Category: Tournaments

GM Sune Berg Hansen won yet again while second placed GM Nigel Short drew, so Hansen is a full point clear at 7.5/8. A final-round draw will be sufficient to secure top prize, but with a win Hansen may achieve the magical 2600 rating – let’s see if he goes for it.

5 players share 3rd place with 6/8: IM Sunil Mokal Prathamesh, GM Dzhumaev Marat, IM Lahiri Atanu, IM Ansell Simon and IM Ashwin Jayaram.

In the challenger group, leaders Joel Pacuribot will play Andrew Horton-Kitchlew in the final round.

Stephane Reinert, local player Issara Vitithum and WFM Swati Mahota are half a point behind with 5/6.

The atmosphere is incredibly concentrated at this stage of the tournament. Mokal Sunil held GM Short to a second draw, while GM Hansen storms into a half point lead with a fine win over IM Atanu Lahiri.

The Indian junior Suri Vaibhav continues his remarkable performance with a win over Siyuan Shen of China, so he is one of 5 players chasing Hansen, with 5/6 points. Perhaps Suri will achieve his final IM norm.

In the Challenger group, defending champion Andrew Horton-Kitchlew, Frenchman Stephane Reinert and unrated Joel Pacuribot share first place with 4/4.

The third day proceeded well. With just one afternoon game per day, the top players were able to prepare for their opponents. The top seeds faced each other and fought tenaciously, but in the end a draw could not be avoided. Going into the 6th round there are 4 players on 4.5 points, so we should continue to see some fine chess.

In the Challenger section there are 6 players with 3/3 points and two more close behind with 2.5

GM Marat Dzhumaev, rated 2525, has joined the growing list of international grandmasters vying for the Thailand Open crown. Dzhumaev has represented Uzbekistan in two Olympiads and the Word Team Chess Championships.

Sasin organised a fantastic event over the weekend with the Thailand Junior Chess Championships, followed by a spectacular double simul featuring the current Thailand Champion, Krisdayut Plengsap, and Croatian GM Dražen Sermek, who lives in Phuket. Each champion had to face not only 20 boards, but met in the middle to play each other at the same time.

While the GM had to face more challenging opponents, it was also tough for Krisdayut as it was his first simultaneous exhibition match, and he had to spend more time at each board and to complete the gruelling match.

Congratulations to the top-notch Sasin business school for their great organisation of the events.