Its top player, Eugenio O. Torre, was virtually a rock star. His biography, “Beyond the 13th Move,” was a bestseller. He was on TV variety shows. He had his own chess show on public TV. He even starred in a hit movie with one of the most famous actresses back home, Vilma Santos: “Basta’s Isipin Mong Mahal Kita” (Just Think that I Love You).
Born on Nov. 4, 1951 in the central province of Iloilo, he became a grandmaster — Asia’s first — in the 1974 Nice Olympiad, winning the bronze on the top board with 9 wins and 10 draws. Two years later, he bested reigning chess king Anatoly Karpov, Yugoslav champ Ljubomir Ljubojevic and America’s top GM Walter Browne in a category 15 tournament hosted by Manila.
Torre achieved his greatest triumph in 1982 when he finished in a tie for first place with Hungary’s legendary GM Lajos Portisch at the Interzonal tournament in Toluca, Mexico, which qualified him for world championship candidates matches. For this amazing feat, he was named the Philippine Sportsman of the Year. Torre, however, lost his first round match against Hungarian GM Zoltan Ribli. He then narrowly missed qualifying again for the candidates in the 1985 and 1987 Interzonals. In 1988, however, he captained the Philippine Olympic team to its best finish ever — 7th place in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Known for his attacking style, Torre’s play became more solid as he grew older. Like the other players of his generation, his idol was Bobby Fischer who later became his close friend. Torre was the American’s second in the controversial 1992 rematch with Spassky and neighbor in Baguio City where Bobby resided in the early years of the previous decade.
The Philippine is no longer the dominant Asian chess power — China reigns, and India and Vietnam are rapidly producing world class GMs — but Torre remains one of his country’s top players. From 1970 to 2010, he played for the Philippine Olympic team. In the recent 16th Asian Games, Torre helped the P.I. win the silver, behind China but ahead of India.
More than a week ago, the 60-year-old living legend finished in a tie for second place with 25-year-old IM Oliver Barbosa in the Philippine national championship. The winner was 18-year-old GM Wesley So.
In this “Battle of the GMs,” Bobby Ang says, “11 of the top 12 players in the country (the only one who was not able to play was newly minted GM Julio Catalino Sadorra) were on hand to do battle, including two of our GMs who are already based in France/Italy (Joseph Sanchez and Roland Salvador) and Rogelio Barcenilla from the US. Indeed, there has never before been an international tournament with nine Filipino GMs!”
Game of the week. Recently, it was announced that Philippine sportswriters have voted El Eugenio as their nation’s “athlete of the millennium, beating Carlos ‘The Great Difference’ Loyzaga, who was chosen as one of the best 10 basketball players of the competition in the world championship in Brazil in 1954; Felicissimo Ampon, who made a gallant stand at Wimbledon in the late 1940s; and the great Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde, the longest reigning world boxing champion in the junior lightweight division.”
Here’s the old warrior in action. Ang annotates.
White: GM E. Torre (2491)
Black: GM J.P. Gomez (2529)
Dutch Defense
Philippine ch, Manila 2011
1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 I don’t know what was in John Paul’s mind — Eugene Torre is definitely not the type of player you use the Dutch Defense against — he is too well strategically grounded. 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 b6 5.Ne5 c6 6.0-0 Bb7 7.c4 d6 8.Nd3 Qe7 9.Nc3 Black’s king is still several moves away from castling and his pieces are getting in each other’s way. Some might even say that White is already strategically won, and we are still on the 9th move! 9…g6 10.e4 fxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 Bg7 13.Nf4 e5 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Bxg6+! hxg6 16.Nxg6 Qf7 17.Nxh8 Bxh8 18.Bg5 Nd7 19.Qd6 Nc5 Black may try to castle with 19…Bf6 but after 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 (20…Nxf6 21.Qxe5+) 21.Qc7 Ba6 22.b3 he still cannot castle and once the two white rooks take the central files his king is a goner. 20.Rfe1 Ne6 21.Rxe5 Bxe5 22.Qxe5 Kf8 23.Qh8+ Qg8 24.Qf6+ Qf7 25.Qh8+ Qg8 26.Qh6+ Ke8 John Paul has to try to get his king to the queenside. Staying there by 26…Qg7 27.Qxe6 Qxg5 28.Re1 is hopeless. 27.Re1 Kd7 28.Rd1+ Kc8 29.Qh3 Kb8? A better try would be 29…Kc7 30.Bf4+ Nxf4 31.Qd7+ Kb8 32.Qd6+ Kc8 33.Qxf4 and it is still a game, but obviously Black had not noticed White’s next move. 30.Rd8+! Qxd8 [30…Nxd8 31.Bf4#] 31.Bxd8 Nxd8 32.Qd7 and 1-0.
Puzzler.
White: Ka5, Nb5, Qc1, Bd3, pawn on d4
Black: Kd5, Ne5, pawns on a6 and f3
White to play and mate in three moves.
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