SO, ANTONIO, LAYLO GETS OFF A GOOD START IN SUBIC CHESS; SEGARRA, MACALA SCORES UPSET WIN

AS expected, Filipino grandmasters Wesley So, Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. and Darwin Laylo flashed their old deadly form after beating their respective rivals to lead opening round winners in the 2010 Asian Individual Chess Championships in Subic, Olongapo City late Wednesday.

So, the highest-rated Filipino player but seeded only fourth in the star-studded field, turned downed IM Nguyen Than Son of Vietnam, Antonio, defeated IM Kaiqi Yang of China while Laylo crushed FM Namikhai Battulga of Mongolia to serve notice of their title aspirations in this prestigious competition which offers a total cash prize of US$50,000 and five slots to the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia next year.

“It was a good start. Masaya ako dahil panalo agad pero sana magtuloy-tuloy na,” said So, who plans to skip college this school year to concentrate on his campaign to breach super ELO 2700 mark before the end of the year.

The triumvirate (So, Antonio and Laylo) seeing in action in the last World Chess Cup in Russia.

“No doubt, makukuha ni Wesley ang isa sa limang slots para sa World Chess Cup. Saka kumpiyansa din ako magiging maganda din ang laro ng iba pang Pinoy players,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr.

Meanwhile Fide Master Randy Segarra dealt GM Vinh Bui of Vietnam as well countryman National Master Allan Macala suprise IM Dronavalli Harika of India  in a pair of upset wins  for the 32-man Filipino delegation.

The biggest loser, however, was  top seed GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, who fell in shock defeat to IM Kiril Kuderinov of Kazakhstan in their board one encounter.

Also pulling off upset victories were Yiping Loou of China, who  stunned fifth seed GM Pentala Harikrishna of India;   Shanglei Lu of China, who nipped compatriot GM Yang Wen; and WIM Rout Padmini of India, who toppled  IM Dzhurabek Khamrakulov of  Uzbekistan’

National junior standout Jan Emmanuel Garcia capped the day of surprises when he held Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre to a draw.

Jony Habla also grabbed the spotlight when he drew with GM John Paul Gomez.

The four female Filipina players – WIM Beverly Mendoza, Christy Lamiel Bernales, Aices Salvador and AkioSuede – all dropped their matches in the distaff side. MARLON BERNARDINO.