Young chess champ credits dad for success
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
LINGAYEN– Pangasinan’s newest young chess champ who was recently cited by the provincial government for his string of impressive wins in international tournaments unabashedly attributed his early success to his father.
“He is my coach. He is my idol,” was how 11-year-old Dennis Gutierrez III of San Fabian described his father, Dennis Gutierrez Jr.
The young Dennis readily acknowledged the big role that his father played in his chosen sport after receiving the copy of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) resolution.
He said he was only three and a half years old when his father began teaching him the rudiments of chess.
His father, a former chess national master and a chess varsity player of Adamson University, trounced many national and international chess tilts in his younger days.
Dennis III said the regualr “tournaments” at home organized by his father with his three siblings helped him on top of daily practice honed his skills.
The grade 5-chess champ has represented the country in the Southeast Asian games, among other international competitions.
Recently, he has topped the 20th annual New York State Open Blitz Chess Championship held in Lake George, New York.
Despite the time he spends in playing chess, young Dennis has been able to maintain good grades in school, a third honor student himself.
In addition to the formal citation by the SP, Gov. Amado Espino Jr. awarded a financial grant to Dennis and assured continuous support for him. (Johanne R. Macob)
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