OZAMIZ City ― Always adhering first to the call of duty as a soldier, International Master Richelieu Salcedo III was finally given a chance to shine in the game he loves most.
The 32-year-old Salcedo, seeded 13th among 201 participants, emerged as the new blitz king of Philippine chess when he ruled the 1st Governor Henry S. Oaminal Blitz Chess Tournament that assembled the country’s cream of the crop such as Grandmasters Rogelio Antonio Jr and Darwin Laylo and fellow IMs Joel Pimentel, Rolando Nolte, Roderick Nava and Ronald Bancod at the City Auditorium here, on November 10-12.
Salcedo, who swept his first five matches including a victory over youthful Fide Master Alekhine Nouri, bested former solo leader Jayson Salubre in the eighth and final round to claim the championship and the P10,000 top purse with his 7.5-point output in the 8-round Swiss System tournament.
The impressive performance was a fitting follow-up to Salcedo’s reign in recent weeks when he steered the Philippine Air Force in reclaiming the throne they won 6 years ago in the recent 2023 AFP-PNP-PCG-BFP-BJMP-BuCor Chess Olympics over last year’s grand slam winner Philippine Army.
“Days before he flew to Mindanao he was so anxious due to work. I only asked him one question: Is it worth your risk? Remember there’s nothing better than self-satisfaction,”
He then answered “Bahala naaa… try lang kahit walang practice, gusto ko talaga magchess mommy di lang talaga nabibigyan ng time and chance,” shared Richelieu’s beautiful wife Kelly Ann David-Salcedo on her Facebook wall.
Salcedo is a native of Inubolan, Salay, Misamis Oriental, who was sent to Manila by his lonesome at the tender age of eleven to grab a scholarship grant in high school at Rizal Technology University (RTU)-Mandaluyong due to poverty and to fulfill his late father’s dream for his talented son to become a chess master.
From high school, he progressed in college at the Far Eastern University and represented the country in the Asean age-group 20-under tourney in Vietnam where he won shortly after his father Richelieu Sr died to secure the first ever International Master chess title for the province of Misamis Oriental.
“I am thankful to Misamis Oriental Governor Peter Unabia and the people of the Provincial Sports Development Office for giving me a chance to join the Paglaum Misor teams in the Ozamiz Chess Festival,” Salcedo said.
“I really want to play chess aside from my oath promise as a soldier to serve the country,” he added.
Salcedo’s seven wins and one draw plus Jeff Russell Rivera’s six pts and Arian Belly Calido’s 5.5 points also catapulted the Paglaum-Misor C to a share for first place in the team blitz championship with the eventual champion on tiebreak La Carlota City of Diego Abraham Caparino, FM Nelson Villanueva and Adrian Joy Singson.
La Carlota City and Paglaum-Misor C received P20,000 and P14,000 each, while third-placer Ortigas RCUDP (Vince Angelo Medina, Jan Francis Mirano, Christian Mendoza) got P10,000.
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