Torre foils Singaporean, forces 4-way tie

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Eugene Torre defeated GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore with the black pieces in the eighth and penultimate round to create a four-way tie for first in the ongoing 110-player Telin International Chess Tournament 2011 yesterday at the Graha Citra Caraka PT Telkom in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The 56-year-old Torre, playing under the banner of National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) chairman/president Butch Pichay Jr., raised his total 6.5 points in eight outings, the same output of GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam, GM Cerdas Barus and IM Sadikin Irwanto of Indonesia.

Dao defeated Prayitno Sugeng of Indonesia, Barus nipped countryman Johan Gunawan while Irwanto drew with top seed GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia. In the ninth and final round, Torre plays Dao on board 1 while Irwanto goes up against Barus, with the winner wresting the title.