Torre fuels PH surprise

ISTANBUL, Turkey—Call him Genius, El Eugenio, Bradidik, Super Lolo (grandfather) or whatever, it doesn’t matter.

As long as the Philippines sustains its amazing showing in the 40th Chess Olympiad, Grandmaster Eugene Torre is relishing any moniker.

The 60-year-old Torre, Asia’s first Grandmaster who’s flaunting a second wind in his storied career here, bested familiar rival GM Nigel Short with the black pieces after 41 moves of a Nimzo-Indian as the Philippines routed England, 3-1, in the eighth round Wednesday and jumped to a share of second to sixth places behind pacesetter Russia in the Open Division.

Inspired by Torre’s second straight triumph on board three, GM Oliver Barbosa toiled to trounce GM Gawain Jones with white in 102 moves of a King’s Indian Defense and provide the final count of the Filipinos’ third straight positive result.

The victory came after  a 2.5-1.5 PH shocker over 10th-rated Bulgaria and a 2-2 draw with five-time Olympiad champion Hungary.

Steady GM Wesley So (2652) and GM Mark Paragua (2508) earlier drew with higher-ranked adversaries on boards 1 and 4 to trigger the Filipinos’ sudden resurgence from the abyss of a worst-ever 50th place finish in the 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad.

The 18-year-old So split the point with Super GM Michael Adams (Elo 2722) in 53 moves of a Caro-Kann- Advance Variation and stretched his unbeaten slate against players boasting Elo ratings of 2700+ to 36.

Paragua, on the other hand, settled for a truce by repetition with GM Nicholas Pert (2555) after 43 moves of a Caro-Kann-Tal Variation.

The win gave the Philippines 13 match points, surpassing its 12-point output in 2010 with still three rounds to go.

The 35th-seeded Filipinos next face the Chinese, the Asian powerhouse also toting 12 points and trailing the mighty Russians, the six-time champions who have 13.

Russia will be battling the United States on board one; Armenia and Germany tangle on board three; while the Philippines appears on board two for the first time ever in the Olympiad opposite China.

The Chinese will be fielding Super GM (2726) Wang Hao against So, GM Ding Liren (2695) against Barbosa, GM Bu Xiangzhi (2670) against Torre and GM Li Chao (2665) against Paragua.

So and Torre will handle white while Barbosa and Paragua will play black in the matches starting at 3 p.m. (8 p.m. Manila time) at Istanbul Expo Center.

Thrashed by the fifth-seeded Americans, 0.5-3.5, in Round 8, the Filipino women meanwhile  hope to rebound against the Romanians, who are ranked No. 10.

International Master Anna Zatonskih beat WIM Catherine Perena, IM Irina Krush crushed Woman Fide Master Rulp Ylem Jose and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan accounted for the US victories while Janelle Mae Frayna averted a shutout with a draw against IM Rusudan Goletiani.