BY CHRISTINE MONCADA
GRANDMASTER Eugene Torre yesterday said Philippine chess will mourn the passing of Florencio Campomanes, adding his contributions to the game will be hard to forget and surpass.
Although shocked by Campomanes’ passing yesterday, Torre said: “Talaga namang dadating na rin ‘yan, nahirapan na rin siya, mahina na rin.”
He chose instead to focus on what Campomanes did to chess here and the whole world, especially when he brought two big events here–the 1978 World Championship between Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov and the 1992 Chess Olympiad.
“Napakalaki ng contribution niya sa chess, hindi lang sa Pilipinas kundi sa buong mundo. His being FIDE president was in itself a remarkable achievement. He had good relations with presidents of various federations. And under his term, he focused on the development of young players. That explains kung bakit napakaraming mga batang magagaling ngayon,” said Torre, who became the country’s and Asia’s first GM as a 22-year-old back in 1974 when the Philippine team finished a fighting 11th overall in the World Chess Olympiad in Nice, France.
“We worked together during those days. Although the PCF (Philippine Chess Federation) was led by Bombi Aznar then, Campo was our titular head. He helped us strategize and he took care of all the team’s needs,” said Torre, now 58.
Along with Torre, making up the RP team in the Nice Olympiad were Ramon Lontoc Jr., Renato Naranja, Rosendo Balinas Jr., Rodolfo Tan-Cardoso, and Glenn Bordonada.
That team’s 11th place finish stood as the best for the country until another squad that also included Torre finished seventh overall in 1988.
“Practically we were a father-and-son tandem. But make no mistake about he, he was the godfather of Philippine chess. Almost all of the country’s best players, especially the veterans, grew up with Campo at the helm,” said Torre.
“It’s a great privilege na nagkaroon ako ng close association sa kanya. I won’t forget it. He was a great man of the chess world, parang Fischer,” Torre concluded.
Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph
| Campo makes his final move |
| Tuesday, 04 May 2010 18:53 |
The chess icon, who stunned the world by capturing the Fide presidency as an underdog in 1982 in Lucerne, Switzerland, breathed his last at 1:30 p.m. at Iggy’s Inn in Baguio City.
“He moved on peacefully, and with quiet gentleness all around him,” said Des Bautista, who built the Iggy’s Inn with wife Auring. “He was a giant in Philippine sports and his passing created a void that will be hard to fill in.”
Bautista and Campomanes—Pocams to his dear friends—had been bosom buddies since ’60s.
“I lost a man who was more than a brother to me,” said Bautista. “And, if I may add, I also lost a poker mate, whose passion for and skills in the card game are rivaled only by his love for and deft-laden moves in chess.”
Before his ascent to chess officialdom, Campomanes, a national master, had been a professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman and had also played for flag and country.
He was playing team captain, Philippine delegate and media reporter (he wrote columns for The Manila Times and the defunct Daily Express) in the Cuba World Chess Championship in the 1960s, with Carlos Benitez, Renato Naranja and Rodolfo Tan Cardoso as his teammates.
Until his election as Fide president, Campomanes had been a virtual outsider as the world chess body was then dominated virtually by Europeans.
Under his watch, Campomanes, a linguist who also spoke Spanish fluently, literally opened the Fide doors to the world—from Asia to Africa, from the Arab world to South America.
Using his battle cry “One World Through Chess,” he courted nonchess-playing nations to join Fide, including the Middle East countries and such African countries like Tunisia and Nigeria and even Trinidad and Tobago.
In his pre-Fide days, he produced Asia ’s first grand master, the legendary Eugene Torre, in 1973.
More here.
May he and 12 million pesos rest in peace.
First time I’ve heard of a 1978 match between Bobby Fischer & Karpov – I must have been dreaming. I always thought it was between Viktor Korchnoi & Karpov. Ho hum …
Campo produced his first and only GM in Eugene Torre.
The rest of the Filipino talents, as well as Philippine chess, stagnated under his leadership.
In the final analysis, Campo did well for himself and others, but not for Philippine chess.
I will haunt your dreams Anon!