By Lynde Salgados
Correspondent
REMEMBER the vintage National Master (NM) Cesar Caturla from Surigao City?
Well, the former Philippine Team member in the World Chess Olympiad is not in good health and in need of financial support to sustain his treatment.
“He’s really in bad shape. We just received a photo of him sent by a fellow chess player in our group chat,” said veteran chesser Clement Valledor of Cagayan de Oro without elaborating.
“Actually, naay complication sa iyang kidney,” later shared Arena Grandmaster Rey Urbiztondo who is Caturla’s townmate in the Caraga region.
Quick for a response, fellow chess senior citizen International Master Domingo Ramos of Manila has sponsored an online chess tourney on Saturday, October 16 of which proceeds will go to Caturla’s medication.
The “Event for a Cause” is open to all Filipino chess players via lichess.org with National Arbiter Dioniver Medrano (09213201752) as the contact person.
Mindanao woodpushers will always remember Caturla for organizing the biggest chess tournament in Mindanao ― the cash-rich Pichay Cup in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur ― with the late NM Ernesto Fernandez of Pagadian City running away with the champion’s purse of P100,000 cash.
Long retired from the chess spotlight, Caturla was back in 2019 where he copped the first gold for the Philippines in the 20th Asean + Age Group Chess Championships 2019 at the Golden Mandalay Hotel and Hotel Hazel in Mandalay City, Myanmar.
A member of the Philippine Chess Team in the 22nd Chess Olympiad, held in Haifa, Israel in 1976, Caturla was unbeaten in eight games, good enough to secure the top honors in the Senior 65 years old and above of the standard nine-round Swiss system tournament.
Caturla was also among the original members of the Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates now contending in the season-ending 3rd Conference of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines.
