Cap d'Agde: Favourites surge ahead

The four highest-ranking players have already made their mark with Hikaru Nakamura on 100% and Bu Xiangzhi with 2.5/3 in one pool, and Vassily Ivanchuk, along with Le Quang Liem leading the other group with 2.5.
Anatoly Karpov, on the other hand, has had a disastrous start with 0/3.

The main observation that one could make from the play so far is the masterful way the top players are able to out-think their slightly lower-rated rivals.

Karpov looks very rusty, whereas the other back-rankers Sophie Milliet and Tatiana Kosintseva seem somewhat shaky in technical positions when short of time.

Le Quang Liem ground Tatiana Kosintseva in a long endgame (chessanytime)

Here are the results from the second day's play:

Pool A:

Round 2:

White	Country	Rating	Result	Black	Country	Rating
Nadezhda Kosintseva	RUS	2565	1-0	Romain Edouard	FRA	2636
Judit Polgar	HUN	2682	1-0	Sophie Milliet	FRA	2388
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	VIE	2633	0.5-0.5	Bu Xiangzhi	CHN	2695
Anatoly Karpov	RUS	2619	0-1	Hikaru Nakamura	USA	2733

Round 3:

White	Country	Rating	Result	Black	Country	Rating
Sophie Milliet	FRA	2388	0-1	Nadezhda Kosintseva	RUS	2565
Bu Xiangzhi	CHN	2695	1-0	Judit Polgar	HUN	2682
Romain Edouard	FRA	2636	1-0	Anatoly Karpov	RUS	2619
Hikaru Nakamura	USA	2733	1-0	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	VIE	2633

So the standings in Pool A after three rounds are as follows, the top four qualify for the quarter-finals:

Rank	Name	Country	Rating	Points
1	Hikaru Nakamura	USA	2733	3
2	Bu Xiangzhi	CHN	2695	2.5
3=	Judit Polgar	HUN	2682	2
3=	Nadezhda Kosintseva	RUS	2565	2
5	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	VIE	2633	1.5
6	Romain Edouard	FRA	2636	1
7=	Anatoly Karpov	RUS	2619	0
7=	Sophie Milliet	FRA	2388	0

Things are looking grim for Anatoly Karpov and Sophie Milliet, but Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Romain Edouard still have time to get back into the top half of the table.

Le Quang Liem (chessanytime)

Yannick Pelletier (chessanytime)

In Pool B the second and third rounds went as follows:

Round 2:

White	Country	Rating	Result	Black	Country	Rating
Yannick Pelletier	SUI	2592	0.5-0.5	Le Quang Liem	VIE	2694
Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2754	0.5-0.5	Zhu Chen	QAT	2480
Tigran Gharamian	FRA	2658	0.5-0.5	Kateryna Lahno	UKR	2539
Tatiana Kosintseva	RUS	2573	0-1	Jon Ludvig Hammer	NOR	2633

Round 3:

White	Country	Rating	Result	Black	Country	Rating
Zhu Chen	QAT	2480	0-1	Yannick Pelletier	SUI	2592
Kateryna Lahno	UKR	2539	0-1	Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2754
Jon Ludvig Hammer	NOR	2633	0.5-0.5	Tigran Gharamian	FRA	2658
Le Quang Liem	VIE	2694	1-0	Tatiana Kosintseva	RUS	2573

So the standings are as follows after three rounds:

Rank	Name	Country	Rating	Points
1=	Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2754	2.5
1=	Le Quang Liem	VIE	2694	2.5
3=	Tigran Gharamian	FRA	2658	1.5
3=	Jon Ludvig Hammer	NOR	2633	1.5
3=	Yannick Pelletier	SUI	2592	1.5
3=	Kateryna Lahno	UKR	2539	1.5
7	Zhu Chen	QAT	2480	1
8	Tatiana Kosintseva	RUS	2573	0

Here the names of the eventual qualifiers are less easy to guess with four players stradling the middle of the table on 50%. As the qualifying score is probably 4/7, Tatiana Kosintseva requires a miracle, but the other players are all still in the hunt.

Tigran Gharamian (chessanytime)

Zhu Chen (chessanytime)

As a reminder, the first round results (from the 23rd of October) were as follows:

Pool A:

White	Country	Rating	Result	Black	Country	Rating
Judit Polgar	HUN	2682	1-0	Nadezhda Kosintseva	RUS	2565
Sophie Milliet	FRA	2388	0-1	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	VIE	2633
Bu Xiangzhi	CHN	2695	1-0	Anatoly Karpov	RUS	2619
Hikaru Nakamura	USA	2733	1-0	Romain Edouard	FRA	2636

Pool B:

White	Country	Rating	Result	Black	Country	Rating
Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2754	1-0	Yannick Pelletier	SUI	2592
Zhu Chen	QAT	2480	0.5-0.5	Tigran Gharamian	FRA	2658
Kateryna Lahno	UKR	2539	1-0	Tatiana Kosintseva	RUS	2573
Jon Ludvig Hammer	NOR	2633	0-1	Le Quang Liem	VIE	2694

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