Blue Knight Chess Club founder and national arbiter Ronnie Tabudlong recalled his vibrant friendship with the late FIDE president Florencio “Maestro” Campomanes, the only Filipino to head the world’s governing body for chess.
Engr. Tabudlong, the Mindanao coordinator of the prestigious Shell Youth Active Chess Championship, said he befriended Campomanes when he was still studying in Manila and played in the National Juniors Championship at the Philippine Chess Federation headquarters located in Intramuros.
“I am very lucky to have him as a friend, mentor, and adviser. I will always cherish the moments with the Maestro,” he said.
Tabudlong and Campomanes met for the last time on May 9, 2009 during the Department of Education Chess Training at the Shalom Center.
“We talked about chess development in the Philippines and about his late and good friend national master Joe Pascual who taught me chess and my co-worker during my early high school days as his assistant in organizing tournaments in Davao City,” said Tabudlong. [MPB]
