MANILA – Grandmasters (GM) Darwin Laylo and Wesley So concluded a successful run in Vietnam as they nabbed first and second places in the 2009 Asian Zone 3.3 chess championship on Wednesday to qualify for the World Chess Cup.

A report by SportsNews.ph said Laylo outduelled second seed GM Zhang Zhong for a first place finish with 8 points on seven wins and two draws

So, the Filipino teen-age chess prodigy, split the point with GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam to win second place. He wound up with 6.5 points.

The victories gave Laylo and So a free trip to Khanty-Mansisyk, Russia where they will join GM Rogelio Antonio for the World Chess Cup later this year.

Antonio clinched a World Cup slot through his strong finish in the Asian Individual Chess Championshp hel in Subic earlier this year.

“This is another big achievement in chess. We have three players in the coming World Cup for the first time in history,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero Pichay.