Kasparov-Gurevich 1-0
Shirov-Topalov 1-0
Morozevich-Sokolov 1-0
Georgiev-Adams draw
Movsesian-Bacrot 0-1
Short-Bareev 0-1

Round 3 standings

1-3. Kasparov, Morozevich & Shirov 2.5
4-5. Bareev & Georgiev 2.0
6-8. Adams, Bacrot & Topalov 1.5
9. Sokolov 1.0
10-11. Movsesian & Short 0.5
12. Gurevich 0.0

*****

Kasparov vs Gurevich

Sometimes you just can’t catch a break! Imagine losing your first two games and then having to play black against Kasparov – that’s the kind of stuff nightmares are made of. I imagine Gurevich was seriously considering booking an early flight home after Kasparov’s powerful exchange sacrifice on move 17.

Kasparov, on the other hand, was apparently so happy with himself that he decided to switch his brain off just for show. As a result, the Champ came very close to losing after a series of careless moves.

Topalov decided to try Morozevich’s pet line in the French Defence, but the Bulgarian’s lack of serious preparation became apparent when Shirov headed for a slightly unusual sideline. Shirov quickly gained the initiative and conducted the attack in splendid fashion.

A King’s Gambit! The thing I really love about this opening is that the theory is so old and full of mistakes, that you can come up with improvements after only a couple of moves.

Sokolov tried to steer the game into his favourite line, but Morozevich deviated on move 5, bringing the struggle into uncharted waters.

Not much of a game, to be honest. After a short opening test, Georgiev decided to call it a day by trading off everything that wasn’t nailed to the board. Adams didn’t bring much to the party either.

The battle of the newcomers, so to speak. Movsesian attempted to side-step Bacrot’s preparation by playing 9.d4 (instead of 9.h3) in the Ruy Lopez, but failed miserably. Having left the books, Movsesian failed to find a constructive plan and was convincingly outplayed.

Short vs Bareev

Short tried to reinvent the wheel as white in the Caro Kann, and was duly "rewarded" by having his little experiment blow up in his face. The Englishman managed to keep the game going for quite a while, but in the end he had to succumb to Bareev’s technique.