An epic encounter took centre stage in this afternoon's chess competition at the Beijing International Convention Centre as 25-year-old Russian Valentina Gunina proved what a true talent she was after beating local favourite and world champion Hou Yifan en route to gold in the women's rapid chess event.

Gunina was unbeatable on the tables, with her round six win over Hou the icing on the cake in her gold medal campaign.

A round seven win over Russia's Tatiana Kosintseva ensured Hou would secure the silver medal, while a win and two draws on the second day of action saw Ukraine's Anna Ushenina claim the bronze.

A loss and two draws for overnight leader Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia saw her drop out of the medal positions following a strong opening to the rapid chess competition.

There was further Russian success in the men's rapid chess event as Alexander Grischuk climbed to the top of the podium positions.

China's Wang Yao had held the overnight field lead but two draws and a loss saw him drop down into the bronze medal position.

Grischuk pounced on the golden opportunity as he recorded two draw and a win to take the top prize.

Two wins and a draw also saw France's world number nine Maxime Vachier-Lagrave climb the standings into second, where he gratefully accepted the silver medal.

Roel Boomstra showed further impressive form today to secure gold in the men's rapid draughts contest ©SportAccord



Russia's third gold came in the women's rapid draughts event as Tamara Tansykkuzhina complimented her opening day's brilliance with three draws.

The calm and steady play lead the Russian to gold, beating Ukraine's World Mind Games ambassador Viktoriia Motrichko to the top spot on the podium.

Motrichko was hoping to close the gap on her Russian rival but could had to settle with silver after a trio of draws of her own.

Belarus' Volha Fedarovich secured silver in this contest after remaining unbeaten following an opening match loss to Latvia's Zoja Golubeva yesterday.

Up and coming super star Roel Boomstra of The Netherlands held his own again on day two of the men's rapid draughts event, recording three draws to secure the gold medal.

The 21-year-old European champion had dominated the opening day of action, with two wins and a draw putting him top of the standings.

He was followed in second and third by Russia's Alexander Shvartsman and Latvia's Guntis Valneris.

Team Monaco failed in its quest to defend its gold medal in the open bridge contest as they missed out on one of the two final berths available.

Israel were instead the team to take second in the preliminary stages, where the join the United States.

England and The Netherlands will contest the gold in the women's contest.

Team Monaco will be unable to defend their bridge title in Beijing after failing to qualify to the final today ©SportAccord



In Xiangqi, the United States' Jia Dan recorded a shock win over China's Tang Sinan in the men's contest, while Germany Naegler Michael had a second lose to Filipino Chong Heung Ming, Malaysia's Yeoh Thean Jern secured a win over Singapore's Leow Meng Hao and World Mind Games ambassador Wong Hok Him of Hong Kong finally beat Vietnam's Diep Khai Nguyen to secure his first victory in his Xiangqi journey.

In the women's game, Australia's Chan Diana Hong succeeded over Vietnam's Nguyen Hoang Yen.

Finally, in the Go competition, Russia's Svetlana Shikshina remarkably kept herself in contention for gold in the women's individual contest as she battles with Asia's finest for a spot on the podium.

Her position was secured today after victory over team mate Dina Burdakova.

It will still be a long way to go for the Russian to take any colour of medal in Beijing as she faces the might of Chang Kai-Hsin of Chinese Taipei in her final individual match on Saturday.

In the other matches of the day, veteran Rui Naiwei of China won both her matches, while the young Japanese, Fujisawa Rina won one and lost one.

Natalia Kovaleva of Russia, who won a rare match against an Asian player on Thursday, lost both her matches to bow out of the women's individual competition.

In the men's competition, China beat South Korea across two boards in their match as Mi Yuting and Tuo Jiaxi of the Chinese team won their matches.

Japan and Chinese Taipei won their matches against the United States and Europe, respectively.

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