Philippine team

BY: BOBBY ANG

(As published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, 24 September 2010)

Philippine team to the 2010 Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia:
Board 1 GM Wesley So 2668
Board 2 GM John Paul Gomez 2527
Board 3 GM Darwin Laylo 2522
Board 4 GM Eugene Torre 2489
Board 5 IM Richard Bitoon 2447
Team Captain: Atty. Edmundo Legaspi

Much as been said about the absence of GM Joey Antonio from our lineup. The National Chess Federation Philippines (NCFP) headed by Prospero Pichay decided to drop Grandmaster Rogelio "Joey" Antonio after he snubbed the two major chess tournament hosted in the country -- the 6th Pichay Cup and the 1st Florencio Campomanes Memorial Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. GM Joey instead went to the USA to compete in a series of weekend tournaments.

I’d like to take this opportunity to clear up a few things:

1) GM Joey announced that he is going to the US to raise his rating to the 2600s. It is true that GM Joey is quite capable of hitting that target, but if that were truly the goal then he would have gone to Europe and played in those giant opens with lots of GMs participating. Going to the States and participating in weak weekend tournaments where the next highest rated player is around 100 points below him is simply fund-raising.

2) GM Joey Antonio receives a monthly allowance from the Philippine Sports Commission as a member of the national team. There are some responsibilities which come with this stipend -- he has to participate in important national tournaments not only to add to this prestige but also so that his opponents can learn from him.

3) Why do some players think that they are entitled to any allowances or stipends from the government without giving something back? Ten years ago when Arianne Caoili, far and away our best woman chess player, refused to play in the national championship because she is sure to win, I warned her to play or face removal from the team. Granted that there are good odds to her winning, her participation would be some sort of training for her as well as her opponents.

4) When the Federation threatened to remove GM Joey from the national squad his reply was that he will sue, and this precipitated his removal. Clearly he has been listening to some very bad advice, perhaps from some ambulance-chasing lawyer? Of course the correct approach would have been to seek an appointment with the president of the federation, apologize for not playing, and reveal that GM Joey tried to return to the Philippines but he could not get a ticket in time.

5) GM Joey was not allowed to play in the 2008 Dresden Olympiad squad because he refused to play in the elimination tournament. You would think that he had learned his lesson by now.

This unhappy sequence of events has elevated GM John Paul Gomez to Board 2 for our team. Is he ready? Take a look at this fantastic game from the Campomanes Memorial.

Zhou Jianchao (2668) -- Gomez, John Paul (2527) [D17]
1st Campomanes Memorial Cup Open Manila PHI (5), 31.08.2010
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I think he is ready.