Carlsen wins again in round 3
Magnus takes the sole lead at Biel
Is Magnus Carlsen (pictured) already so good that his opponents are in awe of him? Etienne Bacrot played well with the Black pieces against the Norwegian boy wonder, and may even have been better at some points, but Bacrot seemed to lack confidence and stumbled badly in time pressure to lose very suddenly. A great shame for the Frenchman, but at the moment Carlsen just seems to have an aura of invincibility about him.
Alexander Onischuk celebrated being selected for the US Olympiad team by winning today in a long struggle with Yannick Pelletier. The American was the victor in an instructive rook ending to take his first win of the tournament.
The recent Dortmund tournament saw the world title challenger Vladimir Kramnik lose dramatically with the Berlin defence, but this dependable, but dull, choice proved it's worth again today as Evgeny Alekseev used it to draw comfortably against Leinier Dominguez.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is a rest day so round 4 is on Thursday.
The results in round 3:
| Carlsen, Magnus | - Bacrot, Etienne | 1-0 | 31 | D43 | Anti-Meran Gambit |
| Onischuk, Alexander | - Pelletier, Yannick | 1-0 | 57 | E15 | Queens Indian |
| Dominguez Perez, Leinier | - Alekseev, Evgeny | ½-½ | 36 | C67 | Ruy Lopez Berlin |
The standings after round 3:
| 1 |
Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2775 |
2½ |
| 2 |
Alekseev, Evgeny | RUS | 2708 |
2 |
| 3 |
Onischuk, Alexander | USA | 2670 |
2 |
| 4 |
Dominguez Perez, Leinier | CUB | 2708 |
1½ |
| 5 |
Bacrot, Etienne | FRA | 2691 |
½ |
| 6 |
Pelletier, Yannick | SUI | 2569 |
½ |
