2008 WUC Chess: Day 3
March 7th, 2008
Favourites are no longer in the Background
The first of two paired rounds was an ordeal for the participants. Being amateurs they had two games a day and it is not an easy task even for professional players. No wonder that both tournaments slowed down. But the leaders remained the same: Zhang Jilin from China took all four points in the women’s tournament and both Dmitry Bocharov and Pavel Smirnov from Russia took 3,5/4. The most exciting events took place in the women’s tournament. Dauletova from Kazakhstan and Yanjindulan, two players who had made the biggest stir in the second round, could not keep the pace. Both managed to take only half a point. Gulmira fell the prey to her own miscalculation, when having initiative she chose the wrong combination and suffered defeat at the hands of Zhang Jilin, in the next round feelings overwhelmed her and she drew the game against Kovanova. But Dulamsuren who is below her rivals in the ranking can consider the draw with Kovanova a real success, but in the game against the Chinese player she had no chance.
The favourites Pogonina and Van Yu won the routine games and now they are real frontrunners of the tournament. These two players as well Vasilevich will fight for the top place. There were no real surprises in the men’s tournament. Though it was to the advantage of the Iranian International Master Hamed Musavin that the Russian players had their games against each other (Bocharov – Maletin, Smirnov – Lysyi). After the real fights they drew their games. In his turn Musavin beat Hindermann from Switzerland and topped the rankings. But he was only a king for a day. Playing with White against Bocharov, Musavin did not seem to think much of his chances and was longing only for a draw. He was very cautious and took great pains not to let his opponent rock the boat but he failed to hamper the favourite. He offered a draw twice but finally had to admit defeat after 45 when small Black army decided the game with an overwhelming attack.
Liang Chon (CHN) vs. Smirnov (RUS)
Bocharov took sole leadership but it was short-lived. Smirnov caught up with him by the end of the fourth hour of his game. He played with Black against Liang Chon and seemed to have a more difficult encounter ahead. Unlike Musavin the Chinese player did not feel constrained. The spectators who surrounded the table saw one of the most impressive games so far. Having sacrificed a pawn the Russian player forced his opponent into defense and took the game with one fine tactical move. It was enough. The team classification has changed dramatically. The Chinese who had not made a good start 'bounced' superbly and took the runner-up position after round 3, as they caught up with Mongolia and were only half-a-point behind Russia. The host team had to rev up to remain the frontrunners. They finished the day with four wins and the upper hand in the face-to-face clash with the Celestial country players.
Team Ranking
Team classification before the day-off is as follows: 1. Russia: 13/16 2. China: 11.5 3-4. Mongolia and Kazakhstan: 10.5 5. Iran: 9 etc. More info on http://www.wucc2008.org/results.htm
