Rogelio Antonio, Darwin Laylo also reached their all time highs

We were so immersed on Wesley So and his recent return into the top 100 that we failed to notice or pay attention to two Filipinos currently occupying the no.2 and no.3 spot in the national rankings that also made quite a progress of their own over time and reached their all time highs as well in FIDE rating points. We're talking about World Cup of Chess veterans, GM Rogelio Antonio and GM Darwin Laylo, who also deserves the limelight that Wesley So is enjoying at this moment especially GM Antonio who will turn 48 next month and it all clear that his passion and stamina for the game never dwindles through the passing of time, if we will allow to use the basis of my argument, of course. Antonio just shed -2 from his previous and all time high rating of 2574 he recorded last November of 2009 while the 29 year old GM Darwin Laylo also recorded his highest rating ever this January of 2556.

Thanks to Tony Navarro for quickly pointing this one out to us.

Day 1 of Chess World Cup...definitely, maybe

Day one of Chess World Cup begins today in frozen land of Khanty Mansiys, Russia. The Philippines will be sending three players; So, Antonio and Laylo, the third most in Asia behind regions powerhouse China and India. GM Rogelio Antonio, in his round 1 match with ex world championship contender and defending Chess World Cup champ, Gata Kamsky of USA, will be featured in Chessdom in a real time live chess game using the critically acclaim new chess engine for viewing live chess games powered by chessbomb. Getting featured in a real time live chess game with grandmaster commentaries is the first time in Antonio's career.

For GM Joey Antonio, there is no such thing as "nothing to lose" here. As we know, he is scheduled to set a new world record for simultaneous chess in January 22-23 next year dubbed "1 vs. 600: Pinoy Ironman". If he loses badly, certainly the credibility as well will be hurt even in the caliber of player such as Kamsky. If Antonio puts up a decent games against Kamsky, which he really can, or even pull an upset, not impossible but probable, not only the win will make Antonio an instant celebrity, GM Joey's credibility to tackle such an historic event where every physically fit GMs in the world will have no problem about of duplicating and surpassing, anytime, anywhere, would surge considerably and the world record breaking attempt won't be too much of a hype but will consequently turn out as an event that deserves serious attentions from the global chess community. Two defeats in round 1 against Kamsky is somewhat unacceptable. A fighting draw and a loss is about okay. But moving to the next round of CWC is what we're looking forward. The last time these two met was at the 2005 HB Global Challenge in Minneapolis, USA. Antonio somehow managed to eked out a draw against Kamsky.

We have already discussed So and Laylo's chances against their respective opponents in round 1. Please check our previous post here. The consistency of Darwin Laylo will be tested and whether Wesley So is fully recovered after SPICE Cup and his deserving place among the elite will once again be revealed. At his time, it is Antonio who will play more part in Chess World Cup. So how's Antonio's chances of getting pass Kamsky?

...definitely, maybe.

Darwin Laylo and Alberto Contador, down the stretch they both have something in common

The other day, I was watching the final stage of 2009 Tour de France. Going into penultimate lap of the tour, the eventual champion, Alberto Contador of Spain, was way way ahead on time to his closest pursuers, that includes his teammate, 7 time champion, Lance Armstrong. At this point of event, protecting the lead is the major plan. One would need to just pace himself, stick around with the pelaton and keep his eyes on the rest of his closest rivals. Now, if you will apply the scenario to chess, Contador would just need to draw his two remaining games and the title was his. But Contador has a different idea, though. He rides very aggressive with each remaining laps. And he was successful! Eventually, the time gap widen into almost unreachable situation for Armstrong and the rest to catch him up.

Needless to say, a draw by Darwin Laylo against Singaporean GM and second seed Zhang Zhong in the final round would guarantee him the title of Zonal 3.3 and a slot at the World Cup of chess this coming November in Russia. But like Contador, Darwin has a different idea! When everyone (including this blogger) expecting a quick, mutual draw, he pulled off a surprise win against Zhang Zhong! I'm not sure if Laylo is following the tour de France but if he's not, then the win drew inspiration from ones natural fighting and competitive instinct. Note: Laylo has a tournament performance rating of 2795, finishing the Zonal undefeated with 7 wins and just 2 draws.


In other development, despite three lackluster drawn games, GM Wesley So find himself qualified for the WCC by agreeing to halve the point with Nguyen Ngoc Truoc Son in the final round, thus joining Rogelio Antonio and Darwin Laylo in the process. This is the first time that three Filipinos, of three different generations, will see action in the World Cup of Chess.

Asian Zonal 3.3 Final Rankings

Rk.			Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	n	w	we	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1		GM	Laylo Darwin	PHI	2494	8,0	49,0	42,75	9	8	4,99	3,01	0	0,0
2		GM	So Wesley	PHI	2646	6,5	50,0	35,00	9	6,5	6,65	-0,15	0	0,0
3		GM	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	VIE	2592	6,0	50,0	31,75	9	6	6,27	-0,27	0	0,0
4		GM	Paragua Mark	PHI	2487	6,0	47,0	30,25	9	6	5,11	0,89	0	0,0
5		GM	Megaranto Susanto	INA	2534	6,0	46,0	28,50	9	6	6,64	-0,64	0	0,0
6		IM	Mas Hafizulhelmi	MAS	2391	6,0	44,0	28,50	9	6	4,69	1,31	0	0,0
7		GM	Dao Thien Hai	VIE	2552	6,0	43,5	29,00	9	6	7,01	-1,01	0	0,0
8		GM	Zhang Zhong	SIN	2613	5,5	50,0	28,00	9	5,5	6,24	-0,74	0	0,0
9		IM	Nguyen Thanh Son	VIE	2444	5,5	45,5	28,00	9	5,5	6,17	-0,67	0	0,0
10		IM	Duong The Anh	VIE	2440	5,5	44,5	24,00	9	5,5	5,34	0,16	0	0,0
11		CM	Nguyen Van Huy	VIE	2414	5,5	41,5	21,75	9	5,5	5,62	-0,12	0	0,0
12		CM	Tran Thanh Tu	VIE	2258	5,5	39,5	20,75	9	5,5	4,30	1,20	0	0,0
13		FM	Nguyen Duc Hoa	VIE	2331	5,5	39,0	22,25	7	4,5	3,41	1,09	0	0,0
14			Le Quang Long	VIE	2279	5,5	37,5	22,00	9	5,5	4,99	0,51	0	0,0
15		FM	Kojima Shinya	JPN	2323	5,5	37,0	19,00	8	4,5	4,24	0,26	0	0,0
16		IM	Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy	VIE	2500	5,0	47,5	25,25	9	5	5,58	-0,58	0	0,0
17		IM	Bitoon Richard	PHI	2495	5,0	47,0	22,75	9	5	5,83	-0,83	0	0,0
18			Vo Thanh Ninh	VIE	2340	5,0	46,5	22,25	8	4	3,55	0,45	0	0,0
19			Tran Ngoc Lan	VIE	2176	5,0	46,0	22,00	9	5	2,20	2,80	0	0,0
20		FM	Ton That Nhu Tung	VIE	2227	5,0	45,0	21,00	9	5	2,16	2,84	0	0,0
21		CM	Nguyen Hoang Nam	VIE	2320	5,0	43,5	22,25	8	4,5	3,89	0,61	0	0,0
22		FM	Pham Chuong	VIE	2364	5,0	42,0	21,50	9	5	4,82	0,18	0	0,0
23		IM	Nolte Rolando	PHI	2458	5,0	41,5	23,00	9	5	6,12	-1,12	0	0,0
24		GM	Nguyen Anh Dung	VIE	2474	5,0	38,0	19,25	9	5	6,96	-1,96	0	0,0
25			Bao Khoa	VIE	2161	4,5	50,5	24,00	9	4,5	1,46	3,04	0	0,0
26		FM	Chan Wei-Xuan Timothy	SIN	2344	4,5	47,0	21,75	9	4,5	3,20	1,30	0	0,0
27		GM	Torre Eugenio	PHI	2560	4,5	44,0	18,75	9	4,5	6,95	-2,45	0	0,0
28		FM	Ly Hong Nguyen	VIE	2302	4,5	42,5	19,75	9	4,5	4,21	0,29	0	0,0
29		FM	Lo Kin Mun Dominic	SIN	2154	4,5	42,0	19,50	8	4	2,03	1,97	0	0,0
30		FM	Batchuluun Tsegmed	MGL	2384	4,5	40,0	17,50	9	4,5	4,45	0,05	0	0,0
31		FM	Chan Yi-Ren Daniel	SIN	2358	4,5	37,5	16,50	9	4,5	6,01	-1,51	0	0,0
32		FM	Watanabe Akira	JPN	2339	4,5	37,0	13,00	9	4,5	5,63	-1,13	0	0,0
33		GM	Bui Vinh	VIE	2517	4,0	43,0	16,50	8	3	5,86	-2,86	0	0,0
34		CM	Baba Masahiro	JPN	2229	4,0	41,0	15,50	9	4	4,50	-0,50	0	0,0
35		IM	Tu Hoang Thai	VIE	2405	4,0	39,5	15,75	9	4	6,33	-2,33	0	0,0
		CM	Nguyen Van Hai	VIE	2249	4,0	39,5	15,75	9	4	4,06	-0,06	0	0,0
37		FM	Chua Zheng Yuan Terry	SIN	2226	4,0	39,5	15,25	8	3	2,99	0,01	0	0,0
38		CM	Nguyen Van Thanh	VIE	2173	4,0	38,0	12,25	7	2,5	2,48	0,02	0	0,0
39			Nguyen Minh Tuan	VIE	0	4,0	36,0	16,50	9	4
40			Le Minh Hoang	VIE	1941	4,0	33,0	7,50	5	1	1,07	-0,07	0	0,0
41			Nguyen Manh Truong	VIE	2160	3,5	39,0	11,50	9	3,5	3,35	0,15	0	0,0
42			Tran Quoc Dung	VIE	2196	3,5	37,0	11,75	9	3,5	3,92	-0,42	0	0,0
43		CM	Le Huu Thai	VIE	1873	3,5	36,5	10,50	8	3	1,46	1,54	0	0,0
44			Nguyen Hung Cuong	VIE	2035	3,5	36,0	13,25	7	2	3,01	-1,01	0	0,0
45		FM	Vuong Trung Hieu	VIE	1964	3,5	35,5	10,75	8	2,5	1,71	0,79	0	0,0
46			Nguyen Sy Hung	VIE	2013	3,5	34,5	9,25	6	1,5	1,02	0,48	0	0,0
47			Dang Duy Linh	VIE	2084	3,0	33,5	9,00	8	2	3,77	-1,77	0	0,0
48			Do Hoang Lam	VIE	0	3,0	33,0	9,25	9	3
49			Nguyen Van Toan Thanh	VIE	1813	3,0	32,5	8,50	9	3	1,52	1,48	0	0,0
50			Dang The Nam	VIE	2124	2,5	31,5	8,50	7	1	2,71	-1,71	0	0,0
51			Srivachirawat Kannapon	THA	2256	2,0	38,0	6,00	5	2	2,28	-0,28	0	0,0
52			Wiwatanadate Poompong	THA	1979	2,0	29,0	4,25	7	0,5	2,56	-2,06	0	0,0
53			Nguyen Huu Hoang Anh	VIE	2086	1,5	38,5	5,25	6	1,5	1,68	-0,18	0	0,0
54			Le Dinh Nguyen Anh	VIE	0	1,5	32,0	1,25	8	0,5