On Tuesday, May 16, a blitz chess competition among
participants/non-participants was held. I won over Mahor, Paquito, Dennis,
Bheng and Jeff Balbalosa; lost to Rustum and Jamie and drew with Eugene. Jamie,
as in Guam, Solomon Islands, Nauru and now Palau, became the blitz champion
undefeated. He salvaged a losing position to Paquito when the latter missed a
rook capture/move. Had he defeated Jamie, he would have been the champion.
Paquito finished 2nd with 7 points, and Cyril, 3rd (6
pts.) while I settled for 4th (5.5 pts.).
Jamie received a $100.00 gift certificate from Surangel’s
as champion’s purse, Paquito-$75.00 and Cyril-$50.00. Snacks and drinks were
served before the exam as well as free t-shirts for all participants with logos
of Surangel, FIDE and “FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar May 14-18, 2017 Koror PW”,
Surangel Blitz Tournament- Palau 2017- You Live and Die with The Pawn”.
I met Jamie Kenmure in the 2009 Oceania Zonal Chess
Championship in Australia. Right then, he shows a very keen interest to promote
chess in Palau. He interviewed me for his radio program in Australia and hinted
that he would like to lead Palau in the 2010 World Chess Olympiad in
Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
Jamie showed he’s very knowledgeable about FIDE Laws of
Chess and his vast experience in Oceania zone and Europe were appreciated by
participants---1. Eric Ksau Surangel Whipps 2. Baby Edna Mission 3. Rafael
Paloma 4. Fritzie Sales 5. Carolina Defuntorum 6. Angelica Parrado 7. Tito
Cabunagan 8. Jennifer Angeles 9. Joan Gemota 10. Joel Gemota 11. Roberto
Hernandez 12. Dennis Gonzales 13. Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. 14. Eugene Labarda
15. Rustum Cabuso 16. Manuel Mahor, Jr. 17. Paquito Suringa, Jr. 18. Angelo
Salvadora 19. Gonzalo Escapatoria, Jr. 20. Francois Millimono 21. Joy Flores
Whipps 22. Nasser Onyango 23. JR Faminano 24. Thomas Hayes and 25. Eryn Reklai.
In
the final day (exam) on May 18, only 14 were able to take the exams. The
participants who will pass the exam with 80% passing grade will be given an
outright FIDE Arbiter title. The others will be given a National Arbiter
titles. Results of the exam will be published in the FIDE website after a week.
During the Palau
Chess Federation Board Meeting prior to choosing Palau’s Team Captain/Head of
Delegation to that Olympiad, we have 3 choices to make: Woman International
Master (WIM) Christine Rose Mariano, PCF Chairman Francis ‘Sno’ Temaungil and
Jamie. We chose Jamie as he will be also buying his own airfare in going to
Russia; Ms. Mariano is living in USA; and Sno’s inclusion will cost us
$2,000.00 as I only got sponsor for 5 players-Me, Cyril, Tito, Gene Pastrana
and Bernard Garcia. Jamie’s choosing is also due to his being Palau Rating
Officer and a show of gratitude to him.
Since
then, Jamie became Palau’s Team Captain to the succeeding Olympiads—2012
(Istanbul, Turkey) and 2014 (Tromso, Norway). In the 2016 Baku, Azerbaijan
Olympiad, he is a member of FIDE Anti-Cheating Commission, which is also one of
the issues being tackled during his Arbiters’ Seminar that started in May 14,
2017. He replaced Asian Chess Federation Deputy President Toti Abundo that will
conduct that seminar because Toti is in China doing a separate Arbiters’
Seminar.
Sources: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
December 29, 2002 -- May 20, 2017
Chess and Music (Perfect Combination)
The Beginning of Chess in Palau
By Roberto Hernandez
Soon to be published as a book
Music and Me by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
March 15, 2012 -- April 18, 2013
http://palau-chess.blogspot.com
April 25, 2013--May 20, 2017
The History of Chess in Palau
By Roberto Hernandez
June 09, 2002 -- May 20, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment