Torre shows vintage form as So draws

Torre shows vintage form as So draws
Published : Wednesday, July 20, 2011 00:00
Written by : Ed Andaya

Standings after six rounds:

5 points — W. So
4 — E. Torre, D. Laylo, O, Barbosa
3.5 — R. Nolte, R. Bitoon
3 — R. Antonio, M. Paragua
2.5 — J. Gomez, R. Barcenilla, J. Garcia, J. Sanchez
1.5 — R. Salvador
.5 — Y. Ranola

Pairings for seventh round:
(White player first)
R. Antonio vs. Y. Ranola; R. Salvador vs. J. Sanchez; R. Barcenilla vs. D. Laylo; R. Nolte vs. R. Bitoon; J. Garcia vs. M. Paragua; J. Gomez vs. W. So; O. Barbosa vs. E. Torre.

WITH top seed GM Wesley So settling for a pair of back-to-back draws, Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre rediscovered his old, deadly form to vault in contention in the 2011 Battle of GMs’ chess championships at the National Press Club Bldg., in Intramuros, Manila.

Torre, who is still seeking his first major chess championship since winning the third President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Cup at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall-Parañaque in 2008, outwitted Asian Youth gold medalist IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia in the fifth round and GM John Paul Gomez the following round to strenthen his chances with four points on three wins, two draws and one loss.

The 59-year-old campaigner defeated Garcia in 62 moves of the English opening, and Gomez in 32 moves of the Queen’s Pawn opening.

The twin victories were enough to propel Torre to a three-way tie for second to fourth places with GM Darwin Laylo and newly-crowned 2011 Campomanes Cup titlist IM Oliver Barbosa.

The three, however, remains a full point behind three-time defending champion GM Wesley So in this prestigious, 14-player competition supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

So, who swept his first four assignments with surprising ease, drew with IM Rolando Nolte in the fifth round late Monday and Garcia in the sixth round Tuesday to raise his score to five points.

Laylo drew with GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. in 30 moves of the Caro Kann and GM Roland Salvador in 31 moves of the French, while Barbosa halved the point with Gomez in 31 moves of the Slav and won over IM Yves Ranola in 78 moves of the Reti.

IM Richard Bitoon and Nolte shared fifth to sixth places with 3.5 points.

Bitoon defeated GM Roland Salvador but lost to GM Rogelio Barcenilla, Jr. while Nolte drew with So and Asian Zone runner-up GM Mark Paragua.

Antonio, seeded second behind So with an ELO of 2565, split th e point with Sanchez in 30 moves of the Caro Kann to remain in the hunt for the top prize of P150,000 with three points.

More here.