MANILA, 1 August 2003 — The Filipino chess players bound for the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games this December are carrying a mental baggage caused by the leadership and financial problems hobbling the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
According to Grandmaster Bong Villamayor, the affairs of the troubled NCFP are starting to creep into their preparations of the national team for the Dec. 5-13 games in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Villamayor, whose claims were supported by fellow GM Joey Antonio, said they now feel more pressure and are distracted by the controversies gripping the NCFP.
This year alone, Villamayor and Antonio failed to participate in any Europe campaign, which is one reason why their growth pace is slower compared to young International Master Mark Paragua.
Villamayor, who became the country’s third GM after Eugene Torre and Antonio in 2000, said the unpredictable leadership of the chess federation has something to do with the overall picture of Philippine chess.
“We rely mostly on talent. Other countries have been training for years together and the results are far better than us,” said Villamayor, who finished tied for fourth to sixth places in the recent Asian Zonals 3.2a in Ho Chi Minh City.
Chess is to be introduced in the Vietnam sporting conclave as a regular sport for the first time.
Villamayor urged the NCFP to be more transparent with the funds contributed recently by First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo as he raised concerns on the chess body’s priorities after the allotment of funds and trainers for the national youth team’s campaign in the World Youth Chess Championships. Nothing yet is clear, Villamayor pointed out, on how much money was really set aside for the national team’s preparations for the coming SEA Games.
Villamayor said there have been some “additional funds” alloted for the youth championships, something that was not originally agreed upon in the original proposal submitted to the First Gentleman Foundation.
“The executive committee was actually convened only once, and that was more than a month ago. Actually, alloting funds for the Youth team to the World Youth championships is an added boost but this should have been discussed first,” Villamayor said.
Officials of the chess federation have appointed seven trainers for the national youth team, which is preparing for the World Youth tournament set late this year.
Villamayor didn’t mention how much they are supposed to receive monthly, but he said it was lower than expected.
For now, Villamayor said the men’s team members are training on their own since up to this time, the NCFP has yet to appoint an official trainer for the men’s chess team.
NCFP President Matt Defensor, however, said International Master Rudy Cardoso has been designated trainer for the women’s national team, while no one yet has been tapped for the men’s side.
“We are actually preparing the venue for the national chess team. It’s in the Philippine National Bank building along Roxas Boulevard. It’s just undergoing some renovation but as soon as it’s done, we’ll start the training,” Defensor said.
At the moment, he noted they are trying to arrange a major tournament for the national team that would clash with some of the world’s super GMs sometime this September in Subic.
The NCFP is confident the RP women’s chess team will be a formidable fighting unit in the coming SEA Games.
The national chess players include Woman International Masters Cristine Mariano, Beverly Mendoza and FIDE Woman Master Sheerie Joy Lomibao.
Defensor said the Filipina woodpushers will be whipped into fighting form with barely five months before the regional games.
