Mark Paragua
Encyclopedia
Mark Callano Paragua is a Filipino
chess
Grandmaster. He was born in the Philippines to Flordeliza Callano and Ricardo Paragua, who is also his coach. The father and son travel around the world to participate in international tournaments.
At the 1998 Disney
World Rapid Chess Championship for Kids, held November 15–17 at the EuroDisney theme park in Paris
, Paragua and Bu Xiangzhi
each finished first with 7½ points in Boys 14 and under section, with Paragua taking the gold medal on tiebreak points.
He was the youngest Filipino master ever, at 9 years of age. He also became the youngest Filipino GM ever at 20 (until GM Wesley So
erased it), beating out Eugenio Torre
's record by about two years.
He qualified for the 2004 World Championship
in Tripoli
, Libya
. Paragua was eliminated by Super GM Viktor Bologan of Moldova
in the first round 1-3. He also qualified for World Cup Chess 2005 (qualifying tournament for world championship). He upset Armenia
n Super GM Sergei Movsesian
in the first round before narrowly losing in the tie breaker against an even stronger opponent in Alexey Dreev
of Russia
in the second round (Paragua drew both his games against Dreev in the regulation)
Paragua become the first super Grandmaster (to reach 2600 mark) in Philippine history after he placed second in the Asian Zonal 3.3 Chess Championships that ended Friday at the Stanford Hotel in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia.
Paragua finished the 9-round Swiss system event with 7.0 points after being forced to a draw by Singapore’s
GM Wu Shaobin
(Elo 2510), who handled the black pieces. The Filipino earned enough Elo points from the tournament to take his 2596 Elo rating to over the 2600 norm for super GMs, according to International Arbiter
Gene Poliarco. Although there is some dispute as to the definition of super GM;(for example: Eugenio Torre was considered as among the elite grandmasters back in the early and mid 80s yet his rating never breached the 2600 mark). In January 2006 FIDE listed Paragua with a rating of 2618 enough to get him in the top 100, but his rating has dropped to 2521 since his marriage.
He played for the Philippines in the Chess Olympiad
s of 2002, 2004 and 2006.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Grandmaster. He was born in the Philippines to Flordeliza Callano and Ricardo Paragua, who is also his coach. The father and son travel around the world to participate in international tournaments.
At the 1998 Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
World Rapid Chess Championship for Kids, held November 15–17 at the EuroDisney theme park in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Paragua and Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi is a Chinese chess grandmaster. In 1999, he became China's 10th Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 10 months, 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
each finished first with 7½ points in Boys 14 and under section, with Paragua taking the gold medal on tiebreak points.
He was the youngest Filipino master ever, at 9 years of age. He also became the youngest Filipino GM ever at 20 (until GM Wesley So
Wesley So
Wesley So is a Filipino chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he achieved the GM title at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days, making him the 8th youngest person to achieve the Grandmaster title in the history of chess. Before becoming a Grandmaster, So had become the youngest Filipino...
erased it), beating out Eugenio Torre
Eugenio Torre
Eugenio Torre is a chess Grandmaster . He is considered the strongest chess player the Philippines has ever produced during the 1980s and 1990s period, following the heels of Fischer-era Filipino chess champions National Master Ramon Lontoc, International Master Renato Naranja, IM Rodolfo Tan...
's record by about two years.
He qualified for the 2004 World Championship
FIDE World Chess Championship 2004
The FIDE World Chess Championship, 2004 was held at the Almahary Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, from June 18 to July 13.It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who beat Michael Adams in the final by a score of 4½-3½...
in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. Paragua was eliminated by Super GM Viktor Bologan of Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
in the first round 1-3. He also qualified for World Cup Chess 2005 (qualifying tournament for world championship). He upset Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n Super GM Sergei Movsesian
Sergei Movsesian
Sergei Movsesian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster who used to play for Slovakia, but as of late 2010, Movsesian announced that he plays for his home country of Armenia...
in the first round before narrowly losing in the tie breaker against an even stronger opponent in Alexey Dreev
Alexey Dreev
Alexey Dreev is a chess grandmaster from Russia. His career peak Elo rating was 2705, attained in October 2003 and again in April 2005.He qualified for the Candidates Tournament in 1991, but lost his Quarter Final match to Viswanathan Anand in Madras .Then in the FIDE World Championship...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in the second round (Paragua drew both his games against Dreev in the regulation)
Paragua become the first super Grandmaster (to reach 2600 mark) in Philippine history after he placed second in the Asian Zonal 3.3 Chess Championships that ended Friday at the Stanford Hotel in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia.
Paragua finished the 9-round Swiss system event with 7.0 points after being forced to a draw by Singapore’s
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
GM Wu Shaobin
Wu Shaobin
Wu Shaobin is a Singaporean Grandmaster chess player. He won the national Singaporean Chess Championship in 2003 and 2005. He is married to former Women's World Chess Champion Xie Jun....
(Elo 2510), who handled the black pieces. The Filipino earned enough Elo points from the tournament to take his 2596 Elo rating to over the 2600 norm for super GMs, according to International Arbiter
International Arbiter
In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....
Gene Poliarco. Although there is some dispute as to the definition of super GM;(for example: Eugenio Torre was considered as among the elite grandmasters back in the early and mid 80s yet his rating never breached the 2600 mark). In January 2006 FIDE listed Paragua with a rating of 2618 enough to get him in the top 100, but his rating has dropped to 2521 since his marriage.
He played for the Philippines in the Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s of 2002, 2004 and 2006.
Notable games
- Mark Paragua vs Levon Aronian, Linares Anibal op 7th 2000, Formation: King's Indian Attack (A07), 1-0
- Mark Paragua vs Jason Goh Koon-Jong, 36th Olympiad 2004, Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen, Classical Variation (B85), 1-0
- Mark Paragua vs Sergei Movsesian, FIDE World Cup 2005, Slav Defense: Chameleon Variation, Advance System (D15), 1-0
- Mark Paragua vs Alexey Dreev, FIDE World Cup 2005, Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation (D45), 1-0