At 14, Wesley So is Philippines’ new ace!
The Philippines has had a tumultuous time rebuilding their chess community after vicious infighting. Young Filipino GMs Mark Paragua and Wesley So certainly are bright spots. More on So later.
I remember seeing Paragua (pa-ra-gua) playing at the 2000 Chicago Open as a 16-year old upstart. He was tactically sharp and gave an impressive exhibition of his blitz skills. I asked him how old he was. He said humbly, “Sixteen.”
After earning the GM title, he had to toil in a contentious chess environment in the Philippines, but emerged as the #1 player. Paragua’s progress seemed sluggish and when I saw him at last year’s World Open he was clearly out of form (despite a stunning 7-move mate against IM Jay Bonin). I actually interviewed him and he sounded unsure of what his future would bring.
While Paragua revamps (now at 2537 FIDE), a new player has surfaced… and his name is Wesley So (2540). So is the 7th youngest player ever to earn the GM title and is now the #1 Filipino. According to a ChessBase article last year, So is known for his tactical ingenuity and sacrifices pieces at will.
In 2006, at the tender age of 12, So became the youngest chess Olympian as he joined the RP Men’s Team to the 37th World Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. In December of the same year, he also became the country’s youngest National Open Champion, and in May 2007, he succeeded in becoming the youngest National Junior Champion.
The Philippines has five Grandmasters with the veteran Eugenio Torre (2519) being the first and most well-known. Rogelio Antonio, Jr. (2529) has also been the nation’s top player (and 2nd GM) and Darwin Laylo (2496) is the other player from the GM quintet. (Correction: Buenaventura Villamayor and Nelson Mariano II are also GMs but as of April 15th, do not appear on the federation list.)
With the latest FIDE rating list out, So is on 2540 which puts him just outside the top 20 juniors. It appears as if Asian juniors are rising fast… China, India, Vietnam and now the Philippines. So will add flavor to an already interesting cast of rising young stars.
IM Rodolfo Tan Cardoso, “GM Wesley So, Renaissance Kid of Philippine Chess,” ChessBase, 10 December 2007.
Daaim, I’d like to add that there are two other active Filipino
GMs you didn’t mention: GM Bong Villamayor and GM Nelson
Mariano II. Still, thanks for featuring GMs Paragua and So. More
power to you and all chess-enthusiasts.
Hello,
Just want to add another Filipino GM, Rosendo Balinas.
Balinas was the stongest Filipino (and probably Asian) before Torre, although he got his GM title a couple of years after Torre, making him the 2nd Asian GM in history. He passed away about 10 years ago.
To the chess officials and the government especially, we are the land full of potentials. Let us support our youth and try to come up with developmental projects that will craddle this special gifts. We have wasted a lot, starting from the inventions upto our skilled and talented humanware. We need to focus on the things that will uplift our country once again. We need to get back what is rightfully for us.
Congratulations Wesley So and to the grandmasters of the Philippines for bringing back the pride that once we have!
i have played wesley so a couple of times in the phils. before when he is still an IM and i can say that he improve a lot and maybe he can be one of the super GM in the world today
i want to include my friend,grandmaster Rogelio Antonio as one of the strong and potential player in the phils. he was the 5 time phil. open champion before.
can i get so’s contact number or even his yahoo mail account. the organizer of chess club in naic cavite wishes to talk to him. thanks
The World Open is almost here! I haven’t made it to this fantastic tournament in a few years, because I’ve been sick. I won’t be there again this year, but I look forward to hearing about the exploits of GM Wesley So and the other Filipino players in the open section! Speaking of Asian players, I’ve noticed that the Idian and Chinese players bring much fireworks to the Big tournament as well! What I’d like to see arranged is a match between Wesley and our US Open Champion!