Eugene Torre now a coach as Asian Zonal tournament starts

MANILA, Philippines – You will not find Eugene Torre, the living legend of Philippine chess, over the board at the Asian Zone 3.3 tournament in Tagaytay City. 

Torre will be walking from table to table, watching how the Filipino players are doing in this tournament, which is the first stage to select qualifiers for the world championship. The top two placers here go to the World Cup, a big knockout tournament, where the cast for the Candidates Tournament will be formed. Then, the contender to world champion Magnus Carlsen will be known.

“This is a new role for me. I am a head coach and I have to guide the players here,” Torre said in a phone interview with Rappler.com. 

He is not retiring from playing. He will be playing in the strong HD Bank event in Vietnam next month and a tournament in Reykjavik. 

It is the second time that the 65-year-old Torre is not in the Zonal, which he has mostly dominated since winning in 1972 in Hong Kong. The first time Torre didn’t compete was in 1985, when it was held in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippines.

In the Asian Zonal, which began today and ends on March 5, the standard bearer is Ino Sadorra, the country’s top player. Torre says the Philippines has a good chance to qualify to the World Cup. 

“The field is not as strong as in the women’s side. We have good chances,” said Torre. The region’s top player, Le Quang Liem is not playing and the top seed is Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son followed by Sadorra and Megaranto Susanto of Indonesia. 

Wesley So, then playing for the Philippines, Darwin Laylo and Joey Antonio were the last Filipinos to qualify to the World Cup in 2011.

In the women’s field, Janelle Mae Frayna, the country’s first woman grandmaster, is seeded fifth behind top ranked Irene Sukandar of Indonesia. 

For too long, Filipinos lacked a real coach when they compete in chess tournament and no one knows this more than Torre. 

“I will watch them as carefully as I can,” he said. – Rappler.com