This evening at the Marshall Chess Club, I had the pleasure of playing chess with IM Renato Naranja, former Champion of The Philippines, Pan-Asian Champion, World Championship candidate, 10 time Chess Olympian, and who drew Bobby Fischer in Palma de Mallorca.

For a while, he chatted with me amiably while I studied games from John Watson’s “Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy.” Playing through variations and discussing ideas, he illuminated concepts I would not have otherwise noticed, much less grasped. Many strong players refuse to play friendly games of chess, demanding money for their valuable time. This was not the case with Renato. He was as genial as he was genius, basically giving me a friendly chess lesson in exchange for nothing more than pleasant conversation.