Grandmaster Torre Chess Center launched

MANILA, Philippines — Grandmaster Eugene Torre has been given another distinct honor with the launch Sunday of the GM Eugene Torre Chess Center in Ramon Magsaysay Cubao High School.

Conceived by a group of alumni (Batch ’68 and ’69) led by Dr. Jess Tumaneng, the Chess Center is a tribute to Asia’s first grandmaster, an alumnus of the school and batchmate of the group.

The center’s establishment came on the heels of Torre’s induction to the World Chess Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed only to an elite group of grandmasters including Bobby Fisher, Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and school principal Ruby de Jesus supported the establishment of the center.

In fact, Belmonte’s father, former House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., led the inauguration ceremony.

A first in the country, the GM Eugene Torre Chess Center is envisioned to usher in the establishment of chess centers in schools across the land. It is hoped that such centers will promote chess especially among the Filipino youth and help instill in them the values and critical-thinking skills embodied in the sport.