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Eugenio Torre (born November 4, 1951) is a chess Grandmaster. He is considered the strongest chessplayer the Philippines has ever produced during the 1980's and 1990's period, following the heels of Fischer era Filipino chess champions NM Ramon Lontoc, IM Renato Naranja, IM Rodolfo Tan Cardoso and the deceased GM Rosendo Balinas, Jr. Super GM Mark Paragua is currently the top Philippine chessplayer.
Torre has the distinction of being the first Asian player to earn the much coveted title of International Grandmaster. In a tournament in Manila in the 1976, Torre beat then reigning world chess champion Anatoly Karpov in a game that has become part of Filipino chess history (moves given in Algebraic chess notation)(Sicilian Defense):
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O Bd7 9.f4 b5 10.Qe1 Nxd4 11.Rxd4 Qb6 12.Rd2 Be7 13.Bd3 b4 14.Nd1 Bb5 15.Nf2 h6 16.Bh4 g5 17.fxg5 hxg5 18.Bg3 Nh5 19.Ng4 Nxg3 20.hxg3 Rxh1 21.Qxh1 Rc8 22.Kb1 Bxd3 23.cxd3 Qd4 24.Qd1 a5 25.Nh2 g4 26.Nxg4 Bg5 27.Rc2 Rxc2 28.Kxc2 a4 29.a3 b3 30.Kb1 d5 31.exd5 Qxd5 32.Nf2 Qxg2 33.Ne4 Be3 34.Nc3 Qc6 35.d4 Qc4 36.d5 e5 37.Qh1 Qd3+ 38.Ka1 Bd4 39.Qh8+ Kd7 40.Qa8 Qf1+ 41.Nb1 Qc4 42.Qb7+ Kd6 43.Qb8+ Kxd5 44.Qd8+ Ke6 45.Qe8+ Kf5 46.Qd7+ Kg6 47.Qg4+ Kf6 48.Nc3 Qf1+ 0-1
Torre qualified for the Candidates Matches for the 1984 World Championship. In that preliminary stage, the contenders play matches against each other to determine who will challenge the world champion. Torre was eliminated when he lost his match against Zoltan Ribli by a score of 6-4.
It is well-known that Torre is a friend of Bobby Fischer. He worked on Fischer's team in his 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia. Much later, Torre conducted interviews on Filipino radio with Bobby Fischer. Those interviews gained notoriety for Fischer, and despair for his fans. Torre continues to play actively in local and international tournaments.
Eugenio Torre should not be confused with Mexican Grandmaster Carlos Torre.