By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ
EIGHT-year-old chess wizard
Robert Abitan of Parang, Mambulao, CamNorte was today (April 26) declared champion in the
Superintendent’s Cup chess tournament held for two days in the capital town of
Daet.
Abitan, an MWBuzz protégé,
demolished his adversaries from Daet, Labo, Capalonga and Pandan.
In the opening games
yesterday, he won his first three matches and sealed his victory today by
demolishing his three remaining rivals.
For his feat, the Parang lad
received P1,000 cash prize.
The representative from
Pandan and Capalonga won P750 and P500 prize respectively.
Tournament arbiters and
organizers said: “Believe kaming lahat sa kanya (Abitan).”
Abitan will be competing for
the Bicol regional grand finals to be held in Daet in December.
Meantime, Abitan will start
his training to prepare for a major tournament in Metro Manila in September and
December, where he will play in the open
category matches.
Right now, he is already
playing in the Junior and Senior levels.
His trainer and coach,
Joseph Abitan, 16, said Abitan urgently needs funding assistance to prepare for
the coming three major tournament this year.
The elder Abitan said he
needs vitamins to nourish his brain and boost his resistance.
A doctor who recently examined
him said the boy is malnourished and underweight and needs adequate nourishment.
Abitan is a son of a
subsistence fisherman and lives in the squatter district along the beach of
Parang.
He learned chess at the age
of six from his uncle Joseph Abitan and began playing on bets of P2 whenever he
was hungry.
He bought bread with his
winnings.
These days, his neighbourhood
adversaries had avoided playing with him, saying he has become “unbeatable”. -
MWBuzzNews
If you think you can help Abitan defray the cost of his training to prepare for this year's two major tournaments to be held in December, please contact this writer at:
ahernandez@thenational.com.pg and alfredophernandez@y7mail.com
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