Tolentino elected Fide sec-general

TROMSO, Norway—Cavite Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino made his foray into the international sports arena when he was elected secretary-general of the World Chess Federation (Fide) during its elections here Monday.

Tolentino, also the Asian Zone 3.3 president and secretary-general of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, ran under the banner of Kirzan Ilyumzhinov, who kept the Fide presidency at the expense of former world champion Garry Kasparov, 110-61, with four votes nullified.

A three-term mayor of Tagaytay City from 2004 to 2013 before he ran for congress in the seventh district, Tolentino bested incumbent secretary-general Ignatius Leong of Singapore in the secret balloting held simultaneously with the ninth round of the 41st Chess Olympiad in this northern Arctic city.

Tolentino was personally asked by Ilyumzhinov, on a visit in Manila in April, to join his ticket in honor of his mentor, the late former Fide president Florencio Campomanes.

According to Tolentino, Ilyumzhinov associated him with Campomanes when the multimillionaire former president of Kalmykia introduced him and the other members of his ticket before the generals assembly.

Elected with Ilyumzhinov and Tolentino were Georgios Makropoulos (deputy president), Aguinaldo Jaime (vice president), Martha Fierro Baquero (vice president) and Adrial Siegel (treasurer).

While his function is largely ministerial, Tolentino said he’ll relinquish his Asian Zone 3.3 post in favor of the Vietnam Chess Federation.

Tolentino will be leaving on Wednesday for Oslo before proceeding to Manila.

Members of Kasparov’s team were likewise beaten, including NCFP chair/president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, who challenged Asian Chess Federation president Sheik Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nehyan.