Duwal defeated Laba Kumar Shrestha and Niraj Niraula in the second and third phase matches respectively. Likewise, Tandukar ousted Bikash Kuluju and Prajwal Raj Upadhyay, Shyam Sundar Shrestha edged out Laxman Kumar Regmi and Uttam Raj Thapa while Pandey beat Ilias Ali and Rijendra Rajbhandari to remain at the top. Byanjankar emerged victorious against Shiromani Bajracharya and Sujendra Prasad Shrestha. [break]
Meanwhile, FIDE Master Manish Hamal, Rabindra Shakya and Dharma Bahadur Lama are trailing behind in second position with 2.5 points each.
Sujendra Prasad Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad Shrestha, Prem Krishna Maharjan, Prachanda Man Malakar, Sitaram Agrawal, Bijaya Shrestha, Rijendra Rajbhandari, Raju Tamrakar, Sajin Maharjan, Shiromani Bajracharya, Hari Chandra Chaulagain, Ilias Ali, Bikash Kuluju and Umesh Sainju have accumulated two points each.
The tournament is being organized by The Himalayan Chess Club at Lalitpur´s Purnachandi.
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