The Zamboanga Sultans rolled off with two wins so far in the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines’ (PCAP) first online inaugural chess tournament last January 16, 2021.
Sultans’ first win was against Cebu City Manchers with a score of 12-9 last January 20, followed by their latest second win against Iriga Dragons, another 12-9, last January 23, qualifying them for the winners’ circle of the said online conference.
Team Sultans consists of 11 chess players, with National Master Zulkifar Sali as their founder and manager. Other members include chess veterans International Master Chito Garma and NM Joey Florendo, together with NM Paulo James Florendo, Dr. Jenny Mayor, Sarah Chua, Jordan Gadayan, Dwight Dans, and Abdulkalip Daggung. Their team captain, Arena Grand Master Rey Reyes, is Ateneo de Zamboanga University’s Athletic Director, notable for his long-time love for chess.
Sali instantly created his team upon PCAP’s founding to express his passion for chess despite being a busy emergency nurse at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
When asked about the team’s name origin, he quoted in an interview with PhilStar, “We also wanted to be looked at as being fierce, and we have to be fierce in a chess game although it is an intelligent and classy game. So we thought of ‘sultans,’ who are known to be fierce, and it is also paying homage to the Muslim heritage of Mindanao. Sultans were also known to have played chess, so there is a relevance to it.”
PCAP is the first known professional chess league in Southeast Asia and the Philippines, recently launched last September 17, 2020. Their All-Filipino chess tournament is currently being held every Wednesday and Saturday, played by teams instead of individually. The 24 teams are divided into the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, with Sultans in the latter group.
Sali denoted his confidence towards the team, saying that the Sultans “has a good balance of veterans and up-and-coming talent.”
