Torre stuns Akobian to pull closer to the lead

Torre stuns US GM
Pinoy breathing down RP Open leaders’ necks
Inquirer
Last updated 05:02am (Mla time) 04/18/2007

Standings after six rounds: 5 points — W. Yue (China), L. Chao (China); 4.5 — E. Torre, N. Hua (China), Z. Zhong (China), Z. Jun (China); 4.0 — R. Antonio, M. Paragua, O. Dimakiling, B. Nadera, E. Fernandez, W. Hao (China), E. Maghami (Iran), U. Adianto (Indonesia), L. Shilong (China), Z. Ziyang (China), S. Megaranto (Indonesia); 3.5 — V. Akobian (US), A. Sukandar (Indonesia), L. Babuth (India), W. So, R. Nolte, H. Nouri, J. Sadorra, F. Donguines.

SUBIC, Zambalaes — It was vintage Grandmaster Eugene Torre all over again.

Torre rediscovered his old brilliance to bring down erstwhile unbeaten GM Varuzhan Akobian of the United States and climb into a share of third to sixth places after the sixth round of the 2007 Philippine Open chess championship at the Legenda Hotel here late Monday.

Torre, at 55 still the country’s most trusted player in the international scene, parlayed a slight positional advantage into a rousing triumph over the higher-rated Akobian in 53 moves of the seldom-used London System.

It was the first time that Torre used the London opening in his long and colorful career and it paid off handsomely, catapulting him to the company of three highly rated Chinese — GMs Ni Hua, Zhang Zhong and Zhao Jun — in the 58-player $40,000 tournament.

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