GM Torre delivers anew; PH stuns England

GRANDMASTER Eugene Torre struck anew and GM Oliver Barbosa regained his lethal form as the Philippines fashioned out a gigantic upset of England, 3-1, in the eight round of the 40th FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

The victory over the 11th seed England side gave the Philippines 13 points and a share of second place with the United States, China, Armenia and Germany.

Top seeded Russia defeated No. 2 Ukraine in the eighth round to emerge solo leader in the 157-nation field with 15 points.

Torre, who rescued the Philippines from an impending defeat against Hungary in the previous round with an emphatic win on board 3, won his second straight match, this time with a 41-move demolition of Nigel Short.

Barbosa, who lost his match in the seventh round, rebounded with a hard-earned win over Gawain Jones on board 2 to give the Philippines another rousing victory with only three rounds to go.

GM Wesley So and GM Mark Paragua drew their matches with Michael Adams and Nicholas Pert, respectively, to complete scoring for the determined Philippine side.

The Filipino woodpushers now brace for an all-important showdown with the Chinese in the ninth round scheduled for Thursday.

In women's play, the Philippine squad failed to duplicate the men's fine performance as it bowed to the United States, 1.5-3-5.

Janelle Mae Frayna was able to force a draw against IM Rusudan Golectani on board 3, but top board player WIM Catherine Perena, board 2 bet WFM Rulp Ylem and board 4 competitor Jedara Docena all lost their matches.

The debacle kept the Philippines at 10 points, four points behind pacesetter and No. 1 seed China which has accumulated 14 points.