After defeating 15-year-old CM Benjamin Leong in less than 20 minutes in his Round 2 match, top seed GM Priasmoro Novendra easily maintained a perfect 2 points. Priasmoro will play veteran IM Angelo Young in Round 3 tomorrow morning. On board 2, the second seed, GM Ziaur Rahman, will meet up with the promising young FM Lye Lik Zhang from Malaysia. IM Pavel Shkapenko of Russia will go off against IM Pitra Andika of Indonesia.
With GM Ziaur Rahman, a potential second-seeded opponent, as his main rival, last year’s champion GM Priasmoro Novendra appears poised to retain his crown this year. Still, it’s early. Anything is possible.
