Torre halves point vs Mongolian GM

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Eugene Torre drew with Mongolian GM Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa in 48 moves of a Sicilian Defense to remain half a point behind solo leader Burmese International Master Wynn Zaw Htun after three rounds of the Asian Zone 3.3 Zonal Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam last Monday.

The 63-year-old Torre beat Vietnamese Tran Ngoc Lan and Vo Thanh Ninh in the first two rounds but just couldn’t pull it off against Gundavaa’s Sicilian despite gaining a slight positional advantage in the middlegame. 

The draw dropped Torre to a six-way tie for second with Gundavaa, top seed GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, second pick GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam and No. 3 GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore at 2.5 points.

Torre takes on Zhang in the fourth round of the nine-round Swiss System tournament staking two berths to the World Cup 2015.