Thank you to Nate Solon, who provided us this profile of Rey Santiago. Be sure to visit his business and chess club at the Garden Market Cafe in Ann Arbor. Details below or on the chess clubs page. (BC 9/29).
As a junior chess player growing up in the Philippines, Rey Santiago started each game with a simple goal: make it to the endgame.
He and his friends had no access to chess books. Their only source of written information on chess was a newspaper column written by the Philippine master Glicerio Badilles, but that wasn’t enough to keep them abreast of opening theory. (Computer databases and engines wouldn’t be developed for a long time, of course.) But they could work on the endgame without books. So whenever Rey saw an opportunity to make an even trade, he happily took it. Once he had reached a level endgame, he would set to work outplaying his opponent.
Rey approaches the game differently these days. At the Garden Market Café, where he presides, a row of chess books sits on display, propped between two enormous knights. He makes full use of the books, as well as computer programs, to work on his openings. In tournament games he uses more of his allotted time in the opening, trying hard to reach a promising position.
He has also devoted a huge amount of his time to promoting chess in Michigan. After many years serving in the United States Navy, and another long stint working for Eastern Michigan University, Rey is finally “retired,” though for him the term has nothing to do with inactivity. “I’ve got only time,” he says, “I can’t stay in the house and do nothing.” Since he doesn’t like TV, he prefers to man the counter at the Café, which his son owns, or read a book if business is slow.
Meanwhile, he is working to make the Café a hotspot for chess activity in Ann Arbor. It already hosts three regular events: a junior club every Monday afternoon, an open club every Wednesday night, and an action tournament the first Friday of each month. Rey is eager to start even more events. He makes the Café available for free to anyone who wants to organize a chess tournament.
He recently hosted a simultaneous exhibition with the Philippine International Master Rogelio Antonio. Though they share a home country, Rey and Antonio belong to different generations and met only recently.
Rey left the Philippines in 1960 to join the U.S. Navy. He brought with him his enthusiasm for chess and one of the few books he could get his hands on, Chess Praxis, Aron Nimzovich’s classic illustration of his strategic principles and Rey’s “main chess bible.”
“Chess kept me company in the middle of the ocean,” he said. “Some people played cards, I like chess. I read Praxis about a hundred times.”
He taught many of his friends onboard to play, but since they were relative novices, he sought out stronger competition when onshore. Over time he challenged a wide variety of strong players from all over the world. He remembers once encountering a young American traveling in Europe named John Watson who “beat me up in speed.” Later he recognized the name when it started popping up in chess literature. Watson went on to become an International Master and prolific chess writer.
When I asked Rey if his current less exotic selection of locales and chess opponents bothers him, he shook his head and laughed. “It’s the same thing. Chess is chess.”
The Garden Market Café is located at 2200 Fuller Court in Ann Arbor, in the Huron Towers apartment complex. The venue is available for free to anyone interested in hosting a chess event. Rey can be reached at 734-778-4879.
Current events include:
Junior Club – Monday 4-8
Open Club – Wednesday 6-10:30
Action Tournament – First Friday of the month 6:30 |
