Candidate Master (CM) Sachin Pitamber and defending champion Kyle Couchman continued their unbeaten runs in the National Junior Chess Championship by securing fifth-round victories at Olympic House, Liliendaal, yesterday morning.
Pitamber defeated Aiden Tinnie, while Couchman got past Jeremy Cole to move to five points from five matches. Pitamber holds first place on tiebreak, with Couchman second.
Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Aditi Joshi returned to winning ways after her fourth-round loss to Pitamber by defeating Javier Davenand. She remains third with four points, one point behind the two leaders.
Alexander Zhang also stayed within reach of the top three after defeating Matthew Singh. The victory moved Alexander to 3.5 points and kept him in fourth place.
Kataleya Sam recorded her first win of the competition by defeating Nicholas Zhang. She moved to fifth place on tiebreak with two points, the same total as sixth-placed Cole.
Nicholas and Singh are tied on 1.5 points, while Davenand has half of a point.
All five matches in the fifth round produced decisive results. Four rounds remain in the nine-round championship.
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