With his third successive win, Jahongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan, despite being the least fancied player at the start is now the sole leader. In a long game, despite some inaccuracies, the young yet to be confirmed International Master took advantage of some sloppy judgement by the solid Vietnamese International Master Nguyen Van Huy to bring home the full point.
Following his scoring plan to achieve the Grandmaster norm, his co-leader and pre-tournament favourite International Master Oliver Barbosa had earlier settled for a quick draw against the elder Vadhidov, Grandmaster Tahir Vadhidov.
International Master Arghyadip Das from India showed great character to put aside his shocking setback in the second round by besting a very aggressive Singapore International Master Goh Wei Ming while Filipino International Master Richard Bitoon ensured Vietnamese Grandmaster Nguyen Anh Dung's run of poor form continued.
It was probably a matter of relief for both Grandmaster Wong Meng Kong from Singapore and International Master Mas Hafizulhelmi from Malaysia when their fighting game ended in a draw as they were able to post their first scores and get off the mark.
