Torre settles for joint 2nd

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Eugene Torre fell short of his title bid in the Telin International chess tournament as he was held to a draw by GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam in final round in Jakarta last Thursday.

Torre, who shared the lead after the penultimate eighth round, wound up with seven points, posting six victories and two draws against a lone setback in the nine-round tournament which attracted 110 players from seven countries.

GM Cerdas Barus of Indonesia beat IM Sadikin Irwanto to emerge solo champion with 7.5 points.

Torre defeated Barus in the sixth round but lost to Irwanto in the seventh. He trounced GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore in the eighth round to gain a crack at the crown.

Other seven pointers were top seed GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam and IM Dede Liu of Indonesia.

Gagunashvili, toting a 2599 rating, outclassed IM Chanda Purnama of Indonesia, while Liu toppled GM Dibyendu Barua of India.

Zhang humbled Sugeng Prayitno of Indonesia, while GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia whipped compatriot Andika Pitra to lead four other players with 6.5 points.