Chess got the right moves as disciples of the game led the achievers for the month of October and feted by the Philippine Sportswriters’ Association.
Venerable Grandmaster Eugene Torre was formally inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in memorable rites in Missouri, joining the hallowed company of greats like Bobby Fisher, Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.
Torre, 70, was the first Asian to receive the honors. He was enshrined after a long line of accomplishments highlighted by his emergence as the first GM in Asia, first to defeat Kasparov and first to reach the Candidates stage of the World Championship.
Camarines Norte chesser Efren Bagamasbad soared to prominence as he ruled the Asian Seniors Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.
Bagamasbad, 66, went undefeated and posted 7.5 points on six wins and three draws to reign supreme and earn an outright International Master title and the first of three norms to become a GM.
Athletes from weightlifting, pencak silat and sambo also delivered stellar performances to open the first month of the last quarter of 2022 on a bright note.
Rose Jean Ramos, a 17-year-old prospective heiress to Olympic champ Hidilyn Diaz, snagged a bronze medal in the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Manama, Bahrain against older rivals in the women’s 45kg division. Ramos’ 85-kg lift in the clean and jerk put her in the podium.
Filipino pencak silat experts scooped up one gold, two silver and eight bronze medals in the Asian Pencak Silat Championships in Srinagar, India.
Alfau Jan Abad and Almohaidib Abad topped the men’s double artistic (Seni Ganda Putra) division to lead the country’s bountiful harvest.
The Philippines also struck gold in the World Martial Arts Masterships Sambo Online Tournament courtesy of female bets Aumeagel Princess Cortez and Mylene Matias and male counterparts Troy Anthony Estrella and Mark Striegl.
In tennis, Fil-Am Treat Huey won the men’s doubles title in the Hamburg Challenger 80 in Germany with Armenian partner Max Schnur while Johnny Arcilla captured a record 10th men’s singles crown in the PCA Open in Paco.
