CHESS yearender: Wesley lumipat sa USCF para mapataas ang kanyang rating at pagkadismaya sa NCFP

MANILA, Philippines - Nangyari ang isang malaking dagok sa Philippine chess sa taong 2014.

Ito ay matapos magdesisyon si Filipino Grand Master Wesley So na lumipat sa United States Chess Federation nang mabigong makakuha ng su­porta mula sa National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).

Sinabi ni Hungarian-born American chess Grand Master Susan Polgar, ang coach ni So sa Webs­ter University sa US, na sumulat sila kay NC­FP president Prospero Pichay, Jr. para ipaalam na mag­papalit ang tubong Bacoor, Cavite ng chess federation matapos ang kampanya sa Chess Olympiad sa Tromsø, Norway.

Ngunit hindi sila sinagot ni Pichay.

“My request was simply disregarded. I never received a direct answer,” wika ni So. “At this point, it is too late for me to represent the Philippines in the upcoming Olympiad in Tromso, even if the NCFP accepts the offer I made last November. I had made other commitments after the June 1 deadline to submit the Olympiad team roster.”

Sinabi ni So na ang paglipat ng chess federation ang makakatulong sa kanya para mapataas pa ang world chess rankings niya.

“This is where I will have the opportunity to improve my chess, and make a decent living as a professional player. I want to be able to play in top level tournaments ... to get to the next level,” wika ni So.

Ayon pa kay So, hindi naging madali ang desis­yon niyang lumipat sa USCF mula sa NCFP.

“This is not an easy decision. But it is the best decision for me to have a chance to be a top 10 player in the world, and perhaps one day fight for the World Championship crown. I hope you will support my decision and allow me to make this change immediately so I can have a chance to chase my dream without losing more valuable time at this very important age,” sabi ni So.

Sa kanyang kampanya noong 2014, tumabla si So kina Fabiano Caruana at Lenier Dominguez sa ikaapat na puwesto sa bigating Tata Steel Chess Tournament Group A.

Pinagharian ni So ang 49th Capablanca Memorial tournament sa Havana, Cuba matapos ungusan ng isang puntos si Lazaro Bruzon kasunod ang kanyang pagbandera sa ACP Golden Classic tournament sa Bergamo, Italy at sa Millionaire Chess Open sa Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dahil sa kanyang matagumpay na kampanya ay tu­maas ang FIDE World Rankings ni So sa No. 10 sa likod ng kanyang ELO rating na 2762.

Sa edad na 12-anyos ay kinatawan ni So ang Pilipinas sa 2006 Turin Chess Olympiad kasunod ang paglalaro sa sumunod na tatlong Olympiads sa Dresden (2008), Khanty-Mansiysk (2010) at sa Istanbul (2012).

Kamakalawa ay umalis si So sa Webster University at sa ilalim ng paggabay ni Hungarian coach Susan Polgar para kumampanya bilang professional player sa hangaring maging world chess champion.

“Reaching 2800 in the ratings is my main goal,” sabi ni So sa panayam ng atchessbase.com. “And I’m giving myself every chance to be the best that I can be.”

Ang pagpasok niya sa 2800 rating ang maghahanay kay So kina reigning world champion Mag­nus Carlsen ng Norway (2862), Italian Fabiano Ca­ruana (2829), Russian Alexander Grischuk (2810) at Bulgarian Veselin Topalov (2800).

Nakatakdang sumabak si So sa 77th Tata Steel Masters, isang Category 20 event na may average rating na 2747, sa Jan. 9-25 sa Wijk aan Zee, Ne­ther­lands.

Ang iba pang kalahok ay sina defending champion Levon Aronian (2797) at Hou Yifan of China (2673 bukod kina Dutch Anish Giri (2768) at Loek Van Wely (2667), French Maxime Vachier Lagrave (2758), Polish Wotjaszek (2744), Azeri Teimour Radjabov (2734), Georgian Badur Jobava (2733), Chinese Ding Liren (2732), Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk (2715) at Croatian Ivan Saric (2679).