RP chess: Top 20 in 5 years
Friday, August 20, 2010
MANILA — The Philippines has already produced some chess grandmasters in the past but these are not yet enough to beef up the country’s stock in the global arena.
Prospero Pichay, National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president, said he is aiming to raise the country’s current rank from 35 to 20th place in five years, although this can only be achieved by extending more funds to budding Filipino woodpushers.
“If we only have the funds, I think we’ll be in the Top 10 right now,” he told reporters.
“We have a lot of young players right now who can be future Grandmasters, but for them to earn their norms, they need to continuously compete in different tournaments which also cost a lot,” Pichay added.
The Surigao del Sur congressman cited the case of Vietnam and Iran, which have consistently shored up their ratings after receiving at least $1million allocations from their respective governments.
Vietnam is now just one breath away from the Philippines at no. 36 while Iran is not so far at no. 46.
(Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph
They need training to move up.
They need training to move up.
Yo Prospero! How about doing some of the small things first?
1. Making sure that the registration fees for the Olympiad team are paid BEFORE the team actually gets to the site? In 2008 the team had to pay for its own registration fees out of its own pocket. Only afterwards were they reimbursed.
2. And while we’re on the subject of the 2008 Olympiad, didnt you promise each of them USD500 each in pocket money? That never appeared.
3. Please pay the prize money of local masters who win the Pichay and GMA Cups in a timely fashion. The foreign winners got their money right away while the local winners had to wait.
4. On a more recent note, the arrangements for accommodations for the ASEAN Age Group championships at Subic just last June was simply atrocious especially for our own young players. While the foreign contingents got billeted in hotels, our children had to sleep in mosquito infested public school classrooms and dormitories. You should have billeted our own players who qualified to play in the tournament in the hotel too. If others wanted to play and they can’t afford to stay in hotels then it’s up to them to find accommodations.
But I should expect that you wouldn’t focus on the above issues because none of them brings newspaper headlines and recognition. Creating new GMs and catapulting the Philippines into the chess Top 20 is sexy. Taking care of our own players isn’t.