We didn’t lose Wesley So

 “All I want to do, ever, is play chess.”

—Bobby Fischer

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

ANY Filipino who changes his citizenship doesn’t stop being a Filipino by heart.

What has changed is his permanent residence and oath of allegiance, which is technically a piece of paper.

When he goes back to his native land in the Philippines, he is still treated as a “true blue” Pinoy. He speaks and understands the Filipino language and his memories will remain Filipino.

His identity and heritage will always be Filipino.

Contrary to the fears and lamentation of chess aficionados and scribes in the Philippines, we didn’t “lose” Super Grandmaster Wesley So simply because he officially became an American citizen effective February 26, 2021 as confirmed by the US Chess Federation (USCF).

He can no longer represent the Philippines in international tournaments like the SEA Games and World Chess Olympiad, but every time the 27-year-old Cavite-born chess genius plays in major tournaments and conquers his fellow world-rated rivals, Filipinos all over the world are still proud to claim that So is their compatriot.

 

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 When he wins, the ones who rejoice first and foremost are the Filipinos. 

When he suffers heartbreaking setbacks in important tournaments, the first people who are quick to mourn are the Filipinos.

So is still very much with us; he is part of us, and will always remain as a Filipino in the heart and mind of every chess fan in the Philippines.

The world’s most exciting chess player, who stirred the international chess community when he toppled Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen in two major random tournaments in 2019 and 2021, will never turn his back permanently from the Philippines.

Let’s listen to him in an interview with the USCF: “l love that anyone can strive to succeed. You are not held back by your color, lack of connections, or the amount of money you have. If you work hard, you have a better chance of making it here than anywhere else in the world. I came here ready to work hard, and it turned out just as I dreamed.”

He added: “That does not mean I don’t love the Philippines. I have good memories from there. But I did not have the connections needed to succeed in that culture. I was from the province, not a city boy. Had no money etc. I wanted to go further, and there was only one country a nobody can make it. The USA!”

So used to play for the Philippines in the past before moving to the United States in 2014, or two years after his first visit to the country when So was Webstar University’s freshman recruit.

He stressed: “I want to give back to a country that has been so good to me. From the moment I landed here, I was encouraged and enabled to become better than I was. I like this attitude and the tremendous generosity of American culture.”

 

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This is the full interview on So by the USCF:

USCF: Why did you come to the U.S.?  

So: For a better future, because this is the land of opportunity. 

USCF: What do you like about the U.S.?  

So: I love that anyone can strive to succeed. You are not held back by your color, lack of connections or the amount of money you have. If you work hard, you have a better chance of making it here than anywhere else in the world. I came here ready to work hard, and it turned out just as I dreamed. That does not mean I don't love the Philippines. I have good memories from there. But I did not have the connections needed to succeed in that culture. I was from the province, not a city boy. Had no money etc. I wanted to go further, and there was only one country a nobody can make it. The USA! 

USCF: Why are you becoming a U.S. citizen?  

So: I want to give back to a country that has been so good to me. From the moment I landed here I was encouraged and enabled to become better than I was. I like this attitude and the tremendous generosity of American culture. Most people here have no idea what it is like anywhere else in the world, and they don't appreciate the amazing spirit of this country. I have competed in most countries of the world and I can say ... I love it here!  

USCF: How did you feel when you became a U.S. citizen?  

So: I got so hyper and excited I was talking kind of loud all day. It was literally a dream come true. I am now a part of the American Dream. I am part of the most successful country on earth, ready to make my own contribution and have my own legacy here.  

USCF: What will this mean for your future in the field of chess?  

So: Well, that I cannot say. Chess is a sport and like other elite sports your efforts can go up and down for all sorts of reasons. I know I will try my best to pay back what has been done for me. I plan to be a good citizen and help others the way I was helped. God Bless America!  

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

 

So’s win over Carlsen eclipses Rockefeller’s $3-M donation

“In life, as in chess, forethought wins.” 

—Charles Buxton

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

BEFORE Filipino-American Grandmaster Wesley So’s (2741) head-turning victory over world chess champion Magnus Carlsen (2881) in the blitz playoff Champions Chess Tour Skilling Open in Cyber Monday (November 30), the world chess community was agog over John D. Rockefeller V’s $3 million donation to the US Chess Federation.

It became the talk of the town, for a while.

But So’s come-from-behind win over Carlsen made sports headlines  and edged the news about Rockefeller V’s gargantuan donation, which became a cover story in Chess Life’s December 2020 issue.

"I have to apologize to Magnus for semi-ruining his birthday!" said So as quoted by Chess24.

The former Philippine Team player, who migrated in the US as a teener and was under the tutelage of former Philippine actress Lotis Key,  clinched 1st place and the $30,000 top prize in the first event on the $1.5 million Champions Chess Tour. 

The World Champion's 30th birthday seemed to be going perfectly when he won the 1st game of the day with the black pieces, but 27-year-old So, hit back in Game 2 and survived a wild 3rd game. 

Chess24 reported that “Carlsen repeated his World Championship match trick of taking a quick draw to reach a playoff, but for once he fell short.”

The next event on the tour is reportedly the first major, where everything is doubled—the prize fund is $200,000 prize fund, with up to 100 points available to each player. 

That starts on December 26th, with So, Carlsen, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, GM Levron Aronian, GM Teimour Radjabov, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and GM Anish Giri already qualified for finishing in the Top 8 in the prelims. 

They'll be joined by GM David Anton, who was voted back in, and three more players, to be announced in the coming weeks.

 

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Rockefeller’s largesse was hailed as a “transformative gift that creates four new events and enhances existing ones” even as the United States Chess Federation (US Chess) announced that the donation was “the largest single gift ever presented to US Chess in our 81-year history.”

“It is impossible to overstate the importance to US Chess of Rockefeller’s unprecedented generosity and his vote of confidence in the future of our organization,” ChessBase reported. 

According to ChessBase’s press release, “The donation creates four events, enhances three existing events, renames one, adds to the scholarship funds for the scholastic events, and creates a book fund to further strengthen the invitationals.” 

The endowments ensure the tournaments will reportedly be run and the funds will be awarded in perpetuity.

This all directly speaks to their educational mission to "empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess."

John D. Rockefeller Sr. established the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913. Ever since, the Rockefeller family has embraced this legacy.

"Using wealth to shape the future is something Rockefellers have done for a long time. Starting in August of 2019, but especially during the first two months of COVID-19 in America, I decided it was time for me to do my part to continue the family legacy. I’ve never done anything approaching this scale of giving," Rockefeller V explained.

 

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US Chess Executive Carol Meyer said, "John’s enthusiasm for scholastic chess is virtually unmatched. He is an unwavering optimist, believing in the transformative power of the game to improve the lives of young players through competition, study, and friendships.  US Chess and our community are grateful for his leadership giving and vision, which will extend invitational chess tournaments to more players across the various ages of membership."

The US Chess Federation (US Chess) is the official governing body and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization for chess players and chess supporters in the United States. 

Its mission is to empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess. 

Its vision is that chess is recognized as an essential tool that is inclusive, benefits education and rehabilitation, and promotes recreation and friendly competition.

US Chess represents the United States in the World Chess Federation (FIDE), connecting our members to chess players around the world. Founded in 1939 with the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation, US Chess has grown to serve over 97,000 members by March 2020 and 2,000 affiliated chess clubs and organizations today.

Every year, US Chess sanctions and rates over 10,000 tournaments and over half a million games. 

It hosts over 25 National Championships and award titles to both amateurs and professionals, ranging from elementary school students to senior citizens.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, is a former editor of two dailies in Iloilo, Philippines)

 

 

 

 

 

In bocca al lupo, Fabiano

“Chess is ruthless: you've got to be prepared to kill people.” --Nigel Short

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If Bobby Fischer were alive today, he would spearhead the applause on 25-year-old compatriot Fabiano Caruana.
The reclusive genius died at 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2008 without seeing his dream to see another American-born chess grand master competing for the world chess championship.
When another American, Gata Kamsky (2677), battled and lost to Russia’s Anatoli Karpov (2623) for world championship in 1996, Fischer wasn’t impressed that another American after him was able to take a stab at the world chess crown.
Unlike Caruana (2784), who was born in Miami, Kamsky, 43, was born in Novokuznetsk, Russian and moved only to the United States in 1989.
Fischer, born in Chicago in 1943, was very particular about US-born chess world title candidates and challengers.
He also didn’t believe that that the world chess crown should remain in the hands of the Russians.
Although Caruana is Italian-American, he was born and raised in the US territory.

THIRD

By winning the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2018 in Berlin March 27, Caruana became officially the third American to battle for the world championship after Fischer in 1972 and Kamsky in 1996.
If Caruana will dethrone 27-year-old defending champion Magnus Carlsen (2843) of Norway in their 12-game match in London in November, he will only be the second American to win the global chess tiara since 1975, the year Fischer relinquished the title, three years after his epic win over Soviet star Boris Spassky in Reykjavik.
In Berlin during the Candidates Tournament 2018 that started on March 10, Caruana sent a strong message when he blasted fellow US player, Filipino Wesley So (2799), in a Catalan match in the opening day.
So finished solo seventh with six points.
In the 14th and last round on March 27, Caruana booked a ticket to London to face Carlsen when he trounced Alexander Grischuk (2767) in Petroff’s Defence, the only victory of the day in the eight-man tournament.
He wound up with nine points, a point ahead of second placer, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2809) who had eight points.
“I am absolutely thrilled,” Caruana, the world No. 3, said afterward. 

“Coming into today, I wasn’t sure what would happen and things couldn’t have gone better. A few days ago, I thought the tournament was already out of my hands, but somehow things just came together perfectly at the end. I really couldn’t be happier.”
In bocca al lupo, Fabiano or good luck, Fabiano.

Final Standings: 1st Caruana 9 pts, 2nd Mamedyarov 8 pts, 3rd Karjakin 8 pts, 4th Ding Liren 7.5 pts, 5th Kramnik 6.5 pts, 6th Grischuk 6.5 pts, 7th Wesley So 6 pts, 8th Aronian 4.5 pts

How Torre, So raise Filipinos’ pride in World Chess

“The place of chess in the society is closely related to the attitude of young people towards our game.”
--Boris Spassky

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Carlos “Sonny” Padilla Jr. was the toast of Philippine sports in 1975 when he earned praises from Don King, among other top honcos of world boxing, for his impressive handling of the Ali vs Frazier “Thrilla in Manila” in October.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos rejected the three American referees brought by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) and insisted on “inexperienced” 42-year-old Padilla to be the third man in the ring.
In summer the following year, however, the loud cheer did not only shift from boxing to chess, it transferred from Padilla to 24-year-old chess sensation Eugene Torre, Asia’s first Grandmaster (GM).
In the 1976 Marlboro-Loyola Kings Challenge chess tournament held in Manila, Torre (2505) made history by becoming the first chess player in the world to finish clear first ahead since Anatoly Karpov (2695) had become FIDE World Chess champion.
Torre, who notched his full GM norm at 22 in the 1974 Nice Chess Olympiad, did not only top the tournament, he also whipped the Russian world champion and two other GMs--Yugoslavia’s Ljubomir Ljubojevic (2620) and United States’ Walter Browne (2585).

MOMENT

Torre’s shining moment came seven years later in Alicante, Spain when he became the first Filipino to qualify for the Candidates Matches, a tournament that would decide the next FIDE World Championship challenger.
From April 4 to 26, 1983, the Filipinos followed Torre’s struggle against GM Zoltan Ribli of Hungary.
With no Internet then, I followed the results in the Manila Bulletin and its sister publication, Tempo, which had access to the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
There were six qualifiers from three Interzonal tournaments plus two seeds for a total of eight with the winner facing Karpov in 1984.
Robert Ang, accounting professor in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, recalled that “there were very unhappy circumstances before Torre’s departure for Alicante when he faced the prospect of being unable to leave for Spain due to lack of support. Financial difficulties hounded him every day and played havoc on his physical and mental preparation for the match. Finally, on literally the last minute the President of the Philippine Chess Federation Federico Moreno managed to come up with the tickets for Spain.”
After nine rounds, Ribli, older by only one month to Torre, crushed the Filipino, 6-4. The Hungarian, a two-time European Junior Champion and is now an international arbiter, was ousted in the next round by GM Vasily Smyslov, 6.5-4.5.
Smyslov, who died eight years ago at 89 in Moscow, was clobbered by future World Champion Garry Kasparov, 8.5-4.5
Smyslov, who lost to GM Mikhail Botvinnik in the 1953 World Chess Championship in Moscow, advanced to the semifinal round over GM Robert Huebner of West Germany.

STAGE

Torre’s highest accomplishment was the same stage reached by 24-year-old Filipino Wesley So (2799), formerly the world No. 2 player who is now representing the United States.
So could eclipse Torre if he wins the Candidates Tournament 2018 that would determine 27-year-old World Champion Magnus Carlsen’s next challenger.
The tournament romped off on March 10 and winds up on March 28 in Berlin, Germany.
So, the highest-rated Filipino GM, was at the bottom with two defeats and a draw after three rounds of an eight-player double round robin chess tournament.
So is in the league with GM Sergey Karjakin (2763), GM Levon Aronian (2794), GM Ding Liren (2769), GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2809), GM Alexander Grischuk (2767), GM Fabiano Caruana (2784), GM Vladimir Kramnik (2800).
Like Torre in Alicante, Spain, So needs the moral support of his countrymen as he struggles in Berlin. Although So now plays for the US, his battle is also our battle; his pride is also our pride; whether he wins or loses, So has already lifted the spirit of Filipinos by this scintillating performance of reaching the Candidates Tournament, a feat no other Filipino chesser in international chess competitions has achieved, except Torre, now 66.