ASEAN chess

How long can the Philippines maintain the prestige of being the No.1 chess country in Southeast Asia?

Let's see the rankings of ASEAN chess nations as of January 2009 (original ASEAN members only):

No.33 Philippines

No.35 Vietnam

No.55 Indonesia

No.64 Singapore

No.81 Malaysia

No.96 Thailand

Obviously, it is Vietnam which threatens to grab the leadership from the Philippines in the ASEAN region.

The threat is real.

Just look at Vietnam's wide base of young chess players. It's indeed awesome to know the number of Vietnamese participants in the coming 10th ASEAN Age-Group Championship. Please take a peek HERE.

Now look at the Philippine contingent HERE.

Yes, it is easy to say that Vietnam can afford to send such a huge contingent since they are the host.

But actually no, being a host perse does not guarantee the size of a contingent. A population's culture and ability already play a key role here.

Remember the Philippines' own version of age-group championship which took place recently in Kalibo, Aklan?

Isn't it a cause to panic to see a Philippine age-group championship with a number of participants as few as seven - yes, seven - participants? See it HERE to believe.

And omen of all omens, the country's No.1 chess player - GM Wesley So - lost to a Vietnamese player in the name of GM Le Quam Liem in the final round of the recently concluded 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship in Subic.

One positive sign, though, is the move to include chess in school curriculum. Let's hope that it generates a wide mass of chess-loving Filipinos to at least maintain our No.1 ranking in this region.

And to be more optimistic, let's hope that that move propel us a little higher in the world rankings.