An After-Dinner’s Sleep

In an article for the Daily Tribune of February 16, 2022, Filipino Grandmaster Eugene Torre shared some details about the one and only game he ever played with Bobby Fischer, if only on friendly terms. It took place in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia, in the summer of 1992, when Torre was to serve as Fischer’s second for his rematch with Boris Vasilievich Spassky, it being his first public appearance after twenty years in seclusion. In order to shake off dust and rust, Fischer had just played a friendly training match with Serbian Grandmaster Svetozar Gligorić, a long time friend of his, winning handily. Just a few days before the beginning of the rematch with Spassky, Fischer asked Torre for a training game. “I did not expect his request to be honest. Maybe he wanted to test my skills”, Torre recalled. The game proved quite unpleasant to Fischer, who appeared to be sleepy. “We had a big lunch before our match. That’s probably the reason why Bobby was fighting to keep awake”, Torre recalls. Fischer suddenly woke up before it was too late and eventually succeeded at drawing the game — also thanks to the help of Torre, who contented himself with a half success. Right after the game ended, Fischer asked Torre for his score sheet, which inevitably became a coveted collector’s item.

Eugene Torre – Robert James Fischer
Sveti Stefan, August 1992
Sicilian Defence B22

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. cxd4 d6 8. 0-0 Be7 9. Qe2 0-0 10. Qe4 a6 11. a3 b5 12. Bd3 g6 13. Bh6 Re8 14. Nbd2 Bb7 15. Rfe1 Nb6 16. Bf1 Rc8 17. Qf4 Nd5 18. Qg4 dxe5 19. dxe5 Nb8 20. Rac1 Nd7 21. h4 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Qb8 23. Re1 Qc7 24. Bd3 Nc5 25. Bb1 f5 26. exf6 Nxf6 27. Qd4 Qd6 28. Bg5 Qxd4 29. Nxd4 Bd5 30. Rc1

30. ... Na4? (⌓ 30. ... Kf7!) 31. Nc6 Kf7 32. Ne5+ Kg8 33. Nc6 Kf7 34. Nxe7 Rxe7 35. b3 Nb6 36. f3 Rb7 37. Bd3 Nbd7 38. Kf2 Ne5 39. Be2 Nc6 40. Ke3 Ne7 41. g4 Rd7 42. Bxf6 Kxf6 43. Ne4+ Kg7 44. Nc5 Ra7 45. Bd3 Kf7 46. Be4 a5?! (⌓ 46. ... Rc7) 47. Bxd5 Nxd5+ 48. Kd4 Nb6

49. Nd3? (49. Nxe6! Rd7+ 50. Kc5 Kxe6 51. Kxb6 Rd3 52. b4+−) 49. ... a4 50. Ne5+ (50. Rc6) 50. ... Kf6 51. b4 Nd7 52. g5+ Kf5 53. Nc6 Ra6 54. Ke3 e5 55. Ne7+ Ke6 56. Nc8 Nb8 57. Rc7 Rc6 58. Re7+ Kd5 59. Na7 Rc3+ 60. Kf2 Rxa3 61. Rxh7 e4 62. fxe4+ Kxe4 63. Nxb5 Rb3 64. h5 Rb2+ (64. ... gxh5 65. g6 Rf3+ 66. Ke2 Rg3=) 65. Kg3

65. ... Kf5? (65. ... gxh5! 66. g6 Rb3+ 67. Kh4 Kf5 68. g7 Rxb4+ 69. Kxh5 Rb1! 70. Nd4+ Kf6=) 66. Nd4+ Kxg5 67. Nf3+ Kf6 68. h6 Rxb4 69. Ra7? (69. Rh8+−) 69. ... Rb5 70. Nh2 Rh5 71. Ng4+ Ke6 72. Rxa4 Nd7 73. Ra6+ Kf7 74. Ra7 Rd5 75. h7 Kg7 76. Nf6 Rd1 ½ : ½.

The Man Who Knew Fischer

Eugene Torre – Axel Rombaldoni
42nd Chess Olympiad; Baku, September 9, 2016
Dutch Defence A40

1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 d6 5. h3 h6!? Rombaldoni plays aggressively, hoping to outplay his expert opponent – that is a responsible decision, since Torre is a superb positional player. 6. Be2 g5 7. Bh2 Bg7 8. c4 b6 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Rc1 Bb7 12. b4 a5 13. a3! Torre didn’t even consider the stereotyped 13. b5 Ne4 which, renouncing to aim for the opening of the a-file, would give Black much less problems. 13. ... axb4 14. axb4 Ne4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Nd2 Bc6 17. c5 Ba4 18. Nb3 bxc5 19. bxc5 d5? So far Romaldoni’s managed to elude particular trouble, but now his decision to create a light-square fortress will prove to be wrong. Sounder was 19. ... Qe7 with a tenable position. 20. Qd3 c6. If 20. ... e5 then 21. c6 e4 22. Qc3 followed by Nb3-c5 with advantage to White. 21. Bd6 Rf7 22. Bh5 Bb5 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Qc3 Bxf1 25. Rxf1! A superb display of chess understanding! It will become soon clear why the retake with the King would have been out of place. 25. ... Ra4? This runs into an inexorable refutation. 26. Ra1 Qa8 27. Rxa4 Qxa4

28. Qa5! An elegant and decisive Knight pseudo-sacrifice which crowns Eugene’s day. 28. ... Qxb3. It should be noted that had the White King been on f1, now the effect of this move would be more than satisfactory due to the threat of mate on d1! The text loses outright, but Black must not regret as after 28. ... Qxa5 29. Nxa5 the c6-Pawn falls, and with it the game. 29. Qc7! The coup de grâce. 29. ... Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qe4 31. Qxd7+ Kg6 32. Qxc6 f4 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. Qf7 fxe3 35. fxe3 1 : 0. I’ll say it once again: not bad for an old boy who was playing his 23rd Olympiad!

Eugene Torre
Photo by Josh Albelda/Rappler

An Enduring Gift

Zsuzsa Polgár (@SusanPolgar)

Filipino Grandmaster Eugene Torre on the front cover of the 9 May 1974 issue of Chess in Australia. Image courtesy of closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com.

Playing it Straight with Youth

Eugene Torre – Iván Salgado López
42nd Chess Olympiad; Baku, September 10, 2016
Trompowsky Attack A45

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 g6 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Ne2 f5 6. g3 d5 7. Bg2 c6 8. 0-0 h5. This looks a bit too velleitary. For 8. ... 0-0 9. Nd2 Nd7 10. c4 dxc4 11. 11. Nxc4 c5 see Hort – Liptay, 11th World Student Team Chess Championship, Cracow 1964. 9. c4 dxc4 10. Na3 h4 11. Nxc4 hxg3 12. hxg3 Be6 13. Qd3 Bd5 14. Rfe1 Na6 15. Rac1 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qd5+ 17. f3 0-0. Something’s gone wrong, since after the “consistent” 17. ... 0-0-0 18. Nf4 Qd7 19. Na5 White’s attack would roll on quite easily. 18. Nf4 Qb5 19. a3 c5? This seems a mistake. Black ought to have played 19. ... Nc7! with a quite solid position. 20. d5! Qd7 21. d6 b5 22. Na5 Rab8 23. Rcd1 Rfd8 24. e4! White opens up the game with devastating effect. 24. ... fxe4 25. Qxe4 Rb6. Dooming the d6-Pawn.

White to move and win: 26. Nd5! Rxd6 27. Ne7+ Kf8 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 29. Nb7 Qd2+ 30. Re2. The End. The rest is pure amusement. 30. ... Rd4 31. Nxg6+ Kg8 32. Qe8+ Kh7 33. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 34. Kh3 fxg6 35. Qxb5 Rxb2 36. Qxa6 c4 37. Nc5 c3 38. Qxa7 Re2 39. Qc7 c2 40. Nd3 1 : 0. Not bad for an old boy who is playing his 23rd Olympiad!

Eugene Torre
Photo: Lilibeth Lee-Barcenilla

Marathon Man

Eugene Torre – Mikael Agopov
41st Chess Olympiad; Tromsø, August 2, 2014
Larsen’s Opening A01

“After a slow buildup, Torre, on a historic 22nd Olympiad appearance, finally launched a Kingside onslaught that netted a Pawn first then later a Rook for a Bishop before carving his way through Agopov’s weakened Kingside”, Joey Villar writes. 1. b3. The so-called Larsen’s Opening, already mentioned by Lucena (1498). 1. ... e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. Na3 a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nc4 Qe7 8. Ne2 b5 9. Nxd6+ cxd6 10. 0-0. For 10. a4 b4 see Rapport – So, Wijk aan Zee 2014. 10. ... c5. For 10. ... 0-0 11. Qe1 c5 12. f4 Re8 13. Qh4 Nd5 see Fries-Nielsen – Finkel, Panormo 2001. 11. f4 0-0 12. Ng3 Bb7 13. Qe2 Qe6 14. e4 c4 15. d3 Rac8. The wrong Rook!? 15. ... Rfc8 16. Nf5 Rc7 could offer the strongest possible resistance. 16. Nf5 Rfd8 17. Rf3 Nh5 18. fxe5 dxe5 19. Raf1. Consistently following his plan of attack. 19. ... Rd7 20. Rh3 Nf6. On 20. ... Nf4 21. Rxf4! exf4 22. Qg4 wins outright. 21. Rg3 Ne8. If, instead, 21. ... g6 then 22. Nh6+ Kg7 23. Rgf3 and White’s attack continues. 22. Qg4. The final attack plays by itself. 22. ... Rcc7 23. bxc4 Qb6+ 24. Kh1 g6. On 24. ... f6 25. Nh6+ Kg8 26. Bxe5! wins. 25. Bxe5 bxc4 26. Qf4 f6. Desperation, as 26. ... Rc7-moves is refuted by 27. Nh6+ Kf8 28. Qxf7+ and mate next move. 27. Bxc7 Rxc7 28. e5 cxd3 29. cxd3 Rc2

30. Nd6 1 : 0. For if 30. ... Nxd6 then 31. Qxf6 wins. “Eugene is showing vintage form. He is the best performer in the team so far. His win against Agopov was straight out of the 1970s, from the era of Bent Larsen and Bobby Fischer, and his win from the rarely-played Larsen Opening is a happy memory that will last a very long time”, noted former Times Journal sportswriter Eli Tumbaga in his report to Chess Philippines.

Eugene Torre

挑戰者

Eugene Torre
Photo: Georgios Souleidis

[Event "41st Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Tromsø NOR"]
[Date "2014.08.04"]
[Round "3.20"]
[White "Korobov, Anton"]
[Black "Torre, Eugene"]
[ECO "E32"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[PlyCount "77"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 c6 7.Bd3 Qa5 8.Bh4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 b6 10.Ne2 Ba6 11.e4 b5 12.cxb5 Bxb5 13.O-O Bxd3 14.Qxd3 O-O 15.c4 Rab8 16.Bg3 e5 17.c5 d5 18.exd5 Nxd5 19.Bxe5 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Qxc5 21.Rac1 Qa5 22.a3 Ne7 23.Qg3 Rb2 24.Nd4 Ra2 25.e6 Qxa3 26.Qc7 h6 27.Rb1 Qc5 28.Rb8 Qxd4 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Qb8+ Nc8 31.Qxc8+ Ke7 32.exf7 Kxf7 33.Qxc6 Ra1 34.g3 a5 35.Qc7+ Kg8 36.Qc8+ Kh7 37.Qf5+ Kh8 38.Qc8+ Kh7 39.Qf5+ 1/2-1/2

Partie sans façon

[Event "Training friendly game"]
[Site "Sveti Stefan YUG"]
[Date "1992.08.??"]
[White "Torre, Eugene"]
[Black "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Round "?"]
[ECO "B22"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[PlyCount "152"]

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.cxd4 d6 8.O-O Be7 9.Qe2 O-O 10.Qe4 a6 11.a3 b5 12.Bd3 g6 13.Bh6 Re8 14.Nbd2 Bb7 15.Rfe1 Nb6 16.Bf1 Rc8 17.Qf4 Nd5 18.Qg4 dxe5 19.dxe5 Nb8 20.Rac1 Nd7 21.h4 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Qb8 23.Re1 Qc7 24.Bd3 Nc5 25.Bb1 f5 26.exf6 Nxf6 27.Qd4 Qd6 28.Bg5 Qxd4 29.Nxd4 Bd5 30.Rc1 Na4 31.Nc6 Kf7 32.Ne5+ Kg8 33.Nc6 Kf7 34.Nxe7 Rxe7 35.b3 Nb6 36.f3 Rb7 37.Bd3 Nbd7 38.Kf2 Ne5 39.Be2 Nc6 40.Ke3 Ne7 41.g4 Rd7 42.Bxf6 Kxf6 43.Ne4+ Kg7 44.Nc5 Ra7 45.Bd3 Kf7 46.Be4 a5 47.Bxd5 Nxd5+ 48.Kd4 Nb6 49.Nd3 a4 50.Ne5+ Kf6 51.b4 Nd7 52.g5+ Kf5 53.Nc6 Ra6 54.Ke3 e5 55.Ne7+ Ke6 56.Nc8 Nb8 57.Rc7 Rc6 58.Re7+ Kd5 59.Na7 Rc3+ 60.Kf2 Rxa3 61.Rxh7 e4 62.fxe4+ Kxe4 63.Nxb5 Rb3 64.h5 Rb2+ 65.Kg3 Kf5 66.Nd4+ Kxg5 67.Nf3+ Kf6 68.h6 Rxb4 69.Ra7 Rb5 70.Nh2 Rh5 71.Ng4+ Ke6 72.Rxa4 Nd7 73.Ra6+ Kf7 74.Ra7 Rd5 75.h7 Kg7 76.Nf6 Rd1 ½-½