CEBUANO International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap climbed three places after the sixth round of the 19th Dubai Open International Chess Tournament held at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club in Dubai, UAE.
IM Yap now has 3.5 points off three wins, a draw and a loss in the nine-round competition.
The Cebuano, the 65th seed of the tournament, won over fellow Filipino Marlon Mortel in the fifth round. But he lost to the 40th seed Xiangyu Xu of China in the sixth round.
Despite the loss, IM Yap managed to climb from 77th to the 74th place in the rankings.
IM Yap will next face India’s K Arjun in the seventh round.
IM Oliver Dimakiling is the highest ranked Filipino wood pusher in the tournament at the 37th place with 4.0 points. Haridas Pascua is next with 3.5.
Spanish GM Jaime Santos Latasa took the solo lead after the sixth round with 5.5 points followed by Venezuelan GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli with 5.0 points.