2018 NSW Open - Day 2

IM Junta Ikeda is the outright leader of the 2018 NSW Open, finishing day 2 on a perfect 5/5. Along the way he scored two impressive victories, beating WGM Jilin Zhang in round 4, and GM Anton Smirnov in round 5. His game against Zhang involved R+N v R+P with Zhang walking into a surprise mate when most spectators assumed the game would be drawn.  Against Smirnov he found a line where he exchanged 2 rooks for a quen, but the exposed nature of Smirnov's king allowed his Queen and Knight to carry out a winning attack.
GM Max Illingworth and FM Raymond Song share second on 4.5, after they drew their evening game. As a result Song will face Ikeda in round 6, while Illingworth and Smirnov will meet on board 2.
In the Minor event, Gary Armstrong, Frank Low and Thai Pahn share the lead on 4.5, with Armstrong and Low drawing their round 5 game.
Round 6 will begin at 9:30 am tomorrow, with the final round at 2. If you are in Sydney, feel free to drop into the Russian Club in Strathfield to catch the last day action.

Smirnov, Anton - Ikeda, Junta
2018 NSW Open (5.1) 10.06.2018