Inside the Chess Team: The Coach Who Creates Champions

Coming from humble beginnings, current MGCNL Chess Varsity Assistant Coach Hubert Estrella was introduced to the sport by his neighbors. By the age of 12, he learned the sport by watching the neighborhood games and eventually joined the local tournaments. 

Estrella adopted a “do or die” mindset as chess happened to be his strong suit and became his means of income. Players like him are often known as “hustle players,” or players who risk losing money but possibly gaining a decent meal for the day should they make the checkmate. 

Besides making money from the game, Estrella also enjoyed planning several steps ahead and seeing how opponents reacted when they realized they were forced into a checkmate. He recalled a time when he attempted to participate in an interchurch event but was deemed overqualified, preventing him from joining because he had already won three consecutive championships in previous years. Because of this, Estrella decided to ask someone from his church to participate in his place while he coached him throughout. This was the beginning of his journey to becoming a chess coach.

So how did it all begin? Surprisingly, despite his love for the game, Estrella did not see a future in chess coaching then. He was introduced to the MGC Chess community, through his wife, Mrs. Grace Estrella, and he heard that the head coach, Coach Simeon, needed an assistant coach to aid him in training the students. He gladly volunteered and the longer he stayed, the more engrossed he became in the job and finally, he accepted the role as a committed assistant coach. 

Fortunately, he does not regret becoming a coach now because he finds joy in mentoring students by helping them find their playstyle based on their personalities. He explains how the sport is not merely just a board game but it teaches essential life character traits such as patience, discipline, and planning ahead.

Behind all the strategies and decision-making, Coach Hubert explains that chess is more than a board game. “It teaches us to always accept whatever the result is.”