BEFORE Wesley So and Daniel Quizon, and after Eugene Torre and Rosendo Balinas, Jr. there’s Rogelio Antonio, Jr. in Philippine chess.
Well, So is now playing world-class chess for the United States since 2014, or one year after leaving the country following the failure of the local chess federation to properly recognize his gold-medal winning performance in the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia in 2013.
Quizon, dubbed as the next Wesley So, is still pursuing his great Filipino dream three years after becoming the country’s 17th grandmaster in 2023.
Although he is still very much around, Torre is no longer actively playing chess. Now 74, Torre prefers to spend his time helping and guiding a new generation of champions to reach their full potentials.
And Balinas, who made history by becoming the country’s second GM in 1976, passed away at age 57 in 1998 after bringing pride and joy to the country in the 64-square board.
But Antonio, who will turn 64 on Feb. 19, is still actively, brilliantly even, playing chess and representing the country with pride and honor for as long as veteran journalist Ignacio Dee can remember.
Except for Torre himself, no other Filipino ever played the game with more confidence, more passion, more dedication than Antonio.
As a sports fan, you always want to see Antonio to win chess games the same way you always want to see Manny Pacquiao to get knockouts, Caloy Yulo to get perfect routines, E.J. Obiena to get higher jumps and June Mar Fajardo to get slam dunks.
It always brings a sense order and stability in the wonderful world of sports. The rest of it may be in chaos, but Antonio, well, is still winning big like it’s still 1993 all over again.
And Antonio, who is set to be honored as the “Chess Player of the Year” for 2025 by the Philippine Sportswriters Associaiiton (PSA) during a gala dinner at the Manila Diamond Hotel in Malate on Feb. 16, is still out there.
Antonio, nicknamed the “Iron Man” for his long and colorful career that started even before he became the country’s third grandmaster in Baguio City in 1993, remains as the most exciting Filipino player ever to take up the game.
Condider:
— 13-time Philippine champion.
— Champion, 33rd FIDE World Senior Chess Championship in Gallipoli, Italy in 2025.
— Runner-up, World Seniors Chess Championship 50+ category in Acqui Terme, Italy in 2017.
— Champion, Asian Seniors Championship
— Two-time World Championship candidate in Shah Alam, Malaysia in 1990-93 cycle and Yangon in 1998-99 cycle.
— World Chess Cup candidate in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia in 1999.
— 10-time World Chess Olympiad veteran (1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996,1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006).
–Gold medalist, 22nd Southeast Asian Games, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam in 2003.
— Silver medalist, 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in 2010.
– Silver medalist, 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, 2025.
— Second leading scorer, Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2009.
— Six-time Asian Individual Chess Championship participant ( 2001,2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
— Five-time Asian Cities campaigner ( 2002, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2013).
— Four-time Asian Chess Team veteran (1991, 1993, 1995, 1999).
A Hall of Fame trophy from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is probably the only one missing in Antonio’s trophy case now.
Surely, he will be one of the leading candidates again when the PSC, headed by chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio, begins reviewing the long list of nominees in time for the fifth Philippine Sports Hall of Fame ceremony later this year.
Only Torre, the “Poster Boy of Philippine chess in the 70s, was in the coveted Hall of Fame.
Chess, which has produced some of the country’s brightest moments in local sports in the last five decades, deserves another.
And another.
Asked if he had any regrets, any things he wished he had done differently, like pursuing more lucrative, high-paying careers, Antonio had a ready reply as usual.
“Chess is always my life. I’ll play chess for as long as I can, win or lose. It’s what keeps me young,” said Antonio when asked by sportswriters who were not even born when he first rose to prominence by becoming a grandmaster.
He did it in 1993. He still does.
It’s what keeps him young – and dangerous
* * *
Antonio will not be the only chess player who will receive a well-deserved recognition from the PSA, the country’s oldest media organization.
World Youth Chess Championship bronze medalist Jemaicah Yap Mendoza of Sta. Rosa City, Laguna will join Antonio in the podium, along with the leading achievers in other sports.
The 14-year-old Mendoza will also receive the coveted Tony Siddayao Youth Achievement Award for chess, along with GM-hopeful Christian Gian Karlo Arca of Zamboanga City.
Asian para chess champions Darry Bernardo and Cheyzer Mendoza will also receive finely-crafted PSA trophies for their tremendous achievements in the previous year.
And then there’s Olympiad veteran Mila Emperado, whose highly-successful Milo Checkmate Chess Program is finally getting a long-overdue but well-deserved recognition since it was founded in 1990.
Congratulations to all the winners of the PSA Awards 2025.
For comments and suggestions, email to edandaya2003@yahoo.com
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