Torre seals magical Olympiad run

Eugene Torre     INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LEO M. SABANGAN II

GRANDMASTER Eugene Torre added another chapter to his legacy even as the Filipinos absorbed a closing blow in the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Showing sharpness and stamina belying his 64 years, Torre subdued International Master Moulthun Ly on board three in the 13th and final round Tuesday night, providing the lone bright spot in the Philippines’ 1.5-2.5 defeat to Australia in the Open division.

GM Julio Catalino Sadorra drew with GM David Smerdon on board one, but GMs John Paul Gomez and Rogelio Barcenilla Jr. bowed to GM Zong-Yuan Zhao and IM Anton Smirnov on board two and four, respectively.

Despite their 4-0 shutout of Scotland in the tenth round Monday night, the Filipinos could only tally 12.0 match points, good for 39th place among 180 teams.

Seeing action in an unprecedented 23rd Olympiad, a rejuvenated Torre put up a magical stint, winning nine and drawing two matches to emerge the biennial meet’s highest individual scorer with an incredible 10.0 points.

With a performance rating of Elo 2836, Torre, however, settled for the bronze on board three behind Cavite-born gold medalist Wesley So (2896), now playing for the US, and GM Zoltan Almasi (2845) of Hungary.

Hours after securing the men’s IM title, woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna yielded to GM Viktorija Cmilyte on board one as the Philippines lost to Lithuania, 3-1. Roy Luarca