In the last list of the top Grandmasters in each country series, we went over the best Israeli Chess players. Now in this article, we’re going through the ten best Filipino Chess players from the Philippines. We’re going in order from the tenth highest FIDE rated player to the number one spot.
10) Eugenio Torre
Full name: Torre, Eugenio
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1974
International Master (IM) 1972
Born: 1951
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1978
Rapid: 2423
Blitz: 2343
Classical (Std): 2437
Profiles
At 22, he became the first Asian to become a Grandmaster by winning the silver medal in the 21st Chess Olympiad in Nice, France. He is respected as the Philippines’ greatest chess player of the 1980s and 1990s, and he represented his country on board one in seventeen Chess Olympiads. In 2021, he was enshrined in the World Chess Hall of Fame.
9) John Paul Gomez
Full name: Gomez, John Paul
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2009
International Master (IM) 2007
Born: 1986
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1362
Rapid: 2470
Blitz: 2451
Classical (Std): 2442
Profiles
When he was three years old, Gomez began playing chess and defeating more senior players when he was five. In 2007, he was granted the title of International Master (IM) and International Grandmaster (GM) by the World Chess Federation 2009. He is a three-time Philippine national junior chess champion and the reigning Filipino Chess Championship winner. He attended De La Salle University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
8) Nelson Mariano
Full name: Mariano, Nelson
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2004
Born: 1974
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1766
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: Not rated
Classical (Std): 2447
Profiles
Mariano is the current head coach of ASEAN Chess Academy, a grandmaster school in Singapore. He was granted the rank of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2004, making him the fifth Philippine player to do so. In 1994, Mariano won the Asian Junior Chess Championship. Nelson was born in the Philippines, where he studied chess under his father, Nelson I, his first chess instructor. He attended the University of the East for his higher education.
7) Idelfonso Datu
Full name: Datu, Idelfonso
Title: N/A
Born: 1972
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1567
Rapid: 2459
Blitz: Not rated
Classical (Std): 2457
Profiles
Idelfonso Datu has over three decades of expertise coaching competitive and leisure chess. As a chess player, he has competed for the Philippines’ National Chess Team and served as the country’s National Youth Chess Team coach. He is a multi-awarded chess player who has won several SEA Games silver medals and is an Olympiad player. He was the Program Head for Chess at Ateneo de Manila University, Mapua Institute of Technology, and San Beda College, to mention a few.
6) Paulo Bersamina
Full name: Bersamina, Paulo
Title: International Master (IM) 2014
FIDE Master (FM) 2011
Born: 1998
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1128
Rapid: 2286
Blitz: 2349
Classical (Std): 2461
Profiles
Paulo Bersamina was named an International Master (IM) by FIDE in 2014. He has represented the Philippines in the Chess Olympiad, having done so in 2014 (where he earned 5/9 on board 4) and 2016 (2.5/5 on board 5). He qualified to represent the Philippines at the Chess World Cup 2021, where he was beaten 1.5-0.5 by R. Praggnanandhaa in the first round.
5) Rogelio Barcenilla
Full name: Barcenilla, Rogelio
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2010
International Master (IM) 1990
Born: 1972
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1111
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: 2415
Classical (Std): 2463
Profiles
Barcenilla, a 49-year-old Filipino, won the Asian Juniors in 1990 and 1991 and was third in the 1991 World Juniors in Romania. He was a member of the Philippines’ 1988 Olympiad squad, which came in seventh place. He won the 1996 Philippine Open sponsored by Far East Bank.
4) Mark Paragua
Full name: Paragua, Mark
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2005
International Master (IM) 2001
Born: 1984
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1060
Rapid: 2573
Blitz: 2493
Classical (Std): 2467
Profiles
In 2012, he won the Philippine Chess Championship. He was the youngest Filipino grandmaster ever at nine years old and the first to reach that title in three decades.
He also became the Philippines’ youngest GM ever at 20; however, Wesley So surpasses his record by about two years. He eventually became a resident of New York and worked as the director of the New York Chess Academy.
3) Joseph Sanchez
Full name: Sanchez, Joseph
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2009
International Master (IM) 2004
Born: 1970
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 1346
Rapid: 2539
Blitz: Not rated
Classical (Std): 2471
Profiles
Sanchez, a Mandaue City native, is considered a late bloomer in chess due to 13 when he began playing the widely popular board game. He is proud of being the country’s first Cebuano chess grandmaster. Joseph Sanchez became the 11th member of the Philippines’ exceptional group of GMs when he accomplished the historical accomplishment in 2009. Sanchez chose to remain in France to pursue his International Master title, which he received in 2004.
After toiling hard to earn his first two GM norms, Sanchez achieved his third and final GM title at the 23rd Cannes International Chess Festival in France in February 2009 after obtaining 6.5 points. Sanchez finally became champion at the 25th Cannes Chess Festival after two years. It was his most tremendous success to date.
2) Oliver Barbosa
Full name: Barbosa, Oliver
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2011
International Master (IM) 2008
Born: 1986
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 695
Rapid: 2610
Blitz: 2594
Classical (Std): 2509
Profiles
In 2008, he became an International Master and was promoted to grandmaster in 2011. At the age of 21, he became an International Master, and after more than 100 games and 1000 tournaments, he achieved the highest rank possible in Chess: Grandmaster at the age of 25. He earned his GM norm in the Asian Individual in Mashad, Iran, and his country’s National Championships in the Philippines.
Barbosa learned how to play chess at the age of eight in a local competition in their town. He has trained with Wesley So and John Paul Gomez, both of whom are grandmasters. He had redirected my attention to teaching and disseminating his knowledge to students more than six years ago. He feels he may assist his students in learning by providing excellent service, appropriate training.
1) Julio Catalino Sadorra
Full name: Sadorra, Julio Catalino
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2011
International Master (IM) 2007
FIDE Master (FM) 2004
Born: 1986
Federation: Philippines
World Ranking: 433
Rapid: 2531
Blitz: 2538
Classical (Std): 2564
Profiles
Julio Catalino Sadorra is a Filipino chess player born in Cavite, Philippines, and is the country’s top-ranked player. After obtaining a chess scholarship to The University of Texas at Dallas, he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2013. During his university education.
Since then, he became a Grandmaster and helped the UT Dallas chess team win several collegiate crowns, including the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championships (2010, 2011, & 2012). He plays chess for his country at various levels, including individual and team competitions.
He especially loves competing with his fellow citizens in World Chess Olympiads (2014, 2016), Asian Continental Championships (2013, 2015), and the just-concluded Asian Indoor & Mixed Martial Arts Games.
That concludes the list of the ten best Filipino Chess players. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Indian Chess players or the best Canadian Chess players.