The Philippines has had a long tradition of being one of the chess powerhouses in Asia. From the times when GM Eugenio Torre became Asia’s first Grandmaster in the year 1974, other top players emerged following in Torre’s trailblazing footsteps. Rosendo Balinas Jr, Rogelio ‘Joey’ Antonio and then Buenaventura ‘Bong’ Villamayor got the coveted title of Grandmaster (GM). After the turn of the century, Mark Paragua and then Wesley So (before his transfer of FIDE nationality to the USA) who then was still a took turns of becoming the youngest Filipino GMs. Photos: Caroline Cu, FM Ivan’s mother