Rosendo Carreon Balinas Jr. (September 10, 1941 – September 24, 1998) was a

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

grandmaster from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

awarded him the

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

title in 1975 and the International Grandmaster title in 1976. He was Philippines' second chess grandmaster. Balinas was a lawyer by profession, as well as an award winning chess writer and journalist.

Chess career

Balinas was considered the strongest Asian player during the 1960s and 1970s, before the emergence of compatriot

Eugenio Torre Eugenio "Eugene" Torre (born November 4, 1951) is a Filipino chess player. In 1974, at 22 years old, he became not just the first Filipino but also the first Asian to qualify for the title Grandmaster. Torre did this by winning the silver meda ...

. Balinas won international chess tournaments in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, and Odessa, USSR during the period. At the 1966

17th Chess Olympiad The 17th Chess Olympiad ( es, La 17a Olimpíada de ajedrez), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Balinas scored 15½ points out of 20 games (.775) and was awarded the individual silver medal award, behind gold medalist, former world champion

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal; rus, Михаил Нехемьевич Таль, ''Mikhail Nekhem'yevich Tal' '', ; sometimes transliterated ''Mihails Tals'' or ''Mihail Tal'' (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player ...

, who scored 11 points out of 13 games (.846). In the 1967 Meralco "Beat

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

" match series in Manila, of the top 10 Filipino players, Balinas was the only then Philippine national master to hold the future world champion to a

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...

: R. C. Balinas – R. J. Fischer, Manila 1967. Opening "Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) Variation" 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.h3 Bd7 10.Nde2 Nc6 11.b3 b5 12.Be3 Qc8 13.Kh2 Qc7 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Nd8 16.Bd4 Rc8 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qd4+ Kg8 19.c3 e5 20.dxe6 fxe6 21.Rad1 Nf7 22.f4 Qc5 23.Qxc5 Rxc5 24.Rd3 Rfc8 25.Rfd1 a5 26.g4 Kf8 27.Re3 Ke7 28.Bd5 Kf6 29.g5+ Ke7 30.c4 Nd8 31.Nd4 bxc4 32.bxc4 Kf7 33.Rde1 exd5 34.Re7+ Kf8 35.Rxd7 Rxc4 36.Ree7 Rxd4 37.Rxh7 Kg8 38.Rhg7+ Kf8 39.Rh7 ½–½ http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044624 Balinas was a seven-time Philippine chess champion, winning the Philippine National Championship and the Philippine Open Chess Championships. He defended his title and shared first place at the Meralco-sponsored 1968 Philippine Open championship with world championship candidate Yugoslav grandmaster

Svetozar Gligorić Svetozar Gligorić (Serbian Cyrillic: Светозар Глигорић, 2 February 1923 – 14 August 2012) was a Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster and musician. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is consider ...

. In 1975, then-IM Balinas achieved a 5-5 score at the Manila Marlboro Classic International Chess Tournament, one-half point short of the grandmaster norm, tying with Gligoric for 6th-7th place. Balinas defeated world championship candidates

Lev Polugaevsky Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky ( rus, Лев Абрамович Полугаевский, p=pəlʊɡɐˈjefskʲɪj; 20 November 1934 – 30 August 1995) was a Soviet chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE i ...

of USSR and

Bent Larsen Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess grandmaster and author. Known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play, he was the second strongest non-Soviet player, behind Bobby Fischer, for much of the 196 ...

of Denmark, as well as the Czech-American grandmaster

Lubomir Kavalek Lubomir (Lubosh) Kavalek ( cz, Lubomír Kaválek, August 9, 1943 – January 18, 2021) was a Czech-American chess player. He was awarded both the International Master and International Grandmaster titles by FIDE in 1965.Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 19 ...

Winner at Odessa and grandmaster in 1976

Balinas achieved his greatest victory at the 1976 Odessa International Tournament, winning with a 10–4 score. Balinas was undefeated against all Soviet opponents, and a point ahead of

Lev Alburt Lev Osipovich Alburt (born August 21, 1945) is a chess Grandmaster, writer and coach. He was born in Orenburg, Russia, and became three-time Ukrainian Champion. After defecting to the United States in 1979, he became three-time U.S. Champion ...

, and former Soviet champion

Vladimir Savon Vladimir Andreyevich Savon ( ua, Володи́мир Андрійович Саво́н; 26 September 1940 – 1 June 2005) was a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1973. Savon shared the Ukrainian C ...

. Bobby Ang, a Philippine chess columnist of ''Indo Chess'' and ''Philippine Business World'', recounted in his Chess Piece column: "Vladimir Savon, the Absolute Russian Chess champion pre-tournament favorite, had been upset in the second round by Tseitlin and it was Balinas who jumped into the lead scoring 5/6. Savon gave chase and three rounds before the end of the tournament the two leaders met. The Philippine Chess Champion Balinas' decisive win over the Soviet Champion was considered to be the turning point of the tournament. Balinas, Rosendo Carreon, Philippines (2365) – Savon, Vladimir A USSR (2545) Odessa, USSR, 1976. Benoni, Classical Defense. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.a4 Qe7 11.Nd2 a6 12.f4 Rb8 13.Kh1 b6 14.Nc4 Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Qxe4 16.Nxd6 Qe7 17.Nxc8 Rbxc8 18.Bxa6 Rcd8 19.Qb3 Nf6 20.Qxb6 Rxd5 21.Qb3 Rd4 22.a5 Ne4 23.Qf3 c4 24.Be3 Rd3 25.Rfe1 Bxb2 26.Bxc4 Rc3 27.Rab1 Rxc4 28.Rxb2 Qa3 29.Rb5 Re8 30.Re5 Rxe5 31.fxe5 Qxa5 32.Rf1 Qd5 33.Bh6 Rc3 34.Qf4 g5 35.Bxg5 Rc6 36.Bf6 Nxf6 37.exf6 h6 38.Qxh6 1-0 http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1331492 Two short draws in the final rounds, vs Bronstein and Tringov, and Balinas had accomplished his miracle. Balinas thereby became the first foreign player to win an international tournament in the Soviet Union since World Chess Champion José Raúl Capablanca's win in Moscow, 1936 and GM

Reuben Fine Reuben C. Fine (October 11, 1914 – March 26, 1993) was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mi ...

's wins in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, 1937 and Moscow, 1937. Balinas' remarkable accomplishment brought great honor to his country, the Philippines, a nation that is sorely in need of heroes." As a result of his victory in Odessa, FIDE awarded Balinas the International Chess Grandmaster title.

More games

Another of Bobby Ang's excellent article and analysis of Balinas' "invigorating upset win" over GM Ludek Pachman a former Czechoslovakian champion who emigrated and played for Germany during the 1976 Haifa Olympiad. Pachman,Ludek (2520) - Balinas,Rosendo Carreon (2365) 14 Haifa Olympiad (Men) (5), 30.10.1976 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.e3 Bb7 5.Bd3 c5 6.0–0 Be7 7.Nc3 cxd4 [It is time for Black to resolve the situation in the center. Otherwise 7...0–0 8.d5! exd5 9.cxd5 d6 10.e4 a6 11.a4 Nbd7 12.Nd2 Ne5 13.Be2 Re8 14.f4 Ng6 15.Bd3 White is better. Geller - Smyslov, USSR 1952]. 8.exd4 d5 [Against both 8...d6 and 8...0–0 White will play 9.d5]. 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Qe2 Nc6 11.Rd1 0–0 12.Nxd5 exd5 [Theory considers 12...Qxd5 as the equalizing maneuver, e.g. 13.Be4 Qh5 14.Bf4. Ludek Pachman is an openings expert and his theoretical knowledge covers a wide range of kingside and queenside openings. He seizes the initiative right away]. 13.Ne5 Qd6 [13...Nxd4?! looks really scary for Black because of 14.Bxh7+! Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Rxd4 White has a good offensive at no material investment. On the other hand, whenever the game takes a tactical turn it is always good for Bali, for it is in such positions that he thrives]. 14.Bf4 Nxd4 15.Qe3 Qb4 16.a3 Qa4 17.b3! [An unpleasant surprise]. 17...Qxb3 [17...Nxb3? 18.Bc2 wins a piece] 18.Nd7! [18.Qxd4? is refuted by 18...Bc5 19.Bxh7+ Kxh7 20.Qd2 d4 Black is a pawn up with a superior position]. 18...Bc5 19.Be5 t looks like Pachman here misses 19.Bxh7+! Kxh7 20.Rd3, winning 19...Rfe8 20.Rab1 Qc3 achman had assumed that this move was impossible because of 21.Bxh7+, but now realizes that 21...Kxh7 22.Qxc3 loses it back to 22...Ne2+, so he panics 21.Kh1? Taking his king out of possible discovered knight checks on either e2 or f3, but with enough time he would have found 21.Rdc1! Qa5 (21...Qxa3 is met by 22.Rxc5!) 22.Nf6+! gxf6 23.Qh6 with a mating attack. 21...Nf5! ali is fighting tooth and nail 22.Qf4 2.Bxf5!? Bxe3 23.Bxc3 Bxf2 24.Be5 leaves Bali with three pawns for the knight 22...Rxe5! 23.Nxe5 Nd6 ow White's threats against the queen have stopped and it is Black who is trying to win 24.Nf3 h6 25.a4 Re8 26.Rbc1 Qa3 27.Kg1 Qb3 28.Bc2 ali's tactical tricks are taking a huge toll on Pachman's time. For example, 28.Ne5? Bxf2+! 29.Kxf2 Qb2+ 30.Rc2 Qxe5 31.Qxe5 Rxe5 is at least equal for Black 28...Qb2 ow the threat is 29...Re2 29.Nd4? nd here is the mistake. The best defence is 29.Ne1! followed by Nd3 29...Bxd4 30.Qxd4? he only move was 30.Qxd6 although Bali would still be ahead: 30...Bxf2+! 31.Kxf2 Rc8 30... Re1+! 0–1 Balinas' Caro-Kann-Steinitz

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

and vintage

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

win against another former Czech champion and World Championship Candidate GM

Miroslav Filip Miroslav Filip (27 October 1928 – 27 April 2009) was a Czech chess grandmaster. Filip was awarded the title of International Master in 1953, and the Grandmaster title in 1955. Filip represented Czechoslovakia in 12 consecutive Chess Olympiad ...

, 1974 Nice, World

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...

. Balinas-Filip, Nice, 1974. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Ng3 e6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.Qe2 O-O 9.Bg5N c5 10.O-O-O Re8 11.Kb1 cxd4 12.Bc4 Qb6 13.Rxd4 Nc5 14.Rhd1 Bd7 15.Ne5 Bc6 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nh5 Red8 18.Nxf6+ gxf6 19.Nxf7 Kxf7 20.Rd6 Rxd6 21.Rxd6 Re8 22.Qh5+ Kg7 23.Rd4 Rd8 24.Rg4+ Kh8 25.a3 Ne4 26.Bb3 Qc5 27.Qf7 Qf8 28.Qxe6 Nd2+ 29.Ka2 Re8 30.Qf5 Nxb3 31.cxb3 Qe7 32.Qa5 a6 33.g3 Qe5 34.Qd2 Bd5 35.h3 Qe6 36.Qd3 Be4 37.Qc3 Bf5 38.Rf4 Qe5 39.Qf3 Be6 40.Rxf6 1-0 http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1271089 Balinas' fighting win against the celebrated Candidate's Qualifier and former Czech champion GM Lubosh Kavalek, 1975 Marlboro Chess Classic: Balinas,R ELO 2365-Kavalek,L ELO 2555, Manila, Result: 1-0 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nf3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Qb3 Nb6 8.h4 h6 9.d4 Be6 10.Qc2 Nc6 11.Bf4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Rd1 Qb4 14.Bd2 c6 15.h5 g5 16.f4 gxf4 17.gxf4 Qc5 18.b4 Qc4 19.f5 Qg4 20.Bh3 Qg3+ 21.Kf1 Nc4 22.Ne4 Ne3+ 23.Bxe3 Qxe3 24.fxe6 fxe6+ 25. Ke1 Rf4 26.Bg2 a5 27.bxa5 Qa3 28.Rd3 Qxa5+ 29.Qd2 Qe5 30.Rd8+ Rxd8 31.Qxd8+ Rf8 32.Qd1 Qb2 33. Rh3 Qb6 34.Rf3 Rd8 35.Qc2 Rd5 36.Kf1 Rxh5 37.Qb3 Qd4 38.Qxe6+ Kh7 39.Rd3 Qa1+ 40.Kf2 Re5 1-0 Here is Balinas' exciting win against another Soviet Champion and World Chess Championship candidate Lev Polugayevski: Balinas, Rosendo ELO 2365 - Polugayevski, Lev ELO 2645, 1976 Marlboro Classic, Manila 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 f5 6.f4 Nf6 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.Bd2 0-0 9.Qc2 c6 10.0-0-0 Qe7 11.e3 Nc5! 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.d4 e4! 14.Ne1 Ne6 15.Kb1 Bd7 16.Bf1 Rac8 17.h3 c5 18.d5 Ng5 19.Be2 Nf7 20.Ng2 Ne5 21.Bc1 Ne8 22.Nf4 Nd6 23.b3 b5 24.Nxb5 Nxb5 25.cxb5 c4 26.d6! Qf7 27.Nd5 Nd3 28.bxc4 Bxb5 29.Ne7+ Kh8 30.Nxc8 Rxc8 31.Bxd3 exd3 32.Rxd3 Rxc4? 33.d7! Bxd7 34.Qb3 h5 35.Bb2! Ba4 36.Bxg7+ Kh7 37.Qb8! Bc2+ 38.Ka1 Qxg7+ 39.Rd4 Rxd4 40.exd4 Qxd4+ 41.Qb2 Qxb2+ 42.Kxb2 Be4 43.Rd1 g5 44.Rd7+ Kg6 45.Rd6+ Kg7 46.Kc3! Bg2 47.Kd4 Bxh3 48.Ke5 f4 49.gxf4 g4 50.f5! h4 51.f6+ Kf8 52.Rd8+ Kf7 53.Rh8 1-0 http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1112154 And, Balinas' most famous game, a scorching win against the famous Danish grandmaster and World Championship Candidate

, who played his beloved

Larsen's Opening Larsen's Opening (also called the Nimzo–Larsen Attack or Queen's Fianchetto Opening) is a chess opening starting with the move: :1. b3 It is named after the Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen. Larsen was inspired by the example of the great Latv ...

(1.b3): Larsen-Balinas, Manila 1975. 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 d5 4.Bb5 f6 5.d4 e4 6.Ne2 a6 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.c4 f5 9.Nbc3 Nf6 10.Nf4 Be7 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Rc1 O-O 13.Na4 g5 14.Nh5 Ng4 15.h3 Nh6 16.Rc6 Bd6 17.h4 f4 18.hxg5 fxe3 19.Nf6+ Rxf6 20.gxf6 exf2+ 21.Kf1 Qxf6 22.Qh5 Bd7 23.Qxd5+ Kg7 24.Rxc7 Rd8 25.Rb7 Nf5 26.Rh3 e3 27.Qe4 Kf8 28.d5 Qg6 29.Qf3 Ke8 30.g4 Ng3+ 31.Rxg3 Qb1+ 32.Kg2 Qg1+ 33.Kh3 f1=Q+ 34.Qxf1 Qxf1+ 35.Rg2 Qh1+ 0-1 http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1318458

Death

Balinas died on September 24, 1998 due to

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

References

External links

*http://www.uschess.org/clife/issue77/ *http://www.indochess.com/news_maint_public.php?news_id=2646 *http://id.indochess.com/news_maint_public.php?news_id=1983 *http://members.lycos.co.uk/csarchive/balinas.htm *http://www.olimpbase.org/1966/1966in.html#medals *http://id.indochess.com/news_maint_public.php?news_id=1747 *http://www.chessmetrics.com/DL/DL205.htm#PL2090 *http://www.indochess.com/news_maint_public.php?news_id=651

Links to selected games

*http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?pid=19305&result=1st {{DEFAULTSORT:Balinas, Rosendo Jr. 1941 births 1998 deaths Chess grandmasters Filipino chess players 20th-century Filipino lawyers People from Rizal 20th-century chess players