So’s gambit declined
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:10 am | Saturday, July 26th, 2014
Zugzwang.That’s the term for a situation in a chess game where a player is forced to make a move that will only worsen his position. That’s close to the situation in which the Philippines’ top chess player, Wesley So, finds himself as he approaches the middle game of what has so far been a very promising career.
Caught in a tug-of-war between the politicians who control chess in the country and handlers who promise him a brighter future in the United States, the prodigy has refused to play under the Philippine flag in the World Chess Olympiad next week unless Philippine chess authorities allow him to play under the Stars and Stripes after that. When the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, which has nurtured his prodigious talent since he was barely 10, declined the gambit, he made his move—a courageous one for one so young. He will no longer play for his country and will wait it out until the rules allow him to play under the US flag.
But who is Wesley So and why is the chess scene on both sides of the Pacific so excited about him?
Before he was 10, he showed great promise as the Philippines’ best prospect for a world championship since Eugene Torre. He has lived up to that promise, chalking up triumph after triumph in tournaments here and abroad. At 12, he was a chess Olympian for the Philippines. At 14, he became the youngest player to achieve the title grandmaster, a milestone not even the prolific Torre achieved in his teens. Playing Board 1, he is unbeaten in the past three Chess Olympiads. Two years ago, he accepted a scholarship from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, joining a powerhouse team of young foreign-born grandmasters that catapulted the school to the US collegiate chess championship.
Now 20, So has a live Elo rating of 2755 and is ranked No. 12 in the world. Having achieved the lofty status as super grandmaster, he is now knocking at the door of the world championship, a circle dominated by young phenoms like him. His dream of a world championship is within his grasp.
Ironically, it was after one of his biggest personal triumphs last year that things turned sour for So. Defying the directive of sports leaders to compete elsewhere, he decided to play unsanctioned at the World University Games in Russia where he beat a formidable field to win the gold medal. But he got neither official recognition nor reward for the feat. (The Philippine Sports Commission said that, under the law, the Universiade was not on the list of events where incentives were given for medal winners.) “No player should be treated this way, especially when I worked so hard to bring pride to my country,” he lamented in an interview.
Deprived of what he thought he deserved, So wrote the NCFP seeking his release after next week’s World Chess Olympiad in Norway, so he could play under the US Chess Federation. In chess notation, it is a move annotated with lots of exclamation points and question marks, meaning it could be a bold, intriguing, dubious, or potentially winning or losing move. But then again, So did not get to be a super grandmaster by being timid.
At this writing, no release is forthcoming. Under the rules of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), a player needs the old federation’s consent or a payment of 50,000 euros before he can transfer. Having neither, So must wait two years to make the switch. This is to discourage piracy of talents, for which America is notorious.
In the past 10 years, So has been the most pampered chess player in the Philippines, receiving P40,000 a month from the PSC and getting extra from several sources, including the personal funds of the NCFP’s controversial head, former congressman Prospero Pichay. Not even Torre enjoyed such support.
But Torre is sympathetic to So, whom critics have accused of being unpatriotic. Torre says So should not be judged by the tough decision he has made.
Pichay contends that the NCFP cannot just let go of So given the government funds that have been spent for him. Hardly the paragon of virtue in terms of handling taxpayer money, Pichay has thrown the problem to the PSC, which, in turn, has thrown it back to him.
The Philippine team goes to the World Chess Olympiad in Norway next week without its biggest star, there’s the pity. But shining still is Eugene Torre, who will be playing in his 22nd Olympiad, a record unmatched by any player, dead or alive.
And So will be watching from limbo, a victim of his dreams—or his ambition.
Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net
Pichay is a liar. He doesn’t have a word of honor like most corrupt politicians.
Pichay is a liar. He has no word of honor like all his fellow corrupt politicians.
Based on recent developments, it now looks certain that GM Wesley So will have to sit out FIDE-sponsored events for the duration of the waiting period mandated by FIDE rules on federation transfers.
It’s now very plain to see that the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) will not approve or agree to Wesley’s transfer. Aside from the reasons already cited in various news articles and venues, I think that the NCFP wants to avoid setting what it sees as a dangerous precedent for the NCFP if it approves Wesley’s transfer. They must be thinking that if they (the NCFP) acquiesce and agree (without a fight) to Wesley’s transfer to the USCF, it will embolden other top Philippine chess players to do the same, thinking that because it was easy for Wesley to transfer federations, then they must be able to do the same without negative consequences.
I think this is the scenario — the potential loss of its top chess players — that the NCFP fears the most. The possible thinking is that viving GM Wesley So the hardest time they can possibly give him will “discourage” other top Filipino chess players from making the same move as Wesley’s.
So, I guess Wesley has no choice now but to wait until the waiting period is over. Anyway, Wesley can still play in other chess tournaments that are not directly sponsored by FIDE – so, no world cups or world championship qualifying tournaments for now. But my understanding is that he can still play in tournaments “sanctioned” by FIDE.
That Inquirer editorial is suspect, probably sourced and paid for by Pichay’s apologists. Pichay has a difficult position, but his actions on So’s request are not that of a respectable and competent chess official
I believe the majority of global chess fans support Wesley So’s decision. How about starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise the 50k euros needed to make Wesley So ‘s switch immediate?
@Mel Malvar, I suppose nobody expects NCFP’s president Prospero Pichay to be a man of wisdom in dealing with such issues as GM Wesley So’s. It would be more “normal” for us to see Mr. Pichay act and make decisions based on “who he is”, not on some Solomon-like figure who sees through things as if illuminated by some unknown light. So we now have the proverbial ping-pong ball that’s quite amusing (or not) to watch.
About having a crowdfunding campaign on Wesley’s behalf so he can continue to play chess whenever and wherever he can, it’s probably not such a bad idea. But we’ve got to know what and how much really are at stake here, and how much good it will do him.
What we know is that because of this problem, Wesley won’t be able to play in tournaments/events directly “sponsored” by FIDE (like the candidates tournaments) for the duration of the waiting period (2 years from the official submission of his letter of intent to switch federations), but that he CAN STILL PLAY in tournaments “sanctioned” by FIDE (which means his ELO rating moves up or down based on his tourney results), then there’s probably not that much “benefit” to the “cost” (50K euros) involved.
We, of course, will miss him play in the world championship candidates tournaments this year (and hopefully not next year). But he’s still young, and he presumably still has a few more things to improve on, that it’s really not such a bad thing after all. He probably also learned a thing or two about life and how the world works, so he can look at all these things and be smart enough to realize that, despite “its sham and drudgery…, it’s still a beautiful world”.
To FlipOne:
If the top players of the Philippines are fleeing the country to play elsewhere, then people should look at what NCFP is doing wrong, not blame the chessplayers. NCFP is holding out that the US would pay the $50,000 ransom money for So because we all know Pichay has a long record of corruption and would love to get his greedy little hands on them.
Instead of discouraging Filipino players from leaving the federation, they should focus more on ENCOURAGING them to stay by actually promoting chess in the country and giving Filipino players more opportunity.