Philippines have lost a prodigy.
Chess champion and Super GrandMaster Wesley So recently denounced his Filipino citizenship to become an official US citizen. This means that So cannot represent the Philippines in Chess tournaments anymore.
And with the country losing the three-time Philippine and currently ranked no. 9 in global, he now revealed his reason why.
According to So, it’s because of how politics influenced Philippine sports, which led to his frustrations. We can recall that the former Caviteño moved to the US in 2012 because of how chess seemed irrelevant to the Philippines.
Fortunately, the United States has given him the opportunity to elevate his career which the Philippines couldn’t do.
“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,” said So in an interview with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services during his ceremony. “[But] that doesn’t 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.”
As a result, some celebrities and netizens expressed their disappointment towards PH government’s vague disinterest in unpopular sports such as chess.
Kapamilya talent manager and actor Ogie Diaz shared on his Facebook page his comment regarding So becoming a US citizen. Diaz said that Filipinos cannot blame So for leaving the country due to the unseemly politicking in sports.
Former Kapamilya reporter Kevin Manalo understood the decision of So. Manalo also stressed that So is not the first and last to denounce his citizenship. Many will follow him unless the crooked system of politicking in sports was abolished.
I understand his decision. Ang lungkot lang kasi sa atin kailangan talaga may koneksyon at kapit ka sa mga nakaupo bago ka magtagumpay. Sa kahit anong industriya — hindi si Wesley So ang una o huli…maraming aalis hangga’t di tinatapos ang ganitong sistema. https://t.co/hoHT7U9F30
— Kevin Manalo (@kevinmanalo_) March 5, 2021
Twitter personality Kristoffer Pasion also shared that he understands as well why So, who loved the Philippines, left because he was not loved by the country for being a chess player.
Whenever I think of love of country, I think of Wesley So, & how this country never loved him back. That’s why I cannot blame people who leave for good.
Nakakapagod rin kasi. Tapos wala tayong kadala-dala. https://t.co/DailI5clEF
— Kristoffer Pasion (@indiohistorian) March 5, 2021
Netizen @dimpledcpa08 shared her sentiment regarding how the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) focuses on the sports that could bring profit to the country. This means that athletes who play popular sports such as boxing or basketball were being taken good care of by PSC.
This is a personal opinion…PSC has this tendency to focus on someone 'marketable'. By marketable, this would either mean, someone who plays a popular type of sport (boxing, basketball) or someone good-looking (even not really that good).
Sguro it is high time to change…. https://t.co/nJx9Nm0iMG
— Liberté.Égalité.Fraternité
(@dimpledcpa08) March 5, 2021
Writer Dino Manrique suggested that the government get rid of the corrupt sport’s officials to prevent athletes such as So from leaving the country.
https://twitter.com/filipinowriter/status/1367734578849280002
Journalist Camille Diola sarcastically raised the question, if So is a basketball player, he would have gotten the Philippines’ attention.
If Wesley So were a basketball player, would the Philippines be kinder to him? https://t.co/4SgMzQcYl3
— Camille Diola (@camillediola) March 5, 2021
Netizen @moneyandeveryth regret that in sports, politics is involved. With its involvement, a prodigy left the Philippines to become a US citizen where he has the full support of the nation.
Isa pang sayang!
Kundi lang kase pati isports eh hinahalo sa politika.https://t.co/jNPkidGTSt
— money in #ambm train atm
(@moneyandeveryth) March 5, 2021
Journalist Miriam Gracego also wrote that the Philippines doesn’t deserve the brilliance of So due to how unfair the country treated the Super Grandmaster—not giving the support he needed.
PH deserved to lose him.
“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.”#WesleySo now officially a US citizen | @RapplerSports https://t.co/a6P7SWa0ME
— Miss Go (@miriamgracego) March 5, 2021
Wesley So’s Career
So showed his prowess in chess as he began to compete in chess tournaments at the age of 9. He won his first major tournament back in 2003 when he placed 1st at the 2003 Philippine National Chess Championships for the under 10 age group.
3 years later, at the age of 12 years old, he became the youngest Filipino International Master and the youngest member of the national men’s team to participate in the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy.
In 2007, he became the youngest National Junior Open Chess Champion, winning the gold medal on board one, at the World Under16 Team Championships.
The following year, So went on to win Dubai Open Chess Championships, “The Sheikh Rashed Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup”, in the United Arab Emirates, setting the record as the youngest winner in the 10-year history of the Cup. So was also rated 2610 and was the youngest player in the history of the game to break the 2600 Elo barrier, surpassing the record previously held by Magnus Carlsen.
In 2009, he was rated the world’s strongest chess player for his age level (players born in 1993 and later) by FIDE.
After 4 years, Wesley So gave the Philippines its first gold medal in the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia. He also won four other tournaments namely: Reykjavik Open, Calgary International Chess Classic, 17th edition of the Univé Chess Tournament, and World University Chess Championship.
In his first attempt, Wesley So won the 49th Capablanca Memorial tournament in Havana in 2014. He also won first place at the ACP Golden Classic in Bergamo, Italy, and the first edition of Millionaire Chess, in Las Vegas.
Wesley So then launched his career as a full-time professional chess player in 2015 where he won the 22nd Bunratty Chess Festival in Ireland, the Czech Chess Trophy, and the Bilbao Chess Masters in Spain.
In 2016, he won Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis Mo and was awarded the Samford Chess Fellowship, by the US Chess Trust. He also gave the US its second gold medal in 42nd Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, the first in 1976. He also won another Gold medal for best on Board three.
And in 2021, he beat the world’s no. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the Opera Euro Rapid chess championship.
With this mountain-high of achievements, it surely is a loss to the Philippines to have a Filipino-born chess genius become a representative of the United States in the coming future chess tournaments.
