Arizona tech sgt. takes chess championship
Staff reportPosted : Wednesday May 21, 2008 15:57:29 EDT
In the game of kings and pawns, Tech. Sgt. Robert Keough is the Air Force’s best.
Keough, of the 563rd Operations Support Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., took first place in the 2008 Air Force Chess Tournament held last week at the Arizona installation.
Now, Keough and five other airmen advance to the Department of Defense-wide tournament set for June 8-14 at Davis-Monthan.
The five airmen are:
* Tech Sgt. Robert Bucholtz, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.
* Airman 1st Class Elena Dulger, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
* Master Sgt. Lawrence Pagtama, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
* Master Sgt Dan Ranario, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
* Col. Samuel Echaure, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.
Keough shared his victory with his squadron-mates. “I am so thankful to my supervisors for letting me go to the tournaments,” the technical sergeant said. “Everyone has to work twice as hard in order for me to be there, and they still provide so much support.”
“Watching a beautiful chess game or even a move is like art to me,” Keough added. “I look at chess the way an art connoisseur would look at [Van Gogh’s] ‘Starry Night’ or [Da Vinci’s] ‘Mona Lisa.’”
In addition to seeking an overall Air Force victory at the June competition, the airmen will vie for spots on the U.S. Military Team that travels in August to the NATO Chess Championship in Brussels, Belgium.
Source: Air Force
Is he a USCF member?
Is that Robert Keough who was once stationed in Suffolk, England?
He is a USCF member. He’s playing in the US Amateur West this weekend, also in Tucson, AZ.
I’ll ask if he’s been stationed in Suffolk, England. (There’s a picture of him on the Air Force source.)