Kathmandu, December 1:

Former national champion Keshav Shrestha beat participant of the recently concluded Olympiad Balram Napit in the third round of the second Shankhadhar Shakhwa Memorial Chess Tournament here today.

Shrestha who beat Saurav Pradhan in the second round stayed atop the standing with three points along with Badri Lal Nepali, Ratna Byanjankar, Rajan Chhetry, Bilam Lal Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad Shrestha, Harish Chandra Chaulagain, Uttam Raj Thapa and Ganesh Man Duwal.

Badri Lal defeated Umesh Sainju and Sitaram Agrawal, Ratna overcame DB Karki and Prakash Nepal, Bilam Lal earn a point each from Monalisa Khambu and Madan Krishna Kayastha, Harish Chandra defeated Saroj Dura and Niraj Niraula, Rajendra edged Hari Kumar Gurung and Bijay Maharjan, and Ganesh Man beat Ashmita Adhikari and Bikas Kuluju in the second and third rounds.

Manish Hamal led a group of six play’s with 2.5 points each. Sujendra Prasad Shrestha, Rabindra Shakya, Bhawana Limbu, Purushottam Chaulagain and Shyam Shrestha all accumulated 2.5 points. Olympiad player Hamal beat Amir Rai in the second round but was forced to share points against Madhav Pradhan. Sujendra won his second round match against Prajwol Rajopadhyaya and was held by Purushottam in the third.

Balram Napit, Prachanda Malakar, Surya Man Maharjan, Bijay Maharjan, Umesh KC and Babu Raja Maharjan are next with two points each.