Asian Star Chess Grandmaster 62-Year-Old Eugene Torre eyes Record at Tromso Olympiad

Hello chess friends, the Chess Olympiad is a very special event in chess history and there are several records that are linked to this amazing and awesome chess festival. Here is a very interesting story about Asia's star Grandmaster Eugene Torre who hopes to break another chess record by participating in the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway, this August.

Torre eyes record chess Olympiad
By Joey Villar (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Eugene Torre hopes to break the record with most Olympiad stints as he vies for one of the two remaining slots in the national team in the Battle of the Grandmasters set next month.

Torre, 62, and Hungarian GM Lajos Portisch are tied for most Olympiad appearances with 20 each, including 19 straight, to break the old record of 18 held by Heikki Westerinen.

“It’s a nice feat but I’m more concerned on helping the team in any way I can,” Torre, Asia’s first ever GM, told The STAR the other day.

Should he fail to qualify, Torre said he will still go with the team as coach.

“But if I couldn’t make a team, I may come as coach of both the men’s and women’s teams,” he said.

The squad, however, will need not just Torre’s coaching and expertise but his vast Olympiad experience that should inspire a team composed mainly of young players like US-based Wesley So, Julio Catalino Sadorra and Oliver Barbosa, who were seeded outright by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines more than a week ago.

So, Sadorra and Barbosa are the country’s highest-ranked players with FIDE ratings of 2731, 2611 and 2592, respectively.

So, who is expected to move to No. 15 in the world ranking in the monthly FIDE rating list this June after topping the Capablanca Memorial in Cuba two weeks ago, is just 20 years old while Sadorra and Barbosa are both 27.

During his time, Torre has manned the top board a record 17 times, played 236 games – winning 86, drawing 111 and losing 39. He snared the bronze medal for Board One thrice in 1974 Nice, 1980 Malta and 1986 Dubai Olympiads.

The vintage Torre also skippered the Phl team to its best ever performance in the Olympiad – a seventh place finish in the 1988 edition in Thessaloniki, Greece, breaking the previous high of 11th in Nice.

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Philippines Chess: Boxing Champ Manny Pacquiao Registers for Asia Continental Chess Tournament

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone,

Interesting chess news: World's second highest paid athlete to play chess!

MANILA, Philippines – In an interesting bit of chess news, we hear that Philippines boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has enlisted for the Asian Continental Chess Championship scheduled from May 18 to 27 at the Midas Hotel in Pasay City.

Emmanuel 'Manny' Dapidran Pacquiao is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world boxing champion in which he has won ten world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He is also the second highest paid athlete in the world, according to his Wikipedia profile!

Grandmaster Eugene Torre, who is co-organizing the event announced the event as the nine-round Swiss System tournament to be known as the Manny Pacquiao Chess Cup. A total cash prize of $100,000 will be up for grabs in the event that serves as the last qualifying tournament for the 2013 World Cup in August in Norway.

The top five in the men’s division and the winner in the women’s division will earn slots to the World Cup. In case previous qualifiers win or finish among the top five, then the next best player gets the slot. The Eugene Torre Chess Foundation, Inc. is organizing the event in association with the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) under Butch Pichay, the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE.

“This will be a historic event because one of the world’s sporting icons, Manny Pacquiao, is supporting us. We will make sure it becomes a successful event,” said Torre.

Registration to the tournament is ongoing, according to Asia’s first grandmaster. He expects the top players from China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the former Soviet republics to compete.

The NCFP has already sent invitations to the different national federations, and so far Torre said there’s been a tremendous response. He added that Filipino players, the International Masters and the National Masters, are also very interested in joining the event. “We are all very excited. I hope a Filipino qualifies for the World Cup. We will be happy with one but it will be a big bonus if we get two slots,” said Torre.

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Asian Zone 3.3 Chess: Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Wesley So qualify for World Chess Cup

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son

The last round of the Asian Zone 3.3 Open Championship proved to be a bit of an anti-climax with most of the work already done in the previous eight rounds and so the eagerly watched game between Cao Sang (5) and Wesley So (6.5) was disappointingly for the spectators, a quick draw, but a result that ensured that So became the first World Cup qualifier.

With this, Susanto Megaranto (5.5) and Rogelio Antonio (5.5) who both earlier had an outside chance of qualifying should both leaders lose had little to play for and soon after also agreed to a draw.

However John Paul Gomez (5) and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (6.5) was game on from the beginning, Nguyen seizing the opportunity to win and besides taking the remaining qualifying spot, he also become the outright winner.

With this, the top finishers are:1. Nguyen 7.5/9, 2. So 7/9, 3-4. Megaranto, Antonio 6/9. 5-10. Cao Sang, Munkhgal Gombosuren, Darwin Laylo, Mark Paragua, Gundavaa Bayarsaikhan, Eugene Torre 5.5/9

In the Women's Championship, with nothing to lose, Philippine No.1 Catherine Perena won in a long game against already confirmed winner Nguyen Thanh Thi An who desperately wanted to remain undefeated but would still have been happy to be clear first with 6.5/9 and qualifying for the World Championship.

But it was the young sensation Bernadette Galas who impressed again, once again lifting Filipino spirits, this time by beating Hoang Thi Bao Tram and grabbing a share of second and fourth places on 6/9 together with with Medina Warda Aulia who had earlier defeated Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Pham Le Thao Nguyen who beat Chelsie Monica Shite. (Report by Peter Long)

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Chess is Like Life, says Asia's 1st GM Eugene Torre

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

We have a very nice interview with GM Eugene Torre taken on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Indonesia Chess Open. 

The name of Eugenio Torre is irrevocably linked with that of Asian and World chess. Torre, who is now 60 years of age, is the first Asian to achieve the title of grandmaster. He is also the holder of the record for participating in the most number of World Chess Olympiads with his surprise qualification for his national team and subsequent excellent performance at the World Chess Olympiad 2012. 

The Filipino legend who is still an active player and participating at the Indonesia Open Chess Championship (IOCC) 2012 is very positive indeed about the outlook for chess in Asia. Eugenio Torre shares in an interview by Peter Long for Chessdom.com his views on the IOCC, hopes for chess in Asia and for his beloved Philippines.

Q: How are you finding Indonesia Open Chess Championship?
A: Very good – well organized and with all the conveniences. Many strong players are participating. Last year I also played in IOCC 2011 which was the first edition. Now I am here again and it is even better. All this because Indonesia has given very good support to chess and so I am confident that IOCC will continue to be held for a third, fourth time and thereafter.
Indonesia is a developing nation in Asia that values and honors chess. I also know that Indonesia sees chess as a way to combat illegal drug usage among students and in society.

Q: Given your vast experience in chess do you have any suggestions for us to improve IOCC?
A: I do have some suggestions for the organisers. For the next IOCC maybe you can make it a one day blitz tournament. Because many strong chess players that have come are from all corners of the globe and such an event will be good encouragement for locals to play blitz. Also blitz now is rated. The current prize fund is very good. It will not be a problem to reduce slightly and expand the prize fund further to perhaps 50. It is not the amount, but a chance for local players to win something. There has been a lot spent on organizing and the savings would be considerable so small amount prizes but they got the happiness of the game.

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Indonesia Chess Open 2012 Inaugurated at Glittering Ceremony

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,

Asia's first Grandmaster Eugene Torre with wife (extreme left) and a performer at the opening ceremony of the Indonesia Chess Open 2012 on Thursday. 

The latest chess tournament news via Fide is that the Indonesia Open 2012 has begun with a grand opening ceremony. The 2nd Indonesian Open Chess Championship 2012 was officially declared opened by Deputy Sports Minister Prof. Djoko Pekik Irianto in a colourful ceremony featuring Indonesia dance from different parts of the vast country. Attending the opening was Adi Suyuso who represented Major General Toni Suratman, President of the powerful Indonesia National Sports Committee (KONI) and Grandmaster Utut Adianto, Deputy Preisdent of PERCASI (All Indonesia Chess Federation), various officials, as well as most of the 27 Grandmasters, the top 50 Indonesian players, and some 40 other internationals who had arrived in time.

The 2nd Indonesian Open Chess Championship is going to have its first round on Friday, with Grandmasters such as Ivan Sokolov, representing the Netherlands, Li Chao and Yu Yangyi from China, Vlad Tkachiev representing France, the other Vietnam superstar Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Jaan Ehlvest now playing for the USA, India’s Surya Sekhar Ganguly and the large delegation from the Philippines of Oliver Barbosa, Rogelio Antonio, John Paul Gomez, Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo, Eugene Torre and Richard Bitoon and others.

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Filipino Chess Icon Eugene Torre Upbeat About National Chess Team

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Filipino chess icon GM Eugene Torre has said that while the Filipinos finished 21st in the recent Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, they proved that they can slug it out with the world’s elite, beating top teams Bulgaria and England. The Filipinos even moved to joint second in a field of 143 after a draw with No. 4 Hungary and victories over the Bulgarians and the Englishmen. But defeats to China and Romania in the closing rounds spoiled their remarkable run, according to an article in The Philippine Star.
“It was an eye-opener that we could slug it out with the elite teams,” said Torre, Asia’s first grandmaster who at 60 remains as sharp as ever.

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad: Record Ahead for Asia's 1st GM Eugene Torre!

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,

A Business World Online article says that Asia's first Grandmaster, GM Eugene Torre, the 60-year-old "brand-new grandfather" would make a record 21st appearance in the World Chess Olympiad as GM Julio Catalino Sadorra has taken leave to continue his studies. This year’s Olympiad is scheduled from August 27 to September 10 in Istanbul, Turkey.

“This is unexpected. I never envisioned myself representing the country in the biggest stage of chess competition as a senior citizen,” said Torre, who will break a tie with Hungarian GM Lajos Portisch for the most number of stints in the Olympiad.

Portisch has played in 20 consecutive Olympiads while Torre has represented the country in 19 straight Olympiads and 20 overall -- the first in Siegen, Germany, in 1970 and the latest in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, in 2010. He credited his longevity and durability to a healthy lifestyle that includes regular workout in a popular gym. “It’s not just about talent anymore. My recent success is a testament of the importance of living a healthy life.”

His amazing fitness is in full display during the tournament dubbed “Battle of the Grandmasters.” Instead of fading in a 15-match marathon, Torre won his last four matches to share third place with International Master Oliver Dimakiling although he missed the last outright seat to the Olympiad via tie break. GM Mark Paragua won the tournament followed by Sadorra and Dimakiling.


Woman International Master Catherine Pereña will anchor the women’s team followed by Woman FIDE Master Rulp Ylem Jose and Woman National Masters Janelle Mae Frayna, Jedara Docena and Jan Jodilyn Fronda.



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Philippines Chess: Dimakiling in Sole Lead after 11 Rounds

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The 2012 National Chess Open is being played in Manila to select the Philippines' teams for the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey. International Master (IM) Oliver Dimakiling defeated National Master (NM) Giovanni Mejia late Sunday to maintain sole lead after 11 rounds.

IM Oliver Dimakiling

Dimakiling, who earned his second Grand Master (GM) norm last Saturday, improved his total to 17.0 points after 11 rounds. GM Mark Paragua remained in second place with 16.0 points following his victory over fellow GM Roland Salvador.

Meanwhile, the battle for the third spot – and the final outright slot in the men’s team for this year’s World Chess Olympiad – heated up after the top contenders settled for draws.

GM Darwin Laylo split the point with GM Eugene Torre, while GM Rogelio 'Joey' Antonio also drew with GM John Paul Gomez. Laylo and Antonio hiked their total to 14.0 points. Meanwhile, GM Julio Catalino Sadorra was just half a point behind after beating Fide Master Haridas Pascua. Torre and Gomez remain in the hunt with 12.0 points each.

The event is scored using the Torre-Pichay system, a method formulated by Torre and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president and chairman Prospero 'Butch' Pichay Jr.

In this system, a win equals two points, a draw is one point, a loss is zero, and a stalemate counts as 1.5 points for the last player to make a move and 0.5 for the player who can no longer make a move. Top Filipino player Wesley So is already assured of a slot in the Olympiad. The NCFP also has the option of picking up a fifth player for the team.

Meanwhile, in the women’s division, IM Catherine Perena toppled Eden Tumbos to raise her total of 17.0 points and keep the lead. NM Janelle Mae Frayna remained in second place with 15.0 points after a draw against Krizza Lyn Abasolo, while NM Jedara Docena climbed into third with 14.5 points after a stalemate against Shania Mae Mendoza.

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