[Bobby Ang]
6th Asian Individual Championship
Cebu City, Philippines
18-30 September 2007
Final Top Standings
1-2 GM Zhang Pengxiang CHN 2649, GM Wang Hao CHN 2626, 8.0/11
3-8 GM Abhijit Kunte IND 2519, GM Zhao Jun CHN 2558, GM Susanto Megaranto INA 2554, IM Wen Yang CHN 2475, IM Darwin Laylo PHI 2486, GM Zhou Jianchao CHN 2572, 7.5/11
9-13 IM GN Gopal IND 2480, IM Enamul Hossain BAN 2485, GM Rogelio Antonio Jr PHI 2532, GM Mohamad Al Modiahki QAT 2563, G Rohit IND 2470, 7.0/11
14-19 IM Anton Filippov UZB 2481, Li Chao CHN 2529, GM Ni Hua CHN 2681, GM Yu Shaoteng CHN 2524, GM Li Shilong CHN 2550, GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly IND 2586, GM Nguyen Anh Dung VIE 2537, 6.5/11
Total of 72 participants
The first 10 in the above list (including Pinoy Darwin Laylo on 7th) qualify for the next FIDE World Cup which starts in November 22, 2007 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
What a difference a day makes.
Darwin Laylo is 27 years of age. He was born to a poor family from San Roque, Marikina. His father was a tricycle driver and hardly played chess, but one day his uncle brought a chess set and taught him the moves. Before long Darwin was beating the uncle, the uncle’s friends and in fact everybody in sight. His prowess in this game of kings was to become the hope of his family for a better life.
Darwin became a college star for the multi-NCAA champion San Sebastian College Stags. In 1999 he won the National Junior (Under-20) Championship with a terrific score of 10.5/11, and represented the Philippines in the Asian Juniors which took place in Vung Tau, Vietnam. Despite the fact that he was unrated and a total unknown, Laylo started beating everybody else in sight, including the top seed Chinese zonal champion Liang Chong. He however lost a bit of steam towards the middle of the tournament and 4 straight victories towards the end could only get him second place, half a point behind the champion, soon-to-be Indian superstar Krishnan Sasikiran.
After the tournament Darwin continued his chess growth, and won the Philippine national championship in 2004 and 2006. Since both times were in were Olympiad years, he represented the Philippines in the 2004 Calvia Olympiad and also in 2006 Turin.
Also in 2006 he picked up two GM norms, the first from the 2006 Malaysian Open, and the second at the 2006 Bad Wiesse tournament in Germany. One more norm would give him the full International Grandmaster title.
But now came the big blow.
Charges of game-fixing came up out of the blue early this year, and, together with several other International Masters, he was banned for six months by the Federation. This meant that they could not take part in tournaments, both local and international, plus the monthly allowances that he received as a member of the Philippine chess pool from the Philippine Sports Commission were stopped.
A lot has been said about whether these charges and its penalties were justified or not, or in fact where all the evidence were just fabrications of some jealous rivals. The fact is rather than sit around at home moping Darwin buckled down to some serious work and waited for his reinstatement.
His chance came in the recently-concluded Asian Individual Chess Championship, where the top players in Asia took part to get a chance at the US$6,000 first prize as well as the 10 qualifying slots for the Khanty-Mansiysk World cup to take place in November 22 this year.
Darwin poured all his mental energy into the event. Over 11 rounds he faced 8 grandmasters, defeating Sandipan Chanda (India 2563), Dao Thien Hai (Vietnam 2537) and Le Quang Liem (Vietnam 2542), drawing with Zhou Jianchao (China 2572), Zhao Jun (China 2558) and tournament winner Zhang Pengxiang (China 2649) and losing twice, to Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia 2554) from a very favorable position, and to Indian whiz kid Parimarjan Negi (2529) from a winning game.
So now the wheel has turned full circle, and prospects are once again very bright. Darwin Laylo has graduated to a full-fledged International Grandmaster, the 7th in the Philippines after Eugenio Torre (1974), the late Rosendo Balinas Jr. (1976), Rogelio Antonio Jr. (1993), Bong Villamayor (2004), Nelson Mariano II (2004) and Mark Paragua (2006).
A few years ago during a training session I noted to Darwin that his Black openings were not impressive, and suggested a switch to more open positions with the Scandinavian. I then handed him my “secret weapon”, a CD containing secret analyses prepared over several years on the Scandinavian including a complete repertoire against White’s possible replies. This also included every known/existing game on the Scandinavian in chess history with all games catalogued per variation. Darwin took this up quite seriously and is now probably the country’s greatest expert on the Scandinavian.
It has become traditional that I end a write-up on Darwin with his latest exploits in the Scandinavian. The following game could not be more crucial – Laylo had to score 1.5 out of his last two games to enter the magic 10. Here is the win he needed so much.
Le Quang,Liem (2542) - Laylo,Darwin (2486) [B01]
Asian Individual Ch Cebu City (10.5), 28.09.2007
1.e4
Le Quang is a 1.d4 player, and so suddenly switching to 1.e4 can only mean one thing - he has something prepared for Darwin's Scandinavian Defence. Darwin confessed that he took 30 minutes thinking whether to stick to his guns or to play the Sicilian. After a lot of soul-searching the decision is made to fight "in his own backyard".
1...d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxd5 4.d4 Bf5 5.Nh4!?
So this was Le Quang's idea!
5...Bd7 6.c4 Nf6
It might seem that White is driving back the enemy forces at will, but consider this: his only developed piece is the knight at h4, his king has not yet castled. This is the type of position Scandinavian players like.
7.Nc3 e6 8.Be3 c5 9.Nf3
[9.dxc5 Na6 10.Qd4 Qa5 simply wins back the pawn]
9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 Be7 11.Be2 Nc6 12.Ndb5 0–0 13.0–0 a6 14.Nd6 Qc7 15.c5 Rfd8 16.Nc4 Rab8 17.Nb6
Darwin told me that for a while he thought Le Quang would play 17.Qd6!? Bxd6 18.cxd6 Qc8 19.Nb6 winning back the queen, but it does not appear to lead to any advantage. For example Black can play 19...Nd4! 20.Nxc8 (20.Bxd4 Qc6 saves the queen) 20...Nxe2+ 21.Nxe2 Rbxc8 the advanced d6-pawn is in danger of falling.
17...Ne5 18.Qd4
Caption: position after 18.Qd4
18...Bb5!
Obviously White was surprised with this tactical shot.
19.Nxb5 axb5 20.Qf4 Bxc5 21.Rac1
[21.Bxb5 Bxe3 22.Qxe3?? Neg4]
21...Bxe3! 22.Qxe3 Nc6 23.Rfd1
The pawn is still taboo 23.Bxb5? Ng4.
23...Rxd1+ 24.Bxd1 Rd8 25.Bf3 b4
Now Black is a clear pawn up.
26.h3 h6 27.Qc5 Qf4 28.Qe3 Qd6 29.Nc4 Qc7 30.Bxc6 Qxc6 31.Ne5 Qa4 32.Qb3 Qb5 33.Qe3 Qd5 34.Rc4 b5?!
This was actually quite unnecessary, as the simple 34...Qa5 followed by ...Nd5 keeps the pawns. However, at this point Le Quang had 30 seconds left in this crucial game and was trembling with nervousness. Darwin on the other hand had 90 seconds and thought that the text would surprise his opponent, as it in fact did.
35.Rc5?
[35.Rxb4]
35...Qxa2 36.b3 Nd5 37.Qg3 Qa7 38.Rc6 Qd4 39.Kh2 Nf4 40.Nxf7?
A completely unsound attempt to complicate the position, but if he does not do anything drastic Black would have a simple win in the ending.
40...Kxf7 41.Rc7+ Kg8 42.Rb7 Qe5 0–1
After this win Darwin agreed a short draw with GM Zhang Pengxiang to get his GM title.
I am very proud of Darwin Laylo. May I say that this happy ending could not have happened to a nicer guy.
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
This article first appeared in Bobby Ang s column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 12 October 2007
6th Asian Individual Championship
Cebu City, Philippines
18-30 September 2007
Final Top Standings
1-2 GM Zhang Pengxiang CHN 2649, GM Wang Hao CHN 2626, 8.0/11
3-8 GM Abhijit Kunte IND 2519, GM Zhao Jun CHN 2558, GM Susanto Megaranto INA 2554, IM Wen Yang CHN 2475, IM Darwin Laylo PHI 2486, GM Zhou Jianchao CHN 2572, 7.5/11
9-13 IM GN Gopal IND 2480, IM Enamul Hossain BAN 2485, GM Rogelio Antonio Jr PHI 2532, GM Mohamad Al Modiahki QAT 2563, G Rohit IND 2470, 7.0/11
14-19 IM Anton Filippov UZB 2481, Li Chao CHN 2529, GM Ni Hua CHN 2681, GM Yu Shaoteng CHN 2524, GM Li Shilong CHN 2550, GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly IND 2586, GM Nguyen Anh Dung VIE 2537, 6.5/11
Total of 72 participants
The first 10 in the above list (including Pinoy Darwin Laylo on 7th) qualify for the next FIDE World Cup which starts in November 22, 2007 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
What a difference a day makes.
Darwin Laylo is 27 years of age. He was born to a poor family from San Roque, Marikina. His father was a tricycle driver and hardly played chess, but one day his uncle brought a chess set and taught him the moves. Before long Darwin was beating the uncle, the uncle’s friends and in fact everybody in sight. His prowess in this game of kings was to become the hope of his family for a better life.
Darwin became a college star for the multi-NCAA champion San Sebastian College Stags. In 1999 he won the National Junior (Under-20) Championship with a terrific score of 10.5/11, and represented the Philippines in the Asian Juniors which took place in Vung Tau, Vietnam. Despite the fact that he was unrated and a total unknown, Laylo started beating everybody else in sight, including the top seed Chinese zonal champion Liang Chong. He however lost a bit of steam towards the middle of the tournament and 4 straight victories towards the end could only get him second place, half a point behind the champion, soon-to-be Indian superstar Krishnan Sasikiran.
After the tournament Darwin continued his chess growth, and won the Philippine national championship in 2004 and 2006. Since both times were in were Olympiad years, he represented the Philippines in the 2004 Calvia Olympiad and also in 2006 Turin.
Also in 2006 he picked up two GM norms, the first from the 2006 Malaysian Open, and the second at the 2006 Bad Wiesse tournament in Germany. One more norm would give him the full International Grandmaster title.
But now came the big blow.
Charges of game-fixing came up out of the blue early this year, and, together with several other International Masters, he was banned for six months by the Federation. This meant that they could not take part in tournaments, both local and international, plus the monthly allowances that he received as a member of the Philippine chess pool from the Philippine Sports Commission were stopped.
A lot has been said about whether these charges and its penalties were justified or not, or in fact where all the evidence were just fabrications of some jealous rivals. The fact is rather than sit around at home moping Darwin buckled down to some serious work and waited for his reinstatement.
His chance came in the recently-concluded Asian Individual Chess Championship, where the top players in Asia took part to get a chance at the US$6,000 first prize as well as the 10 qualifying slots for the Khanty-Mansiysk World cup to take place in November 22 this year.
Darwin poured all his mental energy into the event. Over 11 rounds he faced 8 grandmasters, defeating Sandipan Chanda (India 2563), Dao Thien Hai (Vietnam 2537) and Le Quang Liem (Vietnam 2542), drawing with Zhou Jianchao (China 2572), Zhao Jun (China 2558) and tournament winner Zhang Pengxiang (China 2649) and losing twice, to Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia 2554) from a very favorable position, and to Indian whiz kid Parimarjan Negi (2529) from a winning game.
So now the wheel has turned full circle, and prospects are once again very bright. Darwin Laylo has graduated to a full-fledged International Grandmaster, the 7th in the Philippines after Eugenio Torre (1974), the late Rosendo Balinas Jr. (1976), Rogelio Antonio Jr. (1993), Bong Villamayor (2004), Nelson Mariano II (2004) and Mark Paragua (2006).
A few years ago during a training session I noted to Darwin that his Black openings were not impressive, and suggested a switch to more open positions with the Scandinavian. I then handed him my “secret weapon”, a CD containing secret analyses prepared over several years on the Scandinavian including a complete repertoire against White’s possible replies. This also included every known/existing game on the Scandinavian in chess history with all games catalogued per variation. Darwin took this up quite seriously and is now probably the country’s greatest expert on the Scandinavian.
It has become traditional that I end a write-up on Darwin with his latest exploits in the Scandinavian. The following game could not be more crucial – Laylo had to score 1.5 out of his last two games to enter the magic 10. Here is the win he needed so much.
Le Quang,Liem (2542) - Laylo,Darwin (2486) [B01]
Asian Individual Ch Cebu City (10.5), 28.09.2007
1.e4
Le Quang is a 1.d4 player, and so suddenly switching to 1.e4 can only mean one thing - he has something prepared for Darwin's Scandinavian Defence. Darwin confessed that he took 30 minutes thinking whether to stick to his guns or to play the Sicilian. After a lot of soul-searching the decision is made to fight "in his own backyard".
1...d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxd5 4.d4 Bf5 5.Nh4!?
So this was Le Quang's idea!
5...Bd7 6.c4 Nf6
It might seem that White is driving back the enemy forces at will, but consider this: his only developed piece is the knight at h4, his king has not yet castled. This is the type of position Scandinavian players like.
7.Nc3 e6 8.Be3 c5 9.Nf3
[9.dxc5 Na6 10.Qd4 Qa5 simply wins back the pawn]
9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 Be7 11.Be2 Nc6 12.Ndb5 0–0 13.0–0 a6 14.Nd6 Qc7 15.c5 Rfd8 16.Nc4 Rab8 17.Nb6
Darwin told me that for a while he thought Le Quang would play 17.Qd6!? Bxd6 18.cxd6 Qc8 19.Nb6 winning back the queen, but it does not appear to lead to any advantage. For example Black can play 19...Nd4! 20.Nxc8 (20.Bxd4 Qc6 saves the queen) 20...Nxe2+ 21.Nxe2 Rbxc8 the advanced d6-pawn is in danger of falling.
17...Ne5 18.Qd4
Caption: position after 18.Qd4
18...Bb5!
Obviously White was surprised with this tactical shot.
19.Nxb5 axb5 20.Qf4 Bxc5 21.Rac1
[21.Bxb5 Bxe3 22.Qxe3?? Neg4]
21...Bxe3! 22.Qxe3 Nc6 23.Rfd1
The pawn is still taboo 23.Bxb5? Ng4.
23...Rxd1+ 24.Bxd1 Rd8 25.Bf3 b4
Now Black is a clear pawn up.
26.h3 h6 27.Qc5 Qf4 28.Qe3 Qd6 29.Nc4 Qc7 30.Bxc6 Qxc6 31.Ne5 Qa4 32.Qb3 Qb5 33.Qe3 Qd5 34.Rc4 b5?!
This was actually quite unnecessary, as the simple 34...Qa5 followed by ...Nd5 keeps the pawns. However, at this point Le Quang had 30 seconds left in this crucial game and was trembling with nervousness. Darwin on the other hand had 90 seconds and thought that the text would surprise his opponent, as it in fact did.
35.Rc5?
[35.Rxb4]
35...Qxa2 36.b3 Nd5 37.Qg3 Qa7 38.Rc6 Qd4 39.Kh2 Nf4 40.Nxf7?
A completely unsound attempt to complicate the position, but if he does not do anything drastic Black would have a simple win in the ending.
40...Kxf7 41.Rc7+ Kg8 42.Rb7 Qe5 0–1
After this win Darwin agreed a short draw with GM Zhang Pengxiang to get his GM title.
I am very proud of Darwin Laylo. May I say that this happy ending could not have happened to a nicer guy.
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
This article first appeared in Bobby Ang s column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 12 October 2007
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