Grandmasters Wesley So and Darwin Laylo pulled off victories over their respective rivals to stay within striking distance after six rounds of the first Florencio Campomanes Memorial Cup chess championships at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium late Tuesday.

So shrugged off a heartbreaking setback to top seed GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam in the fifth round early in the day to subdue compatriot Oliver Barbosa and improve his record to 4.5 points – the same output of Laylo and seven other players.

Laylo pulled the rug from under fifth seed GM Chanda Sandipan of India to stay in the hunt for the $10,000 top prize.

No. 11 seed GM Zhao Jun of China continued his remarkable run when he upstaged compatriot GM Li Chao to take a one-point lead with 5.5 points.