Torre eyes record 21st Olympiad stint

MANILA, Philippines – Ageless Filipino chess Grandmaster Eugene Torre is hoping to break the record with most Olympiad appearances when he seeks one of the two remaining slots in the Tromso-bound team by participating in the Battle of the Grandmasters next month.

Torre, 62, is already tied with Hungarian GM Lajos Portisch with most Olympiad stints with 20 each, 19 of which were consecutively, to break the old record of 18 straight held by Heikki Westerinen.

"It's a nice feat but I'm more concerned on helping the team in any way I can," Torre, Asia's first ever GM, told The STAR on Wednesday.

Should he fail to qualify, Torre said he will go with the team as coach.

"But if I couldn't make a team, I may come as coach of both the men's and women's team," he said.

The team, however, will need not just Torre's coaching and expertise but his vast Olympiad experience should inspire a team composed mainly of young players like United States-based Wesley So, Julio Catalino Sadorra and Oliver Barbosa, who were already seeded outright by the National Chess Federation of the Phl more than a week ago.

So, Sadorra and Barbosa are the country's highest-ranked woodpushers with FIDE ratings of 2731, 2611 and 2592, respectively, but they're still relatively young.

So, who will shoot up to No. 15 in the world in the monthly FIDE rating list this June after topping the Capablanca Memorial in Cuba two weeks ago, is just 20 years old while Sadorra and Barbosa are both 27.

During his time, Torre has manned the top board a record 17 times, played 236 games winning 86, drawing 111 and losing 39 highlighted by him snaring the bronze medal for Board One thrice in 1974 Nice, 1980 Malta and 1986 Dubai Olympiads.

The vintage Torre also skippered the Phl team to its best ever performance in the Olympiad after they finished seventh in the 1988 edition in Thessaloniki, Greece, breaking the previous high of 11th in 1974 in Nice.