The Eugene Torre show

CEBU - Eugene Torre has won many titles in his chess career. I believe, however, that his latest triumph in the 3rd PGMA Cup is among those he will cherish the most. This title was five years in the making and might one of the last few he will win.

Frankly, when Torre won his first game in the tournament, I thought he just got lucky. After winning his second, third, fourth, fifth, in a row, he made a believer out of me. When was the last time Torre went 5-0 in a nine round tournament? Eugene’s form was so overpowering that his performance rating during the tournament was 2675 - simply it was a vintage Eugene Torre show!

I don’t know if it was the long vacation in the US or his exclusion from the Olympic team to Dresden in November that fired up Torre. I suggest Pichay reconsider his decision and put Torre back in the Philippine chess team.

I had the chance to meet Eugene in person on two occasions. The first time was in the now defunct Iloilo Chess Club in front of the University of San Agustin way back in the late ‘70s. A friend of mine was playing in the simul with Torre and I was kibitzing as discreetly as I could! My friend lost the game but what caught our attention was a game Torre lost to an older man that turned out to be his “ninong.” After the game, the old man cheerfully told us that he asked Eugene that they memorize a drawn game from the Fischer-Spassky 1972 match and play it during exhibition and we all had a good laugh.

The other time I met Eugene was during a mini-tournament the PCF organized in what was then the Midtown Ramada Hotel in the mid ‘80s. Eugene challenged Nigel Short to play in Manila. I think it was the second or third game in the match and Eugene was holding a slight positional advantage in a Ruy Lopez game. Short, however, was able to wiggle out a draw.

After the game, while we were milling around Eugene, Art Borjal, who was then the president of PCF had a conversation with Andronico Yap. I was close enough to hear the conversation and Yap vented his ire on the hapless Borjal. I overheard Yap yelling at Borjal saying he “burned” all his chess books.

Yap was one of the best and brightest GM prospects we had before the likes of Antonio, Mariano, Villamayor, Paragua and So came along. He campaigned hard in Europe but because there was no support (like what Pichay is currently giving to young talented chessers), he just didn’t make it! Unfortunately, he lost his marbles and took away his life.

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I’d like to congratulate RL Alzate on her confirmation this Sunday in Manila. I knew RL and her family in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A friend of mine, then Asst. Labor Attaché Des Dicang would frequently visit the house of RL’s parents – Ruben and Erlinda Alzate near the International Philippine School in Jeddah – where we would eat lunch, dinner, snack or just engage Ruben in a videoke singing contest. I received a surprise call from Ma’am Alzate (I still call her that) and she told me that RL has requested that I be one of her “ninongs.” I couldn’t go but then I have to agree for a proxy. More power RL and God bless!

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