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Timman Leads Sigeman Tournament; Nakamura 2nd

Zatonskih Shares Three Arrows Cup Lead

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Timman Leads Sigeman Tournament; Nakamura 2nd

Veteran GM Jan Timman leads a strong field after five rounds at the Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament in Denmark. Timman has scored 4 points so far, giving him a half-point lead over three players.

The Sigeman tournament features a field of ten players - a mix of strong grandmasters and local favorites - in a round-robin format. The first five rounds were played in Malmo, while the final four will be played in Copenhagen.

American Hikaru Nakamura continues to impress, and is currently part of the three-way tie for second with 3.5 points. Tied with him are Indian star Krishnan Sasikiran, and Viorel Iordachescu. Nakamura is the top seed in the event, with a rating of 2657, and currently has 2 wins and 3 draws.

We will provide continuing coverage of this event with complete results next week. For now, here is a marathon victory from Nakamura:

White: Nakamura, H (2657)
Black: Hillarp Persson, T (2533)
Sigeman Tournament, Round 3
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. a3 c4 7. g3 Bd7 8. h4 Na5 9. Nbd2 O-O-O 10. Bh3 f5 11. exf6 gxf6 12. O-O h5 13. Re1 Nh6 14. Nh2 Nf5 15. Bxf5 exf5 16. f4 Bd6 17. Kf2 Rde8 18. Rxe8+ Rxe8 19. Nhf1 Nb3 20. Nxb3 Qxb3 21. Qxb3 cxb3 22. a4 b5 23. a5 b4 24. Bd2 bxc3 25. Bxc3 a6 26. Rc1 Kb7 27. Ne3 Be6 28. Ke2 Rc8 29. Kd3 Rc6 30. Re1 Bf8 31. Nf1 Bd7 32. Nd2 Re6 33. Rxe6 Bxe6 34. Nxb3 Kc6 35. Kc2 Kb5 36. Nd2 Ka4 37. Nf1 Bd6 38. Ne3 Bc7 39. Nd1 Bxa5 40. Bxa5 Kxa5 41. Kb3 Kb6 42. Nc3 a5 43. Ka4 Bd7+ 44. Ka3 Bc6 45. Na4+ Kb5 46. Kb3 Bb7 47. Nc3+ Kb6 48. Ka3 Bc6 49. b4 Ka6 50. Kb3 Kb6 51. Na4+ Kb5 52. bxa5 Kxa5 53. Nc5 Be8 54. Ne6 Bf7 55. Nd8 Be8 56. Nb7+ Kb6 57. Nd6 Bd7 58. Kb4 Kc6 59. Nb5 Kb6 60. Nc3 Bc6 61. Nb1 Bd7 62. Nd2 Bb5 63. Nb3 Bd7 64. Nc5 Be8 65. Ne6 Bf7 66. Nf8 Kc6 67. Nh7 Kd6 68. Nxf6 Bg6 69. Ng8 Bf7 70. Nf6 Bg6 71. Ng8 Bf7 72. Nh6 Be6 73. Kb5 Bd7+ 74. Ka5 Be6 75. Kb6 Kd7 76. Kc5 Kc7 77. Nxf5 Bxf5 78. Kxd5 Kd7 79. Ke5 Bg4 80. Kf6 Kd6 81. f5 Kd7 82. Kg6 Bf3 83. d5 Bxd5 84. Kxh5 Ke7 85. Kg5 Kf7 86. g4 Bf3 87. h5 Kg7 88. Kh4 Bd1 89. g5 Bc2 90. h6+ Kh7 91. Kg4 Bb1 92. Kf4 Bc2 93. Ke5 Bd3 94. Ke6 Bc4+ 95. Ke7 Bb3 96. f6 Kg6 97. f7 Bxf7 98. h7 Kxh7 99. Kxf7 Kh8 100. Kg6 1-0

Zatonskih Shares Three Arrows Cup Lead

American WGM Anna Zatonskih has scored 5.5 out of her first 6 games to take the early lead at the Three Arrows Cup, a competition for some of the world's top female chessplayers. Zatonskih is tied for first with China's Zhu Chen.

Irina Krush, also of the USA, is competing in the tournament as well. She currently sits tied for 5th with 3 points.

The Three Arrows Cup is taking place in Jinan, China. It is a round-robin event with twelve competitors from around the world. Currently, Zatonskih and Chen have opened a wide lead over the rest of the field, with their closest competitors - Vera Nebolsina of Russia and Almira Skripchenko of France - 1.5 points behind.

We will have the final results in next week's edition. Very few games appear to be available online, but here is a round four win by Krush:

White: Hou Yifan (2158)
Black: Krush, I (2455)
Three Arrows Cup, Round 4
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Qb6 7. Nb3 e6 8. Be2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qe1 a6 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. f4 b5 13. a3 b4 14. axb4 Nxb4 15. Qf2 Bb7 16. Bf3 Rac8 17. Kh1 h6 18. Bh4 d5 19. e5 Ne4 20. Bxe4 Bxh4 21. Qxh4 dxe4 22. Nd4 Rfd8 23. Nce2 Qb6 24. c3 Nd3 25. f5 Nxe5 26. fxe6 fxe6 27. Qf4 Nf3 28. gxf3 exf3 29. Nxf3 Rxd1 30. Rxd1 Rf8 31. Qd4 Bxf3+ 0-1