Chess-alai

Chess world is an ever evolving arena where a lot of changes take place. Not only chess move variations, novelties, star players, and chess technology do change and develop but also the language commonly used and understood only among chess warriors. Chess players have come to develop a world of their own – or more specifically, a word of their own – that makes the chess world more dynamic and interesting.

At the Malibay Chess Club (MCC), the world “chess-alai,” I guess, is the most favorite and commonly used word everyday. And what does “chess-alai” mean?

“Chess-alai” is defined as a format of a chess play where a small group of chess players engage in a winner-takes-all chess mini-tournament, usually using the blitz system. Unlike the round-robin format where all players have a chance to compete against all the other players, the “chess-alai” system is more of, but not exactly, a knock-out system where the player who first accumulates the agreed number of won games wins. For instance, in a group of five players, whoever accumulates 5 victories will win the “chess-alai.” However, if a certain player is able to win 4 games in succession, meaning he beats all the other participating players in a row, then he already wins the “chess-alai.”

As mentioned above, it’s more of, but not exactly, a knock-out system. In a “chess-alai,” the change-the-loser format is used. Once a player loses a match, another player will play, and so on. The winner stays and the loser goes. Turns of who plays next will be in order. Whoever first accumulates the agreed number of wins will take the “prize.”

The prize is the pooled money that each participating player wages. At the MCC, bet is usually Php5.00. So if there are five players who participate in a “chess-alai,” the winner will take home all the pooled Php25.00.

But for most of the MCC players, it’s not really the money that counts. It’s the pleasure, the excitement, the passion, the brotherhood that chess brings into their lives.