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House committee approves fiscal regime bill for mining

THE House Committee on Appropriations approved Wednesday an unnumbered substitute bill seeking to establish a fiscal regime for the mining industry.

The bill, which consolidates House Bills (HB) 288, 560, 1687, 2557, 4541, 4874, 5022, and 5253, had cleared the House Committee on Ways and Means on Nov. 19.

The bill calls for large-scale metals miners to pay a royalty equivalent to 3% of their total gross output. It exempts small-scale miners from such royalties.

Currently, the law imposes a royalty scheme only in mining areas declared as mineral reservations.

The bill also proposes to create a National Resource Trust Fund which collects revenues from mining operations and “extends their benefits to next generations” through educational programs, technological and research programs, health services and disaster risk reduction management initiatives.

The fund will be created from the annual payment of mining contractors to the Bureau of Internal Revenue of an additional 2% based on gross output for large-scale metals miners.

The bill proposes that failure to comply with such obligations will warrant “immediate suspension or closure of the mining activities” of the mining concession holder.

The measure also proposes an auction system for concessions, which will be established by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

“This will minimize awarding of mineral agreements based on asymmetrical information, first-come first-served systems, and patronage politics. Moreover, it shall promote investments in mineral-rich areas through an online portal open to the public” Albay Rep. Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda said in his explanatory note to HB 5022.

By requiring full public disclosure in the mining industry, the measure also institutionalizes the Philippines’ participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international disclosure system under which participants declare the taxes and revenue generated by such industries. — Genshen L. Espedido

DoTr clarifies airport tally refers to rehab, upgrade projects

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said 120 airport projects, which include rehabilitation, expansion and upgrade works, have been completed by the current government.

The DoTr provided this latest tally four days after an infographic released by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on the achievements of President Rodrigo R. Duterte included “64 airports.” There was no explanation in the infographic whether the 64 airports were built or upgraded during the first half of the President’s term.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles clarified in an interview with ANC on Tuesday that the “64 airports” were not built during the President’s term. He added that what the PCOO’s infographic meant was “projects that were done with 64 airports all over the country.”

“The latest is that 120 airport projects have been completed as of today,” Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran told BusinessWorld in a phone interview Wednesday.

She said the “64 airport projects” could have been derived from the department’s 2018 data.

Based on updated data that Ms. Libiran submitted to PCOO on Wednesday, a copy of which was obtained by BusinessWorld, there were 75 locally-funded airport projects and another 45 under the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) that were completed from 2016 to 2019.

Among the projects completed in 2019 are the expansion of the terminal building of General Santos City Airport, construction of Lingayen Airport’s apron, grading of Butuan Airport’s runway slide strip, completion of Ipil Airport’s concrete runway, and Marinduque Airport’s runway strip grade correction, among others.

On Jan. 8, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade signed a memorandum of agreement to “intensify infrastructure development that will support the development and promotion of tourism circuits across the country.”

Under the agreement, both departments will prioritize airport development programs in support of tourism development areas, monitor the progress of airport projects in such areas, and explore, develop and increase the value proposition of destinations “for sustainable tourism through the productive utilization of airport assets and route development.”

The DoT has said its target of 9.2 million international visitors this year is driven by more airport development projects which allow tourists to bypass Manila’s congested airport. — Arjay L. Balinbin

SC awards seafarer over $60,000 in disability benefits

THE Supreme Court (SC) said it ruled in favor of a seafarer who had sued his recruiter for over $60,000 in disability benefits and allowances after contracting diabetes on the job.

The court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) which had dismissed the petition of seafarer Apolinario Z. Zonio, Jr.

The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Zonio is entitled to permanent total disability benefits of $60,000, a $2,024 sickness allowance and 10% attorney’s fees from 88 Aces Maritime Services, Inc.

Upon returning from his last contract, Mr. Zonio asked to be referred to the company doctor but was refused due to the completion of his contract. In 2013, another doctor diagnosed him with diabetes mellitus and in 2015 he was declared unfit to work by a municipal health officer due to hyperglycemia.

He sought benefits from the agency, claiming that he contracted diabetes while on the job, and the Supreme Court agreed with him.

The court’s third division said that Mr. Zonio’s working conditions “exposed him to physical, mental and emotional strain and stress and that such triggered his diabetes mellitus as proved by the medical records he had presented.”

The court said that if the respondents granted the seafarer’s request for a post-employment check-up, they could have been able to establish that the disease was not work-related.

“Having failed to present evidence to defeat the presumption of work-relatedness of Zonio’s diabetes mellitus, the prima facie case that it is work-related prevails,” the court said.

“[B]etween the non-existent medical assessment of the company-designated physician and the medical assessment of Apolinario [Zonio]’s doctor of choice — stating that his disability is permanent and total — the latter evidently stands,” it added.

The seafarer filed a complaint before the Labor Arbiter against the agency and its responsible officers in May 2015, claiming he experienced dizziness in 2012. A hospital in Saudi Arabia found him to have high glucose readings and cholesterol levels and was advised to observe proper diet and was given medicine.

In 2012, he said he experienced dizziness and blurred vision and the same hospital diagnosed him with diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia.

The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of Mr. Zonio and 88 Aces appealed the case to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), which reversed the Arbiter’s findings saying the health findings of Mr. Zonio cannot be given weight as they were issued three years after his repatriation and that he was not able to prove that his illness was work-related.

The CA in a July 31, 2017 decision and April 26, 2018 resolution affirmed the NLRC’s ruling. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

DA agencies tasked with raising onion, garlic competitiveness

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it ordered more plans programs to boost the competitiveness of the Philippine onion and garlic crop.

In a statement, the DA said its policy and planning office (PPO), the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), have been ordered to draft and implement “appropriate medium- and long-term policies and programs to enhance the competitiveness of the country’s onion and garlic industry.”

The instructions were contained in th DA’s Administrative Order no. 2, series of 2020.

The PPO was assigned to determine the annual onion and garlic requirement based on five years of data. It will also plan for a support and incentive system for farmers to encourage them to shift to high-value crops.

“We must define and operationalize medium- to long-term strateg(ies) that will, among others, provide the necessary support and counter-funding with organized farmers’ groups, accredited importers and traders, and local government units,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a statement.

The BPI is was assigned to monitor and evaluate domestic production, as well as to ensure food safety compliance by domestically-produced and imported onion and garlic.

The AMAS will undertake the “identification, information dissemination on onions and garlic, and updating of supply and demand (estimates), including institutional buyers, regular price advisories at retail markets, and market intelligence and surveillance.”

Meanwhile, non-compliant cold storage warehouse (CSW) operators specializing in garlic and onions, from the allium plant genus that also includes shallots and leeks, were given a grace period of six months to comply with food safety standards and register their facilities with the DA. All registered CSWs have been instructed to submit their inventory of local and imported allium products every two weeks to the Bureau of Plant Industry Allium Monitoring Team.

The DA said in crop season 2018-2019, the Philippines produced about 208,448 metric tons (MT) of red onion and 31,866 MT of yellow onion, and imported 11,488 MT of yellow onion.

Garlic production was 11,750 MT, while garlic imports totaled 71,048 MT. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Mandatory disclosure: Is there really closure?

It has been several months since the issuance of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 15-2019, requiring all registered domestic corporations to disclose their beneficial owners in their General Information Sheet (GIS). The MC aims to assist in the implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA).

Towards the end of 2019, however, reporting corporations with multiple layers of ownership were still seeking guidance on the extent of the disclosure requirements.

The MC introduced terminologies and definitions (e.g. Beneficial Ownership Information, Direct Ownership, Dominant Influence, Grandfather Rule, Indirect Ownership, Legal Owners, Multiple Layers, Reporting Corporation, Senior Managing Official, and Voting Rights) that were not in the predecessor MC No. 17-2018; some of which were adopted from AMLA Regulatory Issuance (ARI) A, B and C, No. 3 Series of 2018.

A notable addition is the expanded coverage of the term “Beneficial Owner,” which now includes nine (9) categories of natural persons, described as those who:

1. own at least 25% of the reporting corporation’s voting rights, voting shares or capital;

2. exercise control over the corporation through any contract, understanding relationship, intermediary or tiered entity;

3. have the ability to elect a majority of the corporation’s board of directors/trustees, or any similar body;

4. have the ability to exert a dominant influence over the corporation’s management or policies;

5. whose directions, instructions or wishes in conducting the corporation’s affairs are carried out by the majority of the members of its board of directors who are accustomed or under an obligation to act under such person’s directions, instructions or wishes;

6. acts as stewards of corporate properties where such properties are under the natural person’s care or administration;

7. actually own or control the reporting corporation through nominee shareholders or nominee directors acting for or on their behalf;

8. ultimately own, control or exercise ultimate effective control over the corporation through other means not falling under any of the foregoing categories; or

9. exercise control over the corporation through their positions as members of the corporation’s board of directors/trustees or similar body or through a senior management position.

Under the MC, beneficial owners are identified through a three-tiered approach based mainly on the natural person’s (a) ultimate ownership, (b) ultimate control, and (c) position in the reporting corporation. This aligns with the nine categories of beneficial owners. The ultimate ownership test covers individuals falling under Category 1; The ultimate control test covers Categories 2 to 8, and positions within the company cover Category 9.

Further, the MC elaborates that the ultimate ownership test covers 25% direct or indirect ownership of the corporation’s voting shares or capital determined through the Grandfather Rule, or indirect ownership or control of an estate, trust or partnership owning at least 25% of the corporation. In this regard, the illustration provided in the MC is instructive.

Once identified, the reporting corporations must provide the beneficial owners’ complete name, birth date, specific residential address, nationality, tax identification number (TIN), and percentage of ownership, if any, in their GIS. Any concern about data privacy is addressed by limiting the public’s access to the page/s covering the beneficial owners’ personal information since these won’t be uploaded to the SEC’s publicly accessible electronic database. This policy is without prejudice to access by competent authorities for law enforcement and lawful purposes.

COMPLIANCE DIFFICULTIES
While the MC is silent as to the manner of applying the three tests of determining beneficial ownership, the SEC has verbally confirmed that it should be applied one after the other.

Based on that, if the reporting corporation manages to identify the beneficial owners under Category 1 on ultimate owner, that information should satisfy the requirements of the MC. However, in case the first test on ultimate ownership is undeterminable, the reporting corporation must determine their beneficial owners by identifying natural persons exercising control “through other means” as described in Categories 2 to 8.

In cases where no natural person can be identified using the first two approaches on ultimate ownership or ultimate control, reporting corporations may resort to the last one covering Category 9. Thus, they may report members of their Board of Directors/trustees or senior managing officials as their beneficial owners.

In practice, however, reporting corporations may find it difficult to follow the above. For instance, determining beneficial owners under Category 1 may prove challenging for publicly listed companies where owners can change daily. Moreover, the descriptions provided under Categories 2-8 for determining ownership based on ultimate control are especially difficult for subsidiaries with multiple layers of foreign ownership and those with numerous corporate shareholders given that countless individuals may fall under any of the categories provided. In light of this, it is highly likely that, for expediency, reporting corporations may directly apply the last approach and just report their Board of Directors/Trustees as their beneficial owners.

Notably, the MC imposes upon the reporting corporations’ directors/trustees the adoption of a written procedure for obtaining, updating, and recording the corporation’s beneficial ownership information. Failure to comply with the directive, among others, shall subject the directors to penalties.

How to achieve ease in identifying beneficial ownership remains a challenge with open issues, such as cross-border corporate ownership, among others, needing clarification and perhaps another circular to put to rest all related questions. For now, can we say there is closure in the mandate for disclosures?

The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.

 

Maxencio A. Rios, Jr. is a senior associate at the Tax Services Department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.

+63 (2) 8845-2728

maxencio.jr.rios@pwc.com

Ceres basking in another spirited run in AFC CL ’20

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

CERES-NEGROS Football Club hurdled another test in the preliminary phase of the AFC Champions League 2020 after defeating Port FC of Thailand, 1-0, in an away match in Bangkok on Tuesday to advance to the qualification playoff match next week.

For Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic, the spirited run they are having in the competition is something they are basking in, taking it as an opportunity to get much-needed experience and confidence as they play, and win over, tough teams.

Captain Stephan Schrock provided what turned out to be the marginal goal in the 51st minute as the “Busmen” went on to defeat the host side to earn a date against FC Tokyo in Japan in the AFC Champions League Qualification Playoffs where a victory earns for them a spot in the group stage of Asia’s prestigious club competition.

By winning over Port FC, Ceres has duplicated its achievement in 2018 where it also reached the qualification playoffs.

The game played at the PAT Stadium was tightly fought right from the opening half with both teams having their runs and chances at a goal before settling for a nil-nil count at the halftime break.

Early in the second half Ceres caught a break when Port FC goalkeeper Worawut Srisupa committed an error that Mr. Schrock and the Busmen capitalized on.

Attempting to punch Mr. Schrock’s center clear, Mr. Worawut instead saw his move backfire as the ball flew into his own goal to hand the 1-0 lead to Ceres.

Port FC tried to get the goal back for the remainder of the contest, keeping the pressure on the Ceres defense.

But the Busmen were up to the challenge as they kept frustrating their opponents en route to booking the big win.

After the game, Mr. Vidakovic said they were still in the process of working to be in the form they want to be in but nonetheless said he is proud of the stand that his players showed against Port FC.

“It was a very tough game, especially in the second half. After two weeks of preparation I think we are still not ready but the boys gave everything in the game and I would like to congratulate them. They really did a good job. We were lucky a bit. We missed some chances. But that’s football. You’ll never know,” said the Ceres coach in the post-match press conference where he was joined by Mr. Schrock.

Mr. Vidakovic went on to say that they will continue to fight notwithstanding the challenges they are facing and hope they get to sustain their winning roll against FC Tokyo.

“That’s (FC Tokyo) another very hard game, even harder than this one. But for us this is an experience for the team. We are always fighting to win, tactically we will be working on it. There are challenges but for us it’s an experience towards getting better,” the Ceres coach said.

Djokovic swats aside Ito to reach third round of Australian Open

MELBOURNE — Defending champion Novak Djokovic dispatched Japanese wildcard Tatsuma Ito 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

The world number two Serb, who struggled through a four-set grind against unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff in his opener, was back to his imperious best as he fired down 16 aces and racked up 31 winners at a gusty Rod Laver Arena.

Chasing a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park, Djokovic finished off with a slew of thumping serves, sealing the match when a scrambling Ito thudded a shot into the net.

Djokovic will meet another Japanese player in Yoshihito Nishioka, who knocked out British 30th seed Dan Evans in straight sets, for a place in the fourth round.

TSITSIPAS THROUGH TO THIRD ROUND
Sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has advanced to the third round of the Australian Open after his German opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew due to injury, organizers said on Wednesday.

ATP Finals champion Tsitsipas, 21, will meet either Canadian 32nd seed Milos Raonic or Cristian Garin of Chile in the third round, having never faced either opponent before.

“Unfortunately Philipp Kohlschreiber has withdrawn from his #AusOpen match vs Stefanos Tsitsipas due to a muscle strain,” the Australian Open said on Twitter.

Tsitsipas, who last year defeated Roger Federer on his way to the Melbourne Park semifinals, had won both his previous meetings against world No. 79 Kohlschreiber.

The Greek is rated by many as the most likely to break the three-year grip Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Federer have held on the Grand Slam titles.

WOZNIACKI RALLIES TO TAME YASTREMSKA
Caroline Wozniacki refused to be rushed into retirement on Wednesday as the former world number one fought back from 5-1 down in the first set to beat Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 7-5 7-5 in the second round of the Australian Open.

The Dane had appeared set for an early exit at Melbourne Park, the scene of her only Grand Slam triumph in 2018, but rallied to win six games in a row against the 19-year-old in the opening set.

Wozniacki, who is hanging up her racket after the tournament, made up for her lack of firepower with her trademark defensive skills, forcing the aggressive Yastremska into a series of errors.

She found herself 3-0 down in the second set too but again rallied before converting her sixth match point to seal the win over 23rd seed Yastremska.

Wozniacki will face Ons Jabeur in the next round after the Tunisian beat Caroline Garcia of France 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. — Reuters

Boxing qualifiers set for Wuhan, China canceled over health fears

TOKYO — Qualifying boxing matches for Asia and Oceania for the 2020 Olympic Games that were set to take place in China’s Wuhan next month have been canceled due to fears over the new flu-like coronavirus, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said on Wednesday.

Boxing preparations for the Games have already been upended after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in June took over the competition and suspended the international boxing federation due to issues with its finances and governance.

The IOC have instead set up a task force, led by its member and International Gymnastics Federation head Morinari Watanabe, to organize the boxing events.

The Kyodo report cited organizers as the source of the news. Reuters was unable to immediately contact Watanabe. The IOC did not immediately return requests for comment.

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

The death toll from the virus in China rose to nine on Wednesday with 440 confirmed cases, Chinese health officials said as authorities stepped up efforts to control the outbreak by discouraging public gatherings in Hubei province.

The Tokyo organizing committee has previously said in response to questions on health concerns for the 2020 Olympics that, “countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of our plans to host a safe and secure Games.”

It added that it would “continue to collaborate with all relevant organizations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and we will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organizations.”

The global boxing body has been in turmoil over its finances and governance for years with the federation $16 million in debt. It has also been split internally by an ongoing bitter battle over the presidency. — Reuters

Sorry, Yonex! — Osaka sheepish after racket throw

MELBOURNE — Naomi Osaka offered a light-hearted apology to her racket sponsor for throwing a tantrum against Zheng Saisai at the Australian Open on Wednesday as the defending champion overcame her frustrations to set up a third-round clash with Coco Gauff.

After dropping serve early in the second set, third seed Osaka threw her racket, slammed a ball into the court and gave her racket a kick for good measure before steadying the ship and earning a 6-2, 6-4 win on a gusty day at Margaret Court Arena.

“I mean, my racket just magically flew out of my hand,” Osaka told reporters with a smile.

“I couldn’t control it. Sorry, Yonex. I think that’s how I dealt with my frustration. It was a bit childish. I just want to play one match without throwing my racket or kicking it. That’s all I want.”

The match had echoes of her tempestuous third-round win over Hsieh Su-wei at the same venue last year when Osaka was driven to distraction by her opponent’s unorthodox game of drop-shots and slices.

Osaka ultimately came back from a set down to overhaul Hsieh and went on to claim her second Grand Slam title with another stormy victory over Petra Kvitova.

“Yeah, it’s really tough, because you start thinking she’s not hitting winners,” said Osaka, who was desperate to avoid a third set against the 42nd-ranked Zheng.

“You’re the one making all the errors. And you try to tell yourself not to make that many errors, but you have to go for those balls.

“So it’s like you’re walking a very fine line between being very aggressive or attempting to push but that’s her game. So it’s very hard.”

After her tantrum, Osaka was broken again and fell 4-2 behind but shrugged off the setback with a wry smile before blowing Zheng off court in a firestorm of winners.

Gauff, the 15-year-old American sensation, set up a blockbuster rematch with her US Open conqueror Osaka by beating Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 4-6 6-3 7-5 at a heaving Melbourne Arena. — Reuters

PSL: Mika Reyes leaves Petron to join Sta. Lucia

AFTER being a staple of the Petron team in the Philippine Superliga (PSL), middle blocker Mika Reyes had decided to leave the team and join the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors.

The news was made known by the Lady Realtors on their social media platforms as they expressed their excitement in having the popular player and national team member in their fold.

“Mika Reyes said “Yes!” Yes to taking on new challenges. Yes to a new environment. And yes to being a part of #thenewSTALUCIA. And with that, we officially welcome you to the Sta. Lucia family,” Sta. Lucia’s post on Ms. Reyes’s transfer read.

Ms. Reyes said she decided to move to another team to take on new challenges and get know herself as an athlete better.

While with the Blaze Spikers, Ms. Reyes in three years with the team was a five-time PSL champion, the last one coming in the 2019 PSL Grand Prix.

Now with the Lady Realtors, Ms. Reyes is expected to help the team in its turnaround push after continuing with their struggles since joining the league in 2017.

Sta. Lucia has been reorganizing its roster of late, eyeing to build up a team that could better compete with the rest of the field.

The PSL gets its 2020 season going next month with the PSL Grand Prix. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Mighty Sports Philippines parades wares at Dubai international basketball tourney

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

MIGHTY Sports Philippines competes at the 31st Dubai International Basketball Tournament which begins today with its eyes fixed on the title after finishing third in the last edition of the tournament.

For this year’s tournament, Mighty Sports is fielding in a solid mix of imports, veterans, collegiate and up-and-coming players which it hopes could finally get the job done of making a championship breakthrough.

Leading the squad is Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player and former National Basketball Association campaigner Andray Blatche.

He will be joined by former NBA player and Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) import Renaldo Balkman, McKenzie Moore and Jelan Kendrick.

Also part of the team are Jamie Malonzo, Thirdy Ravena, Beau Belga, Joseph Yeo, Mikey Williams, Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano, Dave Ildefonso, Isaac Go, Gab Banal, Joaqui Manuel and Jarrell Lim.

Gilas cadet Kai Sotto was supposed to be part of the team but due to scheduling and logistical problems on his part he had to miss the tournament.

Head coach of the team is Charles Tiu with assistants William Voigt, Dean Castaño, Tyrone Tang, and Paolo Layug.

Mighty Sports, which took home the Jones Cup title in Taiwan in 2019 when it represented the country, will begin their campaign in the Dubai tournament in Group B where it will be pitted against Al Itihad of Syria, the United Arab Emirates national team and Rades of Tunisia.

Al Riyadi of Lebanon, the 2019 champion, is in Group A, along with American University in Dubai, Hoops of Lebanon, Al Wathba of Syria, and African teams Alexandria of Egypt and Sala of Morocco.

Last year, Mighty Sports finished at third place, defeating Homentmen of Lebanon in the bronze medal game.

The tournament happens from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1. Venue is the Shabab al Ahli Sports Club.

Mighty Sports Philippines, which began competing in the Dubai tournament in 2017, is backed by Creative Pacific of Bong Cuevas, Go for Gold, Oriental Group, Discovery Primea, and Gatorade.

Tata Steel halfway

Tata Steel Chess Masters
Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
Jan. 10-26, 2020

Current Standings (7 of 13 rounds)

1. Alireza Firouzja FIDE 2723, 5.0/7

2-4. Wesley So USA 2765, Fabiano Caruana USA 2822, Jorden Van Foreest NED 2644, 4.5/7

5-10. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2872, Jan-Krzysztof Duda POL 2758, Viswanathan Anand IND 2758, Anish Giri NED 2768, Daniil Dubov RUS 2683, Vladislav Artemiev RUS 2731, 3.5/7

11. Jeffery Xiong USA 2712, 3.0/7

12-13. Nikita Vitiugov RUS 2747, Yu Yangyi CHN 2726, 2.5/7

14. Vladislav Kovalev BLR 2660, 1.5/7

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

GM Alireza Firouzja (born June 18, 2003) is an Iranian chess prodigy. Aside from winning the Iranian Chess Championship at 12 years of age (the youngest ever to do so) he is the second-youngest player (after China’s Wei Yi and just a bit younger than Wesley So) ever to reach a rating of 2700, accomplishing this aged 16 years and 1 month.

The past few months have been pretty turbulent for him. In December 2019 Iran ordered its players to withdraw from the 2019 World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Moscow to uphold their ban against Iranians playing against Israelis. Firouzja would not allow politics to interfere with his chess and responded by announcing that he would no longer play under the Iranian flag and proceeded to Moscow to play.

In the 2019 Moscow Rapid Chess Championship Firouzja finished with the silver medal, a point behind Magnus Carlsen but ahead of such feared speed chess experts such as Hikaru Nakamura, Artemiev, Aronian, Dominguez Perez, defending champion Daniil Dubov, Le Quang Liem, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, etc.

In the Blitz section Firouzja was a contender as well and might have finished among the medalists were it not for the controversial finish against Magnus Carlsen where he lost on time in a game where he was winning almost all of the way.

Anyway it was clear to everybody that Firouzja could contend against the best in the world in speed chess, and when it was announced that he had been invited to the Tata Steel Masters tournament, one of the strongest in the world, we were all wondering how he would do against the top players of the world under classical time control.

Well, now we have the answer. He is deadly in classical chess as well.

In 7 rounds against high caliber opponents Alireza won all four of his white games (vs Giri, Artemiev, Xiong and Kovalev), drew two (Duda and Yu Yangyi) and lost one (Wesley So) with Black.

Firouzja, Alireza (2723) — Artemiev, Vladislav (2731) [B12]
Tata Steel Chess Masters
Wijk aan Zee NED (3.5), 13.01.2020

Artemiev had a breakout year in 2019. Just 20 years old he won the Gibraltar Masters in January 2019, taking clear first with 8½/10 (+7–0=3). He represented Russia at the 2019 World Team Chess Championship in March, scoring 6½/8 (+5–0=3) as Russia won gold. Later in the same month, Artemiev won the European Individual Championship in Skopje. He is all set to replace the recently retired Vladimir Kramnik in the Russian national team.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5

No surprise at all. Artemiev is an ardent practitioner of the Caro-Kann.

4.h4 h5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.Nge2 Nd7 8.Ng3 Bg6 9.Bg5

For some reason this move came as a surprise for Artemiev, who started gobbling up lots of time — a total of an hour on his next 4 moves.

9…Qb6 10.Rc1 dxc4

Pawn-grabbing with 10…Qxb2 is actually playable in this case but definitely to be avoided if you are unfamiliar with the lines.

11.Bxc4 Nf5 12.0–0 Be7

[12…Nxd4? 13.Na4 Qa5 14.Qxd4 Qxa4 15.Rfd1 c5 16.Qf4 Black is in danger of being wiped out in the opening]

13.Nxf5 Bxf5 14.Bxe7 Kxe7 15.Qd2

White has emerged from the opening with obviously the better game as Black’s king is not secure.

15…Qd8 16.Nd1!

Excellent! The knight is better-placed on e3 to support his f-pawn advance.

16…Nb6 17.Ne3 Kf8 18.Nxf5 exf5

Not 18…Nxc4? 19.Qb4+! Kg8 20.Ne7+ Kh7 21.Rxc4 White is clearly better.

19.Bb3! Qxh4 20.Rfe1 Rh6

Trying to prevent e5–e6.

21.e6!

Nevertheless!

21…fxe6 22.Bxe6 Re8

Forced:

22…Qf6 23.Re5!;

And 22…Rf6 23.Qb4+!

23.Bxf5 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Qd8 25.Qd3 Kf7 26.Qf3! Qf6

[26…Kg8 doesn’t work either because of 27.Be6+ Kh7 28.Qf5+ Kh8 29.Bf7]

27.Qb3+ Kf8 28.Qa3+ Qd6 29.Qe3 Qd8 30.Qe4 Rf6 31.Bg6 Kg8 32.Qh4! Qd5 33.Re8+ Rf8 34.Qe7 Nd7 35.Bc2! Qxd4 36.Rxf8+ Nxf8 37.Bb3+ Kh7 38.Qxf8 Qxb2 39.Bg8+ Kh6 40.Qf4+ g5 41.Qd6+ Kg7 42.Bb3 Qa1+ 43.Kh2 Qf6 44.Qxf6+ Kxf6 45.Kg3 b5 46.Bd1 h4+ 47.Kg4 c5 48.f4 gxf4 49.Kxf4 Ke6 50.Kg4 a5 51.Kxh4 a4 52.g4 c4 53.g5 a3 54.Be2 Kf5 55.Kh5 Ke4 56.g6 c3 57.Bd1 1–0

The only one who could stop Firouzja was Wesley So. You should study the following game carefully. It seemed on the surface that nothing was happening, and then suddenly Wesley was winning. An impressive display of chess depth.

So, Wesley (2765) — Firouzja, Alireza (2723) [D27]
Tata Steel Chess Masters
Wijk aan Zee NED (4.4), 14.01.2020

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0–0 a6 7.b3

Starting around 2016 this move has become popular, almost as popular as the old main line 7.dxc5. In particular the former Top Ten player Aleksey Dreev has been very successful with it. By the way, in last year’s FIDE Grand Swiss tournament where an automatic candidates spot is awarded to the winner there was this game Adhiban vs Nakamura in the 7th round which was agreed drawn in this position. It is games like this which lead to rumors that Nakamura is no longer the fighting player he used to be. He actually finished half a point behind Wang Hao, the winner. Wang Hao is now in the Candidates’ and Naka is not.

7…cxd4 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Bb2 0–0 10.Be2 Bd7 11.Nd2 Nc6 12.Rc1 Rc8 13.N4f3

Firouzja has already shown the world that he can be quite efficient and deadly when there is a plan, but Wesley is testing him if he knows what to do when there is nothing to be done. I wonder if I am making sense?

13…b5 14.a3 Qb6 15.Rc2 e5

This cannot be considered a mistake, but White focuses on the weakened white squares in the center and acts accordingly.

16.Bd3

Wesley rejects the offer to exchange black’s e5 pawn for his a3 pawn after 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Rxc8 Bxc8 18.Bxe5 Bxa3.

16…Rfd8 17.Qe2 Bg4 18.Rfc1 Na7 19.Rxc8 Rxc8 20.Rxc8+ Nxc8 21.h3

Small gains. Wesley gets the two bishops and control of White squares in the center as Black has to exchange on f3 or otherwise lose his e5–pawn.

21…Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Qd8 23.Qe2 Qd5 24.Bc2 Nd6 25.Qd3 Qxd3 26.Bxd3 Nd7 27.g4 g6 28.Ne4 Nxe4 29.Bxe4 Nc5 30.Bc2

This might seem like a dead dry position, but Black has a problem — Wesley will play b3–b4 fixing the Black pawns on a6 and b5 and then go after them with his light-squared bishop.

30…e4?

Firouzja decides to give up a pawn to destroy Wesley’s light-squared bishop. He may have overlooked something though …

31.b4 Nd3 32.Bc3!

The black knight is trapped.

32…Kf8 33.Kf1 f5 34.Ke2?!

There seems to be a much stronger move available here: 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Bb3 followed by Be6, winning the crucial f5–pawn.

34…Bd8 35.Bxd3 exd3+ 36.Kxd3 Kf7 37.e4! fxg4 38.hxg4 g5?

This is the losing move as he blocks his own bishop. Better chances are offered by either 38…h5 or 38…Bg5. <D>

POSITION AFTER 38…G5

39.Kd4!

Looks like a mistake as now Black has Bb6+ which wins the White pawn on f2.

39…Bb6+ 40.Kd5 Bxf2 41.Kc6!

Suddenly it is clear that White is winning — the Black queenside pawns cannot be saved.

41…Ke6 42.Kb7 Kd7 43.Kxa6 Kc6 44.e5! Be3 45.e6 Bc1 46.a4 bxa4 47.Be5! 1–0

Brilliant game for Wesley.

On Tuesday next week I will have the final results of the Tata Steel Masters tournament for you. This should be very interesting.

 

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

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