Ricardo "Ricky" de Guzman makes waves in California

FORMER Asian junior champion Ricardo "Ricky" de Guzman stretched his winning ways in the USA by ruling the 2010 Dolan Memorial international chess tournament at the Mechanics Institute Chess Club in San Francisco, California, USA last Oct. 9.

The Cainta, Rizal native beat Jeffrey Xiaoyang Zhang, Daniel Liu, compatriots Arjoe Loanzon and Romulo Fuentes and Paul Gallegos to win the championship trophy in the five-round United States Chess Federation-sanctioned tournament which attracted 41 woodpushers.

The 49-year-old Hayward, California-based De Guzman, best remembered for winning the 1981 Asian Junior Chess Championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh for which he was awarded an outright International Master title, also topped the 2010 Pafnutieff Open Chess Championships last Aug. 7 at the same venue.
It was the latest in De Guzman’s triumphs in the US. He also topped the Bagby 2010, 2010 Sacramento Chess Championships, Bekeley Open and Addison 2010 Chess Championships, among others.