Round 3 of FIDE World Cup Finishes in Khanty-Mansiysk
5 Russian players advanced to the next round.
Tie-breaks of the Third Round were played on September 18.
Three matches were decided in rapid games. Peter Svidler (Russia) was stronger than Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (Germany), Ding Liren (China) won both games against Alireza Firouzja (Iran), and Yu Yangyi (China) defeated his compatriot Wei Yi.
Other matches took more time.
The 18-year-old American Jeffrey Xiong sensationally defeated the second seed player of the tournament, Anish Giri (Netherlands). The match was very exciting, and after several fighting draws Xiong won the second 10-minute game.
Vladislav Artemiev (Russia) lost the first 10-minute game to Le Quang Liem (Vietnam), and was unable to come back in the second one. The Vietnamese grandmaster advances to the Fourth Round.
The last three qualifiers were determined in blitz.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) and Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia) exchanged blows in rapid games, then made two draws in 10-minute games, but in blitz the Frenchman was superior.
In the Russian derby, Ian Nepomniachtchi won the first 10-minute game, but Tomashevsky, the reigning Russian champion, managed to equalize the score in the second game. In blitz, however, Nepomniachtchi had a clear edge and won both games.
The match between Wang Hao (China) and Lenier Dominguez (USA) was very tense: each player made a comeback after losing a starting game, first in rapid, then in 10-minute chess. However, Dominguez dominated in blitz and advanced to the next round.
September 19 is a rest day.
Fourth Round starts on September 20.
Pairings:
Ding Liren - Alekseenko
Duda - Xiong
Vachier-Lagrave - Svidler
Vitiugov - So
Nepomniachtchi - Yu Yangyi
Le Quang Liem - Aronian
Mamedyarov - Radjabov
Grischuk - Dominguez
