The Record Holder: Eugenio Torre

by Johannes Fischer
9/10/2016 – Eugenio Torre from the Philippines, Asia's first grandmaster, is a phenomenon. In Baku he plays his 23rd Olympiad, more than any other player in chess history. Torre, who once qualified for the Candidate Matches and at his peak was number 17 in the world, gave his olympic debut in Siegen 1970 and since then has won three bronze medals for his results on board one. He is 64 years old, but still very strong. In Baku he plays on board three for the Philippines and started with 6.0/7 and an Elo-performance of 2712. A short tribute.
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GM Eugenio Torre from the Philippines.
Baku is his 23rd Olympiad (Photo: David Llada)

But even if Eugenio Torre had not played a single game in Chess Olympiads, he would still be a chess legend. Born on 4th November 1951 in the Philippines, Torre is Asia’s first grandmaster, paving the way for many more to come. He won the title in 1974, when he was 22 years old. Two years later, 1976, Torre created a sensation in the chess world. In the Marlboro-Loyola Kings Challenge Chess Tournament, a four-player double round-robin in Manila, he started as an outsider and as lowest-rated player, but finished clear first with 4.5/6, 1.5 points ahead of reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov.

In one of their two games Torre beat Karpov in entertaining fashion with Black.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 Bd7 9.f4 b5 10.Qe1 Nxd4 11.Rxd4 Qb6 12.Rd2 Be7 13.Bd3 b4 14.Nd1 Bb5 15.Nf2 h6 16.Bh4
Black equalized without problems and now seizes the initiative with an enterprising pawn thrust. 16...g5!? 17.fxg5 hxg5 18.Bg3 True to his style Karpov shies away from the complications that arise after 18.Bxg5 Qa5 attacking the pawn a2 and threatening ...Bxd3 with a discovered attack on the bishop on g5. 18...Nh5 19.Ng4
19...Nxg3?! Black misses a tactical opportunity that would have given him a clear advantage: 19...Qa5! e.g. 20.Kb1 Nxg3 21.Qxg3 after 21.hxg3 Rxh1 22.Qxh1 b3 Black is winning. 21...b3 22.c3 Qxa2+ 23.Kc1 Bxd3 24.Qxd3 and Black is a pawn up and close to winning. 20.hxg3 Rxh1 21.Qxh1 Rc8 22.Kb1 Bxd3 23.cxd3 Qd4 24.Qd1 a5 25.Nh2
25...g4! A fine pawn sacrifice that liberates the black-squared bishop. 26.Nxg4 Bg5 27.Rc2 Rxc2 28.Kxc2 a4 With the nasty threat of 29...a3. 29.a3 b3+ 30.Kb1 d5 31.exd5 Qxd5 Black is a pawn down but clearly better: White's extra pawn is doubled and the white king is always in danger of being mated. Therefore Karpov decides to return his pawn and to bring his knight closer to the white king. 32.Nf2 Qxg2 33.Ne4 Be3 34.Nc3 Qc6 35.d4 Qc4 36.d5 e5 37.Qh1 Qd3+ 38.Ka1 Bd4
Now Black's threats are overwhelming. White tries to harass the black king but the queen alone is not really dangerous. 39.Qh8+ Kd7 40.Qa8 Qf1+ 41.Nb1
41...Qc4? Probably Black was still in time-trouble mode which made him overlook a forced mate: 41...Bxb2+ 42.Kxb2 Qf2+ 43.Kc3 Qd4# But the text-move is good enough - and White is lost. 42.Qb7+ Kd6 43.Qb8+ Kxd5 44.Qd8+ Ke6 45.Qe8+ Kf5 46.Qd7+ Kg6 47.Qg4+ Kf6 48.Nc3 Qf1+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karpov,A2695Torre,E25050–11976B67Manila Marlboro2

Inspired? Mihail Marin explains why it might be a good idea to play the Classical Sicilian.

The Classical Sicilian

GM Mihail Marin

Languages: English
Delivery: Download, Post
Level: Tournament player, Professional
Price: €29.90 or €25.13 without VAT (for Customers outside the EU) $27.14 (without VAT)

The Sicilian family is big but the Sicilian that puts most pressure on White’s centre is the Classical Variation – Black quickly develops both knights to their most active squares. Now the English Attack, a dreaded weapon against Najdorf- and Scheveninger variations, is completely inoffensive. Moreover, the Richter-Rauzer Attack, a traditional main line in the Sicilian, does not give White the irrational attacks he might try against other Sicilians. The system of defence and counterattack recommended on this DVD leads to positions where strategic elements are at least as important as tactics. Against the positional systems Black has a relatively wide choice, including transpositions to peaceful Dragon and Scheveninger variations. But the most typical setup for the classical Sicilian is the Boleslavsky system (...e7-e5), examined on the DVD. This DVD offers Black a complete repertoire against all weapons White may employ on move six. The recommended repertoire is not as risky as other Sicilians but still offers Black plenty of counter-play. It is an ideal system for players who want to enter the wonderful world of the Sicilian.

Order Mihail Marin's The Classical Sicilian in the ChessBase Shop

After the tournament in Manila people talked about Torre as potential World Champion Candidate, but though he continued to play on a very high level and was part of the top twenty in the early eighties, he did not make it to the absolute top. In the Interzonal Tournament 1982 in Toluca he tied for first with Lajos Portisch from Hungary and qualified for the Candidate Matches but was eliminated in the quarterfinals after losing 4-6 against Zoltan Ribli from Hungary.

After this loss Torre played less and less but did a lot for chess in the Philippines. He hosted Chess Today, a daily one-hour show on TV that helped to make chess more popular in the Philippines. And in the 1992 match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Torre worked as a second for the American.

However, as impressive as these achievements are, it is in the Olympiads that Torre really shines. The Olympiad in Baku 2016 is his 23rd Olympiad and that is a record – no other player in the history of chess has played in more Olympiads.

Torre played his first Olympiad in 1970, in  Siegen, Germany, and celebrated his debut with a first round win against Ridhu Belkadi from Tunisia.

 
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1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 g6 4.Ngf3 Bg7 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 b6 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Re1 c5 10.Nf1 Nc6 11.Bf4 Bb7 12.h4 h6 13.N1h2 Kh7 14.Qd2 Ne7 15.Ng4 Nf5 16.h5 gxh5 17.Ngh2 Rg8 18.Bh3 Ne7 19.Qe2 Qe8 20.Kf1 Bf8 21.Nh4 Ng6 22.Qxh5 Nxf4 23.gxf4 Rd8 24.Re3 d4 25.Rg3 Rxg3 26.fxg3 f6 27.Qxe8 Rxe8 28.exf6 Nxf6 29.Re1 Bd5 30.Kf2 Bd6 31.Ng4 Nxg4+ 32.Bxg4 Kg7
White is better but after this mistake White has a tactical trick that wins immediately. Which trick did Black overlook?
Show Solution
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Torre,E2400Belkadi,R23001–01970C00Siegen ol (Men) fin-C2

From 1970 in Siegen in Germany to 2014 in Tromso, Norway, Torre played 252 games in the Olympiads, scoring 155.5/252 (91 wins, 119 draws, and 42 losses). 1974 in Nice, 1980 in Malta, and 1986 in Dubai, Torre won the bronze medal for the third-best individual result on board one.

In Baku Torre plays third board for the Philippines and after seven rounds has the impressive score of 6.0/7 (five wins, two draws, no losses), that amounts to an Elo-performance of 2712.

At the Olympiad in Baku Susan Polgar used the opportunity to interview the grandmaster for the official website of the Olympiad.

Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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