Capt. Arthur Macaspac wins 2010 All-Army Chess Championships

Capt. Arthur Macaspac wins his third crown at the 2010 All- Army Chess Championships played May 16-21 at Joint Base Henderson Hall-Fort Myer, Va. Macaspac, who also won All-Army championships in 2006 and 2008, serves with the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade in Philadelphia, Pa. (Tim Hipps)

Army chess champ wins after running Iraq tourneys
Tim Hipps
FMWRC

FORT MYER, Va. – Capt. Arthur Macaspac needed a little help from a few new friends to win his third crown at the 2010 All-Army Chess Championships.

In the final round of the six-day, 11-round tournament at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, ninth-place finisher Maj. Larry Cox Jr. upset top-seeded and runner-up finisher Spc. Pieta Garrett to open the door for Macaspac.

“I had already won my final game so he had a little pressure,” Macaspac described Garrett’s losing move in the most important match of the tourney. “He hung a piece – very unusual for a chess master. Instead of capturing with a queen, he captured with a rook and he left his unsupported rook possible to attack.

“I saw it unfold.”

Garrett, who finished third here last year and first in the 2009 Inter-Service Chess Championships, quickly realized that his game had gone awry.

“I had a good game and he was putting up a little bit of a fight, but I got around the obstacles and then I finally got into position where I had a big edge,” explained Garrett, 24, of Fort Polk, La. “Then he just got a simple little trick on me and I completely blundered. I dropped a simple little tactic, and after that I was dead lost.

“It just goes to show that you’re never out. I was really confident. Then I played it and my heart dropped.”

Macaspac captured his third All-Army championship with nine victories, one loss and a draw for a total of 9.5 points. Garrett (8.5) finished second, followed by Spc. Nathaniel Rockhill (7.5) of the 38th Division Band in Indianapolis, Sgt. Jhonel Baniel (7.0) of Landstuhl, Germany, Pfc. Ismael Pagan (6.5) of Fort Irwin, Calif., and Staff Sgt. Andre Paradela (6.0) of Dublin, Calif.

“This one, I didn’t even expect to win,” said Macaspac, who serves with the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade in Philadelphia. “Garrett, who is a federation master, beat me in the second round and I lost hope. But I was lucky that Major Cox was able to beat him in the last round.”

Here is the full article.