AFTER a strong start, Cebuano International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap stumbled in the second round of the 19th Dubai Open 2017 yesterday in Dubai, UAE.
Seeded 65th in the tournament, Yap bowed to the sixth-ranked Venezuelan Grand Master (GM) Eduardo Bonelli Iturrizaga in the second round.
IM Yap started his campaign with a win over Sanjeev Nair of India, the tournament’s 171st seed.
Iturrizaga’s win over IM Yap put him at sixth place after two rounds.
Yap, 28, who is the current head coach of the University of Cebu Webmasters, is looking to points in the tournament to finally earn the very elusive Grand Master (GM) norm.
As of this writing, IM Yap was playing FIDE Master (FM) Jemal Overzdurdiyeva of Turkmenistan for his third round assignment.
The highest ranked Filipino wood pushers after two rounds were IM Haridsa Pascua (52nd) and IM Oliver Dimakiling (58th). GM Alexander
Areschenko of Ukrrain currently leads the tournament with two points followed by Spanish GM David Guijaro Anton and Armenian GM Vladimir Akopian.