<vb:if condition="$item_premium =='1'">CHECKED</vb:if>
OR
<vb:if condition="$item_premium ==1">CHECKED</vb:if>
I don't remember lol but its one of those.
don't forget to register $item_premium.
Yeah, remember that in conditions you use the dollar variable rather than a vb: variable.
Also, the first option would check if $item_premium is equal to the string 1, whereas the second would check if $item_premium is equal to the boolean 1 (i.e. "true").