CHRISTIAN Marcelo Olaybal (center) smashed Indonesian Simanjuntak Morado in the ninth and last round to claim the gold medal with eight points, half a point atop four fellow Philippine bets including FEU teammates Frank Loyd Andes and Ruelle Canino with 7.5 points apiece.

CHRISTIAN Marcelo Olaybal spearheaded Far Eastern University’s (FEU) impressive performance in the 16th IGB Malaysian Chess Challenge after ruling the challenger class in Cititel, Mid Valley Monday night.

Mr. Olaybal smashed Indonesian Simanjuntak Morado in the ninth and last round to claim the gold medal with eight points, half a point atop four fellow Philippine bets including FEU teammates Frank Loyd Andes and Ruelle Canino with 7.5 points apiece.

Mr. Andes eventually copped the silver despite falling to Mr. Canino in the final round while the latter wound up with the bronze after tiebreaks were computed.

Abris ended up at No. 4 while Marcellana at No. 5.

FEU’s Oscar Joseph Cantela and Arleah Cassandra Sapuan also delivered golden performances by topping the Open Under-16 rapid and Girls U16 in the Merdeka Age Group event days before.

“FEU’s program is designed to inspire and develop the chess champions of the future,” said FEU coach Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales, who thanked FEU chair Gigi Montinola, president Juan Miguel Montinola, athletic director Mark Molina and Diliman executive director Dr. Armi Cunanan-Yabut.

Meanwhile, GM Darwin Laylo split the point with Swedish GM Vitaly Sivuk in the ninth and final round to finish 6.5 points or half a point off the latter, who went on to edge four others via tiebreak in the premier Open section of the tournament.

Mr. Laylo ended up at No. 6 and the lone Filipino in the top 10. — Joey Villar

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