Nepali, rated 2121, shared the points with Keshav Shrestha rated 2127, and in the sixth round he edged Shyam Bhattarai. Nepali started with Sicilian system taking black against Shyam whose effort of keeping Badri under pressure was denied by experienced Nepali. Finally, Shyam lost to Nepali in the 48th move.
Likewise, Sujendra Prasad Shrestha continued with his undefeated streak to come second with six points and 25.5 progressive points. Sujendra defeated veteran Ganeshman Duwal in the seventh round and in the sixth round he was held to a draw by Niraj Niroula.
Similarly, Rajan Chhetri made an intelligent performance to come third with six points and 23 progressive points winning both the matches of the day. Chhetri defeated Diyairaj Joshi in the seventh round and earlier he stunned Niranjan Prajapti to snatch the full point. Likewise, Rabindra Shakya, Ratna Byanjankar, Keshav Shrestha, Bhagwati Prasad Sharma, Niraj Niraula, Rajendra Prasad Shrestha are the others to add 5.5 points each to their accounts.
Deergharaj Joshi, Ganeshman Duwal, Madan Krishna Kayastha, Bhagwati Prasad Sharma, Shyam Shrestha, Prem Krishna Maharjan, FM Manish Hamal, Punyaman Karmacharya, Lawa Kumar Shrestha, Uttamraj Thapa, Prachanda Malakar, Roshan Jaiswal and Babaraja Maharjan have accumulated equal five points each.
The tournament is organized by Democratic National Youth Federation Nepal.
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