Elmer Dumlao Sangalang

Elmer Dumlao Sangalang studied engineering, taught mathematics and engineering courses in the undergraduate level, then joined the corporate world. He ended up in the actuarial profession, a discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries (actuaries are professionals who are qualified in this field through education and experience).

Now in his retirement years he does consulting work in actuarial and applied mathematics. Elmer is a contributor to and consultant of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) on the Elo Rating System, since 1984.

He is the editor of the second edition of The Rating of Chessplayers, Past and Present by Prof. Arpad E. Elo, 1986. He has written articles or commentaries on chess for periodicals of international circulation (Chess Asia, US Chess Life, New In Chess, Manila 1992 Chess Olympiad Bulletins). He is the most ardent fan of Nana Alexandria whose books he is showing off.

Elmer Dumlao with Nana Alexandria during the 1992 Manila Olympiad

Interviewing the two-time challenger for the Women's World Championship (in 1975 and 1981)

Recent news

Professor Arpad E. Elo – a fond remembrance

8/25/2020 – If Arpad Elo were still alive he would be 117 years old today – 15 years past the age of 102 that he was supposed to survive to, as foretold by a Budapest gypsy when he visited Hungary in 1970. In reality, he died in Wisconsin, USA at the age of 89. A close associate and family friend, Elmer Dumlao Sangalang, looks back at the man who revolutionised chess. | Pictured: Arpad Elo and Fred Cramer

Chess icon Nana Alexandria turns 70

10/13/2019 – She was the Women's World Championship Challenger twice, losing once and then drawing to the title holder. Before reaching the age of twenty she had won the national women's championship of the most powerful chess nation three times, and became one of the contributing players of the Soviet Union team that dominated the women's Olympiads in 1969, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1986. Today Nana, now a FIDE administrator and general chess celebrity, turns seventy. We extend our heartfelt congratulations on an inspiring lifetime.

Eduard Y. Gufeld – the ultimate chess romantic

4/18/2016 – Eduard Y. Gufeld is one of the more interesting personas of twentieth century world chess. His untimely demise in 2002 was a great loss to the chess world. Eduard would have turned eighty this March, and friend Elmer Sangalang honors him with and article aimed at the younger generation of ChessBase readers, who should not forget that chess is not all about winning but, more importantly, about creating a work of art.

Demythologizing the chess player's Elo rating

2/6/2011 – Certain facts regarding the rating system are misunderstood or unfamiliar to top-rank players, as well as organizers and administrators of major chess events. The recent articles that appeared on the subject, as well as the contest organized by a statistician, point to the fact that certain basic concepts have not been fully understood. Elmer Dumlao Sangalang endeavors to rectify the situation.

Nana Alexandria – a Pillar of Women's Chess

10/13/2009 – Born in Poti, Georgia (USSR), Nana learned chess at the age of four. At ten she started formal lessons and within six months became the girls’ champion of Tbilisi. By the age of twenty she had won the USSR Women’s Championship three times. Traumatically she missed becoming World Champion by tiny margins, but devoted her life to promoting women's chess. Today Nana Alexandria turns sixty.

Lothar Schmid – the Complete Chess Authority turns 80!

5/10/2008 – He was born on May 10th 1928 in Dresden, Germany, son of a book publisher and heir to the Karl Mai adventure series. Lothar Maximilian Lorenz Schmid became one of Germany's strongest grandmasters – and internationally famous as the arbiter in great matches, and a one of the world's leading collectors of chess books. Today he turns eighty. Happy birthday, Lothar!
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