Another Pinoy Prodigy

This week 12-year old Wesley So made history when he became the Philippines' youngest ever representative at the Chess Olympiad. He outclassed 5 other seasoned campaigners in the play-off for the country's sixth Olympiad spot in the men's team. With a new leadership in RP chess, including programs aimed at the grassroots to reclaim RP's high placing in Asian (and, indeed, the world) chess hierarchy, I have dreams that Wesley and his peers will lead the way for the Philippines.

Another 12-year old we've just heard of is one Marc Christian Nazario.

The young man is aiming high, and so he should. Says he, "My goal is to become an International Master by 15, a Grand Master before I am 18, and to become a World Champion at 22."

But there is something out of the ordinary about Marc. He has "bilateral aural atresia, a congenital defect characterized by the absence of ear canals".

Here is a brief look into Marc's story from the Inquirer.