Round 3 of the Bangkok Chess Club Open witnessed several closely contested, heavyweight encounters, as the Elo gap between opponents continued to shrink.
The round was brutal, with upsets on Board 3 with Subhayan Kundu defeating Chinese GM Peng Xiongjian, and Board 5 with FM Manon overcoming GM Lalit. Only two Grandmasters retain their places in the top 15 for Round 4.
Games from the top 10 boards are available at chess.com/events/2024-bangkok-chess-open .
Yesterday, a twelve year old boy defeated an International Master. (Add video link maybe), after which he shared in his dream of becoming World Champion someday.
This conjures up memories of a juvenile Gukesh overjoyed upon defeating 3-time BCC champion Nigel Short here in Thailand a few years ago.
Why Gukesh and fellow former BCC contestants Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali elected to travel to Toronto’s unending winter instead of this tropical paradise of Hua Hin, we may never know (but then again, we might).
All the same, don’t conclude that there are no superstars at the BCC Open this year. We guarantee you will find some hidden gems here.
Just give it a few years.
