I was born in the beautiful town of Montijo, located on the banks of the Tagus River, opposite the capital of Portugal, Lisbon.
The link between the two cities is made by boat across the Tagus or the Vasco da Gama Bridge, one of Europe's largest, with nearly 18 km.
Who visit my city you will marvel at the magnificent Church of the Holy Spirit, located in the Republic Square in the city center. Along the river you can revel in the riverfront and its terraces; see the "water mirror" and, a little further, watch the beautiful flamingos, which at low tide here feed. Still in the same area it is located the "Mill of Tide."
Montijo is also known as the "Capital of the Flower" because it is the biggest center of flower production in Europe, exporting to various countries.
The city has been known since ancient times, although until 1930 it was called Aldeia Galega do Ribatejo. Here began the main road connecting to neighboring Spain. In the 14th century Aldeia Galega was one of the most importants towns in the country, because exactly of its strategic positioning, in front of the capital and because it was an important center of slaughter and transformation of pork, a situation that remained until the 80s of last century
I play and used toteach the basics of chess to children who attend the School of Chess of my former club called Ateneu Popular de Montijo, cultural and sports association founded in December 15, 1939.
Among our young players is a national bi-champion who has also represented Portugal at the recent European Youth Championship. With pride I can say that it was I who taught him to play.

I played also in a diferent club, named Grupo Desportivo dos Ferroviários do Barreiro, in the nearby city of Barreiro. This city was once in not very distant times one of the most important industrial centers of Portugal.

Disappointed with various situations that have occurred since 2 years ago, I decided to end my membership in the national federation and leave the Chess "live", just playing online and even this less and less ...

In the Picture: Me and two of the former chess students. One of them, the aforementioned 2-time national champion, with the Cup.

FernandoSampaio