Eugenio Torre


Eugenio Torre is a Filipino chess player. In 1974, at 22 years old, he became the first Asian to qualify for the title Grandmaster by winning the bronze medal in the Chess Olympiad held in Nice, France. He is considered the strongest chess player the Philippines produced during the 1980s and 1990s, and has been playing for the Philippines on board 1 in eighteen Chess Olympiads.
In a tournament in Manila in 1976, Torre was then the only one to beat the then-reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov in a game that has become part of Filipino chess history. In 1982 he gained a spot in the World Chess Championship candidates matches, where he lost to Zoltan Ribli. He served as Bobby Fischer's second in the 1992 match against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia.

Chess career

1976–1984

Torre shot to prominence in 1976 as a possible future title challenger after winning a strong four-man tournament in Manila ahead of World Champion Anatoly Karpov – thus becoming the first player to finish ahead of Karpov in a tournament since the latter became world champion. In the summer of 1976, three grandmasters traveled to Manila, Philippines to participate in the Marlboro-Loyola Kings Challenge chess tournament. They were : World Champion Anatoly Karpov from the Soviet Union, Ljubomir Ljubojević from Yugoslavia, and Walter Browne from the United States. They were joined by grandmaster Eugenio Torre from the Philippines for a double-round robin event. The average rating of the players qualified the tournament as a category XV event.
The result was surprising and momentous due to the inspired play of Torre. Not only did he defeat the world champion in the second round, but he went on to finish clear first ahead of Karpov, a feat no one had yet accomplished since the latter had become world champion. His success in the tournament earned Torre a place in history. The final standings and crosstable are as follows:
The high point of his career came in the early 1980s when he was ranked world No.17; successfully going on to qualify as a candidate for the world championship after tying for first with Lajos Portisch during the 1982 Toluca Interzonal.
Torre has the distinction of being the first Asian player to earn the title of International Grandmaster. He qualified for the Candidates Matches for the 1984 World Championship. In that preliminary stage, the contenders play matches against each other to determine who will challenge the world champion. Torre was eliminated when he lost his match against Zoltán Ribli by a score of 6–4.
After losing his quarterfinal candidates match to Ribli in 1983, Torre became disillusioned with chess and more or less went into semi-retirement. He went on to become a minor celebrity due to his daily one-hour TV programme Chess Today.
In 1984, Torre was selected to play in the second USSR vs. the Rest of the World competition held in London, England. The USSR team was led by the world's two highest ranked players at that time, Garry Kasparov and Karpov while the Rest of the World was led by Viktor Korchnoi and Ljubomir Ljubojević both with 2635 Elo rating. Torre had an Elo rating of 2565 for this tournament where he contributed 2 points in 3 games, all against Andrei Sokolov, winning 2 and losing once.

Olympiads, Team Championships and Asian Games

Olympiads

From 1970 to 2010, the former business administration undergraduate from Mapúa Institute of Technology donned the national colors 20 times in the World Chess Olympiad, 19 of which were consecutively, to break the old record of 18 consecutive held by Heikki Westerinen. His 20 non-consecutive appearances tied the record set by Hungary's Lajos Portisch. During that 40-year period, he manned the top board for Team Philippines a record 17 times except in the 1970, 2006 and 2010 editions. In that stretch, Torre had played in 236 games winning 86, drawing 111 and losing 39 games for a grand total of 141½ points. The high point of his Olympiad career was winning the Bronze Medal thrice in the Individual Standings in Board 1, at the 21st Chess Olympiad where he went undefeated in 19 games for a total of 14 points for a 73.7% winning percentage and a high 2622 performance rating ; 24th Chess Olympiad where he scored 11 points in 14 games for a winning percentage of 78.6% and performance rating of 2683, and lastly in the 27th Chess Olympiad where he garnered 9½ points in 13 games with a 73.1% winning percentage and 2637 performance rating. Team Philippines achieved its highest finish of 11th place at the 1974 Chess Olympiad.
In 1988, Torre captained the Philippine team to its best-ever seventh-place finish in the Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Greece. breaking the previous high of 11th-place finish at the 21st Chess Olympiad. Torre finished with 9 points on 6 wins, 6 draws and 2 losses manning Board 1 with a high performance rating of 2620 as compared to his Elo rating of 2555. His teammates then included International Masters Rico Mascariñas and Rosendo Balinas who played Boards 2 and 3, and then 3 untitled players namely Rogelio Antonio, Eric Gloria and Rogelio Barcenilla.
At the 39th Chess Olympiad held at Khanty-Mansiysk in 2010, Torre manned Board 4 for the Philippines and played 7 games where he scored 4½ points with 3 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss with a performance rating of 2460 which was a shade below his Elo rating of 2489. In 2012, Torre participated in his record 21st Olympiad appearance at the 40th Chess Olympiad breaking his tie with Lajos Portisch held at Istanbul, Turkey. He manned Board 3 in this edition of the Olympiad. He scored 3½ points in 7 games on the strength of 2 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. He recorded a very high performance rating of 2611 in this Olympiad, higher than his 2469 Elo rating. In 2014, Torre again manned Board 3 for Team Philippines in the 2014 Tromso Olympiad for his record-setting 22nd appearance in the said tournament. He scored 5½ points in 9 games posting 3 wins, 5 draws against a solitary loss. He recorded a performance rating of 2527 and gained 9.9 Elo points in the said Olympiad. His Elo rating then was 2438.
In the 2016 42nd Chess Olympiad held at Baku, Azerbaijan, Torre played in his 23rd Olympiad, further extending his record, where he played on Board 3 for the Philippines. He played in all 11 games, the only Philippine player to do so, winning 9 games and drawing 2. He had a very high performance rating of 2836 and won the bronze medal for Board 3 just behind former teammate Wesley So of the United States and Zoltan Almasi of Hungary. He gained 46.9 Elo rating points increasing his Elo rating from 2447 to 2494. At the conclusion of the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, Torre had already played a total of 270 games with 103 wins, 124 draws and 43 losses for a grand total of 165 points. He has also won 4 bronze medals already in his storied Chess Olympiad career: 21st Chess Olympiad, 24th Chess Olympiad, 27th Chess Olympiad and 42nd Chess Olympiad.

Asian Chess Team Championships

He also has taken part in six Asian Chess Team Championships. Torre has an outstanding record at this tournament where he won the gold medal 4 times: for his score in the 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983 editions. He also won the bronze in the 1993 competition. In all six team championships, Torre manned the top board for Team Philippines. He has played a total of 43 games scoring a total of 35½ points built around 29 wins, 13 draws and a solitary loss for a winning percentage of 82.6%.
In the 1977 edition, Torre played 7 games, going undefeated with 5 wins and 2 draws for a winning percentage of 85.7 and a tournament performance rating of 2615 as compared to his 2550 Elo rating winning the gold medal. He also won the gold medal in the 1979 edition going undefeated once again by winning 5 games and drawing 1 for a winning percentage of 91.7 with a TPR of 2671 ; in the 1981 edition where he was again undefeated with 4 wins and 2 draws for a winning percentage of 83.3 and a 2604 TPR, he again brought home the gold medal; and lastly, in the 1983 edition he scored a near perfect score of 8½/9 winning 8 games and drawing 1 in another undefeated tournament with a winning percentage of 94.4% and an outstanding TPR of 2743 on the way to another gold medal.
It was in the 1986 edition where Torre suffered his only loss against Malaysian International Master Liew Chee Meng in the fifth round. It was also in this edition that Torre did not win any medal of any color when he placed a dismal 6th place in Board 1 scoring 4 points by virtue of 3 wins, 2 draws and the loss against Meng for a winning percentage of 66.7 and a TPR of 2431.
In the 1993 edition, he bounced back by going undefeated once again scoring 6½ points in 9 games, winning 4 and drawing 5 for a winning percentage of 72.2% and a TPR of 2584. This bronze medal capped Torre's magnificent record in the history of the Asian Chess Team Championships.

Asian Cities Chess Championships

In 2002 and 2004, Torre also manned the top board for Team Philippines in the 13th and 14th editions of the Asian Cities Chess Championships. The 13th edition was held at Aden, Yemen where Torre scored 5½ points in nine games on the strength of three wins, five draws and one loss while Manila, Philippines hosted the 14th edition where he scored 5 points in eight games. He has scored a total of 10½ points in 17 games on 7 wins, 7 draws and 3 losses for a winning percentage of 61.8%.
Team Philippines won the Gold Medal in the 2002 edition while they placed 3rd, good for the bronze medal, in the 2004 edition.

Asian Games

In the 16th Asian Games, Torre helped the Philippines finished second behind China, beating the Indian team in the semifinals to secure the silver medal. He played 8 games as a reserve scoring 5½ points on the strength of 4 wins, 3 draws and a solitary loss for a winning percentage of 68.8% and a TPR of 2470.

World Student Chess Team Championships

Torre also played Board 3 in the World Student Chess Team Championships in 1969 although he lost his one and only game in the said tournament against William Roland Hartston.

Later career

In 2006, Torre participated in the 2nd San Marino International Chess Open where he tied for fourth through eleventh places with 6½ points in nine rounds where he eventually placed seventh after the tie-breaks becoming the highest-placed Filipino in the tournament. He had a performance rating of 2612 and won €1,000 for his seventh-place finish.
In 2010, Torre competed in the 3rd Calgary International Chess Championships held at Alberta, Canada where he flashed his vintage form by finishing in a tie for second through fourth places on the strength of four wins, four draws and a solitary loss against GM Victor Mikhalevski, the tournament top seed with Elo Rating of 2614. Torre had an Elo Rating of 2506 during the said tournament.
In 2011, Torre joined two prestigious international chess championships in the Philippines, the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championships and the 2nd Chairman Prospero A. Pichay, Jr. Cup International Open Chess Championships. He finished in a tie for 15th–21st places in the Asian Zonals eventually placing 18th after tiebreaks. It was a poor finish for Torre as he had a four-game winning streak from rounds 2 to 5 after an opening round loss to FM Haridas Pascua to take the lead after five rounds but faltered in the last four rounds where he scored only 1 point. He had a low performance rating of 2344 in this tournament. In the 2nd Pichay Cup, he improved a little bit by scoring 6½ points in 10 games to finish in a tie for 11th–18th places eventually finishing in 14th place. This is another heartbreaker as he was stalled by five draws despite losing only one game to Chinese Lu Shanglei. In this tournament he had a performance rating of 2496.
In June 2014, Torre won the prestigious National Chess Championships – Battle of GMs held at the function room of the Philippine Sports Commission in Vito Cruz, Manila. In so doing, Torre became the oldest Filipino chess player to win a national championships at the age of 62 by scoring 23 points under the Pichay–Torre system or 4½ points under the standard system. He won the title via tiebreak over fellow GM John Paul Gomez. The tournament also served as the qualifying tournament for the 2014 Olympiad to be held in Tromso, Norway in August. This is Torre's record 22nd appearance in the Olympiad.
In 2016, Torre was part of the 2nd batch of inductees of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame cited by the Philippine Sports Commission. In the 42nd Chess Olympiad held at Baku, Azerbaijan he scored an undefeated 10/11, with a performance rating of 2836, thanks to which he won the individual bronze medal on board three.
In 2017, Torre was invited to the prestigious Reykjavik Open by virtue of his strong performance in the 2016 Olympiad. He acquitted himself well in this tournament, scoring 7 out of 10 and tying for 11th to 13th places eventually settling for 13th after the tiebreaks. In October, Torre won the Asian Senior Chess Championship, held in Auckland, New Zealand, in the 65+ category, scoring 9/9 points. One year later, he retained the Asian senior champion title in the same category in Tagaytay.

Friendship with Bobby Fischer

Torre was a friend of Bobby Fischer. He worked on Fischer's team in the 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia. Much later, Torre conducted interviews with Fischer on Filipino radio dzRH MBC Sports Center. Those interviews gained notoriety for Fischer and despair for his fans as he believed he would be killed in the United States after being deported from Japan. Torre was involved in 1996 when Fischer Random Chess was launched.

Notable games

In a tournament in Manila in 1976, Torre beat then-reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov in a game that has become part of Filipino chess history:

Awards and achievements