Laylo tops Malaysian international chess
abs-cbnNEWS.com 09/01/2009 8:52 AM

MANILA – Grandmaster (GM) Darwin Laylo ruled the 2009 Dato Arthur Tan Malaysian Open Blitz Chess Championships in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend.

Laylo beat fellow Filipino international master (IM) Oliver Dimakiling in the knockout stage finals to claim the top prize of RM 800 (Malaysian ringgit).

En route to the finals, Laylo went past Indian GM Negi Parimarjan in the semifinals.

Dimakiling, meantime, won over compatriot Ronald Dableo in the other semifinal.

Dableo earns final GM norm

Dableo, meanwhile, earned his third and final GM norm in the Malaysian Open.

He scored his final GM norm through a win over Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto.

Dableo, the head coach of University of Santo Tomas varsity chess team, is now close in joining the country’s GM rank.

Dableo, who has an ELO rating of 2417, would now only need to increase his rating to 2500 to formally join RP’s elite group of GMs which includes Eugene Torre, Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr., Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Joseph Sanchez, Rogelio Barcenilla and the late Rosendo Balinas, Jr.

– Marlon Bernardino
as of 09/01/2009 6:39 PM

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