Laylo keeps share of lead in Aerofloat Open

MOSCOW, Russia — GM Darwin Laylo battled to a draw with GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia and kept a share of the lead after the seventh round of the Group B 2011 Aeroflot Open chess championships at the Hotel Gamma-Delta here. Laylo, left to carry the task of keeping Filipino pride alive following the sudden withdrawal of GM Wesley So in Group A, split the point with the higher-rated Kotanjian who handled the advantageous white pieces. The draw, however, was enough to keep Laylo in the thick of the fight for the Group B title and the 10,000 euro top prize with 5.5 points on four wins and three draws in this 106-player competition hosted by the Russian Chess Federation and sponsored by Russian airlines Aeroflot. The 30-year-old campaigner from Lipa City, who earned his GM title ahead of So in 2007, is tied for the lead with Kotanjian, GM Dorian Rogozenco of Romania, GM Nikolia Kabanov of Russia, GM Wen Yang of China, and GM Vladimir Belous of Russia. Laylo will play Rogozenco in the eighth and penultimate round starting at 3 p.m. Tuesday ( 9 p.m., Manila time). IM Richard Bitoon was the lone Filipino winner for the day, beating FM Vladislav Arteniev of Russia to raise his score to four points. The rest of the Filipino campaigners, including erstwhile leader GM John Paul Gomez, struggled while playing under biting cold weather conditions in this chess-crazy Russian capital. Gomez suffered his second straight setback, this time losing to the lower-rated but hard-playing Kabanov (ELO 2487). Gomez, a teammate of So and Laylo in the Philippine team which bagged the silver medal in the recent Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, dropped into a tie for 11th to 25th places with only 4.5 points. Moscow Open runner-up IM Oliver Barbosa was held to a draw by untitled Yu Lijie of China, while IM Oliver Dimakiling bowed to GM Pavel Smirnov of Russia. Barbosa has four points, while Dimakiling remained at 3.5 points. In Group C, national junior champion Paulo Bersamina won by default over Andrey Sergeev of Russia to improve his score to five points on four wins, two draws and only one loss. The 13-year-old high school student from Pasay City is now tied for seventh to 15th places with five points, one and a half points behind solo leader Tigram Simonian o fArmenia with only two rounds left. Last Monday, So formally withdrew from the Group A tournament due to what he claimed as a severe headache following the equally tough competition in the Tata Steel-sponsored Corus Group B championship held in Wjk ann Zee, Netherlands.. But the 17-year-old Filipino champion stayed with the group, which is scheduled to return to the country on Feb. 20. The Group B champion will receive 10,000 euro, while the Group C winner will get 3,500 euro. The Group B runner-up and third placer will earn 6,000 and 3,500, respectively. In Group C, the runner-up and third placer will pocket 2,300 and 1,500. The Filipinos’ participation in the Aeroflot Open is supported by NCFP, headed by president Prospero Pichay and secretary-general and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol" Tolentino, as well as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) led by chairman Richie Garcia. - KY, RCJ, GMA News