Carlos Torre Repetto (1904–1978) was a Mexican chess Grandmaster, remembered primarily for his "accomplishment in an international tournament in Moscow in 1925," where he defeated world class players like Emanuel Lasker and José Raúl Capablanca. He learned to play chess at a young age and he had a rapid rise in the late 1910s and early 1920s, achieving most of his successes between 1924 and 1926.
In 1925, he not only won the Moscow 1925 chess tournament ahead of multiple strong players, but came close to qualifying for the World Chess Championship tournament. Torre was acclaimed across the world for his achievements and was expected to become one of the world's leading players.
However, during a tournament in New York in 1926, he had a nervous breakdown and suddenly withdrew from the tournament, which marked the end of his professional career. Torre's sudden withdrawal from professional chess coupled with his subsequent withdrawal from public life prompted speculation and theories.
He expressed a desire to return to competition, but his attempts were half-hearted and short lived. Torre made brief comebacks in 1971 and 1977, but did not return to his previous form. He worked as a chess journalist and writer after his career in competition ended.
His style of play was notably aggressive and imaginative, particularly in the opening. He was responsible for popularizing a variation of the Queen's Pawn opening, which subsequently became known as the Torre Attack. In this opening, white develops his pieces rapidly and attempts to launch an early attack on the black king.
Several years later, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) awarded him the Grandmaster title. His life and career continue to be of interest to chess players and enthusiasts, and he is still regarded as the greatest Mexican chess player and one of the greatest in Latin America.