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He is considered the strongest chess player the Philippines produced during the 1980s and 1990s, and has been Board 1 player for the Philippines in eighteen World Chess Olympiads. In 1974, then twenty-two years old, he became Asia’s first Grandmaster by winning the silver medal in the Chess Olympiad held in Nice, France. In a tournament in Manila in the 1976, Torre beat then reigning world chess champion Anatoly Karpov in a game that has become part of Filipino chess history. In 1982 he earned a spot in the World Candidates Chess Championships, where he faced the legendary Zoltan Ribli. His ELO rating reached 2602 in 1985 and in 1986 Torre was ranked 40th in the world with an ELO Rating of 2619. He served as Fischer’s second in the 1992 World championship against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia.

Eugene Torre and Philippine Chess

torre

Ignacio Dee on Rappler:

Then he tightens the screws: a mating attack or an endgame. It makes no difference. In Baku, he was playing like he was in his 20s, with energy and not taking any breaks.

It is no wonder that many Filipinos who used to love chess passionately until their careers demanded their attention would comment joyfully, even Torre wins on Facebook.

We can celebrate the outstanding performance of GM Eugene Torre in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad all we want, but let’s not overlook the fact that when a 64-year-old Torre leads the Philippine team in the Chess Olympiad is reminiscent of the sorry state of Philippine Chess.

Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Board Prizes Winners

[section_title title=”Board Prizes Winners – Open”]

At the conclusion of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad, here are the Board Prizes winners for the Open Section. Board Prizes are awarded to top players in each board in terms of rating performance, not winning percentage nor game points.

Replay all the games of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad (Open).

42nd Chess Olympiad Board Prizes Winners – Open

board-1-medalists-open

Board 1 Winners – Open

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/board-1-open-winners.csv”]

Philippines Lost to Australia to Settle for 58th Place in the Final Ranking (Open)

For the final round, GM Eugenio Torre delivered anew with a win for Team Philippines, but once again it was not enough, as GM John Paul Gomez on board 2 and GM Rogelio Barcenilla lost their games to the Aussies.

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-australia-round-11-results-open.csv”]

Replay the Round 11 games below: [replay]

Thus, the Philippines, with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses, takes the 58th place in the final ranking, down from their 53rd seed at the start of the tournament.

Philippines Sweeps Scotland in Round 10 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

The 53rd seed Philippines wins all boards against the 63rd seed Scotland in Round 10 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

GM Eugene Torre continues with his winning streak in this event, now with 8 wins and 2 draws, for a total score of 9 points out of 10 games.

Games Results: Philippines vs. Scotland, Round 10 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-scotland-round-10-open.csv”]

Replay the games below: [replay]

With this win, the Philippines is ranked number 39 after 10 rounds, and is set to face the 45th seed Australia in the final round.

Board pairings of Philippines vs. Australia follows:

Board Pairings: Philippines vs. Australia, Round 11 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-australia-board-matchup-round-11-baku-2016.csv”]

Philippines Round 10 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

Games to watch out for later in Round 10 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad:

Round 10 Open: Philippines vs. Scotland

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-scotland-round-10.csv”]

Round 10 Women: Philippines vs. Italy

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-italy-round-10-women.csv”]

Eugene Torre leads players ranking after Round 9

[section_title title=”Top Players after Round 9″]

With seven wins and 2 draws, GM Eugenio Torre leads all the players in terms of points as he got 8 points out of 9 games as of the end of Round 9 in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. He has yet to lose a single game in this event.

Check out the top players at the end of Round 9 below. Also, check the summary list of his opponents so far for the first nine rounds. You may replay all Eugene Torre games so far in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad below:[replay]

Top Players after Round 9

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/players-ranking-after-round-9.csv”]

Philippines Lost to Italy in Round 7 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

GM Eugene Torre has yet to be defeated in the Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad so far. He’s had 2 draws and 5 wins so far in seven rounds, including his latest win against GM Axel Rombaldoni of Italy. But that was not enough to boost the team as the Philippines lost to Italy, 1 ½ to 2 ½ in Round 7 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

Replay the games of Round 7 below: [replay]

Philippines draws with Norway in Round 6 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

The Philippines may have come as the underdog in this match, but they were able to hold their ground against a team that on average is 165 points its senior, Norway, in Round 6 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. The match resulted to a dead even 2-2.[replay]

On Board 1, GM Julio Catalino Sadorra was even able to hold the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, to a draw, even if the latter was almost 300 ELO points above his own. The rest of the players drew their respective games as well:

This draw boosted the Philippines Open team ranking even further to number 19 after Round 6.

Replay all the games of Round 6, Philippines vs. Norway:[replay]

Philippines Board Match-ups in Round 6 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

As mentioned earlier, it’s gonna be a tough match for the Philippines team in the Open section (Seed No. 53), as they face the team of the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, Norway (Seed No. 12), in Round 6 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

GM Julio Catalino Sadorra will face the World Champion himself in Board 1:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-norway-round-6-match-up-open.csv”]

The Philippines Women team (Seed No. 46) will face a probably lighter opposition in Mexico (Seed No. 57) in Round 6: