Torre beats Gutkin in World Senior Chess Championship

MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster Eugene Torre downed Israeli FIDE Master Boris Gutkin in 62 moves of a Trompovsky Attack to jump into a 10-man lead group after seven rounds of the 65-and-above division of the 27th World Senior Chess Championship in Acqui Teme, Italy Tuesday night.

The 66-year-old Torre outplayed Gutkin right in the opening, winning a pawn and then returning it several moves later to create a central passed pawn that the former used to extract the full point and gain a piece of the lead.

Torre now has 5.5 points to share the top spot with nine others including eighth round opponent International Master Arkady Shevelev also of Israel.

The other chessers on top were No. 1 seed GM Anatoly Vaisser of France, GM Vlastimil Jansa of the Czevh Republic, Boris Malisov of Israel, GM Davorin Komjenovic of Croatia, GM Yuri Balashov of Russia and FM Christian Hess of Germany.

Another Filipino, Joey Antonio, fell from the lead after he drew with French GM Eric Prie in 27 moves of a Queen’s Pawn London System.

Antonio has 5.5 points, half a point behind pacesetters GM Julio Granda Zuniga of Peru and GM Zurab Sturua of Georgia with six points apiece.