Of Melaka Chess Festival - Round 8 and Looking Forward for the Off Day

After all the games have ended, GM Czebe cemented and continue his lead in the International section after a hard fought draw again GM Richard Bitoon of Philippines. Following the loss of GM Alfonso Romero Holmes to Indian GM Arun Prasad on Table 2, GM Czebe now maintained his one point lead at the top of the pack with GM Richard Bitoon, GM Alexander Fominyh and GM Arun Prasad hot on his trail with a single point behind. 

On Table 3, GM Adam Horvath was not able to narrow the gap with that of his countryman Czebe after losing to GM Fominyh in a game that lasted 32 moves.

Notable Malaysians in the event still within reach of the top 10 spots are Ismail Ahmad and Yeoh Li Tian, both with 4 points - Ismail Ahmad after drawing his game against Repelita and Yeoh Li Tian, after his sensational win against WGM Kruttika Nadig. Li Tian's game was very interesting and worth noting as he sacked his knight for Nadig's "e" and "f" pawns to gain initiative by keeping the Black King in the center of the board and with disconnected Rooks.

For the Malaysian ladies trio, Alia is currently leading the pack with 3 points followed by Camilia at 2 1/2 points and Tan Li Ting with a single point. 

Round 8, which will continue on Sunday at 3:00pm following the break day tomorrow, will see some interesting match up as players scrambling towards the final stretch to win the top prize of RM10,000. Table 1 will see current leader GM Attila Czebe facing top seed GM Arun Prasad of India who had made his way back to the top of the championship table after his convincing win against GM Alfonso Romero Holmes in Round 7. On Table 2, GM Alexander Fominyh playing against GM Laxman and on Table 3, IM Karthikeyan will face off with GM Richard Bitoon. 

On Table 6, Malaysian youngster Yeoh Li Tian will go head to head against GM Adam Horvath and on the next Table 7, Ismail Ahmad will play against FM Hamdani Rudin


Another interesting match up happens on Table 11 between Ahmad Fadzil Nayan and Zaidan Zulkipli

In the Challenger section, Wakoko Enos managed to steal half point from leader Gatot Suyono in Round 7 and the sudden withdrawal of Abdul Rahim Ramli has catapulted Endang Adrian within half point from Challenger leader Gatot Suyono. Wakoko Enos aspiring draw with leader Gatot Suyono has put him within a point of the lead and any upset results on the top boards may favor him to a better position. For Round 8, the top 2 tables are dominated by Indonesians with Suci Rohaya playing against Gatot Suyono on Table 1 and youngster Yuranda Irawan against Endang Andrian on Table 2. 

On Table 3, local Fairul Yusoff will be playing against Ugandan Wakoko Enos and on the next Table 4, Eddy Fong will play the white pieces against Lum Zhun Hoong.

Youngster Muhd Asyraf from Pekan, Pahang who played well in the earlier rounds to draw with Suci Rohaya, will be facing Latifah Kaiyisah on Table 5. 

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