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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.

Philippines Beats South Africa in Round 5 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad (Open)

Philippines wins anew in Round 5 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open section, this time against the 79th seed South Africa. With a score of 3½ against ½, only GM John Paul Gomez drew his game, the rest were wins, including the 4th win of GM Eugene Torre in 5 rounds. [replay]

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-vs-south-africa-match-up.csv”]

With this win, this puts the Philippines in 23rd place after 5 rounds, thus is set to meet tougher opponents in the next round.

True enough, it’ll be Philippines vs. Norway, home to the highest rated player in the world and the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, in Round 6.

Replay all the games of Philippines vs. South Africa below: [replay]

Philippines vs. Nigeria; Round 3 – Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad (Open)

It was third straight win for GM Eugenio Torre on his stint so far in Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad, as the Philippines beat Nigeria (3-1) in Round 3.

On the 4th board, however, IM Paulo Bersamino wasn’t successful in holding his game against the much lower rated player, CM Adeyinka Adesina.

Philippines vs. Paraguay Round 2 Results – Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

Asia’s first Grandmaster, GM Eugene Torre, never failed to deliver so far in two rounds of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. He won his game anew, this time in Round 2 against GM Jose Fernando Cubas of Paraguay in Board 3 of their match.

Sadly, that was the only win for Philippine team in Round 2 of Open Section. Julio Catalino Sadorra drew his game in Board 1. The rest lost their games.[replay]

PHI vs. PAR - R2 Results

Bo.53Philippines (PHI)Rtg-39Paraguay (PAR)Rtg1½:2½
35/1GMSadorra, Julio Catalino (w)2560-GMDelgado Ramirez, Neuris (b)2618½ - ½
35/2GMGomez, John Paul (b)2492-GMBachmann, Axel (w)26410 - 1
35/3GMTorre, Eugenio (w)2447-GMCubas, Jose Fernando (b)24701 - 0
35/4GMBarcenilla, Rogelio (b)2455-GMFranco Ocampos, Zenon (w)24960 - 1

Check out Eugene Torre’s interview with Susan Polgar after the Round 1 games below:

Tough Matches for Philippines in Round 2 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

After winning all their 8 games in Round 1 for both Open and Women Section, the Philippine team are up against much tougher opponents in Round 2.[replay]

The Open Section team will be up against the 39th seed, Paraguay. The match up follows:

Philippines vs. Paraguay - Round 2 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

Bo.53Philippines (PHI)Rtg39Paraguay (PAR)Rtg
35/1GMSadorra, Julio Catalino (w)2560GMDelgado Ramirez, Neuris (b)2618
35/2GMGomez, John Paul (b)2492GMBachmann, Axel (w)2641
35/3GMTorre, Eugenio (w)2447GMCubas, Jose Fernando (b)2470
35/4GMBarcenilla, Rogelio (b)2455GMFranco Ocampos, Zenon (w)2496

Meanwhile, the Women team will be facing the 4th seed, Georgia:

GM Joey Antonio is out of Philippines’ roster for Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

Philstar reported last Monday:

Grandmaster Joey Antonio, the reigning national champion, will not be joining the Philippine team bound for the 42nd World Chess Olympiad set Sept. 1-14 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The explanation offered by the NCFP: that GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio, Jr. will be playing in the 2016 World Seniors Championship in November.

Ed Andaya writes in Journal Online:

Conspicuously absent is Battle of GMs national champion Rogelio Antonio, Jr., who reportedly begged off from taking his place in the national team to Baku.

Infiesto said Antonio decided to represent the country in the 2016 World Seniors Championsips in the Czech Republic in November, along with Torre.

If you don’t smell something fishy about these developments, let me point out to you what Antonio posted on his Facebook account just last month:

The Sorry State of Philippine Chess

Eugene Torre vs. Joey Antonio in the Battle of Grandmasters 2008

Rappler asks Why has chess fallen in popularity in the Philippines?, and writes:

At the first Battle of Grandmasters in 2006, Wesley So won the first prize of P200,000. But as sponsorships dried up, so did prize money. On Tuesday, June 28 Joey Antonio won and took home a first prize of P18,000.

A sorry state, indeed. The article goes on to explain how Filipino grandmasters are flying out of the country in search of greener pastures.

Battle of the Grandmasters 2016

The Battle of the Grandmasters — the 2016 (Philippines) National Chess Championship Grand Finals is underway and off to its last round (Round 13) today.

6 Filipino grandmasters joined the Open Division.

Standings of the Open Division at the end of Round 12 follow: