MANILA, Philippines – Darwin Laylo made up for his bullet chess heartbreak by turning back fellow Grandmaster Joey Antonio, 15-13, in their online showdown Sunday night.
Leading by just a point, 7-5, 6.5, after their first 14 matches, Laylo, 39, strung together five straight wins to build enough cushion to weather Antonio’s furious fightback and clinch the race-to-15 duel.
The feat sealed the Marikina City native a P20,000 purse courtesy of sportsman and gaming consultant Kim Zafra while avenging his 2.5-6.5 defeat to Antonio in their first encounter a year ago.
It also helped soothed the pain suffered by Laylo after heartbreaking collapse in the semifinals of the first Philippine Bullet Chess Championship hours earlier that cost him a spot in the Grand Finals set Saturday.
“I had problems with my net connection and lost my last two games when two draws would have sufficed for me to make the top 16,” said Laylo, who made it to the Philippine team that will represent the country in next year’s World Chess Olympiad in Russia.
Meanwhile, New York-based GM Mark Paragua rode on his successful campaign in the Philippine Bullet Championship by topping the National Bullet League’s Week 10 event ahead of American GMs Andrew Tang and Aleksander Lenderman.