Chess
Manila
Raymond Keene
In the Spectator of IS August I discussed the first event of the 1979 Asian Grandmaster circuit in Jakarta. The second leg in Manila involved a similar field of competitors, but it was expanded and strengthened by the addition of the Filipino IM Ruben Rodriguez and GM Fridrik Olafsson. The former has qualified for the Yurmala Interzonal (along with Tony Miles) this month, while Olafsson is, of course, the President of the World Chess Federation, who was taking the opportunity of his tour of Asian' FIDE suites to play in a tournament. As is usually the ease in the Phil lippines, sponsorship for this event (which came from Marlboro) was drummed up by the indefatigable Campomanes. the chief organiser of' last year's world championship match in Baguio. Luckily for him, there were no parapsychologists in sight this time, and the local gurus all kept a very low profile indeed. If, however, either dangerous breed had surfaced during the tournament I am sure that Olatsson's presence would have been quite sufficient to frighten them away.
Manila turned out to be a huge triumph for Torre, before his home crowd, He is a national hero in the Phillippines and always fights like hell to justify this. Olafsson played well, hut could not match Torre. while the remaining Grandmasters congregated in a tie for third. Perhaps the most remarkable performance, however, was that of 17-year-old A ndronico Yap, with six wins, six losses and only one draw. There was a Cinderella-csque quality to Yap's entry into the tournament. He was originally a steward, helping to operate demonstration boards for the public, but was suddenly thrust into the tournament itself when one intended participant failed to appear on time. What is more, Yap is an orphan, who now lives with the Campomanes The game I have chosen from Manila should be an inspiration to any aspiring junior faced by a Grandmaster. Yap was comprehensively outmanoeuvred in the opening, hut then his powerful opponent became overconfident, and the young HIlipino stormed to victory with a number of tactical finesses,
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