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Thunder break Raptors streak

LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook unleashed his fifth consecutive triple double with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists Sunday as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Toronto, 132-125, snapping the Raptors’ 11-game NBA win streak.

Westbrook’s heroics, including back-to-back baskets to break a tie with 54.9 seconds remaining, denied the Raptors the longest win streak in club history.

Toronto remained atop the Eastern Conference with a 52-18 record, but the Raptors were fuming after a chaotic end to the contest.

DeMar DeRozan, who led Toronto with 24 points, was ejected with less than 10 seconds to play for arguing with an official.

“You know the frustration, you know what it came down to,” said DeRozan, who was still angry after the game at what he said were non-calls on obvious fouls. “It was obvious, especially at the end of the game.”

Teammate Serge Ibaka was tossed moments later, then Toronto coach Dwane Casey was ejected — although video appeared to show it was a fan behind him who yelled at the referee.

Casey was measured in his post-game comments, saying only that the Raptors are looking for “fairness and consistency” from officials and adding: “We’ll complain in the proper way.”

His reticence came on the same day that New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry and Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy were fined $15,000 apiece for post-game rants about refereeing.

Oklahoma City improved to 43-29 as they chase Portland for third place in the Western Conference.

New Zealand center Steven Adams added 25 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder while Paul George scored 22 points and Carmelo Anthony netted 15.

“This was definitely a playoff atmosphere type of game,” Anthony said. “It’s something that we needed to be a part of coming down the stretch.”

Westbrook added: “You’ve got to be able to keep your composure through it all. That’s what the game was all about.”

ROCKETS HOLD OFF TIMBERWOLVES
The Houston Rockets improved their league-leading record with a 129-120 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis, fending off a late surge from the hosts.

Trailing by 25 early in the second half, Minnesota rallied to trim the deficit to five with 3:58 remaining.

But the Rockets, led by 34 points from Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden, responded to beat the Timberwolves for the fourth time this season.

The New Orleans Pelicans, fighting for their playoff lives in the West, gained a much needed 108-89 victory over the Boston Celtics. — AFP

Del Potro outlasts Federer to win Indian Wells final

INDIAN WELLS — Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro stunned top-ranked Roger Federer 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/2) Sunday to win his first Indian Wells title and second consecutive ATP crown.

The 29-year-old from Argentina handed Federer his first match defeat of 2018 and extended his own win streak to 11 matches, including a title run earlier this month at Acapulco.

“I’m still shaking,” Del Potro said. “It’s difficult to describe with words. It’s like a dream.”

Del Potro, nagged by wrist injuries throughout his career, survived three match points before claiming the championship in a third-set tie-breaker, ending a two hour, 42 minute marathon contest.

“After all my problems, after all my surgeries, I couldn’t believe I’m here winning a Masters 1000 and beating Roger,” Del Potro said. “It’s amazing.”

Del Potro won the first five points of the deciding tie-breaker then closed it out when Swiss superstar Federer smacked a forehand long.

Del Potro was competing in his first Indian Wells final since 2013, when he lost to Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

It was only Del Potro’s seventh victory over Federer in 25 career meetings.

“I always play good against him. I won a couple of finals and lost a couple of finals. In the end I was lucky to win. We played great tennis today,” Del Potro said.

World number eight Del Potro is back in the rankings top 10 after dropping to 1,045th before beginning his comeback from three left wrist surgeries in 2016.

Federer blasted 10 aces but had five double faults and his serve was broken twice.

“It should sting,” Federer said. “The question is how long? It is disappointing talking about a great match like this and losing.”

Federer, who was seeking his record sixth Indian Wells title, saved one match point in the second-set tie-breaker and another in the third-set tie-breaker before finally succumbing to Del Potro’s relentless attack.

“You move on. There’s no time to dwell over it,” Federer said. “I see the positives at the end of the day.”

Federer fell to 17-1 on the season, having won a career-best 17 consecutive matches to start a calendar year.

Federer, the oldest world number one in ATP history at 36, entered the final having dropped just one set, that in a difficult semi-final test from Croatia’s Borna Coric.

Federer’s five Indian Wells titles included last year, when he beat fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka. — AFP

Giant-killer UMBC bows out of NCAA tournament

WASHINGTON — The University of Maryland-Baltimore County’s (UMBC) whirlwind ride in America’s hugely popular NCAA collegiate basketball tournament ended Sunday with a 50-43 loss to Kansas State.

Two days after UMBC authored a historic upset of overall top-seed Virginia — the first 16th seed ever to knock off a number one — the Retrievers were on their way home.

Kansas State’s Wildcats took full advantage of UMBC’s shooting struggles to reach the “Sweet 16” for the first time since 2010 — when they made it all the way to the “Elite Eight.”

“Retriever Fever” had gripped US hoops fans after UMBC toppled Virginia 74-54 on Friday — an upset that busted bracket predictions across the nation and catapulted the unheralded team to prominence.

The UMBC website crashed during the game thanks to the number of people seeking information on the Retrievers and the 13,000-student campus at Catonsville, Maryland, located about a 10-minute drive from downtown Baltimore.

The UMBC Athletics Twitter account jumped from 5,000 to 43,000 followers thanks to its funny and passionate remarks about naysayers and non-believers.

By Sunday night, the Twitter feed had 109,000 followers, and Stephen Curry, superstar of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, teamed with apparel manufacturer Under Armour to supply the squad with limited-release edition Curry V shoes for the game against Kansas State. — AFP

McIlroy ends 18-month PGA win drought with Palmer title

MIAMI — Rory McIlroy ended an 18-month PGA win drought in sensational fashion Sunday with birdies on five of the last six holes to capture the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Four-time major champion McIlroy outdueled American Bryson DeChambeau and major winners Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson with an amazing putting display on the Bay Hill greens.

“It’s so nice to see everything come together finally,” McIlroy said. “I wasn’t that far away. It takes something to click into place. Something clicked into place with my putting obviously.”

McIlroy fired an eight-under par 64 to finish 72 holes on 18-under 270 and defeat DeChambeau by three strokes.

“I’m just proud of myself to hang in there over the past few months with injury and everything,” McIlroy said. “To get my first PGA win in I don’t know how long, it feels really great.”

The 28-year-old from Northern Ireland took his 14th US PGA Tour triumph, his first since the 2016 Tour Championship, and served notice he is a solid threat to complete a career major Grand Slam by winning the Masters in three weeks.

McIlroy had not won since the day Palmer died in 2016 but snapped his skid on the course where Palmer used to greet winners as they exited the 18th green.

“It’s a little bit ironic that I come here and win,” McIlroy said. “He set a great example to all of us players. If all of us could handle ourselves the way Arnie did the world would be a better place. I wish I walked up that hill to get a handshake from him but I’m so glad to put my name on that trophy.”

DeChambeau fired a closing 68 to take second on 273, one stroke ahead of England’s Rose, who fired a 67, and two in front of Sweden’s Stenson with Woods and US compatriot Ryan Moore fifth on 278.

MCILROY CHIP-IN BEAUTY
McIlroy sank a 15-foot birdie putt at 13 and followed with a 21-foot birdie putt at the par-3 14th to seize a two-stroke lead at 15-under.

“That gave me a lot of momentum coming in after not getting a birdie on the par-5 12th,” McIlroy said.

Stenson and DeChambeau each birdied 13 to pull within one shot, but McIlroy answered with a 40-foot birdie chip from off the 15th green for his third birdie in a row and two-putted from 21 feet for birdie at the par-5 16th to seize a three-stroke advantage.

“To be able to chip in, that was a bonus and gave me a little leeway going into the last few holes,” McIlroy said.

Of his approach at 16, McIlroy added, “This was massive, probably the best drive I hit all week.”

DeChambeau sank a 15-foot eagle putt to pull one stroke behind McIlroy only to have the European star sink a 25-footer for birdie, raising his arms in victory.

McIlroy charged into a share of the lead early, opening with five pars before making back-to-back clutch birdie putts, a 10-footer at the sixth and 12-footer at the par-3 seventh.

Another 10-foot birdie at the ninth left McIlroy on 13-under with Stenson after the Swede made bogey at eight, missing the green on his approach and botching a six-foot par putt to set up the back-nine battle.

Woods, making his second comeback bid after four back operations, chased his first victory since the 2013 World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.

The 14-time major champion, mired in the longest win drought of his career, has shown form in back-to-back weeks to excite fans for his chances at the Masters, which begins April 5.

“I felt pretty good out there,” Woods said. “I hit the ball a little better than I did last week. I felt like I putted well the entire week.”

Woods, wearing his trademark red shirt and black pants, managed his 10th consecutive PGA par-or-better round, his longest such streak in six years. — AFP

Wesley So’s masterpiece

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2018
Berlin, Germany
March 10-28, 2018

Standings (6 of 14)

1-2. Fabiano Caruana USA 2784, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2809, 4.0/6

3-5. Ding Liren CHN 2769, Alexander Grischuk RUS 2767, Vladimir Kramnik RUS 2800, 3.0/6

6-7. Wesley So USA 2799, Levon Aronian ARM 2794, 2.5/6

8. Sergey Karjakin RUS 2763, 2.0/6

Average Rating: 2786 Category 22

Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves followed by 15 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.

We are nearing the halfway mark of the Berlin Candidates Tournament and it is Fabiano Caruana and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov who are in the lead. Whoever wins this tournament will be lined up for a shot at the title of World Champion which is currently held by Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen. This will be a 12-game match and is scheduled to be played in London between 9 and 28 November 2018.

Vladimir Kramnik started out with 2.5/3 with wins against Alexander Grischuk and Levon Aronian (an absolute brilliancy which I will show you on Thursday) and a well-fought draw with Sergey Karjakin.

The 4th round could well be the turning point of the tournament for Kramnik. In a fantastic battle with Caruana the Russian GM first got a lost position but turned the tables during Caruana’s time trouble leading up to the 40th move. It was then Kramnik’s turn to wreck his winning position just before the 2nd time control (move 60) and Caruana made no mistake in nailing down the win.

In the 5th round, probably mad at himself, Kramnik really toughed it out and tried to make something out of nothing against Wesley So. They fought on until the 57th move and finally agreed on a draw.

These two big fights seemed to tire out Kramnik and he was unrecognizable in the 6th round, allowing Mamedyarov to win.

Wesley So had the opposite trajectory. He had the worst possible start with 2 losses in the 1st two rounds (against Caruana and Grischuk). He then steadied himself with short draws against Ding Liren and Sergey Karjakin. In the 5th round was that drawn-out struggle with Kramnik. Now, in the 6th round, came a brilliant victory over one of the tournament favorites, Levon Aronian.

So, Wesley (2799) — Aronian, Levon (2794) [C88]
FIDE Candidates 2018 Berlin GER (6.1), 16.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0

Aronian is known as a Marshall Attack expert, which comes about after 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5. and now either 11…c6 or 11…Nf6.

8.a4

Along with 8 h3, this move is considered to be one of the best ways of avoiding the Marshall. If you, like me, bought a lot of the Batsford Books reprints in the ’70s and ’80s the “old theory” of the Marshall recommends 8…Bb7 as Black’s best response. Nowadays it is not so popular for with 9 d3 d6 and now 10 Nbd2! rather than the previously played 10 Nc3 Black hasn’t achieved good results.

Today 8….b4 is more or less exclusively played at the top level. Counted among its adherents are Grischuk, Anand, Leko and Aronian.

8…b4

Some theory to catch you up?

8…d5?! is hardly ever played anymore. After 9.Bxd5 Nxd5 10.exd5 Nd4 (10…Qxd5 11.Nc3 White is clearly better) 11.Nxd4 exd4 12.axb5 Bb7 13.c4 dxc3 14.dxc3 axb5 15.Rxa8 Bxa8 16.Qd3 Bxd5 17.Qxb5 left White a clear pawn. De Firmian,N (2575)-Sokolov,I (2670) Amsterdam 1–0 40.

8…Bb7 was played by Short in his world championship match vs Kasparov (game 7). Kasparov continued 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Nd7 11.c3 Nc5 12.axb5 axb5 (12…Nxb3? fails to 13.bxc6 Nxa1 14.cxb7 Rb8 15.Qa4 and the a1–knight will fall) 13.Rxa8 Bxa8 14.Bc2 Bf6 15.b4 Ne6 16.Nf1 Bb7 17.Ne3 g6 18.Bb3 Bg7 and now 19.Nc2, with the idea of 20 d4, favors White according to Kasparov.

Giving up the a-file with 8…Rb8?! is considered dubious. I remember an article in Chess magazine where the author says that “so what if I lose the a-file, I still have 7 other files to play with!” I am not so sure that is viable as after 9.axb5 axb5 10.c3 d6 11.d4! exd4 (11…Bg4? 12.d5 surprisingly enough the c6–knight is lost!) 12.cxd4 Bg4 13.Nc3 Qd7 14.Be3 White’s central position is very strong. Keres,P-Rabar,B Munich 1942 1–0 32.

9.a5

Without a doubt the best move here — it restricts Black’s activity, since both …a6–a5 and …Na5 are no longer possible and it also isolates the a6– and b4–pawns, making them both potential targets. The white bishop on b3 is now very powerful so Black must seek to exchange it off as soon as possible.

9…d6 10.d3 Be6 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Nbd2 Rb8 13.Nb3

Aronian lost a game to Magnus Carlsen in the Sinquefield Cup 2017 after the world champion continued 13.c3 Qe8 14.Nc4 Qg6 15.h3 Nd7 16.Be3 d5 17.Ncd2 bxc3 18.bxc3 Nc5 19.Bxc5 Bxc5 20.Qa4 and White went on to win. Carlsen,M (2822)-Aronian,L (2809) Saint Louis 2017 1–0 52. However, Aronian made several mistakes later in the game and the loss was not because of the opening. He was probably eager to try it out again against Wesley.

13…Qc8 14.h3 Nd8 15.Be3 c5 16.Nbd2 Nc6 17.c3 Rb5 18.d4!?

This is a very difficult maneuvering game. Wesley sacrifices a pawn to try and take advantage of Black’s currently uncoordinated pieces. Aronian sees a clear path to equality but decides that he should try to refute Wesley’s play.

18…exd4

Take note that 18…Nxa5? blunders a piece to 19.dxe5 dxe5 20.c4.

Aronian saw that he can equalize with: 18…bxc3 19.bxc3 exd4 20.cxd4 c4 21.Nxc4 Nxe4 “should be around equal.” (Aronian)

19.cxd4 Nxa5 20.dxc5 dxc5 21.Ra2

Wesley admitted after the game that this was his preparation against Aronian. For the pawn he has compensation in that Black’s queenside pieces are out of play and Wesley might be able to mobilize an attack against the Black king position. By the way, Wesley So is self-studied — he does not have any GM seconds or assistants. He worked this all out himself. Very impressive.

21…Qb7

Aronian keeps his knight on a5 to prevent White’s Nc4.

22.b3!

White wants to put his queen on c2 where it can protect his weaknesses on the queenside and at the same time backstop a kingside attack. You will see how all this works out in a while.

22…Kh8

Taking the e4–pawn is very dangerous. After 22…Nxe4 23.Nxe4 Qxe4 24.Bg5 Qb7 25.Rd2! the Black position is in danger of falling apart.

23.Qc2!

Every move carries a threat. Now White threatens, amongst others, Ng5 followed by e4–e5 with an attack against h7.

23…Nd7 24.Rea1 Bd8 25.Nc4 Nxc4 26.Qxc4 Bf6 27.Rd1 Qc6 28.Rad2 Nb6 29.Qc2 Qc7 <D>

Position after 29…Qc7

Watch how Wesley takes Black’s position apart.

30.e5! Be7

[30…Bxe5? 31.Ng5 threatening mate on h7 as well as Nxe6.]

31.Nd4 Rc8 32.Nxe6!

Wesley ignores winning the exchange and keeps up the attack.

32…Qxe5 33.Nf4 Rf8?

[33…Kg8! was an “only move.” Black had to get his king out of possible mating threats]

34.Re2!

Black is really in big trouble. White’s threat is 35.Bc1 and Black is going to lose a lot of material and quite possibly be mated. For example, 35…Qf6 36.Rde1 Bd6 17.Ne6 Rc8 38.Ng5 g6 39.Bb2 etc.

34…Qc3

[34…Rxf4 35.Bxf4 Qxf4 36.Rxe7 Qf8 (take note that 36…h6 won’t prevent back rank mate because the white queen on c2 covers the h7 square) 37.Qe4 Black is completely lost]

35.Qb1! Qf6 36.Bc1!

Threatening Bb2.

36…c4 37.bxc4 Nxc4 38.Re6 Qg5

Aronian did not see any saving move, so he gives up his queen for rook and knight in the hope that he can come up with a fortress.

39.Ng6+! Qxg6

[39…hxg6 40.Bxg5 Bxg5 41.Qxg6 Bf6 42.Rxf6 gxf6 43.Rd7]

40.Rxg6 hxg6 41.Qe4

Winning another piece.

41…Bf6 42.Qxc4 b3 43.Ba3 Rfb8 44.Rb1 b2 45.h4

There is nothing wrong with Wesley’s technique and he brings home the point efficiently.

45…Ra5 46.Qd3 Rd8 47.Qb3 Rc8 48.Qb7 Rd8 49.Qb3 Rc8 50.Qb4 Rb5 51.Qg4 Rc3 52.Bxb2 Rxb2 53.Rxb2 Rc1+ 54.Kh2 Bxb2 55.Qxg6 Ra1 56.g4 a5 57.Qh5+ Kg8 58.Qb5 Ba3 59.Qe5 Rd1 60.Qe6+ Kh7 61.Qe4+ Kh8 62.Qa8+ Kh7 63.Qxa5 Bd6+ 64.Kg2 Rd4 65.Qf5+ Kh8 66.Qh5+ Kg8 67.g5 Kf8 68.Qg6 Be7 69.Qf5+ Ke8 70.Kh3 Rd6 71.Qh7 Kf7 72.f4 Rd4 73.Qf5+ Ke8 74.Qe5 Rb4 75.Kg4 Kf8 76.Qf5+ Ke8 77.Qe6 Rd4 78.Qe5 1–0

Black’s last pawn is lost and with it all hope.

We will keep you updated on Wesley’s progress in this Candidates’ tournament.

 

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

Missed calls

The Raptors were clear-cut favorites heading into yesterday’s match against the Thunder, and with reason. They didn’t just possess the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) home record, having lost a mere five of 34 contests at the Air Canada Centre. They likewise owned a heady 11-match win streak, with their sterling play of late indicating that they were in line to improve their slate before 19,800-strong fans.

As things turned out, the Raptors wound up losing by seven, a development made all the more unacceptable by what they felt was shoddy refereeing. In particular, they felt top scorer DeMar DeRozan’s game-tying layup try with 30.9 ticks left was foiled by a foul that was clear but uncalled. And they failed to keep their poise after that, leading to ejections for the All-Star, teammate Serge Ibaka, and head coach Dwane Casey.

So incensed were the Raptors over the outcome that they actually planned on filing a formal complaint to the Commissioner’s Office. Meanwhile, they argued their position before scribes, underscoring their frustration with the way whistles were blown — or, as the case may have been, swallowed — in the crunch. It didn’t matter that their protestations could no longer change the score, or that they put themselves in line for fines from the league. “Officials are going to miss calls, but at the juncture of the game when some of the calls were made, we’ve got to get it right around the league,” Casey contended. “Not just this game, the entire league.”

No doubt, the bench tactician was referring to the increasing spate of complaints from his peers regarding the state of officiating in the NBA. In the last week, such notables as the Clippers’ Doc Rivers and Stan Van Gundy have seen fit to use sessions with media as means to air their concerns. And they’re right, if misguided; no quarter winds up without a black mark when results are questioned.

Needless to say, the Thunder found cause to celebrate in the aftermath. Top dog Russell Westbrook pointed out, not without irony, that “you’ve got to be able to keep your composure through it all. That’s what the game is all about. We’ve got a lot of veteran guys on this team who are able to do that.” In triumph, he seemed to have forgotten his frequent brushes with the men in gray.

Still, Westbrook has a point. The referees will not get every call right, and it’s incumbent upon players to compete through adversity. And in their more collected moments, the Raptors would do well to learn from their setback and make sure their implosion doesn’t happen again. They may currently be the Beasts of the East, but they’ll be better prepared to handle the bigger challenges that lie ahead if they don’t stand in their own way.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

SSS earnings up 15%, surpass target for 2017

Social Security System (SSS) said it breached its target revenue in 2017 on the back of intensified collection efforts.

In a statement sent to reporters on Monday, March 19, the state-run agency said it booked P200.5 billion in total earnings from members’ contribution and investment as well as other income last year.

This was 15% higher than the P174.46 billion collected in 2016, and 5.6% higher than the P189.79-billion full-year target in 2017.

“We achieved good numbers in 2017 on the back of our intensified campaign to increase our collections. We are pleased that the efforts of the SSS management and employees paid off,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said in the statement. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

SMPC’s Batangas coal plant back online

Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) said on Monday, March 19, that the first 300-megawatt (MW) unit of its two-unit coal-fired thermal power plant in Calaca, Batangas had resumed operations.

This came more than a week after Consunji’s coal mining and power company first told the stock exchange of the unit’s unplanned outage. The facility is operated by SMPC unit Sem-Calaca Power Corp.

SMPC said unit one had been synchronized to the power transmission grid at 8:22 a.m. on Saturday, March 17. It said as of 9:00 a.m. on Monday, the unit’s average load capacity is at 250 MW.

SMPC disclosed on March 9 that unit one had been undergoing an unplanned outage until March 12, 2018 “to give way to boiler slags removal.” It said unit two had also been out, although on a planned maintenance, for a thorough assessment and inspection before the final phase of the rehabilitation in 2019.

Unit two, which is on a life extension rehabilitation program, is expected to be back online by end of the month. — Victor V. Saulon

Putin wins another six-year term

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin won a landslide reelection victory on Sunday, extending his rule over the world’s largest country for another six years at a time when his ties with the West are on a hostile trajectory.

Mr. Putin’s victory will take his political dominance of Russia to nearly a quarter of a century, until 2024, by which time he will be 71.

Only Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ruled for longer.

Mr. Putin has promised to use his new term to beef up Russia’s defences against the West and to raise living standards.

In a widely expected outcome, the Central Election Commission, with just over 70% of the votes counted, announced that Mr. Putin, who has dominated the political landscape for the last 18 years, had won 75.9% of the vote.

In a victory speech near Red Square, Mr. Putin told a cheering crowd he interpreted the win as a vote of confidence in what he had achieved in tough conditions.

“It’s very important to maintain this unity. We will think about the future of our great Motherland,” said Mr. Putin, before leading the crowd in repeated chants of “Russia!”

He told a meeting of supporters afterwards that difficult times were ahead, but that Russia had a chance to make “a breakthrough.”

Backed by state TV, the ruling party, and credited with an approval rating around 80%, his victory was never in doubt.

His nearest challenger, Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, got around 13%, according to partial results, while nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky got around 6%.

None of the seven candidates who ran against Mr. Putin posed a threat, and opposition leader Alexei Navalny was barred from running. Critics alleged that officials had compelled people to come to the polls to ensure that voter boredom at the one-sided contest did not lead to a low turnout.

Turnout figures will be closely scrutinized. Early signs suggested turnout would exceed 60%.

Russia’s Central Election Commission recognized that there were some irregularities, but was likely to dismiss wider criticism and declare the overall result legitimate.

The result was a vindication of his tough stance towards the West, Mr. Putin loyalists said.

“I think that in the United States and Britain they’ve understood they cannot influence our elections,” Igor Morozov, a member of the upper house of parliament, said on state television.

Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house, hailed the victory as a moral one over the West.

“Our elections have proved once again… that it’s not possible to manipulate our people,” she said.

“People came together. No other country in the world has such open and transparent elections.”

Opposition leader Mr. Navalny is expected to call for anti-Putin protests demanding a re-run of an election he says was neither free nor fair. A senior opposition politician has warned they could descend into street clashes if police crack down too hard on demonstrators.

The longer-term question is whether Mr. Putin will soften his anti-Western rhetoric now the election is won.

TIES AT POST-COLD WAR LOW
Mr. Putin’s bellicose language reached a crescendo before the election in a state-of-the-nation speech when he unveiled new nuclear weapons, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.

At odds with the West over Syria, Ukraine, allegations of Russian election meddling and cyber attacks and the poisoning in Britain of a former Russian spy and his daughter, relations between Moscow and the West are at a post-Cold War low.

Mr. Putin, 65, has been in power, either as president or prime minister, since 2000.

Allies laud the former KGB agent as a father-of-the-nation figure who has restored national pride and expanded Moscow’s global clout with interventions in Syria and Ukraine.

Critics accuse him of overseeing a corrupt, authoritarian system and of illegally annexing Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014, a move that isolated Russia internationally.

Western sanctions on Russia imposed over Crimea and Moscow’s backing of a pro-Russian separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine remain in place and have damaged the Russian economy, which only rebounded last year after a prolonged downturn.

Britain and Russia are also locked in a diplomatic dispute over the spy poisoning incident, and Washington is eyeing new sanctions on Moscow over allegations it interfered in the 2016 US presidential election, something Russia flatly denies.

Mr. Putin said on Sunday it was nonsense to think that Moscow would have poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain and said Moscow was ready to cooperate with London.

Officials and analysts say there is little agreement among Mr. Putin’s top policy makers on an economic strategy for his new term.

How long Mr. Putin wants to stay in power is uncertain.

The constitution limits the president to two successive terms, obliging him to step down at the end of his new mandate — as he did in 2008 after serving two four-year terms. The presidential term was extended from four to six years, starting in 2012.

Asked after his reelection if he would run for yet another term in office, Mr. Putin laughed off the idea.

“Let’s count. What, do you think I will sit (in power) until I’m 100 years old,” he said, calling the question “funny.”

Although Mr. Putin has six years to consider a possible successor, uncertainty about his long-term future is a potential source of instability in a fractious ruling elite that only he can keep in check.

Kremlin insiders say Mr. Putin has selected no heir apparent, and that any names being circulated are the product of speculation and not based on insider knowledge of Mr. Putin’s thinking.

“The longer he stays in power, the harder it will be to exit,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank.

“How can he abandon such a complicated system, which is essentially his personal project?” — Reuters

Most Japanese think Abe bears responsibility for scandal — surveys

TOKYO — Most Japanese think Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bears some responsibility for altered documents at the center of suspicions of a cover-up linked to cronyism, according to opinion polls on Sunday, with one showing his support falling to the lowest of his tenure.

In his worst crisis since taking office in 2012, Mr. Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso have been under fire since the finance ministry said on March 12 it had altered records relating to a discounted sale of state-owned land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which had ties to Mr. Abe’s wife, Akie. References to Mr. Abe, his wife, and Mr. Aso were removed from the Finance ministry’s records of the sale, copies of documents released by the ministry showed. Both men have denied any wrongdoing in the affair.

But 66.1% of respondents to a poll conducted by Kyodo news agency on Saturday and Sunday said they felt the premier had some responsibility for the altered documents.

Only 25.8% said they thought he didn’t.

A Mainichi Shimbun poll similarly found 68% believe Mr. Abe bears responsibility.

Protesters have flocked to the streets by the prime minister’s office every night since the ministry admitted altering the documents, with some 2,000 on Friday calling for Messrs. Mr. Abe and Mr. Aso to resign.

A Nippon TV poll found Mr. Abe’s support crumbling some 14 points from last month to 30%, the lowest for that poll in Mr. Abe’s more than five years in office and less than half the peak of 66% in April 2013, when his easy-money “Mr. Abenomics” policies were dramatically starting to lift Japan out of decades of deflation.

Respondents not supporting Mr. Abe jumped 16 points to 53% in the survey conducted over the weekend, also a record for the Nippon TV poll.

In the Mainichi poll, Mr. Abe’s support fell 12 points to 33%, while those not supporting him climbed 15 points to 47%. The Kyodo poll showed Mr. Abe’s support slipping by 9.4% to 38.7% in the past two weeks, while 48.2% said they did not support him.

Opposition parties are calling for Mr. Aso to resign, while the affair could dash Mr. Abe’s hopes of winning a third three-year term as head of his Liberal Democratic Party in a September party leadership election. Mr. Abe took office in December 2012.

The Nippon TV poll found 61% believe Mr. Aso should resign, about double the 29% who don’t think he should. In the Mainichi poll, 54% favored resignation versus 32% who did not think he should step down.

Mr. Aso has repeatedly refused to resign and has said that the responsibility for the land sale lay with Nobuhisa Sagawa, who stepped down as tax chief 10 days ago. Mr. Sagawa headed the division that submitted the documents before he became tax agency chief in July.

Almost two-thirds in the Nippon TV poll think Finance ministry officials doctored the documents either because of political pressure or to anticipate what the Mr. Abe administration wanted.

Just 14% of those polled accepted the official explanation that the alterations were meant to match the parliamentary testimony of a senior ministry official on the matter.

Mr. Aso is skipping a meeting of G20 finance leaders this week. A ruling party source told Reuters this was so he can address parliament on Monday about the scandal. — Reuters

US, S. Korea, Japan meet on North Korea summits

SEOUL — The top national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan met over the weekend to discuss North Korea and the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” South Korea’s presidential Blue House said on Monday.

The two days of meetings could also help prepare the way for a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. They were the latest in a flurry of diplomatic activity spanning Asia, the US and Europe ahead of North Korea’s planned summits with the South and the US.

South Korea’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong met US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and Japan’s National Security Adviser Shotaro Yachi to discuss summit meetings between Mr. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the Blue House in Seoul said. They also discussed the possible meeting between Messrs. Trump and Kim as well as the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” and agreed “it was important to not repeat the mistakes of the past” and to work together closely, the Blue House said.

A senior North Korean diplomat left for Finland on Sunday for talks with former US and South Korean officials, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported. — Reuters

China elects new economic team as President Xi kicks off second term

BEIJING — China elevated a key confidante of President Xi Jinping to one of the top positions in government on Monday as Beijing cracks down on riskier financing and a debt to reduce systemic risks to the world’s second-largest economy.

The election of Liu He by parliament to be a vice premier also comes as the US presses China to cut its trade surplus by $100 billion. Harvard-educated Mr. Liu, 66, was the most prominent envoy to visit Washington recently in a bid to prevent the outbreak of a trade war.

While most of the personnel changes on the economic team were widely anticipated, the choice of Yi Gang to take over as the new head of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) was unexpected.

Mr. Yi is a vice-governor of PBoC and a protegé of outgoing chief Zhou Mr. Xiaochuan. His appointment is seen as pointing to continuity in monetary policy even as one of the world’s biggest central banks is gaining considerable new regulatory power.

The head of a newly merged banking and insurance regulator is expected to be announced on Monday. Reform-minded Guo Shuqing, 61, the current chair of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, is viewed as the top candidate to play that role.

The chief of a powerful new competition and food safety regulator will also be unveiled.

As Mr. Xi begins his second five-year term as president, Beijing is streamlining regulators and ministries to cut inefficiencies while expanding the remit of others such as the central bank to boost their policy making powers.

“China’s ministries are giant, nationwide siloes and fiefdoms that never talk to one another. Hence, in order to accomplish anything major, the command must come from the top down; only they can get ministries to work together,” Cliff Tan, east Asian head of global markets research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, said in a note.

“Such a setup nearly guarantees the continuation of power that is never devolved, otherwise nothing would get done.”

Mr. Liu has a deep understanding of the country’s economic issues, and was elected last October into the 25-member Politburo, the second-highest tier in Beijing’s political power structure after the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee.

Mr. Liu won a top Chinese economics study award in 2015 for his research on the global financial crisis, and is widely seen as masterminding Mr. Xi’s supply-side reforms which are cutting excess factory capacity and pivoting the economy away from low-value industries.

Mr. Liu, who speaks fluent English, gained a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 1995. He had been the head of the General Office of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs and a vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner.

US-educated Mr. Yi Gang, 60, has been PBoC vice-governor since 2008. He is seen as instrumental in steering monetary and currency policy, including the landmark devaluation of the yuan in 2015 and more recently a tightening in capital controls.

The PBoC and other regulators are trying to rein in risks from an increasingly complex financial system and a rapid buildup in debt without jolting markets or hurting economic growth. “The main task right now is to implement prudent monetary policy, push forward financial sector reform and opening up, and keep the financial sector stable,” Mr. Yi told reporters on the sidelines of Monday’s parliament session at the Great Hall of the People.

But Mr. Yi is not regarded as a heavyweight like his boss Zhou, and he may play a supportive role with Mr. Liu overseeing the economy and finance sector on the whole, some economists say.

“Frankly speaking, (Yi’s nomination is) a bit unexpected as he holds a relatively low political ranking as the alternative member of CPC Central Committee,” said Tommy Xie, China economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore.

The Central Committee is the largest of the party’s elite decision-making bodies, and is made up of 204 full members and about 170 alternate members.

“In terms of implication, we see policy continuation as Mr. Yi will support Mr. Liu He to drive economic reform. Both are the main driver to China’s reform in the past few years,” Mr. Xie said.

Mr. Yi, one of the highest-ranking “sea turtles” — a colloquialism for Chinese returning from overseas — has a PhD in economics from the University of Illinois. He was also the head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange from 2009 to 2016.

With Mr. Yi’s background and his reputation of being pro-reform, his nomination would be good news for foreign investors, Mr. Xie also said.

Mr. Zhou, 70, who is China’s longest-running central bank head, having taken the job in 2002, is expected to announce his retirement soon.

Separately, Liu Kun, head of the budget office of parliament, was elected to be the new finance minister, replacing Xiao Jie. Mr. Liu was formerly a vice finance minister.

Zhong Shan was reelected as the commerce minister.

He Lifeng was also reelected as the head of NDRC. — Reuters

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