Pinoy Masters Invade Spain

A troop of five Pinoy masters have descended upon Calvia (in Spain), host city of the 2004 Olympiad. IM Darwin Laylo, IM Wesley So, IM Jayson Gonzales, IM Oliver Dimakiling and John-Paul Gomez are there to test their powers against the likes of Dutchman GM Sergei Tiviakov, local GM Francisco Vallejo Pons and Cuban number two GM Lazaro Bruzon in the 3rd Calvia Chess Festival.

In the first round, all Pinoys achieved victories in their respective assignments. But round two was a mix bag of outcomes: two draws, two wins and a loss.

Darwin Laylo wrestled against Vallejo Pons' QGD but, sadly, the Spaniard's abilities was too much. Pons produced 8...0-0, a rare continuation which, according to my database at least, was tested only once in D'Arruda - Ronco, American Continental 2005. Jayson Gonzales drew against GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami; while Wesley So, only recently awarded his IM title, also drew against Poland's GM Heberla Bartlomiej. And playing against the 2295-rated Vidal Alejand Gonzales Arribas, Oliver Dimakiling took 60 moves to deliver the point.

RP's most notable win came courtesy of recent World Junior participant John-Paul Gomez. The 20-year old overpowered the 59-year old Romanian grandmaster Mihai Suba. Maybe Mihai was just tired. According to the site, he is also participating in the seniors section.




I should thank our regular contributor Pinoy journo Marlon Bernardino for tipping me of this news item. Marlon informs me that he'll actually be visiting Sydney from the second week of November this year. Hope to see him then.