Laylo finishes 8th, Dableo 15th in chess

DOHA, Qatar — Almost but enough for the Filipino chessers.

GM-candidate Darwin Laylo crushed No. 17 GM Reefat Bin-Sattar of Bangladesh in the ninth and final round to settle for eighth place overall in the men’s individual rapid chess competition in the 15 th Asian Games.

With 5.5 points out of a possible nine, Laylo missed the bronze medal by only one and a half a point.

Another Filipino campaigner, IM Ronald Dableo, also won his final-round assignment against Russell M.K. of Sri Lanka to finish in 15th place with five points.

Untitled Jedara Docena wound up 12th in the distaff side.

Losses to their higher-rated rivals in the eighth and penultimate round caused the Filipinos’ downfall.

Laylo, who kept Filipino pride alive by winning two and drawing five of his matches against higher-ranked opponents, crashed out with a loss to former world champion Rustan Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan in their eighth-round showdown.

The fateful eighth-round also claimed another Filipino hopeful, Dableo.

Dableo succumbed to No. 11 GM Mohammad Al-Modiahki of Qatar and saw his chances of landing in the top 10 of this prestigious nine-round tournament vanish into thin air.