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Called “schach” by Germans, the game of chess is therapeutic for a pair of Army medical personnel who advanced to play in the 2007 Interservice Chess Championships.
***image1***Spc. Jhonel Baniel of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and Capt. Chris Pitts of USACHPMM Europe are part of a six-person Army team which will compete against squads from other military service branches in an interservice competition that’s been dominated in recent years by the Air Force.
The best players at this year’s interservice championships will play later on a team representing the combined U.S. military branches at the NATO Chess Championships.
Most competitors in the All-Army Championships and the upcoming 2007 Interservice Chess Championships at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., are required to be active duty and possess a current U.S. ranking, which Specialist Baniel did not.
“I didn’t know this competition had been going on for over 40 years,” said Specialist Baniel, who secured a place on the Army team through his high rank and status among German chess players. “It’s an honor to be a part of the Army team,” he said.
Various teams of Army players met May 13 to 18 in Virginia to decide the top prize winners and to piece together the final Army team that will compete in California. Staff Sgt. Rudy Tia Jr. dominated those proceedings, earning a chance to lead the Army contingent in the Miramar tournament.
“Tia is pretty much the annual winner,” Captain Pitts said.
Having two of Landstuhl’s medical personnel earn spots on the elite Army team is meaningful to Captain Pitts, who was in the process of PCS-ing to Fort Bliss, Texas. Both men practice their moves as members of German chess clubs.
“It’s the best of the best,” said Captain Pitts. “A lot of the military guys you play against are there year after year – they are the ‘frequent fliers.’ It’s cut and dried. You either, win, lose or have draws. There is no luck involved.”
Luck is indeed the least common denominator in games staged at the various military-sponsored tournaments. In the 11-round championships at the recent tournament in Virginia, contestants were given two hours to complete 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the remainder of the game.
One point was awarded for a win, a half-point for a draw, and nothing for a loss. Sergeant Tia was especially dominant in the All-Army tournament but was expected to perhaps miss the interservice championships with his unit expected to soon deploy to Iraq.
“We will have a big mountain to climb with him or without him but we’d like him to be there,” Specialist Baniel said.
Both men have been playing for nearly 20 years and each said the dominance shown by Sergeant Tia was a chess tournament rarity.
“There was some pretty hot competition among the 12 Army people who were at Virginia,” said Captain Pitts. “I had three wins and seven draws. Tia played outstanding chess.”
The pair has founded chess clubs in the KMC, including one on Vogelweh.
