Chess-playing engineers in Cebu

By Frank “Boy” Pestaño
Chessmoso

Engineers who play chess are thick as flies and this list is just the tip of the iceberg. The names mentioned here are mostly tournament players and are therefore more serious about the game compared to those who just play for relaxation.

To start with, the original founders of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) were three engineers, two accountants, one lawyer and two businessmen. Luis Miñoza is a pillar and fellow of the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers, my brother Danilo is also a mechanical engineer, while I am a chemical engineer.

Most of the presidents of Cepca have been engineers. I was elected charter president then Ogie Reyes, a mechanical engineer; Benjamin Dimaano an agricultural engineer; my brother Danilo, Victor Legaspina, an electronics and communication engineer ; Bobot Villaluna, a mechanical engineer, and current president Jun oils, also a mechanical engineer.

A few of the earliest members of Cepca are my neighbor Bob Inocian of Pepsi Cola, a chemical engineer; Pablito Argamosa, also a chemical engineer aside from being a geologist and connected with National Power Corp. (Napocor), and Art Riuz, dean of the Chemical Engineering Department in University of San Jose-Recoletos.

The four of us formed the chemical engineers team in the early 1990s, although Art never became a member of Cepca.

Other Cepca members are John Catayas, a civil engineer; Maggi Dionson, a geodetic engineer; Butchie Abaya a civil engineer; Alex Ponce, a mechanical engineer; Cecilio Rabusa, an electrical engineer and Jerry Delima also an electrical engineer.

The last three mentioned above were formerly with Napocor and now with Transcor. Their colleagues in Transcor who also play chess are Reggie Albano and Ian Pinlac, both electrical engineers; Frank Robles, a mechanical engineer, and Ramsy Pedroza, an electronics and communication engineer.

Other engineer members of Cepca include Doy Ocubillo, who travels abroad for a living and is the only marine engineer of the club; new member Jeffrey Solis, a civil engineer and also an architect; and Serge Borres, who is with the Mactan Airport Authority and a mechanical engineer.

National Master Bombi Aznar is an honorary member of Cepca and also a fellow of the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Bob Inocian’s chess playing friends include Prix Fernandez, production manager of Pepsi Cola and a mechanical engineer; PLDT’s Delfin Auman, also a mechanical engineer; and Bering Chemicals proprietor Meme Bering, a chemical engineer.

A dear friend who has three degrees in engineering is Cepca member Gerry Ouano, a civil, sanitary and geodetic engineer.

He has a wide circle of friends who play chess, among them Lorenzo Lora and Leonor Salazar, both civil engineers and contractors.

Other friends of Gerry who play chess are Carlos Mirasol, a civil engineer with the Municipality of Oslob; Jun Singson of the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD); John Cabo, a civil engineer and owner of Glass Kingdom; Vilmer Biason a civil engineer formerly with Napocor; George Lim, a civil engineer connected with the Bank of Commerce, Glenn Gobalani, an electronics and communication engineer with Norkis, and Jun Exaltacion, an electrical engineer with Tsuneishi Heavy industries, which is into shipbuilding in Balamban.

I have also chess playing cousins, namely Friday de la Victoria, a chemical engineer; and the twins Rolando and Rodolfo Tolato, who have sailed the seven seas as marine engineers, but now retired.

MELENDEZ IS JUNE CHAMPION. Lawyer Gaudioso “Jun” Melendez won Cepca’s June tournament last Sunday at the Stella Maris Seafarer Center with four points after three wins and two draws in five rounds. He drew his last match against Emmanuel Macuto, who settled for second place via tiebreak.

Jun Olis and Pepe Gador also finished with four points but were relegated to the third and fourth placers by tiebreak. Maggi Dionson finished fifth with 3.5 points.