Laylo loses W’Cup bid

Grandmaster Darwin Laylo kissed his Chess World Cup bid goodbye after yielding in the eighth round of the Asian Continental Chess Championships in Xingtai, China on Friday.

Laylo succumbed to Chinese GM Lu Shanglei in 43 moves of Center Counter game to crash out of the Top 10 and settle for 22nd to 32nd places with 4.5 points on four wins, one draw and three losses.

The 38-year-old Laylo was coming off a strong seventh-round victory over another Chinese GM Zeng Chonghseng that put him in a tie for ninth place until he lost his steam to a higher-rated foe.