The Leader GM Eugene Torre (6.5 points out of 8)
| Rd. | SNo | Name | Rtg | FED | Pts. | Res. | |
| 1 | 48 | FM | HOANG Canh Huan | 2339 | VIE | 5,0 | w 1 |
| 2 | 29 | ZHANG Ziyang | 2441 | CHN | 5,0 | s 1 | |
| 3 | 17 | GM | LI Shilong | 2511 | CHN | 5,0 | w 1 |
| 4 | 8 | ZHOU Weiqi | 2556 | CHN | 5,5 | w 1 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | KAZHGALEYEV Murtas | 2641 | KAZ | 6,0 | s 1 |
| 6 | 2 | GM | ZHANG Zhong | 2632 | SIN | 7,0 | w ½ |
| 7 | 5 | GM | LI Chao | 2590 | CHN | 7,0 | s 1 |
| 8 | 3 | GM | MCHEDLISHVILI Mikheil | 2604 | GEO | 6,5 | s 0 |
Eugenio Torre (born November 4, 1951 in Iloilo City) is a chess Grandmaster. Commonly known as Eugene, he is considered the strongest chessplayer the Philippines produced through the 1980s and 1990s period, following the heels of Fischer era. Super GM Mark Paragua is currently the top Philippine chessplayer.
Torre has the distinction of being the first Asian player to earn the much coveted title of International Grandmaster. In a tournament in Manila in the 1976, Torre beat then reigning world chess champion Anatoly Karpov in a game that has become part of Filipino chess history:
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O Bd7 9.f4 b5 10.Qe1 Nxd4 11.Rxd4 Qb6 12.Rd2 Be7 13.Bd3 b4 14.Nd1 Bb5 15.Nf2 h6 16.Bh4 g5 17.fxg5 hxg5 18.Bg3 Nh5 19.Ng4 Nxg3 20.hxg3 Rxh1 21.Qxh1 Rc8 22.Kb1 Bxd3 23.cxd3 Qd4 24.Qd1 a5 25.Nh2 g4 26.Nxg4 Bg5 27.Rc2 Rxc2 28.Kxc2 a4 29.a3 b3 30.Kb1 d5 31.exd5 Qxd5 32.Nf2 Qxg2 33.Ne4 Be3 34.Nc3 Qc6 35.d4 Qc4 36.d5 e5 37.Qh1 Qd3+ 38.Ka1 Bd4 39.Qh8+ Kd7 40.Qa8 Qf1+ 41.Nb1 Qc4 42.Qb7+ Kd6 43.Qb8+ Kxd5 44.Qd8+ Ke6 45.Qe8+ Kf5 46.Qd7+ Kg6 47.Qg4+ Kf6 48.Nc3 Qf1+ 0-1
Torre qualified for the Candidates Matches for the 1984 World Championship. In that preliminary stage, the contenders play matches against each other to determine who will challenge the world champion. Torre was eliminated when he lost his match against Zoltan Ribli by a score of 6-4.
It is well-known that Torre is a friend of Bobby Fischer. He worked on Fischer's team in his 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia. Much later, Torre conducted interviews on Filipino radio with Bobby Fischer. Those interviews gained notoriety for Fischer, and despair for his fans. Torre continues to play actively in local and international tournaments.
His career, spanning almost 4 decades as of 2006, had seen him play in 19 consecutive Chess Olympiads breaking the old record of 18 consecutive held by Heikki Westerinen although still a shy of the record 20 non-consecutive appearances made by Hungary's Lajos Portisch. He had manned the top board for Team Philippines for a record 17 times already except in the 1970 and 2006 editions. He also has taken part in 6 Asian Chess Team Championships (1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1993) and once in the World Student Chess Team Championships (1969).
In 2006, Torre, along with Super GM Paragua, FMs Wesley So, Oliver Dimakiling and Darwin Laylo and IM Rolando Nolte, participated in the 2nd San Marino International Chess Open where he tied for 4th-11th places with 6.5 points in 9 rounds where he eventually placed 7th after the tie-breaks becoming the highest-placed Filipino in the said tournament. He had a performance rating of 2612 at the said tournament and won euro 1,000 for his 7th-place finish.
Eugenio Torre should not be confused with Mexican Grandmaster Carlos Torre.
Another Joint Leader GM Zhang Zhong (6.5 points out of 8)
Zhang Zhong (born September 5, 1978 in Chongqing)is a Chinese chess player. He is married to WGM Li Ruofan.
Among Zhang's more notable results are silver medals at the 1996 and 1998 World Junior Chess Championships, first in the 2001 Chinese Championship, 8.5/12 at the 2002 Chess Olympiad in Bled, and first with 11/13 at the Corus B tournament in Wijk aan Zee in 2003, three points ahead of his nearest rival. This result qualified him for the prestigious main Wijk aan Zee tournament in 2004, in which he scored 5/13. He won the 2005 Asian Championship to qualify for the FIDE World Cup held that year, where he beat Mikhail Kobalia in the first round but lost to Ivan Sokolov in the second round. At the later stage, he migrate & lived in Singapore for a few years and earn PR as Singaporean nationality.
As of 2007, Zhang almost always opens with 1.e4 when he has White. As Black, he defends against 1.e4 with the Sicilian and the Ruy Lopez, and against 1. d4 with the Nimzo-Indian Defence, Queen's Indian Defence and Dutch Defence.
| Rd. | SNo | Name | Rtg | FED | Pts. | Res. | |
| 1 | 38 | IM | MALLAHI Amir | 2393 | IRI | 5,0 | w 1 |
| 2 | 19 | GM | NGUYEN Anh Dung | 2499 | VIE | 5,5 | s ½ |
| 3 | 36 | IM | NADERA Barlo | 2401 | PHI | 5,5 | w 1 |
| 4 | 5 | GM | LI Chao | 2590 | CHN | 7,0 | s ½ |
| 5 | 17 | GM | LI Shilong | 2511 | CHN | 5,0 | w 1 |
| 6 | 12 | GM | TORRE Eugene | 2524 | PHI | 7,0 | s ½ |
| 7 | 21 | GM | WEN Yang | 2487 | CHN | 5,5 | w 1 |
| 8 | 1 | GM | KAZHGALEYEV Murtas | 2641 | KAZ | 6,0 | w 1 |
The Defending Champ GM Li Chao (6 points out of 8)
Li Chao (Chinese: 李超; born April 21, 1989 in Taiyuan, Shanxi) is a Chinese GM chess player. As of July 2008 he is the 13th highest rated junior player. Chao started to play chess at the young age of 6, and plays for Beijing Chess Club.
In 2005 he earned 6th place at the World Juniors Championship held in Istanbul. The following year at the same championship held in Yerevan, Chao finished in the top 20. In the third Singapore Master International Open Tournament he shared 4-9th place in 2006.
In August 2007, Li won the Scandinavian Chess Tournament (8 GMs in a field of 215) in Täby, Stockholm, Sweden with an amazing result of 8.5/9. In September 2007, he won the 4th IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur. He won the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup in Manila held on 21-29 November 2007.
In April 2008, he came joint first on points (7.0/9) and fourth on tie-break at the 10th Dubai Open (tpr 2643). In May 2008, he came joint first on points (8.0/11) and first on tie-break at the 2nd Philippine International Open in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. In August 2008, he won the 5th IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur with 9.0/11.
| Rd. | SNo | Name | Rtg | FED | Pts. | Res. | |
| 1 | 41 | CM | NGUYEN Van Huy | 2386 | VIE | 5,0 | s 1 |
| 2 | 24 | IM | SADORRA Julio Catalino | 2470 | PHI | 5,5 | w 1 |
| 3 | 26 | IM | GOMEZ John Paul | 2457 | PHI | 5,5 | s ½ |
| 4 | 2 | GM | ZHANG Zhong | 2632 | SIN | 7,0 | w ½ |
| 5 | 18 | GM | LAYLO Darwin | 2504 | PHI | 5,0 | s 1 |
| 6 | 4 | GM | GHAEMMAGHAMI Ehsan | 2597 | IRI | 6,0 | w 1 |
| 7 | 12 | GM | TORRE Eugene | 2524 | PHI | 7,0 | w 0 |
| 8 | 14 | GM | SHANAVA Konstantine | 2522 | GEO | 5,0 | s 1 |
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