With draws on the first two boards in round 7 between Melvin Yu and Brian Dew (FM) and between Jake Chan, who is playing a great tournament so far, and Alberto Muniz, there have been very little changes in the top 10. As predicted, this year’s group top 20 is very close in strength and the final ranking will likely remain unclear until the very last 9th round.

Whereas Edgardo Borigas’ second loss in a row, this time against Chor Yuen Chong, has pushed him to 9th place with 4.5 points, still just within qualifying for the finals, Robin Lai, Yuen-Wah Luk (FM) and Michael Yang consolidated their position in the top 10 with a win.

It is also great to see that Caissa’s Peter Whalley has crawled, still undefeated, into the top 10 and also Caissa’s Hannah Dale on 13th position now with 4.5 points is well within range of a top 9 position.

In round 8 each player in the top 10 will be playing against another top 10 player and for sure some players currently right under top 10 will seep into this elite group after next week.

Therefore, chances for our Caissa players are right there next week. But it won’t be easy for Peter facing Edgardo who will be determined to stop his losing streak and Hannah meeting Yui Kuen Pang who should be motivated to continue his winning streak after a poor start.

Let’s wait and see.