CEBUANO International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap kept his hopes of earning a Grand Master (GM) norm alive when he scored a much needed win in the 19th Dubai International Open Chess Tournament in Dubai UAE last Wednesday.
IM Yap earned his second win following a tough loss against sixth seed, GM Venezuelan Grand Master (GM) Eduardo Bonelli Iturrizaga, in the second round.
The 26-year-old Yap, who is the current head coach of the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters chess team, won over 141st seed FIDE Master (FM) Jemal Ovezdurdiyeva of Turkmenistan in the third round.
His win moved Yap from 68th place to the 55th spot along with IM Oliver Dimakiling, who also has two points.
In the opening round, IM Yap won over 171st seed Sanjeev Nair of India.
IM Yap, the 65th seed, will face 106th seed Puneet Jaiswal of India in the fourth of nine rounds scheduled.