Laylo shares lead in Malaysia chess tilt
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 19 Sep 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia ? Grandmaster Darwin Laylo continued to flex his muscles in the DYTM Raja Nazrin Shah International 2012 on Wednesday at the Olympic Sports Hotel here.
Laylo subdued local bet Ng Tze Han in their French encounter, cornering the latter?s king on the eighth rank of h-file and forcing him to resign after 35 moves.
The win gave the eighth seeded Filipino a share of first place with 3.0 points in as many rounds alongside GM Cao Sang and International Master Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam.
Cao defeated Eden Diano after just 23 moves of Benoni while Nguyen outlasted IM Ronald Dableo after 77 moves of Reti Opening.
?It?s obviously a good start, but we still have six more rounds. You have to keep on winning in a Swiss System tournament.? said Laylo. ?The challenge is to maintain or up the level of play in the coming rounds.?
GMs Oliver Barbosa and Mark Paragua were held to fighting draws by their compatriots to take a step back and share a piece of fourth spot.
Barbosa split the point with IM Rolando Nolte after 58 moves of King?s Indian while Paragua drew with IM Oliver Dimakiling after 41 moves of French Opening.
Also with 2.5 points were GMs Sergei Tiviakov of the Netherlands, Nguyen Anh Dung of Vietnam, Raset Ziatdinov of the United States and Tahir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan.
Tiviakov and Nguyen agreed to a truce in their Scandinavian tussle while Ziatdinov and Vakhidov halved the point in their King?s Pawn Game encounter.
The less heralded Filipinos in the field handled themselves well.
FIDE Master Julius de Ramos toppled erstwhile co-leader Sean Winshand Cuhendi of Indonesia after 24 moves of English Opening while Jimson Bitoon stunned IM Kirill Kuderinov of Kazakhstan after 41 moves of Ruy Lopez.
Both de Ramos and Bitoon raised their total to 2.5 points.
Unrated Franz Barretto and National Master Almario Bernardino Jr. also improved their total following impressive victories.
Barretto notched his second straight win after dropping the first match, this time taking the scalp of Poompong Wiwatanadate of Thailand in just 25 moves of King?s Indian Defense while Bernardino rebounded from a disappointing defeat in the previous round and improved to 1.5 points after his 30-move disposal of Malaysian Jenn Yong.
The tournament organized by Polgar Chess Asia for Kuala Lumpur Chess Association (KLCA) is supported by the Malaysian Chess Federation and sponsored by Masterskill Education Group.
Tournament director is Fide Master Peter Long.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Mauricio Sulaiman: WBC wants to protect fighters' dream of becoming a world champion
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Thu, 15 Jan 2026Xander Zayas: "It's Time to Make History!"
Thu, 15 Jan 2026Weights from Trenton, NJ
Thu, 15 Jan 2026Pro Boxer and Recent Grad Returns for Fight Night on the Farm — Celebrating Stanford’s Boxing Community
Thu, 15 Jan 2026Jamaine Ortiz Aims to Derail Keyshawn Davis’ Undefeated Streak at Madison Square Garden
Wed, 14 Jan 2026“No bad blood from me”- Good friends become better rivals – Clarke is ready for Cruiserweight title Clash March 13 in Perth – Thunderdome 53
Wed, 14 Jan 2026Itauma suffers injury; Magnificent 7 rescheduled to March 28
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Wed, 14 Jan 2026Top Super Lightweights Bryan Flores & Starling Castillo Battle in 10-Round Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’
Wed, 14 Jan 2026Harden surpasses Shaquille O'Neal's to become the ninth all-time leading scorer in NBA history
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Wed, 14 Jan 2026“It’s time, LFG” - Holly McMath Trilogy for WBC Title Clash March 13 in Perth – Thunderdome 53
Tue, 13 Jan 2026IBA President Kremlev encourages sporting organisations to protect women’s sport following Trump’s statement on Imane Khelif
Tue, 13 Jan 2026REYES, STRICKLAND, BUSTAMANTE & SOUQUET SET FOR HISTORIC SHOWDOWN AT WNT LEGENDS – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Tue, 13 Jan 2026Pumicpic fights Korean in Japan
By Lito delos Reyes, Tue, 13 Jan 2026No. 1 rated WBA Super Flyweight contender John “Scrappy” Ramirez remains patient and Looks forward to a 2026 World title shot
Tue, 13 Jan 2026Ironman 70.3 Davao on March 22
By Lito delos Reyes, Tue, 13 Jan 2026