A Little Bit of Chess

I cannot go to bed without posting something positive tonight. So - other than the fact that this is one of the ladies who won against Humpy in the Women's Rapid Chess Competition at the Asian Indoor Games, it's a nice story. (Humpy uncharacteristically lost 2 games in this event. I believe she was exhausted at this point in the Games. I know Humpy would not give any excuse for her performance and I have not read this in any account of the Games thus far.) From Manila Standard Today November 9, 2007 (this 24-hour international dateline stuff really is fun) Catherine Perena: Giant killer OUT of a seemingly modest campaign in the Asian Indoor Games in Macau came a very refreshing performance. University of the Philippines student Catherine Perena shared the bronze medal in the women’s rapid chess competition, beating on her way to the plum world no. 2 Humpy Koneru of India in a feat that showed how far our lady woodpushers have progressed. It was an upset win that shone with the brightness of a gold medal as no Filipino has ever beaten a top-rated player. Only the legendary Eugene Torre has achieved similar status, beating in his heyday then world champion Anatoly Karpov in a four-man tournament in Manila in 1976, and repeating eight years later in London. When Koneru resigned, Perena said she had superiority materially and positionally. “After the game, she rose from the table, touched her hand slightly and left without arranging the pieces,” said Perena. “I was very happy and I felt like I was in heaven. I glanced at my teammates, who were clapping their hands silently,” said Perena in response to e-mailed questions from Standard Today. The 22-year-old national open champion, who learned the game only 10 years ago, is the vanguard of a new breed of women chess players. Scrappy and aggressive, they are not awed by formidable opposition. “I think because of our desire to prove ourselves, that Filipino chess players have the capacity to be world-class athletes if given the right exposure and support. We want to escape from the shadow of men players. For the past few years… they have been given the breaks compared to the women,” said Perena. Sherily Cua and Perena led the women’s squad, which outperformed their more illustrious male counterparts in the 2006 Turin Chess Olympiad. University of Santo Tomas ace Cua, playing second board, scored 6.5 of 11 while Perena, taking over first board from Sheerie Joy Lomibao, logged 6 of 11. In the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, the women’s team won a silver medal. “Hopefully, our stint in Turin, the SEA Games and in Macau is just a step toward future success of Filipino woodpushers,” added Perena. Perena, a dusky fifth year UP student is a typical Filipino chess player: talented, resourceful, patient but lacking deep opening knowledge compared to their stronger regional rivals from China, India and Vietnam. She describes her style as flexible. “I am a positional player but I like the middle game because I like complicated positions because it seems as if I am solving chess puzzles.” The fourth of fifth children by Nelson Perena, who runs a sari-sari store, and housewife Leticia, Catherine and her sister were taught chess by her father. At Del Ray School in Caloocan, the principal was trying to find players to join the Caloocan Private Schools tournament. Having just learned the game, Perena didn’t say a word, but her classmate raised her hand, catching the eye of the principal, who took her into the team. After a month of training, she won in the Grade 5 category. The following year, she won the same event, ruled the Caloocan schools division meet and finished second in the National Capital Region eliminations to the Palaro. Progress was swift for this dusky young girl, and it was honed by the increasingly competitive events held in the collegiate events. Under National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero Pichay, many international tournaments have been organized, enabling women to gain exposure by facing stronger foes without having to leave the country. But honorary World Chess Federation chairman Florencio Campomanes said Perena and the fast-rising grandmaster-candidate Wesley So, 14, need higher-level training, among other needs, to make the big leap. “They have to undergo a regimen and they need to be shown how to prepare seriously for tournaments,” said Campomanes, the architect of Philippine chess. Perena wants to become a grandmaster in three years. If she fails, she will use her Bachelor of Sports Science degree to get a “stable job.” ******************************************************************************** Hmmm. There were several references to "dusky girl" - so what the heck does that mean? Is this a reference to her skin color? What am I missing here?