PH U-18 chess ace slapped with disqualification in international online tourney

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Paul Matthew Llanillo, the Philippines’ top chess player in the under-18 category of the FIDE Online World Cadets and Online tournament was slapped with a disqualification after violating chess.com’s fair play provision.

Llanillo and four other Filipino chess players were participating in the Azerbaijan International Online Blitz Tournament and immediately reported that his account was closed.

It was later found out that his account was closed due to a violation of the tournament’s fair play rules, where it is prohibited to have any forms of outside assistance if a match is ongoing.

Llanillo first turned heads after upsetting heavy-favorite Daniel Quizon in the elimination round of the tournament.

In the middle stages of the tourney, it was announced that Llanillo’s account together with several players was suspended in the Tornelo chess portal.

Llanillo’s participation in future tournaments is yet to be determined as the National Chess Federation of the Philippines said that it will be confirmed after the tournament ends.