GUWAHATI, Aug 22 � There were no major upsets in the 3rd round except for top seeded International Master Bhagyashree Thipsay who was yet again held to a draw by a much lower seeded Shetye Siddhali of Maharastra in the 37th National Women Challenger Chess Championship at Silpgram here today. Thipsay was also held to a draw in the first round match by a much lower opponent.
After the end of the 3rd round, six players share the lead with 3 points each. Seven players are in the second position with 2.5 points, while a group of 15 players are in the 3rd position with 2 points each.
On the top board, second seeded Bharathi R beat Anjana Krishna in a hard fought rook endgame which lasted for over 4 hours. The match evoked keen interest among the spectators as it headed for a draw but a brilliant display of accurate play and nerves saw Bharathi home. The game started with the �Ruy Lopez� variation and both players played off the opening moves quickly. As expected, the game continued without much exchange of pieces which is common in this opening. The middle game was evenly balanced but the endgame brought a slight advantage for white. However, the eventual rook endgame did not assure white a win. But after a marathon 83 moves, Anjana ran out of ideas and finally conceded defeat.
