’s and 70’s.
As I listened to anecdotes about Boy’s life, I could not help but conclude that, indeed, Boy was able to bring people with widely divergent views together, that he was an extremely reliable person (to which I can personally vouch), and that he had a great sense of humor. He never took advantage of a person’s kindness or generosity, and in fact was known to have given more than he took. He knew he was smart, but was quietly confident and never cocky. Boy was a loyal friend, a true Christian gentleman.
 
Philip Ella Juico was dean of the De La Salle Graduate School of Business from 2002 to 2008 while Mr. Kalaw was Vice-President for Development. He and Mr. Kalaw went to De La Salle grade school, high school and college a few years apart.
philip.juico@yahoo.com.ph

Facebook users still fear for their privacy

Facebook users are adjusting their digital behavior following the turmoil on the platform during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to a new survey.
More than half of Facebook users in the U.S. said they’ve changed their privacy settings in the past year, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday. More than four in 10 users have taken a break from the social media platform over the same time frame. And a quarter have deleted the Facebook app from their phone.
Pew surveyed a national sample of 3,413 American adults who used Facebook from May 29 to June 11, following revelations that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly collected personal data on up to 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge while it worked for the Trump campaign.
The company overhauled its security settings in March and has been prompting users to review their privacy settings.
“Over recent months we have made our policies clearer, our privacy settings easier to find and introduced better tools for people to access, download, and delete their information” said a Facebook spokesperson. “We’ve also run education campaigns on and off Facebook to help people around the world better understand how to manage their information on Facebook.”
The company plans to offer a tool called “Clear History,” which will allow users to see the websites and apps that send the social media platform their information when used, and allow users to clear the information from their account and turn off Facebook’s ability to store such data.
Younger Facebook users, particularly those aged 18 to 29, were most likely to have adjusted their behavior on the platform over the past year by changing privacy settings, deleting the application or taking a hiatus, shows the survey. “There’s a common perception that young adults don’t care about privacy, but we’ve consistently found that they’re quite privacy conscious,” said Aaron Smith, the associate director of research at the Pew Research Center.
The Pew survey found that about one in 10 Facebook users downloaded the information Cambridge Analytica may have collected about them. About eight in 10 users who downloaded their personal data also elected to adjust their privacy settings, and about half have deleted the Facebook app from their phone in the last year. (Deleting the application does not delete a user’s account or data.)
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, will testify before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about the company’s efforts to protect user data and prevent political interference in the U.S. midterm elections. Throughout the summer, Facebook has reported coordinated attempts by both foreign and domestic actors to spread disinformation and incite political discord.
The vast majority of Americans distrust social media companies when it comes to political impartiality. Almost three in four think it’s likely that companies such as Facebook and Twitter actively censor political views they consider objectionable, according to a Pew study released in June.
Conservatives, in particular, have become critical of Facebook and other social media platforms after the removal of posts and videos by Alex Jones and his site InfoWars, which frequently published conspiracy theories. President Donald Trump has also accused social media platforms of suppressing positive stories about him and favoring liberal news organizations.
The Pew survey found that partisanship had no impact on a person’s willingness to update privacy settings or disconnect from the social media platform. “Despite the tumult with politicians and pundits, ordinary Republicans have not been disconnecting from Facebook in any meaningful sense more than Democrats have,” Smith said. “There were no partisan differences in activity.”
A separate Pew survey, also released on Wednesday, found that most Facebook users don’t understand how the News Feed works and feel they have little control over the content they’re served. More than half of U.S. adults who use Facebook said they do not understand why certain posts, and not others, are included in their News Feed.
Facebook users, technology experts and politicians have long criticized Facebook for a lack of transparency as to how its algorithms curate news and critical political information. — Bloomberg

Blackwater Elite tame San Miguel Beermen

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
BLACKWATER Elite improved to 2-0 in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup after topping the San Miguel Beermen, 103-100, on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Stayed resilient amid a steady rebuffing from San Miguel for much of the contest, Blackwater flipped things up late in the game and pulled off the victory.
The two teams had it competitive at the start, jockeying for early control before Blackwater made a late run in the opening quarter to create some distance.
Ahead by just two points, 17-15, at the 5:25 mark, the Elite went on a 10-1 run in the next three minutes to build a 27-16 advantage.
San Miguel though would regain some ground in the windup to narrow the gap, 29-25, by the end of the first 12 minutes.
Led by import Arizona Reid, the Beermen continued with their charge back in the second period.
They opened the first minute with a 5-0 blitz to take the lead, 30-29, extending it to four points, 39-35, midway into the frame.
Things went back and forth after, with the score eventually settling at 46-45, and San Miguel on top, at the break.
Blackwater tried to regain control to start the third period but San Miguel would not relent.
The Beermen held a 66-59 lead with 5:56 to go.
They would maintain a safe distance the rest of the way, taking an 82-74 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Elite kept the pressure on the Beermen in the final canto, taking the lead, 86-85, with four minutes lapsing on a Poy Erram deuce.
Both teams had each other in control after, with hardly one of them budging.
The count stood at 89-all with.6:16 left on the game.
The Elite though would get some leverage behind import Henry Walker and guard Michael DiGregorio, who helped their team get a 101-95 lead with 2:33 on the game clock.
San Miguel scrambled to get back and came within a point, 101-100, with 36 ticks to go after Marcio Lassiter drained a step-back triple.
Mr. Erram gave the Elite more breathing space, 103-100, after hitting two free throws off a foul from Christian Standhardinger with 19 seconds left.
The Beermen sued for time after to set up a play to level the score and send the game to overtime but three- point attempts by Mr. Reid and Arwind Santos failed to connect, preserving the win for the Elite.
Mr. Walker had an all-around game to lead Blackwater, finishing with 35 points, 17 rebounds, seven steals and five assists.
Mr. DiGregorio had 21 points while John Pinto finished with 15 points and seven assists.
Mr. Erram had 10 points and nine rebounds in his PBA return after his stint in the Asian Games.
San Miguel (1-1), meanwhile, was paced by Mr. Reid with 26 points and 12 boards.
Mr. Standhardinger had 20 points while Mr. Lassiter had 13.
Alex Cabagnot and Kelly Nabong each had 12 points.
“Happy that we got the win. The character of the team is showing and hopefully we get to sustain it. Basketball is a game of habits and we have to continuously develop that,” said Blackwater coach Bong Ramos in the postgame press conference.
After Wednesday’s double-header, the PBA is now on a two-week break to give way to the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Gilas Pilipinas plays in the second round of the qualifiers against Iran on Sept. 13 away and then hosts in a closed-door match Qatar on Sept. 17 at the Big Dome.
The closed-door home match was part of the sanctions meted by FIBA on the Philippines following the July 2 brawl between Gilas and Australia in the third window of the qualifiers.
For the fourth window, Gilas is to be coached by Yeng Guiao of the NLEX Road Warriors.
Regular PBA action resumes on Sept. 19.

Serena into US Open semis as champion Stephens exits

NEW YORK — Six-time champion Serena Williams shook off a sluggish start to power past eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday and into the US Open semi-finals.
The US superstar, chasing a record-equalling 24th major title, surrendered an early break to Pliskova, but she roared back with a streak of eight straight games to put away the opening set and take a 4-0 lead in the second against the woman who beat her in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows in 2016.
“I just wanted to play better,” Williams said of her mindset as she trailed 3-1 in the first. “I was thinking, you know, I can play better, so that was the good news.”
Williams did indeed cut down on the errors, and came up with the big serves when she needed them.
She finished the match with 13 aces and will take on Anastasija Sevastova for a place in the final after the 19th-seeded Latvian toppled defending champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-3.
Pliskova, who managed to convert just two of 12 break point chances in the contest, said Williams was simply too good in the important moments.
“She hit all first serves on the break points, which is always a little bit tougher to return,” Pliskova said.
“The second set, she was just mixing the serve. She was going a lot of wide. Not much that I could do on the break points.”
Williams did drop her serve once in the second, coughing up one of her five double faults on break point as Pliskova narrowed the gap to 4-1.
But when she fell behind 0-40 in the seventh game she rescued herself with 112 mph (180 Km/h) service winner followed by a another service winner and an ace.
Pliskova got another chance when Williams batted a forehand into the net, but another booming serve, a backhand winner and an unreturnable serve saw her safely through the danger.
Serving for the match at 5-3 Williams didn’t allow any room for doubt, holding at love with two aces and an overhead smash followed by one last ace.
“I really feel like right now I’m playing free because I was having a baby this time last year, so I have nothing to prove,” said Williams, who is seeking her first major title since her daughter Olympia was born on Sept. 1 of 2017.
With a win she would break out of a tie with Chris Evert for most US Open titles, and equal Margaret Court’s all-time record for Grand Slams.
STEPHENS ‘NOT CONNECTING’
World number three Stephens, refused to blame the punishing afternoon heat and humidity for her lapses against Sevastova, including an inability to convert any of seven break chances in the opening set.
“When you don’t play big points well, the match can get away from you,” she said. “Mentally, physically, I just wasn’t connecting.”
Sevastova herself relies on variety more than power, and she caught a slow-moving Stephens with a number of drop shots and drop shot-lob combinations.
After taking a 4-1 lead in the second set, Sevastova admitted she had flash backs to last year’s quarter-finals, when an 83rd-ranked Stephens rallied from a break down in the third to upset Sevastova in a tiebreaker.
Indeed Stephens fought back to narrow the gap to 4-3, but Sevastova grabbed another break with a well-timed drop shot for a 5-3 lead and sealed the victory on her third match point when a weary Stephens put a backhand into the net.
“I lost my nerves a little bit,” Sevastova admitted. “I think she lost also her nerves a little bit, it’s normal. It’s for semi-finals of US Open.”
The defeats of Stephens and Pliskova completed the exodus of top 10 seeds, although Pliskova noted that Williams’ 17th seeding — nine spots above her world ranking as she continues her post-baby comeback — was not reflective of her true abilities.
“She’s 17, but she’s not a player which should be 17,” Pliskova said.
The semi-final lineup will be completed on Wednesday when Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro takes on 2017 runner-up Madison Keys and Japan’s Naomi Osaka faces Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko. — AFP

Nadal survives an epic triumph over Thiem

NEW YORK — Defending champion Rafael Nadal survived an epic US Open quarter-final confrontation to defeat battling ninth seed Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5) and reach the semi-finals for the seventh time.
In a gripping 4-hour 49-minute contest which concluded at 2.04 a.m. on Wednesday, world number one Nadal won through to keep his bid for a fourth title in New York and 18th Grand Slam crown on track.
However, the 32-year-old was fortunate to triumph on another hot and humid night at Flushing Meadows, 24 hours after Roger Federer had been dumped out of the tournament by John Millman. After suffering a first set ‘bagel,’ Nadal had to battle back from breaks in the third and fourth sets before seeing off the first top 20 player he had faced at the US Open since 2013.
Del Potro reached the semi-finals for the third time, defeating John Isner 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and ending American hopes of a first men’s champion at the event since 2003.
Del Potro dropped his first set of the tournament against 11th seed Isner, who was playing in his maiden quarter-final at his home Slam.
Despite that, the 29-year-old was never broken in the 3 hour 31 minute match where Isner unleashed 26 aces but was undone by 52 unforced errors compared to Del Potro’s 14. — AFP

Milo’s ‘Road to Barcelona’ goes to Cebu for second year

ENERGY DRINK maker Milo’s values-driven football program in tandem with globally renowned club FC Barcelona goes south for its second year as it holds its local invitational camp in Cebu City from Sept. 8 to 9.
“Road to Barcelona,” which had its first staging in 2017, aims to bring world-class opportunities to nourish ambitions and build a nation of champions through sports.
It is also anchored on Milo and Barca’s shared vision of seeing children live better lives through a more healthy and active lifestyle.
For this year, over 160 boys and girls ages 10 to 12 are set to participate in the world-class football camp where in the end selected players are given the chance to join a life-changing football experience in Spain, home of FC Barcelona, which counts as members top players Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.
Participation in the invitational camp is free but done through nomination from coaches who will vouch for both their character and talent.
Assisting Milo in the conduct of the invitational camp are the Cebu Football Association (CFA), a regional body under the Philippine Football Federation, and two coaches from the FCB Youth Academy, FC Barcelona’s flagship youth development program.
An expert panel composed of PFF representatives and the FCB coaches will be in charge in shortlisting the seven deserving athletes who will fly to Spain, where one slot in the delegation will be all-expense paid by Milo Philippines.
The criteria set for the selection process are aligned with Milo and FC Barcelona’s thrust of pushing for Humility, Effort, Ambition, Respect, and Teamwork (HEART) in everything one does.
The players to be selected will be chosen based on the right mix of values (70%) and skill (30%).
Once in Barcelona, the Philippine delegation will join those coming from Australia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Jamaica, New Zealand, Panama, Singapore, Tahiti, Thailand and Vietnam in a nine-day training camp and ultimate experience in FC Barcelona’s home turf Camp Nou.
“Every kid dreams of becoming a champ. That is why the MILO-FCB Road to Barcelona Philippines Camp is back to provide kids the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train with youth coaches from FC Barcelona. We’ve taken this year’s invitational camp to the Visayas to share the program with even more children in the region, because we believe that these experiences can encourage them to pursue their passion for the sport and nourish their ambitions,” said Wily de Ocampo, Nestle Philippines Inc. vice-president, at the launch of the second year of the program on Wednesday at Kidzania in Taguig City.
Part of a four-year tie-up between the group and FC Barcelona, Milo said it is all the more determined to see program succeed and reaffirmed its commitment to it.
“Milo is very excited and honored to continue its advocacy to get more kids into sports and help advance Philippine football with FC Barcelona. Our goal for this year is to further enrich ‘Road to Barcelona’ experience by reaching more Filipino kids and reinforcing the values that encourage more kids to dream big and become champions in life,” said Robbie De Vera, Milo Philippines consumer marketing manager.
The invitational camp this weekend happens at the Cebu City Sports Center. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Donnie ‘Ahas’ Nietes-Aston ‘Mighty’ Palicte title fight packs significance for both Filipino fighters

FOR the second time this year an all-Filipino world boxing title fight will take place as Donnie “Ahas” Nietes and Aston “Mighty” Palicte dispute the World Boxing Organization super flyweight belt, which one local fight analyst said carry much significance for the protagonists.
Part of HBO and 360 Promotions’ SuperFly 3 card on Sept. 9 (Manila time) at The Forum in Inglewood, California, the Nietes-Palicte fight follows up on the Jerwin Ancajas-Jonas Sultan all-Filipino fight for the International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight belt in May.
Both Messrs. Nietes and Palicte view their upcoming fight with much significance, believing it would further enhance their respective careers, a fact not being disputed by fight analyst Nissi Icasiano.
For Mr. Nietes, latching on to the WBO super flyweight title will be another feather under his cap and take his already-legendary career to another plane.
“If there’s one bout that will cement Donnie Nietes’ legacy as an international professional boxer, it may be his coming ring encounter with Aston Palicte. Going by the numbers, it is hard to deny his place in Philippine pro boxing history. However, he continues to fight behind the shadows of the likes of Manny Pacquiao,” said Mr. Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld, of the Murcia, Negros native Nietes (41-1-4), who has been undefeated in more than a decade and has won titles in minimum weight, light flyweight and flyweight.
“A win in this fight will give him worldwide recognition as a victory over Palicte will insert his name into the elite cast of boxers who have won world titles in four different weight classes. If he wins, Nietes will only be the 18th pugilist to ever achieve that kind of feat, joining the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Erik Morales, Tommy Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard,” he added.
On the part of Mr. Palicte (24-2), a win will be a culmination of steadily building his career up, Mr. Icasiano said, and put him in the roster of Filipino world champions.
“For Aston Palicte, it’s a long time coming. It took him 26 fights to get him to a world title shot. A win over Nietes will make him the 43rd Filipino to win a world title in boxing,” the analyst said.
NIETES FAVORED BUT …
Being the more seasoned fighter, 36-year-old Nietes should be the favorite to win the all-Filipino fight on Sunday but it being his first foray in super flyweight and against a tough fighter at that makes the jury still out on the outcome of the contest.
“It’s obvious that Nietes is the more technically sound boxer between the two fighters this weekend. Aside from that, he has the championship experience. My main concern is that this is his maiden foray into 115 pounds. It’s intriguing to see how Nietes will react to the power of a natural super flyweight like Palicte, who is a younger and equally hungry Pinoy warrior,” he said.
“In addition, Palicte has the length and height advantage coming into the fight. There are a lot of elements that come into play in this bout. But if Nietes could impose his will and vast experience against Palicte, there’s a possibility that it could turn into a one-sided affair. It’s up to Palicte to test his compatriot, who decided to move up into another weight class at the age of 36,” Mr. Icasiano added.
SuperFly 3 will also feature Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada against compatriot Felipe Orucuta in a non-title fight as well as Puerto Rican McWilliams Arroyo against Japanese Kazuto Ioka. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Azkals start preparations for top-class tournaments

THE Philippine national men’s football team’s preparations for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 and the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 get under way today as it plays Bahrain in a friendly at the latter’s home turf.
To take place at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, the Philippine Azkals come together anew for a series of matches as part of their training in the lead-up to their campaigns in the Suzuki Cup and Asian Cup.
The Bahrain friendly marks the first time that the Azkals will be playing under new head coach Scott Cooper of England, who was thrust to the position after compatriot Terry Butcher resigned from his post as coach last month even before he got to meet the team.
Mr. Butcher was named a replacement for longtime Azkals coach Thomas Dooley of the United States, who helped the Philippine team qualify for the Asian Cup.
In connection with the Bahrain friendly, the Philippine Football Federation called up the services of national team players, most of whom coming from the Philippines Football League.
Said players started to leave for the friendly earlier this week.
Making up the pool of players are goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, Amani Aguinaldo, Carlos De Murga, Junior Munoz, Daisuke Sato, Hikaru Minegishi, Paul Mulders, Manny Ott, Mike Ott, Patrick Reichelt, Adam Tull and Dylan De Bruycker.
Also part of the team are Stephan Schrock, Luke Woodland, Curt Dizon, Angel Guirado, Phil Younghusband, Patrick Deyto, Louie Casas, Ace Villanueva, Stephen Palla, Fitch Arboleda and Jovin Bedic.
The AFF Suzuki Cup happens in November while the AFC Asian Cup takes place in January. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Magnus grind

 

6th Sinquefield Cup 2018
Saint Louis, USA
August 16-29, 2018

Final Standings
1-3. Levon Aronian ARM 2767, Magnus Carlsen NOR 2842, Fabiano Caruana USA 2822, 5.5/9
4. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2801, 5.0/9
5-7. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2779, Viswanathan Anand IND 2768, Alexander Grischuk RUS 2766, 4.5/9
8. Wesley So USA 2780, 4.0/9
9-10. Hikaru Nakamura USA 2777, Sergey Karjakin RUS 2773, 3.0/9
Average ELO 2788 Category 22
Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 670 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds time delay before clock starts on every move.
This tournament saw the last encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana before their world championship match this November. It was no surprise therefore that the question of whether Caruana has a chance against the reigning world champion dominated the chess twitter-sphere when it ended.
Magnus Carlsen is obviously the favorite to retain his title as he is after all the higher-rated player, the “king of all formats.” In classical chess he is no. 1 (2839), 12 points ahead of his challenger, who is at no. 2. In rapid the gap is even bigger between: Magnus is no. 1 at 2880 while Caruana is no. 9 at 2789. In blitz chess Carlsen has an unheard-of rating of 2939 while Fabi is way down at no. 18 with a decent 2767. As the American Champion’s compatriot Nakamura says, if they reach the tie-breaks (which is played at faster time controls) Caruana will have no chance.
Having said that, it is also apparent to all that the Norwegian GM sees Caruana as his biggest threat, and prepares especially hard against him every game. “Fabulous Fabi” is the real deal.
Caruana himself when asked about his chances replied that “I think I have shown that I can fight pretty much on equal terms with him, and in tournaments to sometimes outperform him, or even this year, to outperform him often…”
No doubt Fabi was referring to the four recent super-tournaments (not counting the recently-concluded 2018 Sinquefield Cup) where the two of them both competed:
London Classic Dec 2017. Caruana tied for first with Nepomniachtchi (both with three wins and six draws) and then won the play-off. Carlsen had two wins one loss and six draws and tied for 3rd place with Wesley So and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Tata Steel 2018, Jan 2018. Magnus and Holland’s Anish Giri both finished on top with nine points out of 13 rounds. Carlsen then went on to defeat Giri 1.5-0.5 in a blitz tie-break. Fabiano Caruana had a terrible tournament, his worst in many years. He won only one game (against cellar-dweller Hou Yifan), lost four games (against Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Anand and Karjakin) and drew the rest to finish 11th out of 14.
Grenke Chess Classic 2018 March 2018. Caruana was a convincing winner and he finished with four wins and five draws to distance himself from Carlsen by a full point. Magnus was also undefeated but only had two wins.
6th Norway Chess May 2018. Once again Caruana won half a point ahead of Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Anand, although he lost in the individual game against Carlsen.
Fabiano finished ahead of Magnus in three out of the four tournaments above, but we should also note that in head-to-head encounters Magnus won one and drew three in those tournaments, and in the three draws the Italian-American GM was usually struggling to hold it.
Anyway, Caruana’s record against Carlsen (as of the Sinquefield Cup 2018) is +5-10=18 (42%). Very few players have a better record than that (the names of Ding Liren, Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian are mentioned) but it stands to reason that if Caruana is not a worthy foe, then no one is.
I don’t think anyone should write-off Caruana’s chances — he has a knack of rising to the occasion. When a game absolutely has to be won, he will not choke and will grab whatever opportunities come his way with both hands.
If Magnus Carlsen shows up in London in the same form as he showed against Karjakin two years ago then he will lose. From what I saw in the Sinquefield Cup though it looks like he is on his way to regaining the ability to just grind away in any position and force through the win.

Carlsen, Magnus (2842) –
Karjakin, Sergey (2773) [A17]
6th Sinquefield Cup Saint Louis
(2.3), 19.08.2018

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 0–0 5.Nf3 d5 6.a3 Be7 7.d4 dxc4 8.Ne5 Nc6 9.Bxc6
Less good is 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc6 Rb8 11.0–0 Bb7.
9…bxc6 10.Nxc6 Qe8 11.Nxe7+ Qxe7 12.Qa4 c5
Black has to get his pieces developed fast. For example 12…a5?! 13.Bg5! Ba6 14.0–0 c5 15.Bxf6! gxf6 16.Rad1 cxd4 (16…Rfd8 17.d5 is clearly better for White) 17.Rxd4 Qc5 18.Rfd1 White has a small but persistent edge. Exactly the type of position that a Kramnik or a Carlsen would love to have. Kramnik, V (2685)-Salov,V (2660) Madrid 1993 1–0 40.
13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.Be3 Qc7 15.Rd1 Nd5!
Forcing the knights off the board and, with bishops of opposite colors left, the chances for a draw are high.
16.Bd4
White cannot win the pawn on d5. If 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Rxd5? Qb7! (stronger than 17…Bb7 18.Rc5 Qe7 19.Rg1 (19.0–0?? Qe4 wins) 19…Rad8) 18.Qb5 a6! White will lose one of his rooks.
16…Rd8 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Qc2 Qe7 19.0–0 Bh3 20.Rfe1 Rd7 21.Bc3 Re8 22.Rd4
The threat is 23.Rh4 with a double attack on h3 and h7.
22…Qg5
So that if 23.Rh4 Bf5 everything is covered.
23.Qd2
Structurally White is better and Black needs to counter that by creating some chances in the kingside. It is therefore completely logical to take the queens off the board.
23…Qxd2 24.Rxd2
Black is not yet off the hook The pawn weakness on d5 forces him to defend it with …Be6, after which White’s e2–e4 advance can become dangerous.
24…Be6 25.Red1 Rde7 26.f3 h5 27.Kf2 f6 28.Rd4 Kh7 29.R1d2 Bf7 30.h3 a6 31.Rf4 Kg8 32.Bd4 Kh7 33.Bc3 Kg8
Karjakin is just shuffling his king back and forth, but hereabouts has already decided to sacrifice the exchange and is trying to time it at the best opportunity.
34.g4 hxg4 35.hxg4 Kh7 36.Rf5 Rb7
37.Rfxd5!
Carlsen: I thought it was just a little bit better and I was kind of hoping to be able to sac the exchange at some point. Then I feel like he played inaccurately because I got basically the perfect conditions to sac the exchange, since I either get one pawn back immediately or the g5–break.
37…Bxd5 38.Rxd5 Kg6?!
A controversial decision, giving up his c4–pawn. However, Karjakin as you know is nicknamed the “Minister of Defense” for his ability to defend inferior positions and of course knew the rule that in rook endings piece activity is more important than keeping your pawns intact. If Black had switched to passive play with 38…Rc7 39.Rd6 Rce7 40.e4 Re6 41.Rd5 Rc6 White is pushing hard.
39.Rc5 Rh8 40.Kg3 Rb6 41.Rxc4 Rh1 42.Rc7 Rc1 43.Rd7 Rc6 44.a4!
Putting his pawn on a5 so as to fix the position of Black’s a6 pawn.
44…Rg1+ 45.Kf2 Ra1 46.a5 Ra4 47.Kg3 Rac4 48.Ra7 Re6 49.e4 Rc8 50.Rd7 Rec6 51.f4! R8c7 52.f5+ Kh7 53.Rd8 Rc8 54.Rd3 Re8 55.Rd4 Rc7 56.Kf4 Rce7 57.Rc4 Kh6 58.Kf3 Rd7 59.Bd4 Kh7 60.b4 Rd6 61.Ke3 Kh6 62.Rc1 Kh7 63.Bb6 Rd7 64.Bc5 Red8 65.Rh1+
IM Saravanan from the Chessbase website points out here that 65.e5! would have been strong. After 65…fxe5 66.Ke4 Re8 67.g5 White’s position is looking threatening.
65…Kg8 66.Kf4 Re8 67.Re1 g5+!
Again choosing not to leave his pieces in defensive positions although it gives White a passed pawn. Later in the game we see that Karjakin’s judgement is correct, but one mistake wiped out all his gains.
68.fxg6 Kg7 69.g5! Kxg6 70.gxf6 Kxf6 71.Rh1 Rf7!
Giving his king a direct route to the queenside. Hereabouts Karjakin used up almost all his time already and was subsisting on the 30 second time delay, the so-called “Bronstein clock” which was in use in the Grand Chess Tour. You are just given 30 seconds before the clock starts running, the additional seconds is not added to your clock. In other words you will be in perpetual time trouble. “As soon as he got down to the delay, I felt it would be very, very hard not to blunder,” Carlsen predicted. And he was right.
72.Ke3
[72.e5+ Rxe5 73.Rh6+ Kg7+ 74.Kxe5 Kxh6 is a book draw.]
72…Ke6 73.Rh4 Rf6 74.Rh7 Rf7 75.Rh5 Kd7 76.e5 Rf1 77.Ke4 Kc6?
The losing move. The way to the draw is 77…Re1+ 78.Kd5 Rd1+ 79.Kc4 Rc1+ 80.Kb3 Re6 Keeping his rook on the 6th rank should hold the position.
78.Rh6+ Kb5 79.Rb6+ Kc4 80.e6!
The catch. Karjakin probably counted only on 80.Rxa6 after which 80…Re1+! draws, for example after 81.Be3 Kxb4 82.Ra7 Rxe3+ 83.Kxe3 Rxe5+ 84.Kd4 Rxa5 no comment necessary.
80…Re1+ 81.Kf5 Rf1+ 82.Ke5 Re1+ 83.Kf6 Rf1+ 84.Kg7
Surprisingly in the open board there are no checks for Black.
84…Ra8 85.e7 Re1 86.Kf7 Re4
[86…Rf1+ 87.Rf6 Re1 88.Rd6 Rf1+ 89.Ke6 Re1+ 90.Kd7]
87.Rd6 Rh8 88.Rxa6 1–0
Not a brilliancy at all, but a good indication of how difficult it is to hold against Magnus Carlsen as he always manages to find a way to put pressure on you, even if objectively the position is equal.
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently the Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

Apple walked to $1 trillion; Amazon.com got there in a sprint

America went 242 years without a trillion-dollar company. Thirty-three days after getting the first, it now has two.
And while Apple Inc. lumbered through the final stretch, needing 15 months to traverse the last $200 billion, Amazon.com Inc. covered it in a three-month sprint. The $440 billion in market value it has created in 2018 alone exceeds the value of all but five S&P 500 companies.
Jeff Bezos’ online superstore rose as much as 1.9 percent to $2,050.50 in New York, sending its capitalization above $1 trillion for the first time. Apple passed the 13-digit boundary on Aug. 2. Two other companies, Microsoft corp. and Google parent Alphabet Inc., are within $170 billion of the goal.
“I never would have thought at $200 that this would be a $2,000 stock,” said Jason Cooper, a money manager who helps oversee $4 billion including Apple and Amazon shares at 1st Source Investment Advisors in South Bend, Indiana. “At $300, I thought we missed the boat. Boy, was that wrong.”
Through trade wars, unprecedented market volatility, rising interest rates and stock market stress in China, Amazon’s share performance has been as close to straight-up as could be in 2018. It’s had one down month — March — all year, with the average gain in the other seven standing at 9 percent.
It’s another display of might for technology companies grown on America’s West Coast, a cohort of megacaps whose relentless appreciation has come to be known as the Faang rally. Along with Facebook Inc., Netflix Inc. and Google, the quintet have created $2 trillion in equity value in three years.
From a valuation perspective, Amazon and Apple reflect distinct judgments about what constitutes value in the stock market. Apple may earn more than $58 billion in its 2018 fiscal year, the fruit of maturing franchises in everything from mobile phones to personal computers. At about 19 times projected profit, the company is huge and also relatively cheap. Back out the $244 billion in cash and cash equivalents Apple had at the end of its fiscal third quarter and it’s even cheaper.
Amazon’s a different animal, a retail behemoth that maniacally held down profit margins for all of its 24-year existence and is expected to earn a relatively paltry $8.5 billion in 2018. That’s good for a price-earnings ratio of 120 — a sign of the huge faith Wall Street puts in Bezos to execute over time.
“This is a company that has pioneered e-commerce, and has visionary leadership — they’ve done an amazing job of dominating their niche and successfully expanding,” said James Angel, professor at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. “It could be irrational. It could the market getting carried away. But the market usually knows more than I know.”
For now, the rapid ascent is a validation of the growth-at-all-costs ethos that has defined Bezos’ vision. While the conversation around Apple has shifted from iPhones to sales of apps and music streaming subscriptions, Amazon has relentlessly expanded into new markets, from groceries to data centers. The Seattle-based company’s revenue is growing at a better than 30 percent clip, more than twice that expected from Apple this year.
Of course, Amazon.com is the younger of the two, having been founded in 1994, a good 18 years after Apple. In addition to slower growth, the maturity of Cupertino, California-based Apple shows in its governance, which is bent on returning profits to shareholders. Apple has doled out more than $275 billion as dividends and buybacks since 2012.
In contrast, Amazon, which has never paid out a cent through either route, generates relatively little in the way of profits and continues to invest heavily in its businesses. Capital expenditures, or spending on physical assets such as warehouses and equipment, jumped to nearly $12 billion in 2017, up from $7.8 billion the year before.
That spending has helped fuel growth in business like Amazon Web Services, which is much more profitable than Amazon’s core retail operations. The company’s cloud-computing operations and other high margin businesses such as advertising will account for about 22 percent of total revenue in 2018 and could generate as much as $45 billion in operating profit by 2020, Morgan Stanley said in a research note on Aug. 29.
Perhaps because of that, the retailer gets a slight edge in analyst adoration. While its number of followers is roughly in line with Apple, the proportion of analysts saying buy Amazon is the highest among tech megacaps. On a scale from 1 to 5 where higher is better, Amazon has a consensus recommendation of 4.8. This compares with 4.5 for Facebook, 4.1 for Apple, 4.7 for Google, 4.1 for Netflix and 4.7 for Microsoft.
Other metrics paint a less divergent picture. Both companies are trading in the neighborhood of 4 times sales, and using a valuation lens that adjusts the price-earnings ratio for the rate of earnings growth, the two are traded at about the same multiple. — Bloomberg

From the Front Page: Business picks up for factories in August

The Philippine manufacturing industry saw “a modest improvement” in August with new business inflows and new jobs generated in the sector.
According to a survey conducted by IHS Markit for Nikkei, Inc., this came even as production growth slowed and input costs and prices rose “at marked rates.”
The Nikkei Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) records the performance of the country’s manufacturing sector. A PMI reading above 50 means the business condition is healthy, while a reading clocking in at 49 and below indicates some deterioration.
How is that number calculated? The PMI has five sub-indices:

  • New orders – 30%
  • Output – 25%
  • Employment- 20%
  • Supplier delivery time – 15%
  • Stocks of purchases – 10%

Despite poor weather, heavy traffic, and lack of supply in the second quarter impeding production, last August’s performance recorded a “modest improvement” at 51.9 from the 50.9 reported in July.
According to the report, this was due to higher sales and increased operating capacity.

“Business conditions in the Philippines’ manufacturing sector improved further midway through the third quarter,” the report read. “While output growth softened, new business inflows picked up pace, and optimism improved. Job creation was also reported for the first time in three months.”

“Firms continued to scale up purchasing activity, which contributed to further accumulation in input inventories. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures remained strong, with both input costs and output prices rising at marked rates.”

Industry outlooks

According to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. economist Michael L. Ricafort, the strong growth in real estate and construction factored into the uptick. He pointed to the FDIs that had become operational that helped in improving the August reading.
“The faster reading in Philippine manufacturing as of August 2018, compared to a month ago and versus a year ago, may partly reflect the continued growth in real estate and construction — and the positive impact on industries allied to/related to real estate and construction,” Mr. Ricafort said via email.
“[This], as well as the new record highs in foreign direct investments (FDIs) that have led to increased manufacturing activities as they become operational, as the Philippines is still among the fastest-growing economies in Asia,” he said.
Domestic consumption also drove last month’s demand as exports slowed due to the recent passage of the TRABAHO bill, the second package of the TRAIN Law which seeks to cut corporate taxes while also scrapping fiscal incentives the government considers redundant.

“This may have caused some upcoming/new investments in export-oriented industries that are currently entitled to fiscal/tax incentives [to take] on a wait-and-see attitude or make investments adjustments accordingly,” said Mr. Ricafort.
Bernard Aw, IHS Markit principal economist, said the Nikkei survey indicated that the Philippine manufacturing sector has regained some growth momentum in August, raising hopes that the demand slowdown in July was just a blip.
“With the indicators of price gauges remaining elevated, the August survey sends a hawkish message to policy makers,” said Mr. Aw.

Sought for an outlook, Mr. Aw said that the “Philippines’ manufacturing sector continues to expand on a steady pace, with forward-looking indicators pointing towards similar growth rates in coming months.”

With reporting by Anna Gabriela A. Mogato, Online Reporter

CBS, MCBL to offer public school teachers salary loans that come with life insurance

China Bank Savings Corp. (CBS) and Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corp. (MCBL) are set to provide automatic payroll deduction salary loan that comes with free life insurance.
In a statement sent to reporters on Wednesday, CBS and MCBL said they partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) to offer Easi-Automatic Payroll Deduction Salary Loans (Easi-APDS Loan), allowing the employees of the agency to avail of loans that come with free life insurance.
Public school teachers and other staff from DepEd can borrow a minimum of P5,000 and maximum of P1 million through the Easi-APDS Loan.
The loans are payable either in one, two or three years and insurance coverage will be equivalent to the outstanding loan balance during the first three months.
The coverage will increase to 1.5 times of the outstanding loan balance from the fourth month onwards. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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