GM John Paul Gomez: Tennis' loss is RP chess' gain

MANILA, Philippines - John Paul Gomez joined the likes of Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Bong Villamayor as the country’s top grandmasters last year. But who knew that the 22-year-old Gomez, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Athlete of the Year for Season 71, at one point in his career had a ball and racquet in his hand instead of kings and queens? Gomez took up his first chess pieces when he was three years old and started beating older players when he was five. He went on to win five Most Valuable Player awards in the UAAP playing for La Salle. But Gomez shared that he competed as a tennis player and even became a top player in the 10-and-under category. He shifted to tennis because his interest in chess wavered as a kid. “Tinalo ako ng pinsan ko (on a chess match). Dinaya niya ako. Binato ko chess pieces sa bahay," Gomez said. Gomez recalled that during that time, he acquainted with Irwin De Guzman and Patrick John Tierro, the co-Most Valuable Player in men’s tennis who also played from La Salle. Tierro now competes for the Philippine team in international competitions including the Davis Cup. “Naalala pa nila na naglaro ako ng tennis," Gomez said referring to De Guzman and Tierro. “Kami ni PJ, hindi kami magka-age bracket, pero si Irwin, nakakalaro ko na noon." As fate would have it, Gomez suffered a fractured right hand playing tennis. It was during that time that he returned to his first love—chess. “May mga years din na nasayang dahil naglalaro ako ng tennis. Noong nine-years-old ako, nag-focus na ako sa chess," said Gomez. Good thing he did. He added that his father gave him chess books when he was five but never really got to read it because he didn’t understand it until his interest in chess returned. Gomez emulates his aggressive play to Gary Kasparov, a former world champion and highly-regarded as the greatest chess player in history. After winning the UAAP’s prestigious Athlete of the Year award, Gomez plans to review for the mechanical engineering board exam while competing in various tournaments including this month’s Battle of the GMs in Zamboanga and the Asian Continental Championships. Tennis’ loss, is indeed, Philippine chess’ gain. –GMANews.TV