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Every Olympiad needs one great underdog story and this year the Philippines certainly fits that bill. Through 8 rounds the #35 seed is in a 5-way tie for 2nd with the 4 chess powerhouses: Armenia, China, United States, and Germany, all 2 points behind Russia.
Each and every one of the Philippines 5-men team has a TPR far in excess of their rating. Even their 5-board IM sports a team low TPR of 2631, 203 points above his 2428 rating, and he's been the odd man out the past 4 rounds as Philippines battles on the top boards.
But the story behind the story has to be the remarkable performance of their sexagenarian and #3 board, Eugene Torre. He established some Olympiad history just be being here, his 21st Olympiad appearance (17 on the top board), surpassing Lajos Portisch's 20 appearanes for a new Olympiad record.
Would you believe Torre now has a TPR in excess of 2800 after taking down Ferenc Berkes (2685) yesterday and Nigel Short (2698) today (Torre's 2 Knights proving superior to Short's 2 Bishops)! Bobby Fischer, his close friend, would certainly be proud. And on that note, Wikipedia has some amusing notes on Torre's relationship with Fischer:
Relations with Fischer
Torre was 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 was involved in 1996 when Fischer Random Chess was launched. One anecdote during this period has it that when Torre and Fischer boarded a taxi in Buenos Aires, the driver immediately recognized Torre as a chess player. As both were about to leave the taxi, the driver, not knowing who the other distinguished passenger was, asked Torre: "Whatever happened to that crazy guy Fischer?"[6]
Each and every one of the Philippines 5-men team has a TPR far in excess of their rating. Even their 5-board IM sports a team low TPR of 2631, 203 points above his 2428 rating, and he's been the odd man out the past 4 rounds as Philippines battles on the top boards.
But the story behind the story has to be the remarkable performance of their sexagenarian and #3 board, Eugene Torre. He established some Olympiad history just be being here, his 21st Olympiad appearance (17 on the top board), surpassing Lajos Portisch's 20 appearanes for a new Olympiad record.
Would you believe Torre now has a TPR in excess of 2800 after taking down Ferenc Berkes (2685) yesterday and Nigel Short (2698) today (Torre's 2 Knights proving superior to Short's 2 Bishops)! Bobby Fischer, his close friend, would certainly be proud. And on that note, Wikipedia has some amusing notes on Torre's relationship with Fischer:
Relations with Fischer
Torre was 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 was involved in 1996 when Fischer Random Chess was launched. One anecdote during this period has it that when Torre and Fischer boarded a taxi in Buenos Aires, the driver immediately recognized Torre as a chess player. As both were about to leave the taxi, the driver, not knowing who the other distinguished passenger was, asked Torre: "Whatever happened to that crazy guy Fischer?"[6]
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