Beyond the 13th Move: The Story of Eugene Torre

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Eugene Torre  is one of the few great Filipino sports heroes whose excellence and prominence in chess span more than four decades, and counting. I can think of two others who  fit the description for such longevity; Paeng  Nepumoceno in bowling and  the big J, Jaworski in basketball. Paeng’s career likewise span more than four decades and until now is still a force to reckon with. Jawo’s eminence in basketball span the period of my childhood, teenage years and adulthood. They all started in my growing up years and until now, they’re still there. They are all my all time local sports heroes.

Beyond the 13th move is a biography of Torre. I bought this book in the 70’s and was one of my treasured collection until Ondoy struck a few years ago.  I wish it could be re-published.

Eugene Torre was born in Iloilo city, my “happy place”. For decades, he was the toast of Philippine chess.  Beyond the 13th move was a memorable piece of history. Flashback: 1972 Chess Olympiad, Nice, France. Torre, then 22 but already the Philippines top player, played for the top Board (board 1) of the Philippine team. Ever since its inception and until now, each country normally fields its strongest player in Board . So Torre, was up against the world’s best of the best. On this fateful game ( my memory now fails me who he was up against except that he was also a top grandmaster), Torre needed only to draw the game and be crowned a full grandmaster. On that game, after some quick openings, Torre played safe and offered a draw. It was a long agonizing moment as he waited for his opponent to accept his offer. Then that moment came. His opponent formally welcomed Eugene to the elite grandmaster club by accepting the draw. History unfolded. Torre became the first Asian and the first Filipino to become a chess grandmaster. In that tournament, Torre finished  strong, 9 wins and 10 draws, to win the bronze medal for Board 1. Anatoly Karpov, who would later become world champion won the gold. But to stay unbeaten in a very strong field was already an outstanding record. The Philippine team also placed a respectable 11th place finish, until now its 2nd highest finish.

Torre would later on play for a record 19 consecutive Olympiads. Then on his 20th stint, he tied Hungary’s top grandmaster Lajos Portisch for the distinction of the only players to have played for 20 Olympiads. Now in the ongoing 40th Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey, Torre broke this tie, and again made history by becoming the only player to have played in 21 Olympiads. In all of this, he played in Board 1 a record 17 times. In his entire career, his sterling record was in 1983 when he was ranked 17th in the world and played in the Candidates Matches for the 1984 world Championship, losing to Zoltan ribli,6-4 in a one on one encounter. No other Filipino has reached this pinnacle of success. Years before that, he made waves when he defeated then current world champion Anatoly Karpov in a tournament held in Manila in 1976. He was then credited for being the only player to have beaten Karpov while the Russian still reigned supreme as world champion.  Torre was also known as among the very few best friends, confidante, and second of that American chess genius, that recluse former world champion Bobby Fischer.

One of the finer moments described in the book was that in his era, whenever Torre wants to rest and relax, he would go home and find comfort and serenity in his land of his birth. Home is Iloilo ( La Paz) where he would enjoy its beaches. In some of these homecomings, he would drop by a landmark  place, a restaurant cum bookstore in Jalandoni  Street in front of the University of San Agustin. This place was also where local chess players meet and play. Torre would then play simultaneous games against anybody who would want to. It was in one of these fun simul games that my elder brod played him to a draw

After Azkals, Can Wesley So and Co. Be Left Behind?

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Relegated  in background news amid the euphoria of the Azkals match with Kuwait and the arrival of NBA stars led by Kobe Bryant who played two games against the PBA stars and our Smart Gilas national team was a strong chess tournament participated only by all the grandmasters of our country. I hope the day will come when chess will also find place in our country's top sports priority.


In chess, size does not matter. Therefore, this is a sport where Filipinos can excel and compete with the world's best.

Historically, we did made significant strides in the international scene. Eugene Torre was Asia's and our country's first grandmaster. His fait accompli was done in Nice, France Chess Olympics sometime in early 70's while playing top board for the Philippine team. Considering that the top boards are normally manned by the best grandmasters of every country, such feat was indeed a great accomplishment. For a while, Torre has remained one of the top young grandmasters in the world. Our 2nd grandmaster, the late Rosendo Balinas, earned his grandmaster norm after topping and winning a strong chess tournament in Russia (USSR then), the home of the world's grandmasters. Before him, no other foreigner has won a chess tournament in Russian soil. After them, however, came a drought of grandmaster in the making. Meanwhile, China, Vietnam, and India have started to produce many and top grandmasters, including women. In recent years, thanks to the support by the Philippine Chess Federation led by its president, Prospero "Butch" Pichay, the controversial former congressman from Surigao, through various  international exposures and local  chess tournaments, our number of grandmasters has grown.


Leading the pack is teenage sensation super grandmaster Wesley So from Cavite. For quite sometime now, he is our country's No. 1 player and one of the top young grandmasters in the world. Barely 17 or 18 perhaps, he has performed well in strong chess tournaments abroad, winning some, and/or  placing among the top finishers. He has beaten a number of super super grandmasters like Gata Kamsky of the US and others. His ELO rating of 2670+, a super grandmaster level, is the highest rating a Filipino had. His performances here and abroad weighs more than other performances we toast. Wesley So, surely, should be our country's pride.

Chess Anyone?

I learned chess when it was introduced by a classmate in our first year high school.  Back then, it was a popular event in our school's annual Sportsfest. Immediately then, I got hooked to it. I introduced it at home and in a short time, my elder brother became my chess rival at home. I would skip meals playing it; I would go to barber shops and sidewalks to watch chess games. I would spend whole days to watch tournaments. I would even skip my homework and studies to play chess.And I would read chess books, trying to understand Sicilian, King and Queen Gambit Decline, all those opening lines and end games tactics. I would also search for news articles, biographies of great chess players, etc.

That's how I came to know Murphy, Capablanca and their contemporaries, to Botvinnick, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Gligoric, Portisch, etc. And yes, most especially the mercurial American genius, Bobby Fischer (I would later find out that my father-in-law kept a lot of books on chess, especially on Bobby Fischer), my idol. But of course, my era  includes Karpov, Kasparov to Anand, Kamsky, the Polgar sisters,etc., including those upcoming Chinese and Vietnamese top young grandmasters. Until now, I still read with interest and enthusiasm news about chess. It pains me though that many big tournaments, local and especially international, do not merit due space in both print and broadcast media.

It was not unnatural therefore that I taught chess to my kids early on. My eldest kid learned chess before he went to Grade 1. When he was in Grade 3, he became their level (5 sections per level) champion. Unbeaten, he proudly said. My other younger kid almost learned it by himself. My wife and I were then amazed that he learned it by just watching me and his Kuya play. At kindergarten, I underestimated his capacity to understand how the Knight moves, how powerful the Queen is, how to checkmate an opponent in a King-Rook endgame.etc. Now, he beats his older brother with regularity. But now that they both know how to play, I don't encourage, much more push them to go seriously into chess. I don't want them to spend much time studying and playing and the game. It's enough that they know how to play and if on their own they can still improve without those long hours of analyzing games, it would already be a bonus to me. I know how it is to be serious here. It can be addicting, and you can forget about everything else.

Here's my son showing off his gold medal in chess. 

I seldom play chess now. I just content myself comfortably watching and analyzing games, and reading developments of the game. I'm happy that now, we have already a double-digit number of grandmasters. Time was when our national team would play in the Chess Olympics with only Eugene Torre in Board 1 as Grandmaster and the rest international and national masters. There, they would pit themselves against an all Grandmaster (including reserves) line-up from chess giant countries in Europe and Americas. With proper support, effective program and inspiring leadership,  we could discover more Torres, Balinas, Cardoso, Antonio, Gomez, Paragua, etc. and, much more,  hopefully more Wesley Sos.