Anchoring by Wesley So (a freshman at Webster University), and the excellent performance of Barbosa, Paragua, and the resurgence of the Filipino legend Torre, the RP team is the Cinderella team of the 2012 Chess Olympiad. After 8 rounds, they are tied for 2nd with China, Armenia, Germany, and the United States, and ahead of Ukraine, Azerbaijan, France, England, Israel, Holland, etc.
Leaders after 8 rounds
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Team | Games | + | = | – | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
| 1 | 1 | Russia | RUS | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 207.5 | 21.5 | 81.00 |
| 2 | 6 | China | CHN | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 206.5 | 22.5 | 80.00 |
| 3 | 3 | Armenia | ARM | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 206.0 | 21.0 | 83.00 |
| 4 | 5 | United States |
USA | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 201.5 | 23.5 | 73.00 |
| 5 | 14 | Germany | GER | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 183.5 | 21.0 | 74.00 |
| 6 | 35 | Philippines | PHI | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 179.0 | 22.5 | 70.00 |
| 7 | 7 | Azerbaijan | AZE | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 192.0 | 23.0 | 75.00 |
| 8 | 2 | Ukraine | UKR | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 187.0 | 21.0 | 80.00 |
| 9 | 9 | Netherlands | NED | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 168.5 | 22.0 | 67.00 |
| 10 | 8 | France | FRA | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 165.0 | 20.5 | 71.00 |
| 11 | 12 | Israel | ISR | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 163.5 | 20.0 | 68.00 |
| 12 | 29 | Argentina | ARG | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 158.5 | 20.0 | 67.00 |
| 13 | 16 | Poland | POL | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 153.0 | 21.0 | 68.00 |
| 14 | 4 | Hungary | HUN | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 185.5 | 19.5 | 82.00 |
Full standings here.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Susan, after your comment on chessgames, Torre has been playing every round and the team surged. Thank you.