CHESS PREPARATION. Organizer Ben Wabe confers with national arbiter Margie Narcilla and computer expert Arbz Calido in mapping out preparation for the coming Memorial Cup chess tourney in Cagayan de Oro this coming November. (Photos by Lynde Salgados)
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CAGAYAN de Oro’s hosting of a memorial chess competition in November as a tribute to the late patriarch and matriarch of the broadening Wabe clan is guaranteed to be a sure-fire hit.

And why not.

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From the juicy cash prizes to exciting rivalry ensured by the leveling of the field and, above all, making it Fide-rated, the keenly-awaited tourney is nonetheless replete with a complete recipe.

“We just want to make it memorable that chess players from around the country will be lured to come, enjoy and compete on equal footing,” said Ben, one of the eleven children of Mr. and Mrs. Leo G. Wabe Sr, as he conferred with the officiating staff to map out the tournament’s preparation.

No less than Fide National Arbiter Margie Conrado Narcilla of Tacurong City from the province of Sultan Kudarat came here on Wednesday night to discuss some important details of the Memorial Cup, featuring the Team Tatluhan and Individual Open categories.

It will be held on November 25-27 at the Limketkai Mall with close to P200,000 in total cash prizes plus trophies and medals awaiting the winners.

Making the event Fide-rated or at par with the international standard will be a dream come true for the Wabe siblings who love the game of chess with higher respect.

Their late father Leo Wabe, a true-blue Kagay-anon, was the former department head of City Hall’s Civil Registry Office and was known to be everybody’s friend. And their late mother Nellie Alunan Wabe, daughter of former Talakag town mayor Flores Alunan, was an inspiration for patiently raising a big family.

“Their legacy will be best remembered by honoring them with a Fide-rated tourney and, of course, allowing our local players to earn international ratings,” Ben later told Gold Star Daily.

Already coming to the rescue as sponsors of the November chess spectacle in the City of Gold are the Leo G. Wabe clan, Hi-Time Wine Cellar, Endureth Culanag-Lee, Florivic Superales Tan, Ojie P. Laag, Roy Penaso, Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Espinosa, Patsada and Dr. Ariel Potot, vice chairman of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP).

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