FIDE delists NCFP for unpaid dues

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine chess starts its year by being delisted from the FIDE or International Chess Federation rating list due to failure by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines to pay its arrears amounting to $8,000.

Because of this, the Philippines, already suffering from the departure of its former No. 1 player Wesley So to the United States recently, was not included in the monthly FIDE rating list Thursday.

NCFP executive director Jayson Gonzales, however, said it was just a minor delay and will pay anytime this week.

"Hope by next week the NCFP will would be able to make such payment," Gonzales, who is a Grandmaster himself, told The STAR.

Interestingly, the Philippines is just one of the more than 30 countries who failed to make a payment in time.

While Filipino chessers wait for their new ratings, the 20-year-old So, who now represents the United States Chess Federation, has moved by leaps and bounds as he zoomed from No. 28 top start 2014 to No. 10 this year with a 2777.1 elo rating.

So's meteoric rise is attributed to his four victories this year – the Capablanca Memorial in Cuba last May, the ACP Golden Classic in Bergamo, Italy in July, the Millionaire Chess Cup in Las Vegas in October and the North American Chess Open also in Las Vegas recently – and a second place effort in the Edmonton Cup in Alberta, Canada in June.

The Cavite-born So, now based in Minnesota after dropping out from Webster U and bolting out of former coach Susan Polgar to go full-time professional, will play world No. 9 Hiraku Nakamura next in a showdown between the US' top two woodpushers.

So is also scheduled to see action in the ultra-strong Tata Steel Masters on Jan. 9 in The Netherlands where he will be pitted against the world's best, including men's and women's champions Magnus Carlsen and Hou Yifang.

So is eyeing to breach the 2800 rating barrier this year and challenge Carlsen for the world title.

No thanks to allegedly bad advice he got and Phl sports politics, So changed allegiance, which automatically deprived him of the chance to become the best performing Filipino athlete this year.

So would have been the first chesser to win such coveted plum, which went to Incheon Asian Games BMX gold medalist Daniel Caluag.