GM EUGENE TORRE

Grandmaster Eugene Torre displayed vintage form to topple fifth seed GM Abhijeet Gupta of India in a keenly-watched battle to forge a seven-way tie for the lead in the fifth round of the fifth Prospero Pichay Cup international chess championship Sunday at the LWUA Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.

The ageless warrior of Philippine chess dug deep into his vast experience to beat the higher-rated Indian player (ELO 2584) and stretch his winning streak to three in the nine-round tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippnes (NCFP) in cooperation with the Local Water Utilities Administration. (LWUA).

The 57-year-old Filipino champion, who wants redemption from a lackluster showing in the recent President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Cup chess tournament, is now tied for the lead with top seed GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia, fourth seed GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam,No. 6 seed GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran, No. 7 GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, and World Cup-bound Filipino GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr. and Darwin Laylo.

Mchedlishvili , the highest-rated player in the tournament with an ELO of 2613, drew with Ghaemmaghami in their top board encounter.

Nguyen, one of two Vietnamese players in the 60-player field, overwhelmed No.17 Pyotr Kostenko of Kazakhstan in another all-foreigner showdown.

Gagunashvili subdued IM Richard Bitoon, Antonio trounced No. 9 GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia and Laylo halved the point with third seed GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan to strengthen their chances for the $5,000 top prize.