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The need for villains

By Tony Samson

STORYTELLING, especially for epics featuring super-heroes, need to have villains. How else can the sometimes underdog hero triumph and seem larger than life if not by trouncing an evil foe?

When the villain is exaggerated with his power and devious designs, the hero gains in stature and unites the people behind him. This need for villains is understood by rulers. Framing problems in terms of us-versus-them can deflect criticism on leadership failures.

News and the subjects they cover tend to slant stories into a contest to make the narrative more compelling, a telenovela of life in a place full of unpleasant surprises. Presenting issues with simple statistics is possible with shipping schedules and canceled flights due to a storm. But news on how a sports event is organized or how greedy investors need to be put in their place require some conflict, not necessarily resolved.

Here are some ways news organizations, and especially social media, tilt their reporting with villainous intent.

They solicit the views of supposed experts who will demolish a media subject citing vested interests and conspiracy theories. Hosts of talk shows or blogs show their impartiality with a statement: the views expressed by our guest do not reflect those of the station. But we do love to feature her in all our programs.

They select unflattering video moments. This simple editorial prerogative allows media to feature a subject in mid-yawn or smirking at the speaker on the podium, perhaps with the glee of someone watching a cockroach making its way to the speaker’s collar. The camera shutter clicks as a dignified personality sneaks a thumb into the nostril awaiting his turn. Such visuals require no dialogue.

Choosing emotionally charged modifiers and characterizations provide just the right spin. Crowds can be described as an unruly mob or with a tight close-up of a dozen placard-bearers, a group of concerned citizens. They can be referred to as a cross-section of different sectors of society or a motley assembly of jobless riff-raff.

Man-on-the-street interviews are a convenient way of slanting opinion. Out of 10, maybe only three are featured in the news. Anonymous interviewees can be guided by the way the question is asked. They are seldom identified by name and occupation and seem to be hurrying off to the washroom when caught by the interviewer.

Editing video clips determines if a subject seems coherent or inconsistent. The “sound bite” lasts five to 10 seconds and the news editor decides which parts of a long answer to feature. “He has shown a mastery of the political process… but it seems he is still uncomfortable with dealing with the investment climate.” Playing the full statement or only one part of it makes the comment balanced or biased.

News programs now feature tweets or netizen comments (always unidentified) to show which side of an issue the viewers favor. Questions can be twisted to invite the desired results. “Are you in favor of sex education to introduce widespread promiscuity in schools giving way to teenage pregnancies with students doing their thing inside the toilet for the disabled?” The unsurprising result supporting a “No” is projected as a rejection of sex education in school.

Balanced reporting in media seems more honored in the breach. Bias determines what stories to feature and in which segment. While facts may be objective, they can still be selected in search of the required villain. Ratings or circulation numbers love controversy.

News subjects have learned the need for villains.

Instead of admitting a failure of policy, some convenient villain (cooperative with his silence) is conjured to whip up the masses and sidestep a crisis, even one that is still to come. With the dominance of social media, a lynch mob hysteria can be mobilized to order, the way old-fashioned rallies used to be organized with the provision of food, transport, and money to mobs for rent.

Media hysteria can be tiresome. Like fake news, it can be churned out to order. Gone are the broadcasters known to be on the take for demolition jobs. In their place are anonymous influencers who can choreograph chaos and create villains, and they’re not necessarily cheaper, even if some of them are barely out of high school.

The search for villains, and their vilification, is an occupation that is ideal for working from home… with no need to commute.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

The unlikely rise of the Trumps and Kushners

By David Kocieniewski

AMERICANS have always been conflicted about political dynasties.

The US was born as a rebellion against monarchy and developed a vibrant mythology of rugged individualism and self-made success. Yet voters have often handed power to leaders famous for their lineage and family wealth — from the Adamses and Kennedys to the Rockefellers, Daleys, and Bushes.

The rise of President Donald Trump has vaulted two unlikely surnames into that rarefied realm, his own and that of Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior White House adviser. In American Oligarchs (W.W. Norton), public radio reporter Andrea Bernstein traces the histories of both the Trumps and the Kushners, seeking to explain how the offspring of two immigrant families joined together to reach the pinnacle of power despite their troubled pasts.

So much has been written about (and tweeted by) Trump since he’s taken office that his administration’s flippant approach to ethical norms is by now widely known. By building American Oligarchs around the Kushner and Trump family narratives, Bernstein offers readers a fresh perspective on how that attitude evolved — and its implications for American democracy. The Trumps and the Kushners may have taken advantage of the system, Bernstein argues, but it was American society and its political leaders who failed to defend it.

To those of us who have spent years following and covering the intrigues of the Kushners and Trumps, it offers a reminder that a relatively recent assortment of federal policy changes allowed the families to flourish: repeated tax cuts for the wealthy, especially in the real estate business; a retreat from campaign finance reform; and the de facto decriminalization of many white-collar crimes. Readers who follow the news more casually will also find the epic family tales a compelling way to understand the myriad deals and ambitions that define the Kushners and Trumps.

Despite the two families’ contrasting backgrounds — Trump’s grandfather came from Germany in the 1880s because he felt constrained by its inheritance laws, while Kushner’s grandparents led a daring escape from the Nazis in Belarus during the Holocaust — both made their way to the real estate business in metropolitan New York. They prospered in part from federal housing subsidies. They also learned the unwritten rules of the American political game, at a time when loosening campaign finance laws made it easier to buy influence with big money.

Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, gave so much to Democrats in 2000–2001 that New Jersey’s then-Governor Jim McGreevey nominated him for chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an infrastructure and development agency with a budget larger than some states.

(Before he could take the position, Charles Kushner was prosecuted, and ultimately sent to prison, for hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and having a videotape of the encounter sent to his sister.)

The Trumps have also had brushes with the law. American Oligarchs expands on a story Bernstein broke in 2017, in a joint report by ProPublica and the New Yorker, about the Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s decision not to prosecute Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. on felony fraud charges. The Trump children had been accused of misleading investors about the financial details of the Trump SoHo building. But after a 2012 meeting with Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz, who later became one of Vance’s biggest campaign donors, Vance declined to pursue the case. (Vance has said the donations played no role in his decision and he was convinced by the investors that it was not worth pursuing.)

The book paints a colorful portrait of the wedding that merged the Kushner and Trump families, their initial uneasiness, and their search for common ground.

After the Kushners made their first ill-advised foray into Manhattan, overpaying for 666 Fifth Avenue just before the market crashed in 2008, Trump helped them avoid bankruptcy in 2011 by steering investors their way. A few years later, when Trump University was being investigated for fraud by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Jared Kushner’s newspaper, the New York Observer, ran a biting 7,000-word piece on Schneiderman.

Once Trump entered the presidential race in 2015, Jared emerged as one of his most trusted advisers. Kushner managed the campaign’s digital operations, and attended the infamous Trump Tower meeting where Russians offered to provide damaging information about Hillary Clinton. During the transition, he met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak as well as Sergei Gorkov, head of Russia’s state-controlled VEB Bank.

Trump rewarded Kushner’s loyalty by giving him expansive power in the White House: from Middle East peace to digital innovation to the border wall. As Jared’s political portfolio has expanded, the Kushner family’s businesses have attracted foreign capital from investors who once shunned them, including the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Trump’s family properties, meanwhile, have raked in tens of millions from influence seekers since he took office.

That blurring of the boundaries between public policy and private business has made Trump’s administration uniquely polarizing and Kushner among its most disparaged figures.

Yet here, too, public sentiment is deeply divided.

Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives, and his low public approval ratings have buoyed the hopes of Democrats hoping to thwart his reelection bid. Still, Bernstein cautions that the Kushner and Trump families “will do everything possible to lock us in for the foreseeable future.” Trump’s appeal to his fervent base is strong enough that he’s widely expected to prevail at his upcoming impeachment trial in the Republican-held Senate. Many consider him a good bet to win a second term.

And just this month, a poll of Republican voters was released, indicating the party’s preferences in the 2024 presidential race. Two of the top four picks were Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka.

 

BLOOMBERG

Google enhances privacy and perhaps itself at the same time

By Alex Webb

IF YOU LIVED west of the Mississippi at the dawn of the 20th century, there must have been a moment when it became clear that the Wild West of old was no more. Perhaps it was the arrival of the railroad, or the last stagecoach robbery, or the introduction of a federal income tax.

For the web, that moment might just be Google’s decision on Tuesday to end third-party tracking of people’s browsing habits. It’s a move that will better protect user data, but it also provides an opportunity for the Alphabet Inc. unit to extend its dominance of online advertising.

The advertising technology industry has long been a Wild West of its own, largely thanks to the proliferation of seemingly innocuous little files known as cookies, which nourished hordes of startups feeding on the data they generated. When internet users visit a website, files are deposited on their computers that record the visit. Many sites, if not most of them, include cookies from other firms, which means they can track users’ progress across the web.

As that data accumulates, and users peruse new shoes on one website, film reviews on another, train tickets on a third and so on, adtech firms are gradually able to build a profile of their interests, spending power, and demographic attributes. The problem is that users often have no idea who exactly is gathering that personal data. In many ways, adtech is the lubricant for the modern internet — its proceeds pay for much of the web’s operating costs.

In 2017, Apple Inc. started blocking third-party cookies on its Safari web browser to stymie the practice. Last year, Mozilla Corp.’s Firefox did the same. Google is finally now following suit with Chrome, which has significantly more users than its competitors.

The decision is a no-brainer for the search giant, which regularly asserts that search terms are its most useful tool for targeting relevant ads. And ever since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), cookies have been dying. The rules included measures that made it easier for users to opt out of cookie-based ad-tracking. Within three months of the legislation coming into force in 2018, the number of third-party cookies found on news websites in the region fell by 22%, according to the Reuters Institute. Similar digital privacy legislation is being rolled out around the world.

But GDPR also made life harder for a cohort of second-tier adtech players trying to compete with the likes of Google and Facebook Inc. The regulation’s provision to prevent data being shared wantonly with third parties seemed to give the tech giants an opportunity to tighten their control over user data. Rivals such as Sizmek Inc. have since gone bankrupt.

Putting an end to third-party cookies could have a similar effect-cement Google’s control at the expense of rivals. After Tuesday’s announcement, shares in French adtech firm Criteo SA fell as much as 14%. After all, if you’re using Chrome, Google is still likely to know your browsing habits. Data that advertisers might formerly have obtained from those third parties might become most readily available from Google itself.

It’s a move that could appear anticompetitive and might explain why Google isn’t enforcing the change immediately but instead phasing it in gradually over two years — with feedback from the adtech “ecosystem,” as director of Chrome engineering Justin Schuh wrote in an accompanying blog post. That approach might take the wind out of accusations of brazen anticompetitiveness.

For publishers, it will most likely accelerate the shift toward requiring users to register for their websites because that will be the best way to determine who exactly is browsing their content and thus how to serve appropriate ads. That could become a problem for sites that depend on sporadic visits more than they do a loyal audience.

There are still other channels where adtech’s worst practices remain rife, through the use of digital fingerprinting, mobile apps, and other means. But the industry’s gunslinging days are nearing an end, and Google is the sheriff.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Barangay Ginebra inches closer to Governors’ Cup title

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings are on the cusp of winning another Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup title after dominating the Meralco Bolts, 94-72, in Game Four of their best-of-seven finals on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Showed no let-up once they got their collective groove going in the second quarter, the Kings broke away from the Bolts and stayed the course to secure the win and the 3-1 lead in the series.

The contest got off to a competitive start with the teams not budging a bit.

They fought to a tied count of 14-all after the first 12 minutes.

In the second quarter, the Kings picked up their offense, led by import Justin Brownlee.

They outscored the Bolts, 15-6, in the first six minutes to build a 29-20 advantage.

It was a wave they would ride for the rest of the frame on their way to a 42-31 lead at the break.

Barangay Ginebra kept pouring it on Meralco at the start of the third quarter, opening the proceedings with an 8-2 run to stretch its lead to 17 points, 50-33, with just two minutes lapsing.

A hurting Raymond Almazan and import Allen Durham tried to keep the Bolts in the game but the Kings continued to hold sway, 61-44, midway into the quarter.

Barangay Ginebra would eventually settle for a 70-55 lead heading into the final frame.

Sensing that they had their opponents on the ropes, the Kings attempted for an early finish.

But Meralco stayed within striking distance, 77-63, at the 7:17 mark of the final canto.

Scottie Thompson and Aljun Mariano then propelled the Kings to a 9-0 blast in the next two minutes to push their lead to 23 points, 86-63.

From there it was all Barangay Ginebra as Meralco just had minimal answer as time wound up.

Mr. Brownlee paced the balanced Kings attack, finishing with 27 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, five steals and four blocks.

Stanley Pringle had 21 points while Scottie Thompson finished with 16 for Barangay Ginebra, which is gunning for a third Governors’ Cup title in the last four years.

For Meralco it was Mr. Durham who showed the way with 21 points, 27 rebounds and seven assists.

Mr. Almazan, who was expected to miss Wednesday’s game after injuring his knee in Game Three, had 12 points and nine boards.

Chris Newsome also had 12 markers.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Meanwhile, prior to Game Four, top individual awards for the Governors’ Cup were handed out.

Winning best import was Mr. Durham who got 1,170 points, ahead of Mr. Brownlee (937), TNT’s KJ McDaniels (635) and Northport’s Michael Qualls (528).

Best player of the conference, meanwhile, went to Northport’s Christian Standhardinger, who got 1,011 points.

Coming in second was San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo (657), TNT’s Jayson Castro (615), Columbian’s CJ Perez (506) and NLEX’s Kiefer Ravena (481).

Accounted for the votes for both best import and best player of the conference awards are statistical points, media, player and PBA office votes.

Busmen seek to shape up more for AFC CL next round

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WHILE happy to have been able to overcome its first hurdle in the preliminaries of the AFC Champions League 2020, top local club football team Ceres-Negros FC nonetheless looks to shape up some more heading into the next round.

Defeated Shan United FC of Myanmar, 3-2, in their Preliminary Round 1 match on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, the “Busmen” advanced to round 2 and are facing Port FC of Thailand on Jan. 21 in Bangkok.

Recognizing that competition could only get stiffer, they said they have to pick up their game if they want to see their goal of making it to the group play Asia’s prestigious club tournament.

“As we know we had limited preparation heading into the game but I’m very happy for the players. They played hard and they deserved to win,” said Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic postgame.

“I don’t know how much percent we are in right now but I think we are still far from the form we want to be in. Three training sessions are not enough. It usually takes six weeks to prepare a team well. Hopefully we get to put in more in training and be better,” added the coach, who also shared that he would allow his players to rest first before plunging back to training.

Against Shan United, Ceres started strong, controlling the opening half and securing a 2-nil lead by the break with goals from Robert Lopez Mendy (5’) and Bievenido Maranon (41’).

It had chances to add on to its lead in the early goings of the second half but failed to connect on them.

Shan United managed to narrow the gap, 2-1, in the 73rd minute when Zin Min Tun scored.

But OJ Porteria helped Ceres extend its lead anew, 3-1, when found the bottom of the net in the 79th minute.

Shan United though would not go down sans a fight, pushing to within 3-2 in the 87th minute of the contest care of Djawa M.

It continued its charge back all the way to the four-minute added time but Ceres would dig deep and stand its ground to hang on and preserve the win.

Despite seeing his team fail to keep the spirited level of play it had early on, Mr. Porteria, named man of the match after, said he liked what he saw and encouraged moving forward.

“We only had three or four days of preparation but I’m happy we got to keep the game in control. I’m happy for the boys. We have players who have experience, players who are fresh. We showed a lot of heart and we did not give up,” said Mr. Porteria.

“This is a good step. The game was not easy but we adjusted. We are still working our way to form but we will get there eventually,” he added.

Giannis, Bucks finish sweep of Knicks

LOS ANGELES — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points in just 21 minutes Tuesday night for the host Milwaukee Bucks, who concluded their season-long dominance of the New York Knicks by cruising to a 128-102 victory.

The Bucks swept the three-game season series from the Knicks and never trailed in outscoring New York by total of 91 points (383-292).

The Bucks have won four in a row overall and nine of 10 to improve to an NBA-best 36-6. The Knicks, whose 11-30 record at the season’s midway point is the third-worst mark in the league, have lost six of seven.

Antetokounmpo, who also had nine rebounds and four assists, is just the second player this season to score at least 30 points while playing fewer than 22 minutes. Paul George had 37 points in 20 minutes for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 16.

Khris Middleton scored 17 points while Ersan Ilyasova had 14 points off the bench for the Bucks. Eric Bledsoe added 11 points.

Julius Randle (25 points, 15 rebounds) had a double-double for the Knicks. RJ Barrett scored 22 points, and Bobby Portis (20 points) and Kevin Knox II (10 points) each reached double digits off the bench.

Antetokounmpo and Middleton scored four points apiece in an 8-0 game-opening run for the Bucks. The Knicks missed their first five shots. Randle (eight points) and Mitchell Robinson (four points) combined to spark a 12-4 run for New York that closed Milwaukee’s lead to 23-21.

But the Bucks mounted another big quarter-opening run in the second, when Antetokounmpo had five points in a 10-0 spurt that extended the lead to 39-23.

The Knicks closed within 10 points a handful of times before Milwaukee opened its first 20-point lead by going on a 16-5 run that was capped by five straight points from Donte DiVincenzo. Antetokounmpo scored the final four points of the half as the hosts entered the locker room with a 65-40 lead.

Antetokounmpo scored five points in the first 1:47 of the second half as the Bucks opened up a 72-42 lead. They led by as many as 35 in the third and were on top 108-76 entering the fourth. The Knicks never got closer than 23 in the final period.

MORANT LEADS GRIZZLIES PAST ROCKETS TO 6TH STRAIGHT WIN
Ja Morant paired 26 points with eight assists and took over down the stretch as the host Memphis Grizzlies extended their winning streak to six games with a 121-110 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

After James Harden pulled the Rockets to within 98-96 on a technical free throw with 6:42 remaining, Morant drilled two 3-pointers, and completed a three-point play as Memphis reclaimed a 114-105 lead with just over two minutes to play. It was yet another dynamic performance for the rookie point guard, who finished 10 for 11 from the floor.

Dillon Brooks added 24 points on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range, while Jonas Valanciunas and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 19 and 15 points, respectively.

The Grizzlies surged to the lead in the second quarter and mustered hasty responses when the Rockets took brief leads in the third and fourth.

Harden scored a game-high 41 points but shot just 13 of 37 overall and missed 14 of 19 3-pointers. Houston played without guard Russell Westbrook (rest), with his replacement Ben McLemore producing 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting.

Eric Gordon added 23 points off the bench for the Rockets, who shot just 31.1 percent (14 of 45) from behind the arc. Clint Capela finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets.

Harden poured in 17 points in the opening period on 6-of-8 shooting, yet the Rockets couldn’t shake Memphis. The Grizzlies erased what was an 11-point deficit in roughly three minutes, pulling even at 22-22 when Valanciunas nailed an 11-foot jumper at the 4:29 mark of the first.

The Rockets reclaimed a 39-32 lead early in the second before the Grizzlies exploded and seized control. — Reuters

WNBA bares progressive changemakers partnership with AT&T, Deloitte and Nike

NEW YORK — The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced today the formation of a first-of-its-kind collective — WNBA Changemakers — which brings together values-driven businesses who lead the way in the advancement of women and sports. WNBA Changemakers will partner with the WNBA to significantly elevate the player experience and enable the league’s business transformation. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert highlighted the Changemakers platform during the league’s announcement with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) of a new, historic WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The Changemakers platform is designed to provide direct support to the WNBA in its ongoing business transformation across marketing, branding, and player and fan experience. With a fresh approach to sports sponsorship, Changemakers are deeply invested in driving positive change for the WNBA, women’s sports, and women in society. Not only are partners providing financial investment, but they are further lifting the league and players through marketing amplification and close strategic collaboration. This group of leaders is redefining what it means to live organizational values through business partnerships.

The WNBA is thrilled to announce that the inaugural WNBA Changemakers will include AT&T, the Official Marquee Partner of the WNBA, Deloitte, the newest league partner and the Official Professional Services Provider of the WNBA and Nike, the Official Outfitter of the WNBA.

“We are launching the WNBA Changemakers platform to team up with organizations who have demonstrated unwavering commitment to women’s advancement and are pioneers in inclusive leadership,” said Commissioner Engelbert. “The support from these WNBA Changemakers companies will allow us to provide an enhanced player experience for the amazing professional athletes in the WNBA. We tip off our 24th WNBA season in May, and because of the Changemakers support, we will begin to narrow the gap that exists for women sports, as only 1% of all global corporate sponsorship dollars are directed toward women’s sports. We look forward to other companies joining our vision to drive change toward a more equitable and inclusive ecosystem.”

Special Olympics mission gets much-needed shot in the arm with Bounty Agro Ventures partnership

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE MISSION of the Special Olympics to foster an inclusive environment for persons with intellectual disabilities (PIDs) got a big boost locally after poultry integrator company Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI) entered into a partnership with the sports organization for a campaign geared towards providing opportunities to individuals with special needs.

Dubbed “Kaya ‘Yan, Manok ng Bayan,” the campaign will see the local office of Special Olympics Asia Pacific (SOAP) and BAVI’s Chooks-to-Go brand conduct sports fests and training sessions for PIDS all over the Philippines.

On top of this is the thrust for a nationwide recruitment of PIDs to BAVI’s offices.

The memorandum of agreement for the partnership was formally signed on Tuesday with Chooks-to-Go President Ronald Mascariñas and Special Olympics Philippines National Director Kaye Samson, representing SOAP Managing Director Dipak Natali, as signatories.

The signing of the pact was held at Discovery Suites Ortigas.

The parties welcomed the partnership, seeing it as going a long way in helping improve the current landscape for PIDS in the country, particularly overcoming various challenges — be they attitudinal, structural or logistical — that people with special needs face.

“Filipinos with intellectual disabilities have inherent dignity and abilities that must be recognized. We are grateful to Special Olympics Asia Pacific for helping us to appreciate more deeply the unique contribution of PIDS to the world of business. We are happy that, through our involvement in sports, we will be able to help PIDs to excel in them and gain life skills and self-confidence in the process,” said Mr. Mascariñas at the signing ceremony.

BAVI is seeing what PIDs are capable of doing in an office environment first-hand as currently under its employ is Henry Munarriz, 21, an international powerlifting athlete with an intellectual disability who is now part of the company’s human resources division.

Mr. Mascariñas said it is their goal to hire more people like Mr. Munarriz to further incorporate them to society and channel focus on what they can do rather than their limitations.

For Ms. Samson, they, at Special Olympics, hope that their partnership with BAVI would open more opportunities for PIDs to be taken by other groups under their wings.

“This partnership is very important, because why? We live in a society where people with intellectual disabilities are last. When we usually ask for support, they don’t mind people with intellectual disabilities because they don’t believe in them. But we in the Special Olympics believe that people with intellectual disabilities deserve the right to play on the same playing field, deserve to live in the same world we all live in,” said Ms. Samson.

“So we are thankful to BAVI for this wonderful partnership; for believing in our athletes and people with intellectual disabilities, because they really deserve to be shown to the world, what they can do,” she added.

BAVI said it plans to make the partnership a long-term one so as to help more PIDS across the country.

Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. entered into a partnership with the Special Olympics for a campaign geared towards providing opportunities to persons with intellectual disabilities.

SEAG dancesports gold medalists eyeing another training camp in Europe

SOUTHEAST Asian Games Filipino dancesports gold winners will undergo a one-month European training camp in February for their preparation for this year’s World Dancesports Federation (WDSF) World Championship Standard Adult competition in Nov. 21 in Vienna, Austria.

Sean Aranar, winner of last SEA Games dancesports gold medal in the Viennese waltz, tango and the five dance mixed events together with partner Ana Nualla, said they are considering to train in Lithuania, Germany or in Italy.

“We are still finalizing our training camp in Europe and we’re considering Lithuania, Germany or Italy as our training camp venue. We want to compete in different dancesports events also while we’re there,” said Aranar, who is also eyeing to improve their 103rd in the world ranking among 300 couples.

“That European training camp will serve as our preparation for the World Championship.”

Aranar added that they will go to Europe to train again just what they did last year prior to the start of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games competition when they trained in Lithuania under coach Donatas Vezelis and Lina Chatkeviciute.

Besides Aranar and Nualla, SEA Games gold winner in single dance pasadoble and Latin dance events Michael Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo will also join them in the training camp in Europe.

The Philippine Dancesports team, formed by the Dancesports Council of the Philippines Inc. (DSCPI) headed by President Becky Garcia, collected 10 gold medals in the last Southeast Asian Games in Angeles, Pampanga.

After ruling the SEA Games, Aranar and Nualla captured the Amateur Standard A open gold in the Giai Vo Dich KVTT T&T DanceSport Cup Invitational Open competition in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam last December 22. Marquez and Sabalo also bagged the gold in the Latin A event.

Other dancesports SEA Games gold medalists were Aunzo Wilbert and Pearl Marie Cañeda and Mark Gayon and Joy Renigen.

Girl power

WGM Polina Shuvalova

The Women’s World Chess Championship is currently ongoing between the defending champion Ju Wenjun of China versus Russian challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina, who won the 2019 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. The first six games were held in Shanghai, China and they are currently moving over to Vladivostok, Russia, for the second half.

I expect women’s chess to be on the rise in the coming years. FIDE President Arkdy Dvorkovich has spoken several times that he considers it his responsibility to address and dismantle any barriers that females face at engaging in chess and he wants to inspire your girls to immerse in the game, foster their talents and provide every opportunity for them to compete at the very top level.

We are off to a good start. One of the world’s top chess websites ChessBase.com has come up with year-end awards of Best Player for 2019, Best Combination for the Year, Best Endgame for the Year. For the latter two categories no distinction is made between male and female and, believe it or not, for the first time ever both were won by women.

The ”Best Combination for 2019” was from the game Polina Shuvalova versus Anna Afonasieva from the World Under-18 Girls Championship held in Mumbai last October. Polina’s creation outpointed the 2nd placer Safarli vs Rodshtein by a factor of more than 2 is to 1.

First, a few words about the winner. WGM Polina Shuvalova (Russia) was born March 12, 2001. She is one of the newest young stars from Russia and has won the World Under-18 Championship twice (2018 and 2019) and just last October took home the World Junior (Under-20) Championship for girls.

Even more impressive than her excellent results is the quality of her games. She is a disciple of power chess — excellent preparation in openings backed by forceful play and the ruthless ability to finish off a game. This is aptly demonstrated in the following game with first a rook and then a queen sacrifice to force checkmate. Watch!

Shuvalova, Polina (2412) — Afonasieva, Anna (2312) [B92]
World Under — 18 Ch Girls 2019 Mumbai (7.1), 07.10.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.0–0 0–0 9.Kh1 Be6 10.f4 Qc7 11.f5

I believe that the attacking sequence 11.f5 followed by 12.g4 was first played by Nigel Short against Boris Gelfand in the 1996 Amsterdam tournament. Nigel is a notorious “Sicilian Killer” and attacks the opening all the time with gusto. Kasparov has joked that Short has only one idea against the Sicilian: the move g2–g4. Well, it works doesn’t it?

11…Bd7

The stem game went 11…Bc4 12.g4 h6 13.g5 hxg5 14.Bxg5 Nbd7 15.Rg1 Rfc8 16.Bxc4 Qxc4 17.Qf3 Kf8 18.a3 b5 19.Nd2 Qc6 20.Qh3 White is clearly better. Short,N (2665) — Gelfand,B (2700) Amsterdam 1996 1–0 44.

12.g4 Bc6 13.Bf3 h6 14.h4 Nh7 15.g5 hxg5 16.Rg1 gxh4 17.Bh6 Bf6 18.Qd2

White is already threatening mate with 19.Bxg7! Bxg7 20.f6 Nxf6 21.Rxg7+! Kxg7 22.Qg5+ Kh7 23.Rg1 etc

18…Kh8 19.Be3 b5 20.Rg4 b4 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.Qxd5 Nc6 23.Rag1 Ne7 24.Qd2 d5 25.Qh2 Qd7?

No time for Black to get passive. He should aggressive try to get some action going on the queenside, for example with 25…Rac8.

26.Nc5 Qc8 27.Bf2 dxe4 28.Bxh4! Ng8

The bishop on f3 is taboo: 28…exf3 29.Bxf6 Ng6 30.Qh6! Rg8 (30…gxf6 31.Rh4 Nxh4 32.Qg7#) 31.fxg6 fxg6 32.Qxh7+ Kxh7 33.Rh4#

29.Bxe4 Qxc5 30.Bf2! Qe7 <D>

POSITION AFTER 30…QE7

31.Rxg7!! Bxg7 32.Qxh7+!

[32.f6?? Ngxf6]

32…Kxh7 33.f6+ Kh6

[33…Kh8 34.fxg7#]

34.Be3+!

[34.fxe7?? f5!]

34…Kh5 35.Bf3+ Kh4 36.Bf2+ Kh3 37.Bg4# 1–0

After Shuvalova won the gold in the World Youth Championships she was asked if the gold medal was more special than the combination. With a big smile on her face she replied, “I have to say it’s the combination!”

Now for the Best Endgame for 2019. Magnus Carlsen had two games which were nominated for this award, his win against Wesley So (from the Saint Louis Sinquefield Cup) and the well-fought draw versus Vishy Anand from the Zagred Grand Chess Tour. The two games finished in 2nd and 3rd place. Surprisingly, the 2-time Russian women’s champion Aleksandra Goryachkina took first place ahead of Magnus.

Goryachkina, Aleksandra (2522) — Gunina, Valentina (2506) [E15]
Candidates Tournament
(Women) Kazan (2), 01.06.2019

Valentina Gunina, a 3–time Women’s European and Russian Champion, is a tactician who loves to mix it up, sometimes to the point of exceeding the bounds of acceptable risk. She is a very resourceful player and can never be counted out.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 c5 6.d5

This pawn sacrifice in the center has a good reputation — even the computer program Alpha Zero plays it!

6…exd5 7.cxd5 Bb7 8.Bg2 Nxd5

Taking with the bishop is not so good as after 8…Bxd5 9.Nc3 Bc6 10.e4 White gets additional tempi for the attack. In five games played in the international tournament praxis white has won 5, and all within the first 29 moves! Here is a sample: 10…d6 11.Bf4 Nh5 12.0–0–0 Nxf4 13.gxf4 Be7 14.e5 0–0 15.h4 Qc7 16.Ng5 g6 17.Bd5 dxe5 18.Nxh7 Kxh7 19.h5 Kg7 20.hxg6 fxg6 21.Rdg1 Qd6 22.fxe5 1–0 Tregubov, P. (2596) — Greet, A. (2439) Fuegen 2006.

9.0–0 Be7 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.a3

Not 11.Rxd5? Nb4.

11…Nc7 12.Nc3 0–0 13.Bf4 d6 14.e3 h6?!

Trying to win the bishop backfires: 14…g5? 15.Nxg5 Bxg5 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Rxd6 wins back the piece and now Black’s king safety is compromised.

15.h4 Ne6?

[15…Qd7 was the move]

16.Bxd6! Bxd6 17.Ne4 Ncd4!

Typical Gunina, she must have had this move prepared when she “provoked” 16.Bxd6, but White nevertheless emerges with the superior game.

18.exd4 Bxe4 19.Qxe4 Qf6 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.Qd4 Nb3 22.Qxf6 gxf6 23.Rab1 Rad8 24.Nh2 Bc5 25.Ng4 Kg7 26.Bd5 Nd4 27.Ne3 b5 28.Kg2 Rfe8 29.Rd3 Re5 30.Ba2 Nc6 31.Rxd8 Nxd8 32.Rd1 Ne6 33.Bxe6?! fxe6 34.Rd7+ Kg6 35.Kf3 h5?

[35…Bxe3! 36.fxe3 a5 completely equalizes the position, but, knowing Gunina I think the text move is actually a winning try.]

36.Ng2! Kh6 37.Nf4 a5 38.Nd3 Rf5+ 39.Ke2 Bf8! 40.Ke3 Bc5+ 41.Ke2 a4 42.f3 Bf8 43.Ke3 Kg6 44.Ke4 Kh6 45.Ke3 Kg6 46.Ke2 Kh6 47.g4! hxg4 48.fxg4 Rd5 49.Rf7 Bg7 50.Nf4 Re5+ 51.Kf3 Re1 52.Rb7 Rf1+ 53.Ke3 Bf8 54.Rxb5 Bd6 55.Rh5+ Kg7 56.Nxe6+ Kg6 57.Nd4 Be5 58.Nf3 Bxb2 59.Ra5 Bxa3 60.Rxa4 Bc5+ 61.Ke4 Rf2 62.h5+ Kg7 63.Nh4 Kh6 64.Ra5 Re2+ 65.Kf3 Rf2+ 66.Kg3 Rc2 67.Nf5+ Kg5 68.h6 Rc3+ 69.Kg2 <D>

POSITION AFTER 69.KG2

Now the magic begins.

69…Kxg4?

Retreating the king to g6 will most likely draw. This is a very interesting position and is typical Gunina.

GM Elizabeth Paehtz: Taking such a pawn with seconds on the clock is an act of iron nerves or Hercules strength. I honestly think sometimes it is not bad to be a chicken. Valja is rather a serial killer with generally speaking the lowest percentage of draws compared to the rest of the field. Since knowing this ruthless and courage approach from her a lifetime, I can assure you that in her case it usually pays off. My Latin teacher, however, used to say: “Exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis!”

70.h7!

Only move to win.

70.Rxc5? loses to 70…Rxc5 71.h7 Rc2+! (71…Rc8 is only good for a draw 72.Nh6+ Kf4 73.Ng8 Rc2+ 74.Kh3 Rc1 75.Kg2 Rc2+ 76.Kh3 etc) 72.Kg1 Rc8 73.Nh6+ Kg3 74.Kf1 (the difference between this line and the previous is that 74.Ng8? is not an option because of 74…Rc1#) 74…Rh8 wins;

70.Nh4? is a draw: 70…Kxh4 71.h7 Rg3+ 72.Kf1 Rf3+ 73.Ke2 (73.Kg2 Rg3+ we repeat the position) 73…Re3+ 74.Kd2 Re8 75.Rxc5 Rh8 76.Rf5 there is nothing left to play for.

70…Rc2+

[70…Rh3? 71.Ra4+]

71.Kf1 Rh2 72.Nh4!!

The 10–Star move. If Black takes the knight with the king then the white pawn queens. If he takes with the rook then 72…Rxh4 73.Ra4+, then exchanges rooks, then queens.

72…Kg3 73.h8Q Rf2+ 74.Ke1 Bb4+ 75.Kd1 Bxa5 76.Ng6 Bd2 77.Qh4+ Kf3 78.Qxf6+ Kg2 79.Qc6+ Kg1 80.Nh4 Bf4 81.Qg6+ Kh2 82.Qg4

With the idea of Nf3.

82…Bg3 83.Nf5 Rf1+ 84.Ke2 Rf2+ 85.Kd3 Rg2 86.Qh5+ Kg1 87.Ne3 Ra2 88.Qg6! Kh2 89.Qh7+ Kg1 90.Qg8!

Now hitting at black’s rook and bishop at the same time.

90…Ra3+ 91.Ke2 Kh2 92.Kf3 1–0

Goryachkina eliminates one of her principal rivals to take the Candidates’ title and goes on to challenge for the world crown against the Chinese GM Ju Wenjun.

What a nice segue to the ongoing Women’s world championship match! We will take it up in the next “Chess Piece.”

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Mixed emotions

Who’s to say why Tyronn Lue suddenly felt the urge to publicly convey his sentiments regarding his unceremonious departure from the Cavaliers six games into the 2018–19 season? He managed to stay silent for 15 whole months, only to open up about his firing in a story published by The Athletic yesterday. And, given his pronouncements, it was one that hurt. “I don’t think it should’ve happened,” he told senior writer Joe Vardon. “It was tough. To win the first championship ever in Cleveland history, and then make the Finals [the next two years] and then get fired six games in, it’s hard to swallow and it’s tough to deal with.”

No doubt, Lue felt at ease unburdening himself of his thoughts because he was doing so to Vardon, who covered him regularly through four years of ups and downs, first as an assistant to David Blatt, and then as head coach. The article also fit the calendar; his work as Doc Rivers’ top lieutenant with the Clippers had him facing the Cavaliers for the first time since they parted ways. In this regards, he was, perhaps, simply waiting for the right time to speak up. And, apparently, he had a lot to say.

Lue was candid, and even went so far as to note that he wished he continued occupying the hot seat with the Cavaliers. Never mind that they were then determined to support a reboot focused on young talent, and that he had been handed a pink slip precisely because he refused to keep veterans on the bench after initially acquiescing with the front-office directive. Time does have a way of mellowing perspectives, if not allowing for revisionist assessments. “You don’t see that very often, where a coach goes to three straight Finals and wins a championship and gets fired.” It can, of course, be argued that Blatt was likewise subjected to the same, and that he benefited directly from the development.

On the flipside, Lue did say he was thankful of the opportunity given him, admitting that “it was an unbelievable experience, especially for me.” Indeed. Only he can lay claim to having righted the Cavaliers’ ship midseason en route to a historic title run. And only he can say he was able to stroke egos properly to coax two more stabs at the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The singular skill very nearly set up a reunion with James, scuttled only by what he determined to be, per The Athletic, “too many demands” by the Lakers. Had that job opening panned out, would he still be looking to the past with mixed emotions? The answer should be good for another revelation for another day.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Peso weakens vs dollar

peso dollar bills
THE PESO declined as investors were cautious ahead of the US-China deal. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO weakened on Wednesday amid risk-off sentiment in the market due to the US signaling it will only consider further reductions in Chinese tariffs after the elections in November.

The local unit finished trading at P50.715 versus the dollar, depreciating by 13.40 centavos from its Tuesday close of P50.581 against the greenback.

The peso opened the session at P50.68 to a dollar. Its weakest point for the day was at P50.755, while its intraday best was at P50.63 against the greenback.

Dollars traded thinned to $1.25 billion yesterday from $1.408 billion seen on Tuesday.

A trader and an analyst said the peso declined due to risk-off sentiment following new developments in the US-China trade war.

“The peso weakened after the US said that no further reduction in Chinese tariffs will be implemented until the November US elections. This statement has partly reduced market optimism amid this week’s signing of the phase one US-China trade deal,” the trader said in an e-mail.

“The peso exchange rate closed at its weakest in a week after the [US President Donald J.] Trump administration signaled that existing tariffs on US imports would remain could be reduced [only] after the US elections, depending on China’s compliance with the phase one deal,” said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

Reuters reported US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin moved to stamp out suggestions that Washington and Beijing may study the possible removal of more tariffs after the elections in November. They issued a joint statement saying there were no written or oral agreements on future tariff cuts.

For today, the trader gave a forecast range of P50.65 to P50.85, while Mr. Ricafort sees the peso playing around the P50.50-50.80 levels. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

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