Laylo, So draw match, keep 1-2 posts

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – GMs Darwin Laylo and Wesley So drew their All-Filipino showdown yesterday to keep their 1-2 positions after five rounds of the Asian Zone 3.3 chess Championships at the First Hotel here.

Laylo and So opted to play it safe and maintain their hold of the top two spots halfway through the nine-round tournament offering two more berths for Zone 3.3 in the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia later this year.

The draw came after Laylo and So downed their respective fourth-round opponents late Saturday with former beating erstwhile co-leader untitled Khoa Bao of Vietnam and the latter whipping FM Timothy Chan of Singapore.

Laylo thus kept the solo lead with 4.5 points while So has four points.

“There are still four rounds left, but I will do my best. I hope I can sustain my momentum,” said Laylo, seeking his second World Cup stint after qualifying in 2007.

IM Richard Bitoon and GM Mark Paragua, meanwhile, remained within striking distance with 3.5 points each.

Bitoon whipped FM Nguyen Ly Hong of Vietnam in the fourth round and then drew with second seed GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore while Paragua posted two draws against GM Eugene Torre and GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam.

Joining Bitoon and Paragua in third are Zhang, GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia and seven other players.

Torre and IM Rolando Nolte led another big group of players with three points.

Torre drew his match with FM Hafizulhemi Mas of Malaysia, while Nolte split the point with Timothy Chan of Singapore.

In women’s play, Catherine Perena racked up back-to-back victories over Thuy Than Le of Vietnam in the fourth round and Monica Sinite of Indonesia to hike her output to three points.

Dresden Olympiad veteran Shercila Cua outsteadied Victoria Chan of Singapore but lost to Anh Nguyen Qinyh of Vietnam for 2.5 points.

Daisy Rivera drew her match with WFM Citra Devi of Indonesia in the fourth round but lost to Chanin in the fifth round.