Chess masters struggle with form

Vietnamese players failed to top the rankings in the U18, U16, U14, U10 and U8 groups after the third round of the Asian Youth Chess Championships in Sri Lanka yesterday.

Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Doan Thi Van Anh won their third round matches in the girls' U18 group and ranked second and 13th, respectively.

In the boys' U18 group, Tran Tuan Minh surprisingly lost to Abdullah Al-Saif from Bangladesh, who has a lower Elo rating. He temporarily stands at 14th position with one point after three rounds.

In the boys' U16 group, Le Tuan Minh lost to India's Sahoo Utkal Ranjan and now ranks fourth. His teammate Lu Tuan Hung beat Akhmetov Ayan from Kazakhstan and is temporarily in 13th place.

In the girls' U16 group, Hoang Thi Hai Anh defeated Mariyam Rafaa Abdul Latheef from Maldives, but only took eighth position.

In the remaining events, the Vietnamese tried to improve their positions in the rankings, but still finished outside the top three.-VNS