Ilonggo Eugene Torre makes history as 1st Filipino World Chess Hall of Famer

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Chess icon and Ilonggo pride Eugene Torre etched his name in the history books as the first Filipino and Asian male chess player to be named to the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Torre’s induction in the prized chess hall of fame came after the World Chess Federation’s online meeting of the FIDE Council.

One of the greatest Filipino chess players joined women’s Grandmaster Judit Polgar of Hungary and Polish-Argentine Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf in the list of nominees.

“It’s a great honor to be included in the revered list of names who I hold in high esteem. This I share with my countrymen,” said Torre.

Torre, Polgar, and Najdorf will be joining the legendary 37 chess players who were already presented as hall of famers in the sport of chess.

Among those notable names who were included in the 37 hall of famers were Jose Raul Capablanca, Emmanuel Lasker, Paul Morphy, Wilhelm Steinitz, and Robert ‘Bobby’ Fischer.

The 69-year-old Ilonggo became Asia’s first-ever grandmaster way back in 1974 and was one of the most successful chess players in the world.

One of Torre’s biggest achievements in Filipino chess history was beating the legendary World champion Anatoly Karpov in 1976.