Elite chess grandmaster, with and Elo rating of 2627, the highest so far by any filipino, that’s how good Wesley So is. His best performance so far is his victory in group C of the chorus chess championship. A tournament far more prestigious than the recent one which he  virtually won-the Battle of the GM’s held in Dapitan. Its is good that it was held in Dapitan, at least slowly Mindanao is getting it fair share of the game.

I would like to give a thumbs up sigh to Prospero Pichay, who is himself a Mindanaoan, for the simple deed. At Mindanao, Zamboanga in particular is given some positive angles, not only the kidnapping of the ICRC volunteers, and the teachers.

This is good inspite the little prominence it gets from the editors. Understandably, gruesomeness sells better than good news. I can’t blame them, they have a duty to sell their wares, a duty to inform as the public of the bad things that is happening around Mindanao.

Mindanao, however, gets a fairer share of the good news everytlime Manny Pacquiao wins a fight. Boxing is far more exciting than chess, so the Pacman is more in the limelight than Wesley So. Well, it is not good to compare the two in the first place. MannyP is an aknowledge phenomenum, one of the worlds best, one of the most enfluencial star according to the Time Magazine. He is an established champion. Wesly is just a kid, a chess grandmaster at a very young age of 15, but he still has to prove himself in the complex 64 squares. He is not yet in the top 100, although he might be there in a couple of months.  But i can’t help it, both makes us filipinos proud.