Torre crumbles, gets bronze

TAGAYTAY — Grandmaster Eugene Torre squirmed in time trouble and took a 0.5-1.5 loss to GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen of Vietnam to settle for the bronze medal in the individual rapid chess tournament at the Tagaytay Convention Center here yesterday.

Torre, who became the country’s lone hope for the first gold medal in the sport after top bet GM Joey Antonio fell by the wayside in the quarters Sunday, actually blew a chance in the first of their two-game knockout match and settled for a draw before failing to equalize in the second game.

"I had a clear edge in the first game. Somehow, I missed to cash in on this advantage and I was forced to make repetition moves," said Torre, referring to their opening game where he settled for a draw after 34 moves of a Queen’s Pawn Opening.

In the second game, Torre, who beat Vietnamese FM Le Quang Liem in the quarters, struggled and lost his poise while trying to come up with the right moves under time pressure.

"There could have been a chance for a draw. But I forced it, and it becomes difficult if it’s your turn to look for a draw," Torre said during the post-game analysis.

Earlier, Antonio failed to advance to the semis after suffering a defeat from GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia, 0.5-1.5. "I made mistakes when I took a risky decision in my opening move (Caro-Kann)," Antonio said.

Megaranto, 17, and Ngoc Truong, 15, were clashing for the crown at presstime.