Six selected for Air Force chess team

  • Published
  • By Steve VanWert
  • Air Force Services Agency
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFPN) --  Seventeen Airmen recently battled head to head here on one of the oldest battlefields in history -- the chessboard.

The 2005 Air Force Chess Tournament determined the 2005 Air Force chess team. The top six players were named to the team that will compete in the interservice tournament in June at Fort Myer, Va. Six players from that tournament will be selected to represent the U.S. military at the NATO tournament in August in Poland.

The players on the Air Force team are:

-- Tech. Sgt. Brian Smith from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

-- Staff Sgt. Robert Keough from here.

-- Staff Sgt. Nathaneil Ola from Schriever AFB, Colo.

-- Col. Sam Echaure from Barksdale AFB, La.

-- Master Sgt. Oliver Dela Cruz from Bolling AFB, D.C.

-- Tech. Sgt. Dan Ranario from Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.

Sergeants Smith, Keough and Ola each earned five points out of a possible seven to advance to the team. Colonel Echaure and Sergeants Dela Cruz and Ranario each earned four and a half points to fill out the team roster.

Sergeant Keough also won the award for the highest points scored during the tournament. He is a past member of the Air Force team and the 2004 NATO team.

“The competition this year was tough, and I’m happy to have finished with the top score,” he said. “A lot of the skills the Air Force taught me, especially discipline and attention to detail, have really honed my chess abilities. Now my goal is for the Air Force team to beat the Navy, Army and Marine teams at the interservice tournament.”

The Air Force tournament was a seven-round Swiss-style tournament. A blitz, or speed, tournament was held after the official rated one, with Colonel Echaure taking first place, Staff Sgt. Robert Bucholtz, from Schriever AFB, taking second and Sergant Ola winning third.

In 2002, the Air Force chess program was revived after a 10-year break. Each year, the major commands select two players to attend the Air Force tournament. Players are selected by either competing in a command tournament or by resumé.