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Unconscious mode

2018 USA Championship
Saint Louis, USA
April 18-30, 2018

Final Standings
1. Samuel Shankland 2671, 8.5/11
2. Fabiano Caruana 2804, 8.0/11
3. Wesley So 2786, 6.5/11
4-6. Hikaru Nakamura 2787, Aleksandr Lenderman 2599, Ray Robson 2660, 5.5/11
7-8. Zviad Izoria 2599, Jeffery Xiong 2665, 5.0/11
9-11. Awonder Liang 2552, Yaroslav Zherebukh 2640, Varuzhan Akobian 2647, 4.5/11
12. Alexander Onischuk 2672, 3.0/11
Average Rating 2674 Category 17
Time Control: Players receive 90 minutes for the 1st 40 moves then 30 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to their clocks after every move starting move 1.
Back in 2010, when Sam Shankland was just 18 years old, he announced that he would be retiring from chess tournament competition after the 2010 US Junior (Under-20) Championship. That didn’t happen. After losing his first two games he suddenly went into “unconscious” mode and won 6 of his last 7 games to tie for first place with Parker Zhao and GM Ray Robson. His last round takedown of soon-to-be GM Conrad Holt was particularly brutal.

Shankland, Samuel L. (2513) — Holt, Conrad (2402) [D17]
USA-ch U20 Saint Louis (9), 19.07.2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 Bg4
[6…e6 7.Nxf5 exf5 8.e3 Bb4 9.Bxc4 0–0 10.0–0 Nbd7 11.Qc2 g6 This is the main battleground. White has the two bishops but Black is counting on the fact that the c1–bishop is passively placed and his pawns and knights have sufficient control over the crucial center squares.
7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Bg6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.e4 e5 11.Bxc4 exd4 12.e5 dxc3?
A blunder. 12…Bb4 looks like pretty much the only move here but I should say that white has a pretty overwhelming score in this line. It looks like Holt got suckered into a bad sequence.
13.Bxf7+!
This is why. Black cannot take the bishop because his queen will then be en prise. The rest of the game is just a rout.
13…Ke7 14.exf6+ gxf6 15.Qb3 Bh6 16.Bxh6 Rxh6 17.Rd1 Qc8 18.0–0 Kf8 19.Rfe1 c2 20.Bg8 Qc7 21.Rd8+ Kg7 22.Rde8 c1Q 23.Rxc1 Rh8 24.Rce1 Kh6 25.Qe3+ g5 26.Re7 Qd8 27.Qe6 1–0
After the tie-breaks of Armageddon games (Black players get a time handicap but draw is counted as a win for him) Shankland emerged the champion and earned an official invitation to the 2011 USA Championship. This was too good to pass up and Shankland postponed his retirement for an undetermined future date.
The 2011 USA adult Championship did not go too badly for him either, 3rd place at the first attempt is no mean feat and he was hooked to chess again.
The next episode of this “unconscious mode” came during the 2014 Tromso Chess Olympiad. This event, won by the surprising Chinese squad, was not a success for Team USA (bd01 Hikaru Nakamura, bd02 Gata Kamsky, bd03 Alexander Onischuk, bd04 Varuzhan Akobian and bd05 Samuel Shankland) as they only finished 14th. Samuel Shankland, who had in the meantime acquired the GM title, had absolutely nothing to do with the poor result. He scored 8 wins and 2 draws for 9/10, a performance rating of 2831.

Vazquez, Guillermo (2323) — Shankland, S. (2624) [B12]
41st Olympiad Open 2014 Tromso NOR (6.21), 08.08.2014

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.Bg5
[5.c4 is supposed to be the best try for White]
5…Qb6 6.Bd3 Qxd4!?
It is rare that the preferred gambit is accepted. Usually Black plays solidly with 6…Bxd3 7.Qxd4 e6.
7.Nf3 Qg4
Keeping an eye on his f5–bishop. If Black takes the b2 pawn then White can simply play 8.Nbd2 or really try to wipe out his opponent with 7…Qxb2 8.Bxf5!? Qxa1 9.e6 with strong compensation for his sacrificed material.
8.0–0 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 e6 10.Nbd2 Be7 11.c4 Bxg5 12.Nxg5 Ne7
[12…Qxh4?! 13.cxd5! Qxg5 14.dxe6 fxe6 15.Ne4 followed by Nd6+ and Black is in trouble]
13.Qb3 b6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Rac1 Nbc6 16.f4 Rc8 17.Qd3 Nf5 18.Ndf3 0–0
Black has completed his development and shifts his focus to attack.
19.Nh2 Qg3 20.Qd1 <D>
POSITION AFTER 20.QD1
20…Nxe5! 21.Rxc8
Similar is 21.fxe5 is met by the same refutation as in the game
21…Rxc8 22.fxe5 Qe3+ 0–1
[22…Qe3+ 23.Kh1 (Or 23.Rf2 Rc1) 23…Ng3#]
I believe these sudden superhuman streaks which I call “unconscious mode” that GM Shankland puts on every once in a while is due to his complete immersion in the game — total concentration to the exclusion of everything else. Something clicks and the wins start pouring in.
After the Olympiad for the first time Sam had broken into the list of the world’s top 100 players.
Now we come to the 2018 US Chess Championship held at the Saint Louis Chess Club last month. Despite the presence of the Big 3 of US Chess (Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura) Samuel Shankland zoomed in with a huge score of +6 (6 wins more than losses. His exact score is 6 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses) to claim the US title and first prize of $50,000. This unconscious performance is equivalent to a performance rating of 2884, gaining him 30.4 rating points and seeing him break into the 2700 club in the world for the first time in his life.
Three rounds before the end Sam and Fabiano were tied for 1st with 5.5/8 and Wesley So was just half a point behind. It looked like an exciting finish and there were some discussions about tie-breaks and possible playoff scenarios, but Sam eliminated all that talk by winning all 3 of his remaining games. In contrast Caruana scored “only” 2.5/3 and Wesley had 3 draws.
This was the tournament winner’s favorite game.

Shankland, Samuel (2671) — Liang, Awonder (2552) [B13]
USA-ch 2018 Saint Louis USA (11), 29.04.2018

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Bf4 Bg4 7.Qb3 e5!
A new move which has recently been scoring well. The idea is that after 8.dxe5 Nh5 the bishop has to retreat and Black recaptures the e5–pawn with the knight with a perfectly playable position.
8.h3!
But Shankland was prepared! This move was played by Demchenko last February in Lisbon. Sam was hoping that Awonder hasn’t seen it yet, and he was on the mark.
8…exf4?!
Not the most accurate. Black had to play 8…Na5 first so that the b7–pawn will not be vulnerable to the queen. According to Shankland his preparation was 9.Qc2 exf4 10.hxg4 Nxg4 11.Kf1! (threatening Qe2+ winning the g4–knight) 11…h5 with a big fight ahead.
9.hxg4 Qe7+ 10.Kf1 0–0–0
The Demchenko game continued 10…Ne4 11.Qc2 (11.Qxd5?! Nxf2 with the point 12.Kxf2 Qe3+) 11…0–0–0 12.Nd2 Re8 13.Bxe4 dxe4 14.Re1 f5 15.gxf5 e3 16.fxe3 fxe3 17.Rh3 Qc7 18.Rexe3 Rxe3 19.Rxe3 White is a clear two pawns up. Demchenko,A (2671)-Yurtseven,M (2415) Lisbon 2018 1–0 25.
11.Nd2 g6
Too slow. He should have continued in the spirit of all-out war: 11…g5 12.Ngf3 h5 and I don’t know what is going to happen next.
12.Re1 Qc7 13.g5! Nh5 14.Be2 Ng7 15.Ngf3
Now Black’s kingside pawns are restrained and White can concentrate on his own attack on the enemy king.
15…Ne6 16.Bb5 Bg7 17.Qa4 Rd6 18.Nb3 b6 19.Nc1!
With the squares a5 and c5 taken away from it this knight now heads for b4.
19…Nb8 20.Nd3 Kb7 21.Nb4 Qd8 22.Ne5 Qc7
Black can only wait for White to execute.
23.Qb3
Targeting d5.
23…Rhd8 24.Rxh7 a6 25.Bd3 Ka7 26.Qa4 a5 27.Bb5 Kb7 28.Nbd3
Threatening 29.Nxf4 Nxf4 30.Rxg7.
28…Rg8 29.Nf3 Rh8 30.Rxh8 Bxh8 31.a3 Nc6 32.Bxc6+!
Forcibly liquidating the position into an easy endgame win.
32…Rxc6
[32…Qxc6 33.Qxc6+ Rxc6 34.Nde5 Bxe5 35.Nxe5 Rc7 36.Nxf7 Rxf7 37.Rxe6 is an easy win for White]
33.Nde5 Bxe5 34.Nxe5 Rd6 35.Qe8 Rd8
[35…Nxg5 36.Nxf7 Qc4+ (36…Nxf7? 37.Re7) 37.Kg1 Nxf7 38.Qxf7+ Ka6 39.Qxf4 is likewise hopeless for Black]
36.Qxf7 Nxg5 37.Qxc7+ Kxc7 38.Nxg6 f3 39.Nf4 Kc6 40.gxf3 Nxf3 41.Re6+ Kb5 42.Ke2 Ng1+ 43.Kd3 1–0
We will show you a few more games from Saint Louis on Thursday.
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, 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

Overmatched

As expected, the Warriors dominated yesterday’s outing against the Pelicans. Determined to bounce back from their listless play in Game Three, they hit the ground running and stayed sharp until the final buzzer. It was a wire-to-wire effort that underscored their superiority over their no-less-resolute but decidedly overmatched opponents; they simply have too much firepower to be contained by any force other than their own.
The Warriors are, to be sure, not defending champions for nothing. On offense, they force the competition to pick a poison. They run an egalitarian system predicated on crisp ball movement, and when it’s stifled, they have the luxury of relying on Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to produce off the dribble. And with Draymond Green’s court vision and Klay Thompson’s on-point shooting backstopping the effort, the result invariably overwhelms.
As the Warriors’ triumph yesterday proved, however, it’s their defense that truly makes them stand out. Most Valuable Player candidate Anthony Davis can be a handful considering his unique blend of size, athleticism, mobility, and skill, but he looked decidedly mortal in Game Four. True, he still managed to put up 26 and 12. Then again, he had to work for all that he put up on the board; he canned just eight of his 22 field-goal attempts and had a single assist to show in the face of concentrated coverage.
Granted, the Warriors still aren’t out of the woods. The Pelicans are, if nothing else, determined, and Davis is certainly a transcendent talent who can orchestrate a comeback under the right conditions. Still, the real enemies of the blue and gold are, well, the blue and gold. If they try not to be too cute and limit their turnovers while forcing their rivals into more, as they did yesterday, they’re all but unstoppable. They smell blood, and they’re ready to move on.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

PSEi drops ahead of GDP data, BSP policy review

THE MAIN INDEX opened the week on a negative note as investors were on a wait-and-see mode ahead of the release of first-quarter economic growth data.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi)went down 0.17% or 12.91 points to close at 7,533.28 Monday, May 7, immediately erasing its last-minute gain last Friday.
The broader all-shares index also edged down by 0.08% or 3.69 points to 4,601.61.
“The market slid by 12 points today on low volume trading… Investors are obviously on a cautious mode now especially with the absence of any positive catalysts in the market,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader and Marketing Head Mark Levinson Koa said in a text message on Monday.
IB Gimenez Securities, Inc. Research Head Joylin F. Telagen noted that the market is waiting for the release of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures, as well as the results of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) meeting later this week.
“I don’t expect much movement until the important data are released on Thursday, the first- quarter GDP and BSP meeting. This will determine market direction over the next few weeks,” Ms. Telagen said via text.
The Philippine Statistics Authority will be releasing first- quarter GDP data on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a BusinessWorld poll of 11 analysts last week showed nine expecting the BSP to hike interest rates at its policy review, after inflation picked up to a five-year high in April.
The central bank last raised key policy rates in September 2014, when inflation was trending above the 3-5% target that year. Benchmark rates currently range from 2.5-3.5% following some procedural adjustments introduced in June 2016.
“However, the month of May is also tagged as ‘sell on May and go away.’ So for me, personally, I’m just on watch mode and will enter the market when the right time comes,” Ms. Telagen added.
Four sectoral indices ended in the red on Monday, with the mining and oil sector plunging 2.88% or 297.01 points to 10,014.38, weighed down by a 5.15% drop in Semirara Mining and Power Corp. to P27.65 each on Monday after it announced the shutdown of one of its Calaca plants for another 90 days.
Financials declined 0.47% or 9.12 points to 1,897.75; property went down 0.30% or 10.59 points to 3,509.80; while holding firms shed 0.19% or 14.92 points to 7,577.23.
On the other hand, industrials added 0.47% or 51.48 points to 10,999.48, while services increased 0.35% or 5.30 points to 1,516.45.
Some 1.1 billion issues switched hands, resulting in a value turnover of P5.9 billion, down from Friday’s turnover of P6.25 billion.
Decliners narrowly outpaced advancers, 92 to 89, while 46 names were unchanged.
Foreign investors turned sellers, amounting to net sales of P462.74 million against net inflows of P532.12 million in the previous session. — Arra B. Francia

DoubleDragon unveils first phase of DD Meridian Park

DoubleDragon Properties Corp. unveiled on Monday, May 7, its flagship office and retail project in Metro Manila with majority of its tenants coming from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) companies.
Called the DoubleDragon Plaza, the 280,000 square meter office hub is the first of three phases of the company’s DD Meridian Park project along the Bay Area in Pasay City. — Arra B. Francia

DDMeridian-DoubleDragonplaza
DoubleDragon Plaza at DD-Meridian Park is a 4.75-hectare commercial block in the Bay Area (Pasay City) with leasable space of up to 280,000 square meters. — www.doubledragon.com.ph

Duty Free to open two retail stores in June

Duty Free Philippines Corporation (DFPC) will be opening a luxury story and a new shopping outlet next month– the Duty Free Philippines Luxe Store and the NAIA Terminal 3 Landside Store.
In a press release, DFPC said the two new retail stores will be its biggest shopping destinations, targeted to tourists and balikbayans.
“Our initiative is driven by the Department of Tourism’s commitment to promote the Philippines as a premiere tourist destination,” DFPC Chief Operating Officer Vico A. Angala was quoted as saying.
The Luxe Store is a 4,200-square meter multi-level building located at the tourist center of the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay. DFPC said it is the “first ultra-luxurious travel retail destination,” which will offer a wide range of high-end imported products from brands such as Bally, Ferragamo, Coach and Michael Kors.
On the other hand, the Landside Store, located at the arrival lobby of NAIA Terminal 3, will feature the more familiar Duty Free goods–imported chocolates, perfumes, liquor and grocery items that are priced lower than in local markets. — Denise A. Valdez

Holcim profit drops in first quarter

Holcim Philippines, Inc. reported a 26.5% drop in its attributable profit for the first three months of 2018, although noting that sales volumes have started to recover alongside the pick up in demand.  — Arra B. Francia

SM first-quarter profit grows 15%

The country’s largest shopping mall operator booked a 15% profit increase during the first quarter of 2018, fuelled by its strategy of developing more malls and residential projects in the provinces.
SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) said in a statement Monday, May 7, that its net income stood at P7.6 billion for the first three months of the year, higher than the P6.6 billion it reported in the same period a year ago. Consolidated revenues accelerated at a similar pace at 14% to P23.4 billion for the quarter.
“The growing revenue contribution of our mall operations in the provinces and increasing reservation sales of our residential projects in Metro Manila drove our bottom line higher and kept us in line with our first quarter target in 2018,” SM Prime President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Lim said in a statement. — Arra B. Francia

SMPC sees lower energy generation in first quarter

Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) expects its first-quarter energy generation to be lower by at least 20% because of the series of power plant closures during the period, company officials said.
“This year we are down on a year-on-year basis,” Victor A. Consunji, SMPC president and chief operating officer, told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders meeting in Makati City on Monday, May 7.
The projected decline in energy generation for the quarter reverses SMPC’s robust growth for 2017 when it recorded a 21% increase to 5,202 megawatt-hours (MWh) because the augmented capacity of Sem-Calaca Power Corp.’s first unit and the higher availability of the second unit.
SMPC’s Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. also recorded full commercial operation of its two-unit circulating fluidized bed each with a capacity of 150 MW.
Mr. Consunji said SMPC would be reporting its first-quarter performance later this week, which will disclose in detail the decline in the company’s energy generation. He declined to quantify the corresponding value of the power generation slide. — Victor A. Saulon

CA clears Binay, four officials from Makati building case

The Court of Appeals’s (CA) Tenth Division has cleared former Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” S. Binay and four other city officials of administrative charges over the alleged anomalous construction of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Parking Building II (MCHPB).
The 159-page resolution dated May 3 and penned by Associate Justice Edwin D. Sorongon affirmed and modified the Office of the Ombudsman’s joint decisions dated Sept. 7, 2015 and Jan. 18, 2016 which found Mr. Binay and 20 others guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct “for the irregularities committed in connection with the procurement of the Architectural Design and Engineering Services and Construction of (the MCHPB).” — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

Strong LPG sales boost Pryce Corp profit in first quarter

Pryce Corp. posted a 12.8% increase in first-quarter net income to P340.3 million as volume of sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) grew at around the same level during the period, the company told the stock exchange on Monday, May 7.
Consolidated revenues rose by 6.3% to P2.35 billion from P2.21 billion in the same period last year.
The company said first-quarter volume sales of LPG in the Visayas-Mindanao regions increased by 12.9% to 21,992 metric tons (MT) from 19,487 MT previously.
“Comparable sales volume in Luzon dropped by 2.1% as management gave more emphasis to margins than to volume sales,” the company said. — Victor V. Saulon

Korean hotel owner plans to hike Clark investments to $1 billion in next few years

The Korean-led Widus International Leisure Inc., owner of Widus Hotel & Casino and operator of the Marriott hotel chain in Clark, Pampanga, is looking at expanding its hotel projects in the city in the next few years, bringing its investment to a total of $1 billion, according to its official.
While the $100-million Marriott Hotel has yet to start operations — targeted for completion by September this year — Daesik Han, President and CEO of Widus International said the company has already broken ground for a $300-million hotel that will be built next to the Marriott hotel.
The project, now under construction, is slated for completion by mid-2020 and will have 400 rooms. The hotel will be an extension of the $100-million Widus Hotel and Casino that has been operating in Clark since 2008.
This will bring the company’s total investments in the country to $500 million. Mr. Han, however, is looking to double that in the next few years.
“I plan to invest additional $500 million to make current development into a $1 billion project,” Mr. Han said Monday during the Bases Conversion Development Authority press briefing in Pampanga. — Janina C. Lim

PLDT completes partial sale of Rocket Internet shares

PLDT Inc said it has completed its partial sale of its Rocket Internet SE shares.
PLDT said in a statement that Rocket Internet AG has accepted 6.8 million Rocket shares tendered by PLDT subsidiary PLDT Online Investments Pte. Ltd. at €24 per share for a total consideration of €163.2 million or around P10.51 billion. This represents around 67.4% of the Rocket shares held by PLDT Online.
Rocket will settle the consideration on or before May 14.
In February, PLDT Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company may sell its position in Rocket to fund its capex, which is expected to stay above P50 billion for this year.
To recall, PLDT invested €333 million (around $362 million) for a 10% stake in Rocket in August 2014. In October 2014, Rocket Internet went public, which effectively diluted PLDT’s stake, which now stands at 6.1%.
However, the Rocket investment proved disappointing, as its startups recorded heavy losses. — Patrizia C. Marcelo

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