Time to fly high

Three stagings of the Battle of Grandmasters. Three titles. One champion: GM Wesley So.

It's not a question of who would win this tournament. It's a question of a painful sacrifice to give back to Philippine chess.

Wesley, of course, is the star of the show. Or to state it better, the Battle of Grandmasters has been his 'own' show.

Since the inception of the BOGM years ago, somebody has yet to defeat Wesley in this tournament. Not one succeeded. And perhaps, no one could ever accomplish the insane task.

The Philippine chess community should salute Wesley, not because of his superb showing in the three stagings of the BOGM but because of his commitment to give back to where he came from. Wesley participated not because of the fame, not because of the prize, not because of the feat, but because of his unselfish desire to share his talent for the improvement of Philippine chess.

After the 3rd BOGM, I guess it's time to free up Wesley. No more 4th BOGM for him, please. Time for him to fly to higher places.

Let's all pray for this young lad who has never abandoned his role as a Filipino hero.

FINAL RANKINGS

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
1	GM	So Wesley	PHI	2665	8,5
2	GM	Gomez John Paul	PHI	2507	7,5
3	GM	Antonio Rogelio Jr	PHI	2572	7,0
4	IM	Sadorra Julio Catalino	PHI	2450	7,0
5	GM	Laylo Darwin	PHI	2527	6,0
6	IM	Nolte Rolando	PHI	2420	4,5
7	IM	Dableo Ronald	PHI	2464	4,0
8	IM	Bitoon Richard	PHI	2476	4,0
9	FM	Pascua Haridas	PHI	2358	3,5
10	IM	Dimakiling Oliver	PHI	2443	2,0
11	FM	Garcia Jan Emmanuel	PHI	2315	1,0
12	GM	Gonzales Jayson	PHI	2441	0,0