Mang Bading’s barber shop was a very popular hangout in my neighborhood when I was growing up. Mang Bading had only one barber’s chair, but his place attracted many; not for haircuts, but for entertainment and amusement. There were benches and chairs outside the shop where the regular visitors would play dama (Filipino checkers) and chess while onlookers gathered around to watch the games. I frequently played dama with my Uncle Pelagio, but wasn’t good enough to challenge any of the regular players at the barber shop. After school, I would often stop by the barber shop to watch people play even though I wasn’t very interested in chess at the time. I knew the basic rules of the game, but I thought it was too complicated. I became much more interested in chess when I was fourteen years old. My high school friend, Eliezer Fortunato, and I liked to compete with each other on just about anything, and since we were both chess beginners of ...
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