Biron vs Defensor: Icy rivalry like Carlsen vs Caruana, McEnroe vs Lendl

“The rivalry is with ourselves. I try to be better than is possible. I fight against myself, not against the other.”
-- Luciano Pavarotti

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- This is the first time in recent memory that two aspirants for governor of Iloilo Province in the Philippines haven’t used a mud, so far, to pull each other down in order to pull themselves up.
Although Dr. Ferjenel “Ferj” G. Biron and lawyer Arthur “Toto” R. Defensor Jr. belong to two clans with emerging tentacles for political dynasty, they appeared to have defined the local politics in a higher level and their brand of introducing themselves in public is just fair to middling.
Familiarity and camaraderie could be another factor why the gentlemen have maintained cordiality and restraint toward each other as colleagues in the House of Representatives: Biron (4th District) and Defensor (3rd District).
To the delight of Ilonggo voters, they haven’t used violent or bedraggled tactics to get someone’s goat, and are just focusing their forces on their platforms and what they are capable of doing once elected to the highest office in the province.

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Their balmy rivalry can be compared to the tranquility that attended the pre-match comportment of the forthcoming World Chess Championship rivalry between champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and challenger Fabiano Caruana (USA) which will be held in The College in Holborn, London on November 8-28, 2018.
Unlike the Fischer vs Spassky (1972), Karpov vs Korchnoi (1978), and Karpov vs Kasparov (1984) FIDE matches, there are no verbal fireworks, so far, between Carlsen, 27, and Caruana, 26.
This is a match between the top two players in the world in terms of FIDE Elo rating: Carlsen is world number one, and Caruana world number two.
This is quite unique in fact; the last time the world championship was a battle between the highest ranked chess players was in 1990 between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.
Carlsen dethroned Viswanathan Anand in 2013 in Chennai, and successfully defended his title against the same Indian grandmaster in 2014, and against Sergey Karjakin in 2016. Caruana will be his third match opponent next month.

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We also vividly recall the rivalry between tennis greats John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl in the 1980s.
There was no love lost between McEnroe and Lendl, who faced each other countless times in key matches.
Radio Praha’s Jan Velinger said the two have contrasting styles: McEnroe was unbridled emotion while Lendl kept a grim poker-face.
Their most famous match-up was in 1984 at the French Open where Lendl came back from two sets down to win his first grand slam title.
That particular match came down the wire: “Ivan Lendl has finally won a grand slam championship! He showed great courage in rallying from two sets down to accomplish it. For John McEnroe… an American once again leaves empty from Paris.”
While Lendl smiled when it was over, McEnroe did not wait for the mic to congratulate his opponent but instead walked off the court. The rivalry was nothing if not bitter.
But the two tennis legends have long since put mutual differences behind them.
Before their exhibition match in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2014, McEnroe addressed the story of a less than charitable comment once attributed to him.
“Ivan and I certainly had our moments where we weren’t the best of friends or getting along very well. But to me he is one of the very best players in the history of our sport, so… that comment that he was the ‘worst No.1’ definitely didn’t come from me. I played him too many times and lost to him too many times for that to be true.”