IT WAS in faraway distance since he felt a high on chess-related matter.And it took the introduction of the “Dalawahan (two boards)” chess tourney in Cagayan de Oro for veteran campaigner Jokorn Maestrado to experience a “second high” in the very same thing he’s so passionateabout he remains a cunning bachelor until now.

On Saturday, November 10, the 50-something Maestrado of Barangay Nazareth got a “lot of help” from a high school teammate young enough to be called his son to become champion once again in the Knights Twin Towers Dalawahan Chess Challenge 2018 held at the Green Lane 2nd floor of Limketkai Center.

With Maestrado on board one and Corpus Christi High School’s Euneil Grant Capilitan on board 2, Team Generation bested a tough field of around 40 teams from all over Mindanao with an aggregate of 12 match points in seven rounds to capture the P6,000 top purse.

“Dugay na kaayo matawag nga humana akong panahon. Mao nga dili masabot ang kalipay nga mi-champion ta’g balik. Wala gyod ko nag-expect,” said Maestrado, whom a decade ago, earned the moniker “Alamid ng Mindanao” for his many exploits atop the 64-square-board.

Dishing out a remarkable 6 of 7 performance, Maestrado considered his tough draw with former Shell Active national junior champion Bryan Jose as the turning point, though he largely attributed the victory to the strong showing of Capilitan who also finished with 6 points, including a couple of hard-earned wins over top junior rivals Adrian Othniel Yulo of Xavier University High School and Christian Aquino of Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS).

“Mark my words, Capilitan’s conquest of the two junior biggies is enough to boost his confidence in the next chess tournaments of his life,” Maestrado said in vernacular.

Organized by the Knights of the Square Tables through its founding head, Ronald “El Kap” Banaag, the Dalawahan rapid tourney for players with an average ratings of 1950 saw fourteams in a tie with similar 11 match points.

After the tiebreaker, the Trojan Knights of Arbz Calido and Aquino bagged the second place worth P4,000 and the Dragon Warriors of Bobby Balabagan and Marco Visto the third place, P2,000.

The Destroyer, fronted by Bobby Salomon and Clyde Saraus, and the Stricker 1 bannered by Sonny Pasco and Alexis dela Rama, settled for fourth and fifth places, respectively, with P1,000 cash each also with trophies.

The Kidapawan pride Pasco and the Jasaan native Saraus both churned out a perfect score of 7 points on boards one and two to bring home additionalcash reward.

“It’s just the first dalawahan tourney in Cagayan de Oro pero bibo alegre kaayo kay dali ra maporma ang team daghan makaapil. I guest, there’ll be more dalawahan chess events to follow in the near future,” chief arbiter Lorenzo “Jun” Cuizon told SunStar Cagayan de Oro.