User talk:Torecs1555

what is dama? is it true that dama is just a filipino indigenous game? what is the true positioning of the pieces and the real dama board?

Luzon, Panay, and part of Mindanao players position the board with the two dark squares on the left side corner of the board while majority from Mindanao and Visayas position it otherwise. What is the true position of the board as prescribed by the World Dama Federation? FACTS ABOUT  DAMA A.K.A Draughts in Europe, Checkers in the US, Damas in Brazil, Shashki in Russia and Warcaby in Poland Dama is generally conceived by most Filipinos as an indigenous game stemming from pure Filipino origin. It is often regarded to by many as poor man’s chess and game of inmates (piniriso) and istambays who frequent in sidewalks, barber shops and tubaan. Compared to chess, dama is always humiliated due to its less educated and economically handicapped adherents as majority of chess enthusiasts and players belong to the upper stratum and mostly professionals. This misconception further pushed the game (dama) into the background, much worse, because it is non-Olympic and the national government did nothing in the past to promote the game except some local government units like Davao City, Iligan City, Bacolod City and Digos City which consistently facilitated annual inter provincial competitions and have even provided awards and cash prizes. In some areas, if there are competitions, such were made just for amusements and superficial accolades for the aged and laborers swarming in bus terminals and ship ports who can not be simply ignored by politicians because of their votes that still count the same compared to people who play chess and other elite sports. However, the national government’s non-supportive attitude for the game can not be faulted because nobody from the ranks of dama players, advocates and enthusiasts come forward in any forum and tell the people that dama is international more than sepak takraw. Not one, even from the national capital whom we always expect to be always ahead of Mindanaoans and Visayans in terms of what is going on in the international community. In Manila, dama players led by a certain Atty. Holgado once registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission a dama association with the name International Dama Federation (IDAF). Due to lack of information, the IDAF, had, in its objectives, “to promote the Filipino game of dama in the international sports arena”. This line of thinking proceeded from the understanding that dama is is a pure Filipino game and that IDAF was tasked to promote the game abroad. This is manifested by the fact that the same group of dama enthusiasts and players also registerred with the SEC another local association with the name PHILIPPINE DAMA FEDERATION which was apparently projected to take charge of all the local clubs and associations nationwide while IDAF presumably do the job of promoting the game in the international sphere. If IDAF was able to kick-off with the basic step of a long journey it could have been the time when Filipinos must have discovered that dama is an international sport because dama went international as far as back 1947 or even before the existence of Federation Mondiale du Jeu de Dames (International Dama Federation). In fact, the creation of FMJD as governing body for dama was necessitated by the growing internationalization of the game. FMJD is counterpart of FIDE in chess and both are members of the International Olympic Committee-recognized GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federation) But IDAF was short-lived, and worst, virtually dead with the disappearance of Sen. Joey Lina in the Senate. Our government’s ineptitude towards the game is mainly due to the mistaken belief that dama is an indigenous game bereft of international bearing just like playing sungka, tigso, tubig-tubig, dakpanay, piyong-piyong and balay-balay. The advent of the internet in the 1980s eliminates the geographical advantage of the Manilans to champion on the latest international developments as anywhere in the Philippines where there are analogue landlines and digital wireless signals one can connect to the cyber network worldwide and get updates of what are happening in the international community. Thus, the advent of the internet speed up the promotion of dama by a Digoseño in 2005. BRIEF HISTORY DAMA is a board and mind game popularly known as Draughts in Europe, Checkers in the US, Damas in Brazil, Shashki in Russia, Warcaby in Poland, Dammen in The Netherlands, Dames in   France,  Dama  in  Spain,  Portugal, Italy and the Philippines. It was first played on lined board in Egypt known as alquerque. Later, the game is played on a checkered board similar to a chessboard by two players, each having 12 pieces of men (checkers) (pionh in Russian), nominally colored black and white or whatever color preferred to by the players. The board is positioned with the two dark squares on the right side corner of each player or one dark square at the left side corner of each player as shown in Fig. 1. This board position is the official position of the brazilian version or the international dama on 64 squares played in an 8 x 8 board which is also being played in the Philippines. However, players from Luzon, part of the Visayas and Mindanao played on mirrorized board or in the reverse position similar to the Italian or Spanish version but following the brazilian or international dama on 64-square rules. Today, there is no accurate record and evidence available as to how dama crept from Brazil (Filipino Dama is Brazilian Version or International 64 Squares) into the Philippines. In the 1930s Filipinos played the game according to modified Italian version where men can not jump backward and pionhs can capture kings. In Italian version pionhs can not capture kings. Kings can move in any direction one square or diagonal at a time but mandatory to majority capture or obligado dama, i.e, when a man and a king are about to capture the same number of pieces at the same time the king is obliged to make the capture. Later on, the multi-direction kings became flying kings similar to Brazilian version but they called this game italiana, although this is a corrupted version of dama italiana. The game is played on a skeletonized board (Fig. 2) characterized by lines representing the diagonals of a true checkerboard. The board is positioned such that the two dark squares are on the left side of the players and players positioned themselves not on the side of the square board but in line with the longest diagonal or the center line. Sometime in 1955, the rules by which men can not jump backward had change resembling the international rules of the 10x10. How did it happen nobody could tell exactly as the game was just taken for granted by the government and there were no educated and professional players, then. Why it changed, dama players would just say, this is the new rule referring to the previous one as the old rule. It is just recently, Filipino players have come to know that the version they are playing is Brazilian or the international 64 squares (with a slight difference in the number of moves in 3 kings against 1 king where the number of moves for capturing in the Philippines is 12 instead of 20). Thru the internet in 2005, Nestor Bedolido found out that dama is international. He is a dama player and enthusiast whose childhood dream is to institutionalize the game in the Philippines. He is the first Filipino who played in www.idamas.com.br (a Brazilian website hosting online dama game) with the following IDs; rudenos, torecs155, bedolido, mariano, rodi and claudia. He is the first and only Filipino who informed the international dama community that Filipinos are playing the international 64 squares of dama. He had successfully convinced the Philippine Sports Commission Chairman, the Hon. William Ramirez, thru Cong. Dodo Ra. Cagas, to send a delegation to the 2nd Thailand Open Draughts Tournament on May 26-June 4, 2006 in Jomtien Garden Hotel, Pattaya, Thailand. DAMA IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ARENA DAMA is not an indigenous Filipino game as we had perceived it to be for so many years. It is believed to be the predecessor of chess. Dama or checkers is played by the Pharaohs of Egypt long before the advent of chess. Some historians theorized that chess evolves from the simplicity of dama until it reaches its most complex and sophisticated version of today. Therefore, it is chess which uses the checkered board! Not vice-versa. It is only in the Philippines and other parts of Asia where dama board is skeletonized. DAMA has its international counterpart in Brazil, Poland, Russia, USA, Europe and Asia. If chess has its FIDE [(Federation Internationale Des Echecs) World Chess Federation] dama also has its FMJD [(Federation Mondiale du Jeu de Dames) World Draughts Federation, for more details one can visit its website at www.fmjd.org] which was organized in 1947 by four federations; France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. Its main purpose was to regulate the competition on the world championship of dama. FMJD now has more than 50 participating national federations worldwide. Recently, FMJD has become a member of GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federation). GAISF is the umbrella organization of all international sports recognized by the (IOC) International Olympic Committee. FMJD and FIDE are both members of GAISF. There are already negotiations between FMJD thru GAISF and IOC for the inclusion of dama in the Olympic Games. FMJD aims to unite all draughts variants in the world including the most complex Canadian version of 144 squares. Every year FMJD facilitates world competitions in the international 100 squares, Brazilian international 64 squares and the English version which is much prevalent in the US. The reigning world champion for Brazilian international 64 squares is Alexander Shwarchman from Russia. Dama in these countries is well supported by their respective governments. In Brazil and Poland, where our version is exactly the same and Russia with slight difference, there are regular competitions for 8, 12, and 18 years old including adult category. Our country’s participation in the 2nd Thailand Open Dama Tournament will probably set a precedence in future dama competitions as the event has drawn interests from dama players from all over the country. TWO INTERNATIONAL DAMA VERSIONS DAMA has two international versions. The 10x10 (100 squares) international rules with 20 men or checkers each player and the 8x8 (64 squares) international rules with 12 men or checkers each. Both is being played on the same rules. The 10x10 International Version is played in The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Britain, African Countries, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Israel, Vietnam, Suriname, Canada, USA, Mongolia, Latvia, Moldavia, India, Kazakztan, Ukraine, Russia, Brazil and lately embraced by the Philippines. The 8x8 International Version is played in Brazil, Philippines, Germany, Poland and Russia with a very slight difference making Russian shashki (dama) more difficult and challenging. Last December 11 dama players from Davao City (Bata Enobio, Edwin Cabalquinto, Melecio Manimog, Fidel Villegas, Camilo Acot, Danny Asor, Meliton Longakit and Cipring Labendia) led by Nestor Bedolido played simultaneous games with Mr. Kees Rijk, a Dutch dama master from Netherlands in the 10x10 international rules at Woodridge Park Subdivision. The Dutch was amazed by the players performance when Bata defeated him twice, Nestor and Jun Manimog once while he defeated the rest considering that it was the first time said players played on the 100 squares against a foreigner.

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