I would bet on Philippine chess
The Philippine Star
06/06/2003

Chess pales in comparison with other sports in terms of adrenaline boosting excitement, hoopla and hype. Yet in terms of potential, chess remains indisputably a game that Filipinos can excel in.

There is no height, brawn, age or weight bias. It is proven to encourage logical thinking, and is known to help school age children improve their academic standing by keeping them off the street and enticing them to read. As a mind game, chess also develops values such as personal discipline and competitive drive.

Regrettably, in the Philippines, chess traverses a narrow and lowly plight.

While the country can historically claim to have blazed the trail in Asian chess, having produced the first grandmaster in the region in Eugene Torre back in 1972, nothing much has happened since.

Being left behind

As in many other aspects of our national life, the Philippines has found itself falling far behind in the world of chess. While it is understandable that populous China and India would overtake us because of its correspondingly large pool of talents, smaller countries in our axis have made amazing progress and are now threatening to leave us in their wake.

This observation is not without basis. When the country last hosted the Asian Zonal, the Philippines’ top chess players were humiliated by the Vietnam chess team in both the men’s and the women’s division.

The Vietnamese, most of who were barely out of their teens, turned out to be well trained, aside from being very disciplined. The Philippine contingent also suffered surprise defeats at the hands of the Indonesians. In the end, the country was left in mediocre positions in the final standings.

Looking for answers

This setback jolted us to realize that we no longer have the monopoly of chess prowess in the region. The Vietnamese and the Indonesians have consciously and deliberately taken steps to discover and develop their chess talents, while Filipinos remained content to simply stumble along.

But who’s to blame? It is easy to point fingers at just anything and anybody, including a faulty system and the seeming neglect of people who run sports in this country.

Take for example the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), the highest governing chess body in the country. Because chess was only recently considered a medal sport, more specifically for the SEA Games later this year, it will get only token support from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

Being just newly formed, the NCFP also is having difficulty obtaining funds from the private sector.

Sans media value, private assistance dwindles

The business sector had, in the past, been the main source of funds of Philippine chess. But while there were such companies as Manila Bank, Glutaphos, and Far East Bank and Trust Company in the earlier years, only Shell has maintained its commitment to sponsoring tournaments.

It is a sad commentary to see support for chess so painfully wanting when there is an avalanche of support from both the government and business sectors for basketball. Admittedly, sponsorship in basketball gives huge media value. But look at the Filipino players’ dismal performance in the international arena over the last decades.

Talents abound amidst drought in support

On the contrary, despite near starvation in funding support, Filipino chess talents keep on sprouting, like wild flowers eagerly waiting for a sprinkle of rain to attain full blossom.

Examples of these talents that bloomed through hard work and commitment are Joey Antonio and Bong Villamayor. They join Torre in the rank of Pinoy Grandmasters.

We have several promising new players. There is upcoming chess protégé Mark Paragua who is seeking to become the youngest GM in the country. Paragua is relatively lucky, having a father who patiently seeks out sponsorships to fund Mark’s participation in those all-important international tournaments.

There are other promising junior players but not as blessed: John Paul Gomez, Oliver Barbosa, youngster Karl Ochoa, and the Banawa brothers. They too need proper training and exposure to international chess tournaments to prepare them for world competitive standards.

Among women chess players, we have 16-year old Fil-Australian Arianne Bo Caoili, the first serious woman GM candidate for the Philippines, and several women international masters dying to get the opportunity to participate in international competitions and earn glory for themselves and country.

It breaks ones heart to see flowers withering and not attaining full blossom. Same feeling one would have as you see these young chess talents failing to reach their full potential because of a drought of support.

Godfathers who believe in Pinoy chess

The problems of chess, however, will not be solved if we only talk about it. There must be a concerted effort to come up with a viable rescue plan to get Philippine chess out of the rut.

The advance of technology and the rapid progress of the sport around the world have contributed to raising the bar in chess competitiveness. Chess players need to train using these latest chess programs. They need to regularly compete abroad to improve their ratings and hone their game.

Compared with other sports, the investment to develop and grow chess in the country is lower. However, urgently needed are sponsors who are not after media mileage and promotional impact. Chess needs "godfathers" who will provide support because they believe in the inherent talent and vast potential of Filipino chess players.

We still have the time to make a difference in world sports through chess. In chess, Filipinos stand on even ground with the rest of the world. Personally, I would bet on Philippine chess to bring home more gold medals. How about you?

TOP