When I was younger, probably 15, I started playing chess with my dad. I was never really good at it, trust me. I moved pieces just to move them, to “protect” mine and to try and beat my dad. I do remember these words: “when you start thinking before you make your move, you’ll get somewhere.” I never really understood these words until I played against one of the interviewees last week. These guys showed me what it truly is to love chess as much as they do. I had, quite honestly, never seen people so passionate about this and it intrigued me to know what motivated them to basically – in my words – become Masters.
Names:
[left] Jaime “Padawan” Rodríguez Santiago (26) – Graduate History Student
[center] Jonathan Torres Santiago (28) – Senior Social Sciences Student
[top] Luis A. Aramburu Ortiz (22) – Senior Marketing Student
HC: When did you learn how to play? What made you want to learn?
Jaime: I started around 2001, at Borders in Plaza. I started playing, I liked it. It was a way of bonding with my dad, I started playing tournaments and noticed I had a talent and I kept on playing. When you notice you’re good at something, you put in more effort.
Jonathan: I also started around 2001, at the same place. I was 13 and a fan of videogames so I wanted to look for another option, and that’s how I discovered chess. I liked the competitive spirit at Borders, if you lost you had to wait 2 hours to maybe play again. That’s how Jaime and I met too.
Luis: I was very little, my dad taught me the move El Pastor. I probably started when I was 10, moving pieces normally. Then, I started playing more seriously when doing tournaments. First time I played a FIDE tournament was in 2011 at the Universidad del Turabo.
HC: What has been the best advice given to you?
Jaime: “Hay 3 conceptos naturales en el ajedrez: Por Dios, saca las piezas. Por la Virgen, saca las piezas y por Dios y la Virgen saca las piezas.”
Jonathan: I don’t remember who, but someone once told me that there’s similarity in the way you play chess and the way you live your life.
Luis: A wise player once said to me: “Cuando no sepas qué hacer en el juego, mueve el rey. Y si aun no sabes qué hacer, da un jaque, porque puede que también haya mate.”
HC: What advice would you give to aspiring players out there?
Jaime: You have to define if it’s something you really like, because, if taken seriously, it can be really complicated. Define your style, acquire theory and study it. You can’t progress in chess if you don’t work.
Jonathan: You can’t wait for anyone to do anything for you. You have to take the wheel in your own life, of your efforts because you can’t just sit back and wait for positive results. You have to take control of your reality, effort, consequences and of who you are. “You are responsible of your own success”
Luis: If you want to go far, take advantage of that sooner and all the time that you have.
HC: How many moves can you see ahead? (or try to)
Jaime: There’s some positions where I can calculate the 40th move. But there’s other positions where I can’t calculate that far ahead. Everything depends on the current play.
Jonathan: It all depends on how you physically feel that day, too. I can see some moves by responding to certain proposals (if we put it that way). It’s not about calculating, you need to have a conceptual understanding. Calculating is just…like doing a check-list.
Luis: Technically speaking, it depends on the phase of the game you’re at. If you’re at the opening phase, you can calculate almost 15 plays. As Jaime said, it depends on your position.
HC: What would you tell students from our campus to attract them to join you?
Jaime: At Cayey, we achieved participation at the LAI for 5 years. If we can form a team here, where there is massive participation, that would help in claiming more help and recognition in front of athletic directors and we can even accomplish some scholarships for chess players. This gives the low-resources students, that like the sport, the opportunity to have access to a college education. – A nivel universitario, por este campus han pasado
Jonathan: I had the opportunity to be part of the Chess Club before it was reopened. There was an infinite number of activities we did on campus. Other universities, mostly private ones, give scholarships and other opportunities to chess players. If we have the ability, the talent and we’re the “biggest and principal” campus of all the UPR system, then we can have the same or even more opportunities for those students. At the end of the day, chess isn’t all that serious as people make it out to be.
Luis: Personally, I know a lot of people that don’t know about the Club yet. I would like to tell them: we have fun, there are opportunities to learn a lot (of the great resources we have like Jonathan and Jaime) and this club has been thinking of reaching the same status it had during it’s “peak time”. Also, make the Chess Club part of their experience in La IUPI .
HC: When you’re not playing chess, what do you do?
Jaime: I like to do a bit of tourism myself. I see a lot of people who travel the world but don’t know about local places. To develop our economy, we should exploit the local tourism. After chess, that has to be my hobby. Let’s not forget I’m a beer taster myself.
Jonathan: I like to read. I recognize there’s a lot of things in our puertorican conduct that comes from the education area. I like to teach and I sometimes go to El Bori and have difficult (but meaningful) conversations at the bar. Oh, and exercise too!
Luis: I’m a freak for sports, and what I’m currently playing is tennis. I also love photography, videography and just cinema overall. You’ve probably seen me around campus with my camera, that would be the usual giveaway.
HC: What does chess mean to you?
Jaime: It was the way that defined who Jaime Rodríguez is nowadays. It defined his way of thought and how he interacts and reacts to life’s problematics in a more critical way of thinking.
Jonathan: For me chess has been the way that allowed me to fulfill myself as a human being in different ways. At the competitive level, I like to be with people who like chess and teach. It has given me a way of living life and is part of who I am.
Luis: It’s where I may have built an alter ego. I’m a player above average or average but I always go with the mentality that I can win any game but, at the same time, know that it may not be possible. I always think: “I’m the best at this and whoever wants a challenge, let’s go then.”
If you’ve ever wondered what chess is all about, or better yet joining a Chess Club, then I suggest you click on over to their Facebook and ask more!
*all photos were taken out of the guy’s Facebook