“Fisher, Chess Genius, dies in Iceland; 64”

The Philippine Daily Inquirer of today’s (01/19/2007) edition as one of top news story. He is my idol.
I religiously followed his championship game against Boris Spassky during their 1972 encounter at Reykjavik He wrestled the world title here dubbed as the match of the century. I would cut every (moves) games of their duel that got printed in the newspaper.

I can’t remember now whether I am in my first year or second year high school when I came about a group of schoolmates playing Chess in our school quadrangle.

I got interested and ask one of them to teach me the rudiments of the game. But one classmate of mine told me pointblank that no matter what I do I could never win against him.
Oh! Boy, what a challenge he gave me. I love challenges, so as the story goes I took the challenge but I have one problem, I have no chess set to play with.

(Larry hope your reading this) A classmate of mine whose hands are good at drawing (he could even make a komiks version in a sheet of paper) uses a bottle crown (tansan) of soft drinks as chess pieces and Manila folder as chessboard. Genius isn’t it?

Another problem, nobody among my friends knows this game. I was even the one who introduced this game to them.

Then one day, a friend of my friend drop by while we were playing chess in a street corner, and ask me if I could teach him some karate fundamentals? He learned from my friend that we are being taught karate in Hong Sing Karate Club (link). His Father wouldn’t allow him to study karate because it would ruin his hands. His father had enrolled him in a piano lesson.

Despite clear explanation that we could not teach him, he gave an offer we could not refuse, they have an sporting goods (store) in Gonzalo Puyat St. (previously named Raon St.) and he could lend us not only chess set, chess clock and even chess books.
What do you know, that is the first lesson I learned about corruption?

Not before long, I had learned and memorize a lot of opening moves, the importance of middle game and the killer end moves. I even joined our Barangay Chess competition ending second to a member of DeLa Salle School Chess team. He can even play with somebody with a handicapped, playing blindfolded and be able to win.

No I didn’t became a grandmaster, all I want is to prove something that we could do everything in our life if we put our focus on it.

As for my classmates who gave me the challenge, I am thankful for him for my learning became fast and easy. Did I win against him? Of course! Without a sweet mind you.

And to my friend who wanted to learn the fundamentals of karate, we joined him in his piano lesson as his audience with free snacks to boot.

As to my idol, he gave chess the world-class attention similar to what Muhammad Ali had done to boxing.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

“Robert James “Bobby” Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American-born chess Grandmaster, an Icelandic citizen at the time of his death, who became famous as a teenager for his chess-playing ability. In 1972, he became the first, and thus far only, American to win the official World Chess Championship, defeating defending champion Boris Spassky. The match was widely publicized as a Cold War battle because it pitted a single American against the Soviet system. He is often referred to as a candidate for the greatest chess player of all time.” May He rest in piece.

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