Wesley hindi basta-basta pakakawalan ng NCFP

MANILA, Philippines - Habang walang nata­tanggap na official letter ang National Chess Fede­ration of the Philippines (NCFP) mula sa interna­tio­nal chess federation na FIDE ay ituturing pa rin nilang miyembro si Grand Master Wesley So.

Ito ang sinabi kahapon ni NCFP president Prospero Pichay, Jr. tungkol sa kagustuhan ng 20-anyos na si So na lumipat sa Uni­ted States Chess Fe­de­ration.

“He’s still part of the fe­deration (NCFP) because we haven’t received any official letter or document saying otherwise,” wi­ka ni Pichay.

Sa blog site ng kanyang coach na si Susan Pol­gar ay inihayag ni So ang kanyang hangaring lu­mipat sa US chess fede­ration.

Idinahilan ng tubong Ba­coor, Cavite ang kawalan niya ng financial support mula sa NCFP at Phi­lippine Sports Commission (PSC).

Hindi rin pinahala­ga­han ng NCFP at ng PSC ang kanyang nakuhang gold medal mula sa nilahukang University Games sa Kazan, Russia.

“As far as I know, the process is for him (So) to write the federation he is transferring to then that federation will write FIDE, which in turn writes to us at NCFP if we have objections. And so far, we haven’t received any official communication from anyone,” wika ni Pichay.

Kung matanggap man ni Pichay ang official letter mula sa FIDE ay hindi magiging madali ang pag­papakawala niya kay So.

“Personally, I want to let him go. But I will be answerable to the Filipi­no people because until now, he is still receiving taxpayers’ money worth P40,000 a month being a priority athlete,” ani Pichay kay So.

Hindi na rin niya ma­kukumbinse ang Webs­ter Uni­versity standout na ba­guhin ang desisyon ni­to.

“It’s hard to convince people who’s heart is already set on playing for another country,” sabi ni Pichay kay So. “Hindi ma­runong lu­mingon sa pi­nanggali­ngan iyan kaya hindi makakarating sa pa­roroonan.”

Si So,  ang No. 15 pla­yer sa mundo ma­­tapos mag­hari sa naka­raang Ca­­pablanca Me­mo­rial sa Cu­ba, ay kaila­ngang sundin ang two-year waiting period para sa mga pla­yers na gustong lumipat ng federation.