Philippine chess grandmasters in the limelight

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Philippine chess grandmasters in the limelight

Written by Jojo Iglesia

In chess, the sport of kings, being conferred the title of International Grandmaster (GM) is the highest accolade that can be given to any player.

As of Q4 2011, the number of Philippine chess grandmasters stands at 16.

The 1970s saw the Philippines (and Asia at that) having its first chess grandmaster in Eugene Torre via a sterling performance in the Nice Olympiad in 1974 and followed by the late Rosendo Balinas Jr. in 1976. There was a long lull until 1998 when Rogelio "Joey" Antonio, Jr. became the next Filipino GM. The other Philippine chess GMs - Buenaventura "Bong" Villamayor, Nelson Mariano, Mark Paragua, Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Joseph Sanchez, Rogelio Barcenilla, Roland Salvador, Julio Catalino Sadorra, Oliver Barbosa, and Richard Bitoon have all attained the title in the early part of the 21st century. Chess continues to advance in the Philippines via individual and private initiative on top of support from the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

The distinguished list of Pinoy chess grandmasters (specific GM data available at wikipedia.org), including the year when they received the title and their respective FIDE ELO ratings as of February 2012, is as follows: GM Eugene Torre (1974; ELO 2502); GM Rosendo Balinas Jr. (1976) (passed away in 1998; had the honor of being among elite foreign GMs, like the great Capablanca, to have won a chess tourney in Russia); GM Rogelio Antonio Jr.(1998; ELO 2557); GM Buenaventura Villamayor (2000; ELO 2440); GM Nelson Mariano (2004; ELO 2447); GM Mark Paragua (2005; ELO 2522); GM Wesley So (2007; ELO 2653); GM Darwin Laylo (2007; ELO 2502); GM Jayson Gonzales (2008; ELO 2405); GM John Paul Gomez (2008; ELO 2506); GM Joseph Sanchez (2009, ELO 2529); GM Rogelio Barcenilla (2009, ELO 2501); GM Roland Salvador (2010, ELO 2502); GM Julio Catalino Sadorra (2011, ELO 2509); GM Oliver Barbosa (2011, ELO 2573); and GM Richard Bitoon (2011, ELO 2515).

Of note, Filipino GM Wesley So is currently among the world's youngest chess grandmasters (he became one at 14). In perspective, GM Sergey Karjakin of the Ukraine became the world's youngest grandmaster when he got the title at 12 years and 7 months; GM Karjakin was born on January 1990). Some of the young chess prodigies who became GM's before reaching 15 include GM Parimarjan Negi of India, GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway, GM Bu Xinagzhi of China, GM Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan, and GM Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine.

GM Wesley So is also the Philippines' second supergrandmaster (ie, based on having reached an ELO rating of 2600 or higher) aside from GM Mark Paragua who had achieved it earlier. Besides these Filipino chess GMs, there are other Pinoy GM candidates and aspirants waiting for their turn at glory. Definitely, the success of the current crop of Philippine chess grandmasters, as with the accomplishments of their GM compatriots from other countries, will continue to inspire younger generations of chess players everywhere.

(Video from youtube.com; posted by jwinterph 05.07.08)