LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Drawing 482 participating chess players not only from Pangasinan but also from nearby provinces, this year’s Governor Amado Espino Chess Clinic jumpstarted the 6th Pangasinan Chess Festival to a great start.
The Provincial Government of Pangasinan-sponsored chess clinic was held in two parts last September 17-18 and 24-25 at the Pangasinan Training and Development Center, Capitol Compound here.
Governor Amado “Pogi” I. Espino, III, a sports enthusiast himself, graced the culmination of the twin weekend chess clinic.
“We will continue to support this chess clinic, as well as all the other sporting events because of your unfailing patronage,” vowed the provincial chief executive, who was overwhelmed by the huge turnout at the event.
He said that these efforts initiated by his predecessor and now Representative Amado T. Espino, Jr. are geared towards developing the next generation as leaders especially in the field of sports.
“Who knows the next Filipino Olympic medalist would come from Pangasinan?” he asserted.
Ranging from beginner, advanced and intermediate levels of deftness, the hundreds of participants to the event hailed from 10 towns and 2 cities in the province and the neighboring provinces of Nueva Ecija and Zambales – all primed for the upcoming tournaments of the four-month chess festival.
To be held on October 22-23 will be the 6th Pangasinan Age Group Chess Championships Tournament; the 6th Pangasinan Chess Championships, November 19-20; and the 8th Governor Amado Espino Cup Open Chess Tournament, December 16-18.
Dubbed as the biggest and most popular local sporting event mounted by a provincial local government, the Pangasinan Chess Festival is also said to be the lone chess festival hosted by a province in the country.
For its six-year run, the festival has already birthed to chess champions including the 22-year-old Grand Master-elect Haridas Pascua from Mangatarem town.
This project is brought in part by the Pangasinan Chess Club headed by secretary-general German Francisco and president Juan Vicente Sison with the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.
By Dexter A. See
