Draughts player Ion Dosca wins third place at IMSA Cup

Grand International Master (GIM) at draughts, Moldovan Ion Dosca, ranked third in the first Cup of the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), taking place during April 27-29 in the Russian city of Perm. In the final tour, Dosca defeated GIM Gavril Kolesov (the Sakha Republic, Russia), who garnered 10 points and occupied the fourth place. Ion Dosca collected the same number of points – 11 – as GIM MMI Alexander Schwartzman (Moscow, Russia), en-titre world champion of international draughts and former European draughts champion. Since Schwartzman’s international ranking is higher, Dosca got but the third place. The winner of the IMSA Cup at draughts is Murdullo Amirlaev (Bashkortostan, Russia), who outscored the favorite competitor – Schwartzman – by one point. The prestigious competition was joined by 28 titled players, including 9 world champions. IMSA Cup is a combined event consisting of four competitions – Draughts, Chess, Bridge, and Go. The tournament also includes an exhibition match in the exotic sport of Chinese Chess Xiang Qi. The last competition day is devoted to a friendly match of the guests of the competitions – European Ambassadors and Russian Members of Parliament – who will also participate in the solemn closing ceremony. IMSA Cup is a dress rehearsal for the first World Mind Sports Games, which will take place in the capital of Summer Olympics 2008, Beijing, shortly after the Olympics and Paralympics. The event is expected to bring together some 3,000 sportsmen from 50 countries.