YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. In the 7th tour of world team championship the Armenian chess-players competed with Chinese women chess-players who were given the right to participate in men's competition as winners of the last world Olympiad. The Armenian national team won in this game with a score of 3 to 1. Levon Aronian and Smbat Lputian defeated their competitors and Rafael Vahanian and Ashot Anastasian drew the game. Such results were registered in the rest of the 3 games of the 7th tour: China (men) - US 3.5-0.5, Ukraine - Cuba 2-2, Georgia - Israel 2.5-1.5. The Russian chess-players were free from the game. Two tours before the end of the championship taking place in the Beer Sheva town of Israel the only leader is the Chinese national team, which gained 19.5 points out of 24 possible ones. The Chinese national team is followed by the Russian (15.5 points), Armenian (14), Ukrainian (12.5), US and Georgian (12), Israeli (11.5), Cuba (9), Chinese women's (6) teams. The Armenian chess-players, who take the 3rd place for the present, will compete with Chinese men's team at the November 9 penultimate tour and with Cuba team at the last tour to be held the next day. The Armenian national team has good opportunities for becoming a bronze prize-winner at the competition.

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