PinoyBuilt — Stories of Filipino America

Vallejo, California • April 2026. Ahedres at Home: A Filipino-American Guide to Teaching Your Child Chess. chess, chess.com, 365chess.com, wesley so, eugene torre, ahedres, fil-am kids, pinoy chess education, filipino diaspora, family learning. Chess & Culture • April 2026 Ahedres at Home: A Filipino-American Guide to Teaching Your Child Chess From Eugene Torre's 1974 breakthrough to Wesley So's world-class career, chess runs deep in Filipino blood. Here's how to pass that legacy — and the best two free platforms — to your kids. The board never lies — and neither does the lineage. Filipino-Americans carry a chess tradition that goes back generations. | PinoyBuilt It was March 1972. I was five years old, and I saw a chess game for the first time. I don't remember who was playing, but I remember being transfixed — the carved pieces, the silent intensity, the sense that the whole board was alive with intention. Something clicke...

Wesley So was born in the Philippines in 1993 to Filipino-Chinese William and Eleanor So. [5]  He has one older sister, Wendelle So, and one younger sister, Wilma So. So attended the  Jesus Good Shepherd School  and Saint Francis of Assisi College in  Bacoor . [6] A former  chess prodigy , So became the youngest player to pass a 2600  Elo rating  in October 2008, breaking the record previously held by  Magnus Carlsen . [2]  This record has since been broken by  John M. Burke . [3]  In early 2013, So passed 2700 and in January 2017 he became the 11th player to pass 2800 Elo. Happy 24th Birthday to Wesley So! He has a chance to qualify for Candidates 2018 by Rating https://t.co/Sq25625Lub Photo: @NastiaKarlovich pic.twitter.com/Jm9kDnLMJc — 2700chess (@2700chess) October 9, 2017