Laylo keeps Zonal lead; Torre threatens at 2nd

Manila, Philippines - Grandmaster Darwin Laylo thumped GM Cao Sang of Vietnam in the fourth round then went for a draw against GM Mark Paragua to remain on top halfway through the 2011 Asian Zone 3.3 chess championships at the Tagaytay International Convention Center in Tagaytay yesterday.

A World Cup veteran, Laylo handled the black pieces with clockwork precision and outplayed the higher-rated Vietnamese at endgame. He then split the point with Paragua to hike his output to 4.5 points heading into the last four rounds of the nine-round tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines in cooperation with the Tagaytay City government

GM Eugene Torre continued to flash vintage form after an opening round setback, posting his fourth straight win to tie top seed GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore in second with four points.

“It’s still a long way to go but I like my chances now,” said Laylo, who finished in a three-way tie for first with GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia and GM Nikolai Kabanov of Russia in the Aeroflot Open in Moscow last February.

Torre, 59, subdued GM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam in 37 moves of the Reti Opening.

“It was a complicated position, but somehow I found a winning line,” said Torre, who dropped his opening-day match to FM Haridas Pascua but racked up four straight to move in contention for one of two World Cup slots.

Zhang outwitted IM Oliver Dimakiling in the fourth round then beat GM Nguyen Anh Dung of Vietnam to stay in the title hunt.

The draw gave Paragua 3.5 points in a tie with IM Richard Bitoon. Paragua also halved the point with Nguyen while Bitoon outclassed Alcon John Datu and then drew with GM Suanto Megaranto of Indonesia.

GMs Joey Antonio and John Paul Gomez battled to a draw, as did IM Oliver Barbosa and IM Wei Ming Goh of Singapore to lead a big group of players with three points.

In women’s play, WGM Irine Kharisma Sukandar of Indonesia settled for a draw with Le Thanh Tuh of Vietnam and beat WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Vietnam to keep the lead with 4.5 points.

World Olympiad veteran Cherade Chardine Camacho drew with top seed Li Ruofan of Singapore and defeated Uuganbayr Lkhamsuren of Mongolia, while Jedara Docena humbled Evi Lindiawati of Indonesia and Wanda Medina of Indonesia to keep their hopes alive with 3.5 points.

Jan Jodiyln Fronda overwhelmed Wita Rahayu of Indonesia and Le Kieu Thien Kim of Vietnam to improve to three points.