X World University Chess Championship is being held in Russia, Novokuznetsk, 3-11 March, 2008. The tournament is 9-round Swiss, individual (men and women) and team classification.
For more detailed information please visit official site of the tournament or FISU site.
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NO SURPRISES AT START

Novokuznetsk plays host to the 10th World University Chess Championship. The competition will last 7 days since 4th to 10th of March and three winners will be crowned at the end - one in men`s tournament, one in women’s tournament, and one in team classification. The winner will be established according to the sum of the results of the 2 best ranked players of the same country in a nine-round swiss (by FISU rules each country is authorized to enter a maximum of eight competitors).

57 players representing teams from 12 countries (Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Iran, China, Mongolia, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil, Portugal, South-African Republic, Uzbekistan and Russia) will fight for the title. The host team line-up is very strong (they have taken up a quota). Men’s quartet – Bocharov, Smirnov, Lysyj and Maletin – heads the protocol, and the first three girls Pogonina, Vasilevich, Kovanova are among the top five in the ranking. Out of 33 players in the men`s tournament there are 6 Grandmasters, 6 International and 7 FIDE Masters. 24 ladies represent 5 Woman Grandmasters, 2 Man Grandmasters, 6 Woman International Master and 4 FIDE Woman Masters.

At 15.30 after the opening ceremony the tournament started. There were no surprises on a large scale. The gap between the players was wide and the favorites did not spend much time at the chessboard. By the end of the third hour five out of six Grandmasters Bocharov, Smirnov, Lysyj, Maletin and Liang Chong from China won. But Chong`s compatriot Zhou Jinchao, who had excelled at the World Cup in Khanty-Mansijsk 2 months ago, was halted. His rival from Iran Soozankar did not hesitate to exchange pieces and pawns until the chessboard was empty and the players had to make peace. It was not the only success of the Iranian team. Norusi who was playing with Black at the next table drew the game and took half a point from Uzbekistan’s Filippov.

The favorites of the women`s tournament - Pogonina, Vang You, Vasilevich, Kovanova, Zhang Jilin – won one and all. The only result that unsettled the order of ones in the top half of the table was the defeat of Monica Seps from Switzerland. She unexpectedly lost to 21-year old Henriette Springelkamp from Holland whose rating is 1992.

Tomorrow will be the second day of World University Chess Championship. Opening is at 15.30 pm.