Laylo, Senador, Antonio, Mordido shine in Malaysian Chess Festival 2018
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 27 Aug 2018
SINGAPORE---Grandmaster Darwin Laylo, International Master Emmanuel Senador, Grandmaster Rogelio "Joey" Antonio Jr. and Woman International Master elect Kylen Joy Mordido shared the limelight in the just concluded Malaysian Chess Festival 2018 on Sunday, August 26, 2018 held at the CitiTel Hotel, CitiTel, Midvallley in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Laylo, a member of the multi-titled Philippine Army chess team and part of the coaching staff of the Ateneo de Manila University chess team, defeated Vietnamese International Master Le Tuan Minh in the ninth and final round to finish undefeated with 7 points on 5 wins and 4 draws in the 15th Datu Arthur Tan Malaysian Open 2018 Chess Championship.
This is the same output of second placer Iranian Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja, who brought downed Indonesian Fide Master Yoseph Theolifus Taher.
"I would like to dedicate my victory to my countrymen. It's an honor to represent our country," said Laylo, who settled 3rd place after tie-break points were applied.
Top seed Chinese Grandmaster Wang Hao (elo rating 2711) bested Filipino International Master Oliver Dimakiling en route to the coveted title with eight points in the nine-round Swiss System tournament sanctioned by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Dimakiling, meantime remains at 6.5 points, who dropped into a tie for 4th to 13th places in the company of Taher and countryman Filipino International Master Paulo Bersamina.
It was a heart-breaking loses to Dimakiling who needed to win his last round assignment against GM Wang Hao to obtain his third and final GM norm to complete his full-pledge GM title status.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines director and delegation head Martin "Binky" Gaticales hailed the triumph of the Filipino woodpushers.
"This proves once again that Filipinos can be at par with the world's best woodpusher athletes. With ample training and preparation, we can even become world champions," said Gaticales, MVP Olympics PLDT team manager.
"Congratulations to the Filipino woodpushers in Malaysian Chess Festival for their outstanding performance. We hope for the continuous success of Philippine Chess," said Arena Grandmaster and Fide Master elect Robert Suelo Jr., a certified FIDE chess instructor and trainer here in Singapore.
In the 9th IGB Seniors Open Chess Championship 2018, IM Emmanuel Senador and GM Rogelio "Joey" Antonio Jr. of the Philippines and Uzbek Grandmaster Alexei Barsov ended in a three-way tie for first with 7 points each.
Senador bagged the the title by virtue of superior tie break points, followed by 2nd placer Barsov and 3rd placer Antonio.
Rounding up to the top ten are 4th placer National Master Stewart Manaog (6.5 points), 5th placer National Master Carlo Lorena (6 points), 6th placer Singaporean International Master Chan Peng Kong (6 points),7th placer Filipino-Australian Angelito Camer (6 points), 8th placer National Chess Federation of the Philippines director and delegation head Martin "Binky" Gaticales (5.5 points), 9th placer Malaysian Tham Tick Hong Jax (5.5 points) and 10th placer Indonesian Fide Master Mahmud Syarif (5.5 points).
In the 13th IGB Berhad Malaysia Chess Challenge 2018, WIM elect Kylen Joy Mordido took the crown with 8 points after nine games of play. Eri Purnomo of Indonesia, John Jasper Laxamana of the Philippines and Satrio Gayuh of Indonesia tallied 7.5 points each, a good for a tied at 2nd to 4th placers, respectively.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
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