By Arman Armero

PALAYAN City, Nueva Ecija? There were no surprises in the opening round, as the top seeds rolled past their untitled opponents at the start of the 1st Gov. Aurelio ?Oyie? Umali Chess Championship at the Sierra Madre Suites here.

Grandmasters Bong Villamayor, Darwin Laylo and Jayson Gonzales needed less than two hours to turn back their opponents, even as top seeds and fellow GMs Eugene Torre, Mark Paragua and John Paul Gomez were nursing winning lines late in the day yesterday.

Villamayor, the no. 7 seed, crushed local bet Teddy Santos in 41 moves of a Queen?s Gambit; Laylo ripped Winston Silva in 24 pushes of the English Defense while Gonzales topped Leonardo Alidani in 28 moves of a Queen?s Pawn opening.

Cristy Bernales, one of five female bets here, also clinched her first win at the expense of Steve Guisico to lead the hunt for the top prize in the ladies? division.

Laylo, Gonzales, Villamayor and the rest of the top seeds here, including several international masters and national masters, are vying for the P200,000 top cash prize out of the P1 million at stake here.

?Maganda ang kundisyon ko ngayon. Sana magtuluy-tuloy,? said Laylo, one of those tipped to figure well in the nine-round tournament, which ends on Tuesday.

Also winning their matches were NMs Adrian Pacis, Efren Bagamasbad, Julius de Ramos and Fide master Fernie Donguines.