Pinoys compete in World Memory Games
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 03 Dec 2011
The Philippine team to the 20th World Memory Championships are ready for the December 7-11 mind games at the Mount River Resort Hotel in Guangzhou, China. Headed by 2010 silver medallist Johann Randall Abrina, team members expressed readiness to compete with the intellects of their counterparts from 31 countries representing the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Abrina, a registered nurse and UP Sports Psychology graduate from Barangay WackWack, Mandaluyong City, is actually aiming to earn his third Grandmaster norm in this tournament following his winning the silver medal in the speed cards category in the 2010 UK International Memory Championships that gifted him his first GM norm. Abrina memorized 12 deck of cards (equivalent to 624 points) in an hour en route to his second grandmaster (GM) norm in the marathon event cards in the 19th World Memory Championships in Guangzhou, China last December.
?I need one more GM norm to complete my Grandmaster title, which I can accomplish if I can memorize 1,000 numbers in an hour,? Abrina said during Friday?s SCOOP Sa Kamayan session.
Abrina and Roberto Racasa, a former Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) top chess player, incidentally combined talents in settling for over-all 7th place in the team play of the 19th edition of the World Memory Championships last year, also in Guangzhou. Other member of the Philippine Memory Team are Christopher Carandang, Axelyancy Cowan Tabernilla, Mark Anthony Castaneda, Erwin Balines, Mark Anthony Adarlo and delegation head and coach RP and US chess master Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr.
The nationals participation in the world tourney would not have been possible had it not for the support of the PCSO, ACCEL, Pascual Laboratory, Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party List representative Bernadette Herrera-Dy, Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos, former Sen. Robdert Jaworski, Glutaphos, Bicycle playing cards, Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali "Boyet" Gonzales III, PBA Party-list Rep. Mark Sambar, St. Francis Square?s Luke Rojas, former Sen. Robert Jaworski, businessman-sportsman Hermie Esguerra, Filway Marketing, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Dra. Regina Canlas and Marikina City Mayor Del de Guzman.
The annual competition was instituted to challenge the limits of human memory consisting of 10 events like binary digits (5 minutes/30 min.), numbers (5/30 min), spoken numbers, speed cards, cards (10/30min/1 hour), random words, historic/future dates, names and faces, abstract images.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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