Thursday 21 February 2019

2019 Oceania Zonal - Day 3

The 2019 Oceania Zonal is still proving to be a hard fought affair, at least for now. After 5 rounds there are 6 players sharing the lead on 4/5, including tournament favourite GM Max Illingworth. Illingworth has recovered from his first round loss, and is once again the man to beat. Also in the leading group is Felix Lacno, who beat Illingworth in the first round. Lacno is proving very underrated at 1711, as he has a performance rating of over 2200.
With 4 rounds left to play, Illingworth is still favoured to win. The battle for 2nd and third is a little more wide open, especially as a lot of the leading group has yet to face Illingworth.
WGM Julia Ryjanove has maintained her perfect score in the Women's Zonal. She defeated Rebecca Stones in the morning round and Olga Szekely in the afternoon. WFM Vyanla Punsalan is currently in 2nd place on 4/5, but  a loss to Stones in round 5 leaves her with tough task of getting something against Ryjanova if she hopes to finish 2nd.

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