OLD 1993 PHOTO OF TRIO LOS GUAPOS OF IMAGE RESTAURANT
Wilson Prima, right, and Willy dela Cruz, middle, has been my music buddies for more than a year before the Trio Los Guapos of Image Restaurant was disbanded with Willy finding a more stable job as butcher at Surangel’s and Sons and Wilson going back to Philippines. I stayed for 13 years at Image, 11 months each at Rose Garden Resort and Dragon Tei and more than 10 years at Palau Royal Resort as musician and chess pioneer in Palau.
(Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
26 YEARS IN PALAU IN
FEBRUARY 04, 2018
I felt very close to nature when the Continental Airlines landed at Palau International Airport in Feb. 04, 1992. There's an egret in the runway; no traffic, fresh air. The arrival time then is 1:30pm so you can have a bird’s view of the beauty of Palau. Now it’s all night time and it’s now United Airlines.
I played with the Tropical Depression Band of Elena Sutton for 6 months with lead guitarist Prime Walls, (Wilson Prima), drummers Willy dela Cruz/Greg, Palauan singer Romana, bass player Wilhelm Elbelau and 2nd lead guitarist Henry Takeshi at Sunset Bistro. When it (Sunset Bistro) closed down, I and Wilson applied to Margie Borja Dalton and later Willy joined us at Image Restaurant, where I worked for 13 years because Madam Margie treated me and my wife Flor Miranda-Hernandez and daughter Karen Cando as part of her family.
While still there, I pioneered chess in Palau and published my first Chess Mate article in Tia Belau in Dec. 29, 2002 http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2013/11/chessmate-first-issue-tia-belau-dec-29.html and since then, chess and music became my passion in life that resulted in me representing Palau in 2009 Oceania Zonal Chess Championship- http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2012/05/2009-oceania-zonal-chess-championship.html 2010 World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia- http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2015/06/1013-751-photos-of-2010-world-chess.html and in 2012 World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey - http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2012/08/opening-ceremony-istanbul-olympiad.html followed by 2014 Olympiad in Tromso, Norway http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2015/05/1000th-post-1000-photos-of-palau-chess.html and at the 2016 Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2016/09/1256-opening-day-of-2016-world-chess.html I will be the Delegate/Team Captain of Palau Open Team to 2018 World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia.
Before working as musician at Palau Royal Resort in June 1, 2007, I played music also at Rose Garden Resort and Dragon Tei Japanese Restaurant for 11 months in each place http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2015/02/music-and-me-jan-08-2015-dragon-tei.html I was also featured in The Int’l. Filipino http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2012/06/chess-music-june-21-amazing-piano-man.html
Taking advantage of free chess and music advertisement at Tia Belau, I was able to promote PRR in my own little way. I have 3,186 photos about PRR in my laptop where about 90% was published or posted in PCF website, Facebook and Tia Belau.
I have played music also to a lot of weddings-- http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2012/06/music-and-me-june-14-playing-music-at.html and Greek music in Bahrain-- http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2012/08/268-music-me-aug-9-playing-greek-music.html and I have traveled to 22 countries/cities because of Chess and Music (Perfect Combination) The Beginning of Chess in Palau by Roberto Hernandez--soon to be published as a book.
Before jogging at Palau Track and Field oval on Wed. Jan. 31, I met former Palau President Johnson Toribiong, who just finished his jogging/walking and said “Hi, Robert”. In my 6th lap, I was able to talk to Mohammad Manik Hossein, who said he will participate in the 1-day 2-hour Palau Blitz Chess Championship in Feb. 18. He’s been inactive since his last participation in 2013 PBCC. James dela Cruz, meantime, is still on vacation but there’s probability that he might come back in time for 2018 PBCC.
(Conclusion of Fabiano Caruana takes London Chess Classic…)THE PLAY-OFF “After six hours of playing against Michael Adams, I was too tired to feel any pressure,” was Fabiano Caruana’s insightful comment after winning a four-game blitz play-off against Ian Nepomniachtchi. He had had only 30 minutes’ respite after a long endgame before returning to the board for two 10m+5s rapid/blitzes, and then two more games at 5m+3s, compared to Nepomniachtchi’s luxurious 5+ hours’ rest after the briefest of classical games but it underlines the paradoxical psychology that often plays out in such situations.
It is not always the tired, harassed competitor who succumbs, and there is such a thing as being too relaxed for a key encounter. Remember Fabi’s comment, readers, the next time you play off for the London Chess Classic title, or perhaps, more realistically, your local club championship. As always with play in rapids and blitzes, it was a roller coaster ride, with the clock situations being as important as the positions on the board. The two rapid mode games were drawn after a particularly seesaw struggle in the first game and less so the second.
That was followed by blitz games, with both going beyond 60 moves. Nepomniachtchi lost a piece inside 14 moves in the 1st of the blitz games but somehow drew when Caruana (Black) slipped up right at the end. 64...Nd3? 64...Kd5 would win here. 65.f5+! Ke5 66.g5 fxg5+ 67.Kxg5 Nf4 ½ ½ Missing that win might have proved a psychological hammer blow for Caruana but he took it in his stride and came back to win the next game and with it the London Classic title. Congratulations to him!
Caruana slid from 2nd to 7th after a dismal 11th place finish in the Tata Steel Masters 2018 where world champion Magnus Carlsen won it over Anish Giri on tiebreak. Caruana won only a game, lost 4 and drew 8 games. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is now No. 2 with 3rd place finisher Vladimir Kramnik at 3rd. Wesley So is now No. 4. Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave both didn’t play and now occupy 5th and 6th spots respectively. At 8th is Hikaru Nakamura followed by former world champion Viswanathan Anand and Giri.
Solution to last week’s puzzle No. 4407: 1. …Rg1+! 2. Rxg1 Qf3+ 3. Rg2 Rxd1#
If 2. Kxg1 then … Rg8+ 3. Kh1 Qf3#
This week's puzzle No. 4408: Black to play and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)
Sources: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 9-10
Issue 12
Volume 27
February 05, 2018
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 -- February 05, 2018
The History of Chess in Palau
By Roberto Hernandez
June 09, 2002-- February 05, 2018
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