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The MILEX National Junior Chess Championship is now officially past the halfway point, with only three more rounds to determine the National Junior Champion.
On day three of the Junior Nationals, Kyle Couchman and Keron Sandiford continue their strong showing: holding a steady lead as the tournament heads into its penultimate day. They both lead the points table by 5 points each.
Round six saw Ronan lee holding reigning champion Ricardo Narine to a draw and further dampening his hopes of retaining the title. Mathew Singh, after a steady start, could not hold off Ethan Lee and conceded a much-needed point.
Nevertheless, Singh is now on 4 points to take third place in the current standings.
Ethan Lee and Oluwadare Oyeyipo trail close behind by 3.5 points. Narine follows with three points. Ronan Lee has 2.5 points while Nicholas Zhang has 2 and brother Alexander Zhang has 1.5. While Kishan Puran fought hard, he has so far been unsuccessful in earning a victory.
If Sandiford and Couchman continue winning, this year’s Nationals could result in a repeat of last year: where the top players finished on the same points and entered a play-off to decide the eventual champion.
Sandiford and Couchman clashed in round six when the match resulted in a draw. With three rounds remaining, anything could happen.
On Tuesday, Sandiford will face off against the defending champion, Couchman will take on Singh, who only trails him by one point, alongside many other exciting fixtures.
