The second stage of the round robin competition revealed the names of three leaders in grandmasters tournament. In men event Yuri Eliseev and Vladimir Belous achieved two victories each. Today Eliseev defeated Turkey's Burak Firat, while Belous bested Robert Hovhannisyan from Armenia.

In women competition the 16-year-old Danara Saduakasova from Kazakhstan is currently in the lead. She is the only player to win both opening games. In the second round the young Kazakh player defeated the Polish National Champion Karina Szczepkowska-Horowska.

Another notable achievement was a successful start for the World Women Championships bronze medalist Harika Dronavalli (India). At the Russian Cup event for male players she achieved two victories and in the third round she will face a team Azerbaijan representative Rauf Mamedov at the first table.

The third round of the competition will begin on Monday, February 4th.