Manila (1976) In the summer of 1976 three grandmasters traveled to Manila in the Philippines to participate in the Marlboro-Loyola Kings Challenge chess tournament. These were (in order of Elo): World Champion Anatoly Karpov (2695) from the Soviet Union, Ljubomir Ljubojevic (2620) from Yugoslavia, and Walter Shawn Browne (2585) from the United States. They were joined by Grandmaster Eugenio Torre (2505) from the Philippines for a double-round robin event. The average rating of the players qualified the tournament as a category XV event. The result was surprising and momentous due to the inspired play of Torre. Not only did he defeat the world champion in the second round, but he went on to finish clear first ahead of Karpov, a feat no one had yet accomplished since the latter had become World Champion. His success in the tournament earned Torre a place in history. The final standings and crosstable are as follows: 1 Torre 4.5/6 ** 1½ ½1 1½ 2 Karpov 3.0/6 0½ ** 1½ ½½ 3 Ljubojevic 2.5/6 ½0 0½ ** ½1 4 Browne 2.0/6 0½ ½½ ½0 ** Original collection: Game Collection: Manila 1976, by User: suenteus po 147  page 1 of 1; 12 games    Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Browne vs Karpov ½-½ 15 1976 Manila E17 Queen's Indian 2. Ljubojevic vs E Torre   ½-½ 23 1976 Manila B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation 3. Karpov vs E Torre 0-1 48 1976 Manila B67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7 4. Browne vs Ljubojevic   ½-½ 27 1976 Manila D52 Queen's Gambit Declined 5. Ljubojevic vs Karpov 0-1 42 1976 Manila C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer 6. E Torre vs Browne   1-0 87 1976 Manila B97 Sicilian, Najdorf 7. Karpov vs Browne ½-½ 28 1976 Manila B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation 8. E Torre vs Ljubojevic 1-0 43 1976 Manila B33 Sicilian 9. Ljubojevic vs Browne   1-0 36 1976 Manila B99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line 10. E Torre vs Karpov ½-½ 22 1976 Manila B83 Sicilian 11. Karpov vs Ljubojevic   ½-½ 21 1976 Manila A30 English, Symmetrical 12. Browne vs E Torre   ½-½ 56 1976 Manila E81 King's Indian, Samisch   REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)     Mar-02-13    Eggman: Most impressive for Torre, by far the lowest rated player, to get a plus score against each opponent and finished clear first by a point and a half. Mar-02-13    torrefan: My brod was not just "a local chess master" at that time. He was already a GM, having become one two years before in the nice Olympiad. Mar-02-13    Absentee: <Eggman: Most impressive for Torre, by far the lowest rated player, to get a plus score against each opponent and finished clear first by a point and a half.> And beating Karpov with Black, too. Mar-02-13    torrefan: He had victories against all of them, if I may add. And he was undefeated too. A truly magnificent performance. Mar-02-13    torrefan: He was also the handsomest among the four. He was at his peak at that time, both physically and mentally. Beautiful women were pawing him everywhere he went. Mar-02-13    Phony Benoni: <torrefan> You're right about Torre already being a GM. I've changed the introduction accordingly. Mar-02-13    torrefan: Change it some more Phony Benoni. The description "a Grandmaster from the Philippines" gives the false impression that Torre at that time was just one of the several GMs the country has. No. He was the Philippines's ONLY Gm at that time. Mar-02-13    Absentee: Since we're nitpicking, "ELO" should be "Elo". :) Mar-02-13    Phony Benoni: <torrefan> I can grasp the point you're trying to make, but that is not the way I understand the statement. To my mind, "a Grandmaster from the Philippines" makes no assertion about quantity, but simply specifies that the person is a Grandmaster and comes from the Philippines. These introductions were originally written by the member who compiled the collection in the first place. I have no problem with correcting factual errors (such as Torre being a grandmaster before the tournament), but hesitate to make stylistic changes. Nevertheless, I have made an exception and revised the introduction a little more thoroughly. Mar-02-13    torrefan: thank you very much <Phony Benoni>! 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