Wesley So tops Board One and Leads Philippines U-16 Chess Team to Third Place
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 25 Aug 2008
Finally we have something to smile about.
The Philippine Under-16 Chess Team scored a total of 27 points after ten rounds at the World Youth Under 16 Chess Olympiad held in Turkey and was good enough for third place. The team is composed of Wesley So, Haridas Pascua, Alcon John Datu and Jan Emmanuel Garcia.
India, the defending champion, won on a tiebreak against second place Russia. Both teams have 28 1/2 points. The Philippines earlier scored a 3-1 victory over the fancied Russians in the seventh round of the tournament.
This conquest underscored the character of the team who had lost 1? - 2? to India in the sixth round. The Pinoy woodpushers also beat another chess playing nation England in the eighth round by 3-1. They scored a 3-1 win over the Turkish Isek Aquamatch chess club in their final match.
Filipino prodigy Grandmaster Wesley So was the top scorer among the Board One players with 8 wins, two draws and no losses beating Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan (7 pts.) and Aleksandr Shimanov of Russia (7.5 pts.). This gold medal winning effort will provide a much needed analgesic for our wounded sports pride after a disastrous Beijing Summer Olympics.
Our sports officials and corporate sponsors should provide more support to chess. We used to have the best chess players in Asia. Eugene Torre was Asia?s first grandmaster in 1974 and in 1982 became the first Asian to qualify for the Candidates Matches for the 1984 World Championship cycle. We used to top the Asian team championships. But countries like China and India not only caught up with us but surpassed the Filipinos? achievements. China has been regularly producing prodigies and first broke the Soviet dominance in the female side by winning the World Women?s crown in 1991 courtesy of Xie Jun. The reigning women?s champion Xu Yuhua is also from China.
The reigning World Men?s Champion Viswanathan Anand of India ironically learned the game when he was a six year old student in the Philippines. India and China have the best talent pool in Asia right now.
There were other Pinoy GM?s after Torre ? the late Rosendo Balinas, Rogelio Antonio, Nelson Mariano, Bong Villamayor, Mark Paragua and Darwin Laylo. But So is one of a kind. He became the Philippines? youngest International Master when he was 12 years old and our youngest GM last year. He is the seventh youngest grandmaster in chess history at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days.
So belongs to an elite group of prodigies whose members include Judith Polgar and Peter Leko of Hungary, and Magnus Carlsen of Norway who is currently in the world?s top ten. The youngest grandmaster on record is Sergey Karyakin of the Ukraine who achieved the feat aged 12 years and 7 months.
The late great Bobby Fischer became a grandmaster at age 15 years and 6 months.
One doesn?t need to look far for chess talent. Thousands if not millions of Filipino kids play chess in clubs, school and at home. We do have the inherent ?diskarte? that always makes us dangerous opponents on the world stage. What we need now is more financial support for our young talent. Our chess GM?s and IM?s have been teaching school kids but we can do more and develop a better national teaching and development system.The game has changed. Chess masters now depend on computer data bases and chess opening novelties are produced everyday. We need to adopt and use these innovations also to our advantage.
Wesley should also be given more exposure in European tournaments. Anand became an elite player when he started competing against the former Soviets and Eastern Europeans.
Boxing has been labeled as a chess game with blood. Our fighting nature and spirit should make us a chess power once again. But this will need a unified effort from the powers that be. That will be the most difficult game of all.
Top photo: Wesley So (L) and the rest of the members of the Philippine Team competing in the recent Turkey U-16 Chess Olympiad.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Manny motors to Vegas
By Joaquin Henson, Mon, 14 Jul 2025Bakbakan sa Elorde on July 19
By Lito delos Reyes, Mon, 14 Jul 2025Ringside, Still: Remembering Chino Trinidad
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, Sun, 13 Jul 2025Hamzah Sheeraz Demolishes Edgar Berlanga in Stunner, Becomes Mandatory Challenger to Canelo Alvarez
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 13 Jul 2025Shakur Stevenson Masterfully Tames William Zepeda to Retain WBC Lightweight Crown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 13 Jul 2025JV Tuazon, Ador Torres, Lemuel De Barbo, Jomar Fajardo Score KO Wins in Brico Santig's Highland Show in Thailand
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 13 Jul 2025Yanon is PBF flyweight champ
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 13 Jul 2025Taylor vs. Serrano Trilogy: Can Amanda Get The Nod?
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 12 Jul 2025BERLANGA-SHEERAZ, STEVENSON-CEPEDA, MORELL-KHATAEV MAKE WEIGHT IN NEW YORK
By Dong Secuya, Sat, 12 Jul 2025Johnny Spell Takes on Chancellor Batttenberg on Saturday, July 19th at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in Washington, PA
Sat, 12 Jul 2025JV Tuazon, Ador Torres, Lemuel De Barbo, Jomar Fajardo Make Weight for Brico Santig's Highland Show in Thailand
By Carlos Costa, Fri, 11 Jul 2025Philippine Under-12 Girls Team Shines Bright, Clinches Multiple Medals at 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships in Penang
By Marlon Bernardino, Fri, 11 Jul 2025Kenneth “Llover Boy” Takes on “El Nica” Concepcion Aug 17 on Gerry Peñalosa’s Show @ the Winford Resort and Casino Manila (Analysis)
By Carlos Costa, Fri, 11 Jul 2025Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Anthony Velazquez won’t be Boxing’s best kept secret in 2026
Fri, 11 Jul 2025Undefeated Gabriela Tellez Returns July 18 at “Night of Champions” Live on DAZN
Fri, 11 Jul 2025