Wesley So Needs His Freddie Roach

Wesley So’s exploits in international chess competitions have now reached phenomenal level. He is the latest of the young prodigies that come out of the Philippines – a list that even includes current world champion and India’s pride Viswanathan Anand. Yes, Anand started to play chess while growing up in the streets of Intramuros, Morayta, Recto, Divisoria, Quiapo, etc. While Wesley’s accomplishments at a young age of 16 have been nothing but amazing already, I hate to see him fail to realize his full potential as a chess player.


What does Wesley have that Anand did not? You might think I am mistaken in the way I ask this question but no, this is right because the answer is the failure of the Philippine government to fully and effectively support the development of young talents in the country. Most of these wiz kids start on their own with parent support as in the case of Anand, Wesley, Mark Paragua , and others. Once the National Chess Federation of the Philippines or the Philippine Chess Federation in the old days takes over, they will improve but only to a certain extent. Then, when they become complacent like their government, they start to decline. This has been a recurrent theme in the Philippine chess scene. Anand did not have to go through it and became very successful.

Obviously, something is wrong. Wesley So and the Philippine government need to get their acts together to prevent another failure. If this cannot happen, Wesley better find another country that can do the job for him. You cannot do it by yourself, Wesley. Even Robert Fischer needed help and he got it in the end. Manny Pacquiao did not reach his full potential until he found the Wild Card gym and Freddie Roach.