Peter Lim and Vic Neil Villanueva powered Mariana to a 2.5-1.5 win over Sto. Nino in the seventh and final round Sunday to emerge over-all topnotcher in the Quezon City Inter Barangay Chess Team Tournament at the Amoranto Sports SB Gym in Quezon City. Lim demolished Gerry Avila on board one while Villanueva trounced Santy Pacia on board four. Samson Lim drew with Gracito Guarino on board three while Obet Labonera shocked former Philippine junior champion Reinier Ternura on board three. Mariana finished with 22.5 points to cop the District IV title and gain the finals slated this year along with Old Capitol Site (20.5 points), Santol, Tatalon and Dona Aurora.
Chess moves captured students on Martin Luther King Day
NORMAL -- More than 300 area students spent their day off from school Monday focused on intellectual pursuit.But most said the draw to one of the Twin Cities oldest chess tournaments was simply for a good time, and to meet new friends.“It’s all about having fun. You get to stay here all day and play games,” said Blake Rodgers, a fifth-grader from Oakdale Elementary School. He’d just finished his fifth match of the day.Kindergarten through eighth-grade students attended the 21st annual Martin Luther King Day Chess Tournament, organized by the Bloomington-Normal Area Scholastic Chess organization. Nearly all area elementary schools and junior high schools sent teams, and some Peoria and Champaign teams also took part.Nathaniel Smith and Yash Thacker, third- and fifth-grade students respectively from Sugar Creek Elementary School in Normal, both said facing new players gave them a chance to learn new chess moves and strategies. And Nathaniel, who’d previously attended another Unit 5 school, relished seeing his old friends.To make the crowd at home, the Kingsley Junior High School in Normal was transformed into a chess-centered universe. Chess master and Peoria native Pete Karagianis of Des Moines, Iowa, shared tips and gave demonstrations.The halls were lined with sheets listing the latest pairings for competitions; its cafeteria and a spare gym were filled children playing informal games. Its main gym was lined with tables set for formal competitions.More than 100 matches were going on at any given time throughout the roughly seven-hour tournament, said lead organizer Mark Nibblen.Colley Kitson, owner of Colley’s Chess Club in downtown Bloomington, said the Twin Cities is one of the highest per capita chess-playing communities in the country.“Think about it. They say only about 30 percent of each school’s chess players are here – and we’ve got more than 300 here today,” said Kitson.He attributes the high interest to three things: Bloomington-Normal’s white-collar professions, namely the universities and the insurance industry; a large population from India, where the game is believed to have originated; and the perseverance of Garrett Scott.A retired Bloomington educator, Scott started the Twin Cities Chess Club in 1967. He went on to build school chess clubs throughout the community, following his initial success at Oakdale Elementary.Two years ago, Scott – who coaches at Bloomington and Parkside junior high school — turned the reins of the Jan. 21st event to Nibblen. He teaches chess to Metcalf students, and co-organized this year’s event with Kingsley chess coach Peter Stroyan, a former Scott student.They were helped by 10 directors and hundreds of parent volunteers.Val Walker, whose Prairieland Elementary first-grader Jordan Walker was playing, said he liked the multicultural feel of the event. “Really, it brings all races together. Look around,” said Walker, who teachers science at Normal Community West High School. “And how fitting this event is on the King holiday — this was Dr. King’s vision.”
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