Daniel Quizon, 15, jolts Eugene Torre

MANILA, Philippines — Daniel Quizon is for real.

Just a couple of weeks after upending GM Joey Antonio in a blitz match and scalping older foes in the National Juniors Championship, Quizon, 15, trounced another giant in GM Eugene Torre to get back on track in the Asian Continental Championships in Xingtai, China Saturday night.

Threading into the 67-year-old Torre’s pet variation of the Ruy Lopez head on with white, Quizon emerged from the opening skirmish a pawn up and clung on to it until the endgame when he turned it into a full-piece edge and eventually a full point.

It was another mammoth triumph for Quizon, backed by Dasmarinas, Cavite Mayor Jenny Barzaga and Congressman Pidi Barzaga and the Philippine Sports Commission, after dominating Antonio, 6.5-.5, in their showdown and beat IM John Marvin Miciano and reigning national juniors’ titlist Jeth Romy Morado in the National Juniors tilt.

Last March, Quizon came half a point away from claiming his second of three norms required to become a GM in the Ninth HD Bank event in Vietnam but still ended up in the top 20 and the highest placed Phl bet there.

Quizon’s recent feats has reinforced predictions that he could be the next local woodpusher to follow the footsteps of Wesley So, a Cavite-born United States-based chesser.

The win made up for Quizon’s stinging defeat to IM Xu Yi of China in the opening round and catapulted him into a 20-chesser tie at 30th spot, a full point behind a five-player logjam at No. 1 including ninth pick GM S.P. Sethuraman of India.

Quizon was clashing with No. 13 GM Suri Vaibhav of India in the third round at press time.