Eugene Torre Speaks Out

Here's something in my inbox from Bobby Ang that I thought we better post quickly. This ought to clarify once and for all the behind the scenes story involving Eugene Torre and the RP Olympiad qualification tournament which he, of course, "missed".

The Philippine Grand Finals, which also served as the qualifier for the Olympiad team, took place from July 1-13, 2008. GM Eugene Torre’s letter of request for inclusion to the Chess Olympiad Team dated June 16, 2008 was handed, a day or two later, to the NCFP. The request to be seeded, therefore, was made two weeks BEFORE the Finals, and not during nor after. Mr. Recah Trinidad posted this letter belatedly, on Sept. 25, in his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, without mentioning the date. GM Torre wants it to be known that he had nothing to do with the publication of this letter, for it led to the wrong impression that he asked to be seeded even after the composition of the Philippine team was announced. The unfortunate timing of this column was a disservice both to Mr. Prospero Pichay, the President of the NCFP, and also to Eugene himself as it may have left a lasting negative impression on both parties that neither of them deserved. So a good advice to everyone contributing his opinion is to exercise a little caution and show some respect. Be responsible. Temper the enthusiasm to contribute an opinion based merely on hearsay or rumor (or maybe even from some unseen hand). Let us not heap additional garbage to that already clogging the Internet.

That came from Bobby's column today for Business World Online. Read more here.