2012 Dubbo Open - Day 1

Three players lead the 2012 Dubbo Open after the first 3 rounds. Top seed IM George Xie had a couple of quick wins on his way to 3/3. Second seed Michael Wei also scored 3 wins, but had to fight a lot harder for his points. They were joined by Don Keast, meaning the the top 3 places are held by the top 3 seeds.
The turn out of 28 players was lower than last year, and the absence of the normally large Canberra contingent was the main reason. Nonetheless the tournament attracted players from all over the Central West, as well as New England and the NSW North Coast. There was also a good turn out of junior players from Dubbo and Wellington, with unrated Nikhil Rajesh being the surprise packet, winning his first two rounds (against Neil Clark and Norm Greenwood).
Tomorrow the top two seeds clash in the fourth round, while Keast plays Mike Canfell on board 2.