Whew, what a ride! A very tough tournament.
Prior to the event, I thought (based on last years results) that to be
able to win the event, you have to score not less than 7pts. If I’m not
mistaken last years champ FIDE Master Sander Severino’s score is exactly
7pts. This benchmark may have been equaled or even surpassed had Ellan
Asuela been able to play in the first two rounds.
National Master Carlito Lavega ( incidentally his NM title was not included in the National Chess Federation of the Philippines’ ratings list, I wonder why?!) snatched the lead in the first three rounds, but by the middle rounds he was caught up by FM Sander Severino.
The blitz playoff of Lavega and Asuelan.* (Photo by James Toga)
These two were involved in a neck to neck race down the wire up to the penultimate round, with the leads switching from one to the other with every rounds. After the eighth round was completed, it became apparent that there was a new co-leader, and it was none other than... Ellan Asuela. Asuela has been quietly collecting the points, zooming up atop the leader board just in the nick of time!
While he was climbing up (practically from the bottom pit) he was like a meteor heading towards the earth at breakneck speed (everyone was caught standing still!), on the way he bulldozed practically all the players within striking distance at the top. He only played 7 games by the way (He was stranded in Iloilo City for one and a half days due to a tropical storm, he was unable to play in the first two rounds and was defaulted once, one game was sportingly agreed drawn by his first round opponent CM Ted Ian Montoyo), and only NM's Lavega and Atotubo managed to stop the juggernaut (both games ended in a draw).
In the last round, the two leaders fought for the ultimate crown, it was a real cliffhanger, but Lavega was able to withstand Asuela’s desperate attempt to win as Black! In the end, Lavega finished the event with a better tiebreak score than Asuela but he lost in the Blitz Play-Off. Asuela fully deserves the title as the 2012 Negros Chess Champion. And to think that he was handicapped by only a half point in the first two rounds.
What can I say about the new champion?
Before I begin, I have to backtrack a little. Earlier in the year, I have posted my prediction that Joel Pimentel, Asuela, Jerich Cajeras, Brylle Arellano, and Ernie Abanco is going to make it big someday. Pimentel have already earned his IM title a few months ago.
Now, it’s Asuela’s time. I already saw a rosy future for him even then. And that future is now within his grasp. Asuela was already ripe for the big time last year, it’s just that he couldn’t find a sponsor. This Bangkok trip is perhaps the biggest break of his entire life. And I believe that the last half of 2011 was his breakout year. I will not be surprised if he will snatch a Grandmaster Master norm in Thailand. Bold prediction, Top 10 in Bangkok!
This guy is already famous for his penchant of sweeping various non-master events. But perhaps, the one that stood out from memory was his remarkable sweep of the Sugarlandia Non-Master event last December 3-25, 2011. In a field that included Ted Montoyo, Arellano, Raymund Dela Pena, Danny Mangao, the Abanco brothers and many others, he scored an emphatic 9 out of 9!
Asuela was born with a killer instinct. He possessed perhaps the most important character that any chess player should have. The drive and the will to win at all cost. Even in equal positions and even if the chips are down, he keeps on confusing or confounding his opponents, setting up problems upon problems that his opponents would finally crack under the combined positional and psychological pressures. Asuela had a Fischerian drive to win. And an indomitable spirit!
National Master Carlito Lavega ( incidentally his NM title was not included in the National Chess Federation of the Philippines’ ratings list, I wonder why?!) snatched the lead in the first three rounds, but by the middle rounds he was caught up by FM Sander Severino.
The blitz playoff of Lavega and Asuelan.* (Photo by James Toga)
These two were involved in a neck to neck race down the wire up to the penultimate round, with the leads switching from one to the other with every rounds. After the eighth round was completed, it became apparent that there was a new co-leader, and it was none other than... Ellan Asuela. Asuela has been quietly collecting the points, zooming up atop the leader board just in the nick of time!
While he was climbing up (practically from the bottom pit) he was like a meteor heading towards the earth at breakneck speed (everyone was caught standing still!), on the way he bulldozed practically all the players within striking distance at the top. He only played 7 games by the way (He was stranded in Iloilo City for one and a half days due to a tropical storm, he was unable to play in the first two rounds and was defaulted once, one game was sportingly agreed drawn by his first round opponent CM Ted Ian Montoyo), and only NM's Lavega and Atotubo managed to stop the juggernaut (both games ended in a draw).
In the last round, the two leaders fought for the ultimate crown, it was a real cliffhanger, but Lavega was able to withstand Asuela’s desperate attempt to win as Black! In the end, Lavega finished the event with a better tiebreak score than Asuela but he lost in the Blitz Play-Off. Asuela fully deserves the title as the 2012 Negros Chess Champion. And to think that he was handicapped by only a half point in the first two rounds.
What can I say about the new champion?
Before I begin, I have to backtrack a little. Earlier in the year, I have posted my prediction that Joel Pimentel, Asuela, Jerich Cajeras, Brylle Arellano, and Ernie Abanco is going to make it big someday. Pimentel have already earned his IM title a few months ago.
Now, it’s Asuela’s time. I already saw a rosy future for him even then. And that future is now within his grasp. Asuela was already ripe for the big time last year, it’s just that he couldn’t find a sponsor. This Bangkok trip is perhaps the biggest break of his entire life. And I believe that the last half of 2011 was his breakout year. I will not be surprised if he will snatch a Grandmaster Master norm in Thailand. Bold prediction, Top 10 in Bangkok!
This guy is already famous for his penchant of sweeping various non-master events. But perhaps, the one that stood out from memory was his remarkable sweep of the Sugarlandia Non-Master event last December 3-25, 2011. In a field that included Ted Montoyo, Arellano, Raymund Dela Pena, Danny Mangao, the Abanco brothers and many others, he scored an emphatic 9 out of 9!
Asuela was born with a killer instinct. He possessed perhaps the most important character that any chess player should have. The drive and the will to win at all cost. Even in equal positions and even if the chips are down, he keeps on confusing or confounding his opponents, setting up problems upon problems that his opponents would finally crack under the combined positional and psychological pressures. Asuela had a Fischerian drive to win. And an indomitable spirit!
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