Cheparinov Takes Sole Lead In Sochi
Kamsky Falters To Hand Cheparinov The Lead
We've all done it. You're winning nicely against an opponent and then you blow it all away. Cheparinov (pictured) was the recipient of this good fortune in the 3rd round of the Grand Prix in Sochi, but he must be commended for hanging on gamely in a lost position and creating the complications which snared Kamsky.
The only other winner in a hard fought round was Vassily Ivanchuk who won a pawn on move 26 against Lev Aronian and closed out the game in impressive style.
The results in round 3:
| Cheparinov, Ivan | - Kamsky, Gata | 1-0 | 41 | D86 | Gruenfeld Simagin |
| Radjabov, Teimour | - Gashimov, Vugar | ½-½ | 24 | C42 | Petroff's Defence |
| Grischuk, Alexander | - Jakovenko, Dmitry | ½-½ | 87 | E06 | Catalan |
| Gelfand, Boris | - Svidler, Peter | ½-½ | 53 | A15 | English counter King's Fianchetto |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | - Aronian, Levon | 1-0 | 44 | D11 | Slav Defence |
| Wang Yue | - Al-Modiahki, Mohamad | ½-½ | 43 | D11 | Slav Defence |
| Navara, David | - Karjakin, Sergey | ½-½ | 44 | A29 | English Four Knights |
The standings after round 3:
| 1 | Cheparinov, Ivan | BUL | 2687 | 2½ |
| 2 | Radjabov, Teimour | AZE | 2744 | 2 |
| 3 | Grischuk, Alexander | RUS | 2728 | 2 |
| 4 | Gashimov, Vugar | AZE | 2717 | 1½ |
| 5 | Jakovenko, Dmitry | RUS | 2709 | 1½ |
| 6 | Gelfand, Boris |
ISR | 2720 | 1½ |
| 7 |
Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2781 | 1½ |
| 8 | Kamsky, Gata | USA | 2723 | 1½ |
| 9 | Aronian, Levon | ARM | 2737 | 1½ |
| 10 | Wang Yue | CHN | 2704 | 1½ |
| 11 | Al-Modiahki, Mohamad | QAT | 2556 | 1 |
| 12 | Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2738 | 1 |
| 13 | Karjakin, Sergey | UKR | 2727 | 1 |
| 14 | Navara, David | CZE | 2646 | 1 |
