HCM CITY (VNS) — Former champion Ni Hua of China took the lead of the HDBank Cup International Open Chess Tournament yesterday after the sixth round in HCM City.

Grandmaster Ni beat International Master Kuderinov Kirill from Kazakhstan to stand on five points.

Defending champion Le Quang Liem of Viet Nam suffered his first loss to teammate GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son.

His unexpected failure dropped him to fourth place with 4.5 points while Son jumped to third on five points.

The leader after round five, GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore, drew with local IM Nguyen Duc Hoa yesterday and dropped to second place.

After six rounds, Viet Nam have four masters in the top six with three rounds to go.

Today, Ni will play teammate GM Lu Shanglei; Zhang will face Son; and Liem will meet IM Diu Viacheslav of Russia. — VNS