Laylo's time for revenge

(IN PHOTO: GM Laylo, in yellow shirt, and GM Mamedov)

GM Darwin Laylo (2556), the country's third-highest rated player (January 2010), will face GM Rauf Mamedov (2640), who is today the No.4 strongest player in Azerbaijan, in Round 1 (Tournament A1) of the prestigious Aeroflot Open 2010 which is taking place in Moscow, Russia from February 8 to 19.

The Philippine Olympian Laylo had already met co-Olympian Mamedov over the board during their Round 9 encounter at the 36th Chess Olympiad which was held in Calvia, Spain in 2004. When they met, Laylo's Elo rating was only 2328 while Mamedov's was already at a GM level at 2517. Mamedov earned his GM title in 2004, while Laylo had yet to get his IM title in 2006.

Seeded 69th in 80-player field of this year's edition of Aeroflot Open Tournament A1, Laylo will play with White against the 29th seed Mamedov. With their rating gap of roughly 88 Elo points, Laylo stands to have a 38-% winning probability against the 22-year old Mamedov who hails from the fifth strongest chess nation in the world.

In their first meeting, Laylo lost to Mamedov after 43 moves of an Indian Game: West Indian Defense. In that defeat, Laylo played with White.

Let's watch their first encounter over the board:

Laylo vs Mamedov
6th Olympiad 2004 Calvia, Spain
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Now that they are both GMs and at their prime, Laylo and Mamedov are in for a competitive game.

This time, Laylo's win over his much stronger opponent will earn for him some 6.2 Elo points, a draw (+ 1.2 points), and a loss (-3.8 points).

Good luck, Darwin!!