Pinoy OFW tops Fide chess arbiter exam in Dubai

DUBAI, UAE – Veteran Filipino chess arbiter Anthony P. Pelayo posted the highest score among all examinees to lead 13 others who passed a recent Fide Arbiter's examination in Dubai. Pelayo, a document controller in a construction firm in Dubai, and compatriot Jobannie C. Tabada, who also passed the same examination, will officially join the ranks of the Philippines' Fide Arbiters after their applications are approved during the next Fide General Assembly.

Pelayo, a National Arbiter in the Philippines and a former vice president of the Chess Arbiters Association of the Philippines (CAAP), had a 94 per cent score in the examination, which served as the culminating activity of the Fide Arbiter's Seminar conducted by International Arbiters Andrzej Fillipowicz of Poland, who is the chairman of the Fide Technical Commission, and Mahdi Abdulrahim of the UAE. The seminar was held at the UAE Leaders Qualification Center.

The six-day Fide Arbiter's Seminar attracted a total of 38 participants from different countries. Aside from the UAE and the Philippines, aspiring chess arbiters from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, India, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Ukraine, Russia, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan also participated in the seminar.

Pelayo and Tabada's participation in the seminar was facilitated by the Filipino Chess Players League (FCPL), an organisation of Filipino chess enthusiasts working in the UAE, and Filipino Fide Arbiter Marz Marcial.