Continuing with his unbeaten run Shrestha defeated former Nepal champion Keshav Shrestha in the sixth round and edged past Niraj Niroula in the seventh.
Ganesh Awale of Bhaktapur is in the second position with 5.5 points.
Awale defeated Harischandra Chaulagain and Ganeshman Duwal in sixth and seventh rounds. Similarly, Keshav Shrestha, Surbir Lama, Chudamani Bhattarai, Madan Krishna Kayastha, Balram Napit and Shyam Shrestha are jointly in the third position with five points each.
The tournament will be held for 10 rounds in the Swill League format.
Related story
Stocks up a fraction in the first week of February
