During the Olympics, we were looking for world-class athletes.
Manny Pacquiao, a world boxing champion, though a professional, was given the honors to carry the flag of the Philippines in the Olympics.
A dream to become a world champion has to exist so that our athletes can act on them. That dream has been with one chess player and it still continues to be in the back of his mind as he tries to improve himself to be a world champion someday.
When Mark Paragua was five years old, he was already playing with the best youngsters in Philippine chess. Born in 1984 and the eldest son of Ric Paragua and Flordeliza Callano, he started with a bang as he competed against older rivals in kiddie chess competitions.
 Under the strict supervision by his father, his chess goals were already defined at that time. His dad wanted him to be the best in chess. The elder Paragua knew that somehow his son would become the best in the Philippines by starting early. The elder Paragua believed that Mark would be the best, not only in his country, but in the whole world.
A Filipino achieving what the chess immortals - Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov - have attained? Impossible? Why not? Filipinos have world champions in boxing and billiards, and to aim in chess might be far-fetched but still doable to those who dare to dream. Somewhat, there was an affirmation of this ultimate goal when Paragua found himself as the Under-14 world chess champion in a fierce competition in Disney, Paris, France in 1998. At that time, another player with Filipino connection, Filipino-Australian Arianne Caoili, was crowned the Under-12 champion. Just imagine, two world crowns from that small country in Asia. Impossible? It happened.
To gain the right experience for Mark, the elder Paragua was indefatigable. He talked to a lot of people who was willing to listen to his son's development. With the help of different but well-meaning people, Mark participated in world youth championships. Nowadays, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines sends contingents regularly unlike during Mark's early years when young players have to convince the chess officials of the need to keep up with the world.
Paragua attained grandmaster status in 2004. He was the leading player in the Philippines at that time. He was able to breach the 2600 Fide rating mark which made him a supergrandmaster momentarily. But constant playing, when you are on top with lower-rated players especially the good ones in the Philippines, can quickly diminish that rating.
Mark had to contend with issues that young players with a mission have to face. His continual playing had deprived him of things that a common teen-ager experiences. At one time, he was reported missing but actually, he just wanted some time away from chess. His parents knew about this and he eventually got consent to get away for the moment. Growing up, he was naturally interested with cultivating friendship and finding romance in his life. He met his wife in 2003 while waiting for his GM recognition. She was Christine Dacayao whom he met in the Timog Open. The couple has two children: the eldest is King Joshua, and the youngest, Mark Levon.
Mark became a GM at 21 years old in 2004, a bit off- schedule because he was initially targetting to be the youngest grandmaster. He knew that it was tough to become a grandmaster, let alone become the world champion which was his ultimate goal.
"I need to get the right training and preparation to progress further," admitted Paragua, who acknowledges that professional training is important. He knows that he has to get it internationally which is why he often travels to compete in foreign tournaments. When he was younger, he was told by FIDE honorary chairman Florencio Campomanes to undergo training in Hungary. At that time, Ric and his son decided to stay in the Philippines and further his training instead by travelling to international tournaments. This was probably the source of irritance between the Paraguas and the grand patriarch of chess, which was only bridged when Campomanes gave his blessing to Mark's recognition as a grandmaster.
Paragua had two experiences in the World Cup where the FIDE World Champion was to be determined. In 2004, he got eliminated in his first match with GM Viktor Bologan of Moldova in Tripoli, Libya. In the second one, in the World Cup Chess in 2005, he lasted two rounds. In the first match, he defeated GM Sergei Movsesian of Slovakia, then lost by a narrow tiebreak against GM Alexey Dreev.
Recently, Paragua won the New York International Tournament, and brought home $4,000 in winnings. The tournament had eight grandmasters and 12 international masters coming from eight federations. He won it in Marshall Chess Club, which is a major chess club in the United States. Before that, he also tied for first in the tough George Washington Open in Virginia. Just like in boxing and billiards, Paragua's domination of the tournaments somewhat reaffirmed the distinctive mark of Filipinos in chess in the United States.
Paragua said that he has not forgotten his dream of becoming a world champion which is why he continues to improve himself. He will be going with the Philippine team to participate in China in the World Mind Games this coming November. Getting the right training and preparation are still in his agenda to pursue his ultimate objective of being the first Filipino to become truly a world champion in chess. Of course, he is not the only one dreaming of that possibility. And a lot of Filipino youngsters are following the footsteps of Mark Paragua.
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