KATHMANDU: Nikesh Duwal of Nepal defeated 1923-rated Sri Lankan player Amarsinghe in the second round of the Continental Asian Junior Chess Tournament, organised by Sri Lankan Chess Federation, in Colombo on Friday.

According to Nepal Chess Association media coordinator Herakaji Maharjan, who is also in Sri Lanka with the players, Nikesh played with the two Knights defence strategy and fought hard to register his first victory in the tournament. However, the Under-19 champion lost the third round match against 2226-rated Fide Master Terry Yuan Zeng Chaun of Singapore.

Another participant from Nepal, Monalisa Khambu lost both the matches on Friday. She went down to unrated Sri Lankan player Abhay Bardana in the second and Askothachchi, also from the hosts country, in the third round. The fourth and fifth round matches are slated for Saturday.