Dortmund 2018, round 3

The Dortmund supertournament again has a relaxed schedule this year, with rest days after Rounds 2 and 4, something usually seen only in World Championship matches. The aim seems to be to allow the short event to make full use of two weekends, and Anish Giri, who after an escape against Nepomniachtchi in Round 1 had a very quick draw against Georg Meier in Round 2, wasn’t complaining.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda beat his Polish compatriot Radek Wojtaszek for the second game in a row to remain the sole leader in Dortmund on 2.5/3 and enter the world’s Top 20. A dramatic day also saw Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu swept aside by Ian Nepomniachtchi, who ended the game with 2 hours and 11 minutes remaining on his clock, while world no. 6 Anish Giri fell to defeat against world no. 97 Vladislav Kovalev. Only Vladimir Kramnik and Georg Meier have drawn all their games so far.