The Town Hall organizes the II Memorial Juan Miguel Abril Rodríguez, in memory of the Estepona Chess Grand Master.

The Memorial will be held next Tuesday, July 8, from 8:00 p.m. to midnight, on the chess boards of the Paseo Marítimo.

The Estepona City Council informs that next Tuesday, July 8, a Chess Tournament will be held in memory of the Chess Grandmaster, Miguel Abril, monitor and director of the Municipal Chess School.

The II Memorial Juan Miguel Abril Rodriguez will start at 20:00, on the boards of the Paseo Marítimo. It will be a Swiss system tournament with five rounds of 10 minutes, limited to 200 players, mainly students of the Municipal Chess School and local clubs. Registration is free, and can be done by e-mail at escueladeajedrez@estepona.es or by WhatsApp: 619063600

Juan Miguel Abril Rodríguez dedicated more than 40 years of his life to his great passion: chess. He was in charge of the Municipal Chess School since 1985, from where more than a dozen regional champions at school age, several Spanish champions and even a FIDE master have emerged. Since then, several generations of students have passed through its classrooms. In addition to directing the School, the great chess master, Miguel Abril, also taught classes in local schools and institutes, in addition to senior centers, where more than 10,000 students have learned to play chess since 2011, thanks to the Municipal Plan for the Promotion of Chess.

In February 2023, Miguel Abril received from the Fundación 24 Horas Deportivas the Torre Almenara de la Cultura Award, in recognition of his work in the promotion and teaching of chess, throughout his life. His sudden death on October 5, 2023, at the age of 67, just a week after his official retirement as director-monitor of the Municipal Chess School of Estepona (EMAE), caused a great sorrow in the city, where he was well known and loved, especially among his students and colleagues, and also among associations and groups.

In memory of his memory and dedication, the Town Council unanimously approved the naming of a public space in the town after ‘Juan Miguel Abril Rodríguez’. The act of homage took place in February last year in the Paseo Marítimo, where the giant chess boards are located.