Ilonggo chess master Reylan Magbanua’s mysterious death

“You only live twice. Once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.”

—IAN FLEMING, You Only Live Twice

By Alex P. Vidal

THE magnitude of casualties during the critical months of the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Elmhurst, Queens in March, April, and May, obscured the deaths of two known senior Pinoy chess players in New York City, but the cause of death of one of them continued to be the talk of the town until today.

Because of their age and the timing of their deaths, many friends of Danilo “Danny” Concepcion and Reylan Magbanua, who died in April one after the other, thought their deaths were “coronavirus-related”.

But sources could not confirm they were linked to the COVID-19.

Concepcion’s death was first confirmed to this writer on April 29 by his friend, Cesar Mariano, a national master from Iloilo City in the Philippines, who played in the 1997 World Chess Open in Philadelphia together with Concepcion, reportedly in his 70s when he died, and a mainstay of the Commercial Chess League of New York.

“My friend Danny has rested,” Mariano revealed. “I contacted our friend in New Jersey who confirmed the sad news to me. He died of a kidney failure.”

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Magbanua’s mysterious death reportedly on April 17 was confirmed in the Filipino community here only in the third week of July by a health worker who requested strict anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal the details.

“Yes, Reylan Magbanua has died. Please don’t quote me. I don’t want to lose my job as I have no authority to disclose any information only his family should know,” appealed the health worker.

Magbanua’s death continued to be shrouded with mystery.

The 63-year-old national master, who hailed from Bacolod City in the Philippines, was reportedly found already lifeless in the social housing unit in Bronx where he lived alone.

He was reportedly “sickly and penniless and would always get involved in a melee with fellow residents in the social housing.”  

According to some of Magbanua’s friends here, the chess player had been hospitalized on several occasions in the past after being physically attacked by bums and chess hustlers in the parks and other public places where he was seen playing chess and believed to be “intoxicated.”

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“We were always worried and sad each time we heard he was involved in a trouble or somebody had inflicted physical harm on him,” lamented Jun Galinea, founder of Elmhurst Chess Club.  

A fellow chess player from Silay City, Gilbert Gonzales said he hoped there was no foul play that attended Magbanua’s death.

“If they could not confirm that he died of coronavirus, then how did he die?” Gonzalez, 54, exclaimed. “They just reported that he was found dead. That’s all?” 

The health worker did not confirm Magbanua’s cause of death saying  “the hospital would reveal the details only to his family.”

Nobody had claimed Magbanua’s body, it was reported.

When he left the Philippines in the late 1990’s, Magbanua was one of the strongest chess players with a rating of 2310 in the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and was holder of I.D. No. 5200326.

He was one of the most feared blitz players in the Washington Square and Union Square in Manhattan, according to a Russian grand master I met in the Union Square who did not want to be quoted.

“Are you a Filipino”? the Russian GM asked me. “Yes, I am,” I retorted.

“So you know Reylan? Reylan Magbanua? Man, he is the fastest blitz player I’ve ever played.” 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)