Asia’s first grandmaster Eugene Torre remained on the lead Wednesday in the 3rd President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) Cup international chess championship on Tuesday at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall in Parañaque City.

Torre now has 5.5 points after drawing with Chinese GM Zhong Zhang in 43 moves during the sixth-round of the tournament.

The Baguio-based Torre has been showing streaks of his old deadly form when he defeated top seed super GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazakhstan in 73 moves.

He also subdued Chinese GMs Li Shilong and last year's co-champion GM Zhou Weiqi.

Torre, who skipped the recent national qualifying tournament for the World Chess Olympiad scheduled in Dresden, Germany, was last seen in action during the highly-successful "Quezon City Chess Roadshow: The Rematch" where he battled fellow GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. to a 3-3 draw before going on a short vacation with his family in the United States.

With his string of victories, Torre strengthened his hold on the top spot of the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).