The Chess Game

Liceo de Cagayan University made it possible to celebrate and enjoy this week’s intramurals. LDCU held its online intramurals from 18th - 19th of October. After the examination week, this week we’re able to have a chance to showcase our talents and wits in playing games and other activities. Students will still be able to participate in the Intramurals online from the comfort of our home. One of the games that were played was Chess. Chess is a kind of board game that’ll be played by two players. It consists of 64 squares, each player has one king, one queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks, and eight pawns.

The game started with two players, Ms. Angela Liz Pelegrino and Mr. Paul Jafas Roa. Each player is given one hour in the elimination round. Both players showed an exceptional wit with their moves and their strategies to defeat their opponent. Mr. Roa was very relaxed in every move he made, on the other hand, Ms. Pelegrino showed composure throughout the game. In the elimination round, Mr. Roa won the game in just 10 minutes, placing his rook on e1 that made the king of the opponent have nowhere to go. The second game between Mr. Absari Abdulracman and Mr. Michael Soleno was very intense. Both gentlemen were calm and knew what they're doing which made the game more intense. At the end of the game, Mr. Absari Abdulracman won the game with his cleverness and acuity. The third game of the elimination round was played between Mr. Carlos Edayle Pabillore and Mr. Paul Jafas Roa. These players were really good and had good strategies in playing chess. Both looked prepared for the chess tournament at school, they showed their keenness in playing chess. As Mr. Roa is very offensive with his moves taking advantage of his chess pieces, he placed his queen to h2, bishop to g3, and another bishop to g2 that made the king of the opponent standoff; the game ended for about twenty minutes. That made Mr. Pabillore retract to play for third place and Mr. Roa will advance to the finals together with Mr. Abdulracman. In the Finals between Mr. Roa and Mr. Abdulracman, they were given one hour and thirty minutes to play. Mr. Abdulracman was very serious in the game, planning and visualizing his every move. On the other hand, Mr. Roa has high energy while playing, he looks confident and he just enjoys himself while playing. The finals took about thirty minutes. Mr. Abdulracman was defending his chess pieces, making the game more intense. Mr. Roa was just chill while moving his pieces aggressively, giving no chance for Mr. Abdulracman for a comeback. With Mr. Roa's chess pieces remaining, he made it to defeat Mr. Abdulracman with his exceptional strategy. Mr. Abdulracman conceded for the second game, so Mr. Roa won the chess game with his pure talent and skills. They both showed good sportsmanship with one another, it is to be humble in victory and to be strong in defeat.

Behind Mr. Roa's inspiration to win the chess game was the "PJ Gwapo" given by his crush or his account name, Mr. Roa said, "Ang `PJ Gwapo’ tingali ni crush or akong account name sa chess, I think mao nang reason why nidaog ko. Like, it gives me a reason to smile bahalag kapildehon na or nagkamali na sa dula. Also, please like and subscribe to my Youtube Channel ‘PJ Roa’. Thank you". He also has a message for the aspiring chess players "Just keep on playing chess. Don't be afraid to try new things. Like, this is my first ever chess tournament and I was happy to have won it against talented players. Always have fun and just keep on enjoying the game." Mr. Roa could be an inspiration for those talented players who are just afraid to fail and don't want to try new things. Whatever the outcome would be at most you've tried, you’ve gained experiences and you’ve learned new things.

Written by: Juan Miguel Palarca, CRS Newsletter Writer