FLORENCIO CAMPOMANES was a scholarly of speech, consummate of skills, and with his silver-gray hair favored by advertisers in their photographs of men of distinction.
The first and only Filipino to be elected president of the International Chess Federation (Fide) was stalemated by that deadly scourge of yore called “cancer” after 83 moves.
Known as “Campo,” he was loathed by the West because of his radical rulings, but loved by the Third World for opening up the “Game of Kings” in Asia, Africa and the Pacific.
“No one intimidates Campo,” he said after ruling to end the World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Gary Kasparov in 1985 that had dragged on for 48 games in five long months.
The longest-serving Fide head justified his abrupt decision. The match “had exhausted,” he said, “the physical, if not the psychological resources” of the players, as well as all those involved in the epic battle.
No winner was declared, but Karpov, the fair-haired champion of what was then a global power called the Soviet Union, retained his world title against Kasparov, the brash and intrepid Russian maverick.
Kasparov, who had a long-running feud with Campomanes, charged that the Filipino actually acted on behalf of his Soviet patrons, who had feared of an imminent defeat by the fast-tiring Karpov, and a big humiliation for Kremlin. He dismissed the charges, and, pronto, arranged a new world championship showdown with the initial score set at 0-0, and the match limited only to 24 games. Karpov was given an option for a rematch in case of defeat.
Saying that “In experience, I was behind Karpov,” Kasparov came prepared for the match, won the first game and went on to dethrone Karpov, 13-11. Youth, he blurted, “has an advantage, more surplus energy.”
It was a story so filled with personal distortions and political intrigues that Campomanes wanted to expose the real truth behind the controversial decision that fuelled bitter exchanges only in his autobiography.
To one who knew him pleasantly, “Pocamps,” as the old boys on media row addressed him fondly, was a nice guy with a winsome smile. With a commanding voice, and a command of the language unmatched by any Filipino sportsman, he could spin stories without missing the flavor of the day that is gone.
With his colorful yarns, he was amusing, though he was not a particularly humorous man. Pocamps liked to tell of his trying times as Fide deputy president when the country hosted the controversy-laden 1978 World Chess Championship.
The event pitted reigning champion Anatoly Karpov against Soviet defector Viktor Korchnoi played in Baguio City. But it was mired in the most bizarre controversy that reached grotesque and absurd proportions.
The endless accusations from both camps were filled with political chicaneries and marred by debauchery and demagoguery, as charges, protests and counterprotests burnt the cold air of the Pines City.
There were more firefights off the board than actual exchanges at the frontline. But Pocamps, unflappable as always and with his legendary cool, was quick to raise the protective umbrella to prevent a major catastrophe.
There were as many sides to the burning issues as there were characters swinging in and out of the bitter battle that languished in 21 draws. At one time, so absurd it became that Korchnoi accused Karpov of bringing in a parapsychologist. Karpov objected to Korchnoi wearing dark glasses.
The tumultuous event defined the enduring character and the uncommon intelligence of the calculating man. His persuasive powers over negotiating tables prevented a walkout by Korchnoi, and gave him the presidency of Fide four years later.
He also loved recalling his romantic flings. At the University of the Philippines, he beat a more popular campus guy, named Ferdinand Marcos, to win the heart of the prettiest face, deep and tender, on campus.
Campomanes was really one of a kind. He traveled with ease and grace. Through all levels of society, he thrived at being at center stage. After all, he was later on installed as lifetime honorary president of the Lausanne-based world chess organization.
I once joined him in a trip to Bucharest for the World Junior Chess Championship when the young Russian, Vassily Ivanchuk, was the toast of the world. Up close, I saw him as an authoritative mind that easily disarmed critics opposed to his plans.
Campomanes was credited for expanding the membership of Fide and introducing chess as a demonstration sport in the Olympics. Even Kasparov, his mortal enemy, returned to Fide after leading a breakaway group to form a rival organization.
A car accident temporarily sidelined him. Even in his hospital bed, Campomanes was in his elements, opening with a King’s Indian Attack or essaying the Queen’s Gambit declined against friends and visiting dignitaries.
He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 by the Philippine Sportswriters Association, and the General International Sports Federations feted him with the Spirit of Sport Award that counts Prince Rainier of Monaco among its honorees.