Wednesday, July 29, 2009

GMANEWS: LAYLO, SO FINISH 1-2

Grandmasters Darwin Laylo and Wesley So of the Philippines finished 1-2 in the 2009 Asian Zone 3.3 chess championship Wednesday in Ho Chi Minh City to clinch their tickets to the prestigious World Cup.

Laylo (ELO 2494) outduelled second seed GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore in the final round to complete a historic triumph in this tough, nine-round tournament and secure his second straight World Cup appearance.

Asian zone 3.3 chess championship

Final standings:

8 points – D. Laylo (RP) *

6.5 – W. So (RP) *

6 – N. Truong Son (Vietnam),
M. Paragua (RP), S. Megaranto (Indonesia), H. Mas (Malaysia), D. T. Hai (Vietnam)

5.5 -- Z. Zhong (Singapore), N. T. Son (Vietnam), D.T. Anh (Vietnam), N. V. Huy (Vietnam), T.T. Tu (Vietnam), ND. Hoia (Vietnam), L. Q. Long (Vietnam), S. Kojima (Japan)

5 -- N. V. Huy (Vietnam),
R. Bitoon (RP)
, V.T. Nihn (Vietnam), T.N. Lan (Vietnam), T. N. Tung (Vietnam), N.H. Nam (Vietnam), P. Chuong (Vietnam), R. Nolte (RP), N. Dung (Vietnam)

4.5 -- B. Koa (Vietnam), T. W. Chan (Singapore), E. Torre (RP), L.H. Nguyen (Vietnam),
L. K. Dominic (Singapore), B. Tsegmed (Mongolia), D. Chan (Singapore), A. Watanabe (Japan)

* clinched World Cup slots

The pride of Lipa City, Batangas finished with a nine-round total of eight points on seven wins and two draws.

So, the highest-rated Filipino player with an ELO of 2646, drew with GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam to wind up in solo second with 6.5 points, grabbing the second and last berth to the World Cup.

With their 1-2 finish in the Asian Zonals, Laylo and So joined GM Joey Antonio to the World Cup scheduled in Khanty-Mansisyk, Russia later this year. This will be the first time that the Philippines will have three entries in the prestigious individual chess competition.

Antonio had earlier earned his World Cup ticket with his strong showing in the Asian Individual Chess Championship in Subic earlier this year.

Laylo and So practically put a lock on the top 2 slots with crucial victories over their respective Vietnamese rivals in the eighth round.

Laylo defeated IM Duong The Anh and So whipped IM Nguyen Minh Huy in the penultimate round.

Five players, led by Truong Son and another Filipino campaigner GM Mark Paragua finished in a five-way tie for third to seventh places with six points.

Paragua, one of four Filipino players with World Cup experience, trounced CM Nguyen Hoang Nam of Vietnam to improve his total.

The three other Filipino campaigners – IM Richard Bitoon, IM Rolando Nolte and GM Eugene Torre – wound up outside the Top 10.

Bitoon drew with GM Nguyen Anh Dung of Vietnam while Nolte halved the point with FM Pam Chuong also of Vietnam to tally five points, good for a tie for 16th to 24th places in the 54-player field.

Torre, the most-experienced layer in the tournament, won over FM Trung Hieu of Vietnam for 4.5 points and joint 25th. - GMANews.TV

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