Faced with the specter of an early elimination, Grandmaster Eugene Torre flashed vintage form to scuttle junior standout Oliver Dimakiling's upset bid, winning in 46 moves with the black pieces and forcing a playoff for a berth in the second round of the Chess Pambansa Millennium Grand Prix yesterday at the PNB Finance Center in Pasay.
But the 48-year-old Torre had to go through some anxious moments before thwarting Dimakiling in a drawish Sicilian rook-and-pawn endgame he translated into a resounding victory to arrange a two-game, active chess playoff at 1 p.m. today.
Torre, the top seed here, lost the opening game to the 18-year-old Dimakiling, a former Shell under-20 active chess champion who led La Salle to the UAAP team championship last year.
But while Torre, whose stint here is supported by the City of Baguio, will have to pass through the proverbial eye of the needle to advance, fellow GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. breezed through the next round with a second victory over Jenny Mayor, whom he beat in 60 moves.
Antonio, playing out of Quezon City, faces 1996 national juniors champion Roberto Suelo, Jr. in the next round tomorrow. Suelo also completed a 2-0 rout of Arnold Durana with a 36-move win in another Sicilian.
Also posting 2-0 victories in this P3 million event, which awards P1 million to the winner, are IM Bong Villamayor, NM Richard Bitoon, NM Fernie Donguines, IM Nelson Mariano II, IM Barlo Nadera, IM Ricky de Guzman and NM Mirabeau Maga.
Villamayor, an Olympiad veteran, whipped NM Erwin Carag; Bitoon waylaid NM Stewart Manaog; Donguines downed Ramil Galang; Mariano trounced NM Dick Gicain; Nadera beat Ernesto Jayme; De Guzman ousted Ali Branzuela; and Maga eliminated Rico Salimbagat.
Other qualifiers included NMs Rolando Nolte, Petronio Roca, Eric Gloria, Rodolfo Toledo, Alex Lupian, Darwin Laylo, Ernesto Absin, Jake dela Cruz and Elmer Sumngat.
However, reversals continued to mar the event with NMs Elmer Carag, Cesar Caturla, Joseph Sanchez, Marlon Bernardino, Mauro Yasay, Fernandito Pialan and Eduardo Estrella all falling by the wayside.
Kaharudin Tayuan shocked Carag, 1.5-0.5; Nick Nisperos upended Caturla, 2-0; Jan Asor won over Sanchez, 2-0; Jermel Abordo stunned Bernardino, 1.5-0.5; Apolinar Torrijos whipped Yasay, 2-0; Julius Silvederio trounced Pialan, 1.5-0.5; Allan Cantanos pulled the rug from under Estrella, 2-0.
Forcing playoffs like Torre are NM Eduardo Ortiz against NM Rudy Ibañez, IM Luis Chiong IV against NM Rodolfo Panopio, NM Nicomedes Alisangco against NM Reynaldo del Pilar and Francis Jocson against Henry Lopez. -