So, not so-so anymore. This is how one online comment stated the predicament of Wesley So, the Filipino chess grandmaster who is now No. 2 in the world.
The only problem is that he is now playing under the flag of the United States. How did this happen? Why did this happen?
Again, it comes down to the treatment of Filipino athletes by association and government officials who think they know it all. As stated by Wesley himself, “No player should be treated this way, especially when I worked so hard to bring pride to my country.” Sad, sad, sad!
Born in Bacoor, Cavite, Wesley So learned chess at a young age, and upon reaching his 14th birthday, became the youngest Filipino chess grandmaster ever. Did you read that? Youngest ever in the Philippines. At that time, Wesley was also the seventh youngest grandmaster in the world. What an achievement!
Wesley became a member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines. He was supported by them, but eventually was deprived of financial support when he failed to compete in events deemed important by the Federation. In 2013, Wesley got some backlash when he competed in the World University Games, instead of the Asian Indoor Games.
Thus, started a different path that Wesley decided to embark on. He moved to the US, and ended up in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He enrolled in a university there, and continued to train.
When he left the Philippines, he was ranked 100th in the world. Two years later, he was number 15.
Another reason Wesley sited for his move out of the country and to the US is the lack of viable training programs here in the Philippines. As he stated, “There is no serious training system [for chess] in the Philippines.”
Thus, if and when Wesley So does become the world No. 1 chess grandmaster, the honor would go the United States, even if he is a Filipino.
We have, therefore, yet another example of what ails Philippine sports. Various online comments about sports have caught my attention, like: “So many promising and great Filipino talents who should have represented the Philippines, but because most government officials are clowns, they [the athletes] are forced to play under a foreign flag.”
Asia’s first grandmaster, Eugene Torre, a Filipino, agreed that “better competition and training abroad would help him over time.”
The country’s current sports officials need to change their attitude. Yes, continue supporting the athletes, but they cannot be overly-demanding. Officials could have proceeded differently in handling the case of the very talented Wesley So.
Give athletes more space. If training somewhere else abroad can help their expertise, then by all means, allow them to do so.
We can only continue to hope for real change.
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Author’s email: HealthAssist@hotmail.com
