Torre keys PH’s win over Nigeria in World Chess Olympiad

MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster Eugene Torre extracted a 45-move win over FIDE Master Daniel Anwuli out of a drawish position as the Philippines hacked out a 3-1 victory over Nigeria to get back in the thick of things after three rounds of the 42nd World Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan Sunday night.

After gaining a pawn and a positional edge in the opening, Torre lost his way in the middlegame with a greedy pawn capture, allowing Anwuli to counterplay and get a chance to draw with his dangerous pair of rooks threatening his king.

But the 64-year-old veteran found a way to get out of the bind by exchanging all his minor pieces and when the smoke of battle dissipated, Torre emerged a pawn up and an unstoppable queenside passed pawn.

GMs John Paul Gomez and Banjo Barcenilla provided the other wins over FM Bomo Kigigha and International Master Oladapo Adu on boards one and three, respectively, that made up for IM Paulo Bersamina's stinging defeat to Candidate Master Adeyinka Adesina.

The Filipinos, who lost to Paraguay the round before, barged into the top 30 following the win and could climb even further in the standings if they could hurdle the Costa Ricans in the fourth round.

The win by the men's team also cushioned the impact of its women's team's painful .5-3.5 defeat to seventh seed India following losses by WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Christy Lamiel Bernales and WIM Catherine Secopito to IM Rout Padmini, IM Sachdev Tania and WGM Swaminathan Soumya on the last three boards.

Janelle Mae Frayna escaped with a draw against GM Dronavalli Harika despite falling a pawn down to avert a shutout.

The loss came a day after the Phl shocked four-time champion Georgia, 2.5-1.5, in one what could turn out as one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

The celebration was short-lived as the Filipinas fell to the more game Indians.

Frayna and the team, whose trip is made possible by the Philippine Sports Commission, will face off with Canada next.