The top three places still belong to Vietnam after round five of the Asian Continental Chess Championships’ Women’s Category in China on May 16.

Chess master Pham Le Thao Nguyen

Vietnamese International Master (IM) Pham Le Thao Nguyen received a draw against her teammate Women’s Grandmaster Vo Thi Kim Phung.

The result was enough to keep No 7 Nguyen in the leading position while it pushed Phung from No 2 to No 3 in the ranking.

WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram jumped from No 6 to No 2 after beating WGM Gomes Mary Ann of India on May 16.

Nguyen will next face WGM Nakhbayeva Guliskhan of Kazakhstan. Phung will meet Tram.

On the men’s side, Vietnamese masters fail to enter top 10.

Among five representatives, only brothers Tran Tuan Minh and Tran Minh Thang won. Minh is at No 20 while Thang at 54.

Best hope Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, the No 10 seed, is sitting at No 30, with only three points after five matches.

VNA