By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
Sports had always been a gauge of the strength and the fitness of a person since the olden times. Early sports competitions showcased just that. Now such show of strength has evolved into how a nation had literally progressed. Those who are consistently on top somehow feel that they have gained some measure of intimidating factor. And this is understandable.
The Philippines right now is pathetically at the bottom list of countries that are supposed to have grown stronger. Blame that to weak leadership in most of our national sports associations. The leaders are always wrangling for credit that they did not labor for.
Look at the present squabble in the Philippine Volleyball Federation. For the past several years, the country hibernated in the international volleyball scene. Enterprising private individuals and companies did their best to rekindle local interest in this sport where we once reigned in the Southeast Asian region. They succeeded in propelling it into one of the most popular local sports at present, at least for the women. Attendance to games rival, and at times beating, that of the PBA which is already a well-established league.
This created a situation that attracted the attention of kibitzers who just lust for the fruits of what others had painstakingly nurtured. The men and women Philippine teams were already formed but players are in quandary because of some squabbles. Their minds are in turmoil at the moment. This is nothing new really. The baseball association is also presently wracked by division. Pity our national baseball players who are not receiving their allowances since last year yet they continue to practice using their own resources. And they are not even allowed to train in a decent place where they use to train!
Many other NSAs are in similar dilemma now. We can not put our acts together. This is a reflection of our inability to show a strong, coordinated and unified response to bullying from countries like China.
Of course, everything is not lost. Cordillera is well-known for combative sports. But there is another where we have already shown excellence. It is the game of chess. Andronico Yap is one shining example who may not be known to the present generation but he was considered then as the probable second grandmaster of the country. He was the first Asian junior to have beaten a Russian grandmaster, Josif Dorfman, in a tournament. The Russian was the reigning champion of his country when he was beaten by Yap. His chess skills were sharpened here in Baguio, particularly at University of Baguio. Thanks to the Bautista family, the owner of the university. Unfortunately, he died at a young age of 29. When he was just a small kid, both his parents died in front of him in a park because of robbers. If not for this sad experience, maybe he could have had a more stable state of mind and obtained the coveted title early in his life.
In the horizon is another UB product, Haridas Pascua, who is on his way to becoming another Filipino grandmaster. He has already notched his first grandmaster norm last year. The grandmaster title is the highest one can get as a chess player. It means belonging to an elite circle of few players. Other chess players of UB have donned the national colors. There are other young chess players who are just waiting to be properly trained. Schools are spending much more for sports, like basketball, that we may not be able to parlay into triumph in the international arena. Why don’t we focus some of our resources instead for the training of budding chess players?
Baguio once hosted a world chess championship match between Anatoly Karpov, the then reigning champion and Viktor Korchnoi, the challenger. At one time also, Eugene Torre, the first Asian grandmaster called Baguio his home. Even Bobby Fischer, the eccentric American former world chess champion often visited Baguio when he was still alive. These point to the excellent chess culture that flourished here. They certainly point to the possibility that we can produce world beaters in chess.
As of the moment though, chess is like an afterthought. It is not given a good, hard look by sports planners. This is despite the fact that some of our national chess masters, men and women, have been nurtured and trained in Baguio. What is ironical is that many of our leaders play the game of chess. Former Benguet governor Raul Molintas, for instance, was a chess champion. Even Manny Pacquiao, ang pambansang kamao, is known to be a decent chess player.
Let us not forget that there is a young Filipino, grandmaster Wesley So, who is now one of the ten best chess players in the world. It is unfortunate that for some reasons, he is now representing the American chess federation in the world starting this year. It is a consolation that in international interviews, he always says that he is a Filipino, born, raised and trained in the Philippines. He had shown to the world that the Filipino could really be at par with anybody anywhere though resources could be so limiting. Cordillera could lead the way in producing a cadre of top notch chess players.**
