Aronian Grabs Lead In Sochi Grand Prix
Round 11 was another exciting round at the Sochi Grand Prix with Lev Aronian (pictured) benefitting from a blunder by Boris Gelfand to win their game and take the sole lead on 7/11 with just 2 rounds of this closely fought contest to go.
Dmitry Jakavenko finally ended his sequence of 10 draws so far in the event to beat Vugar Gashimov in a King and Pawn ending.
Ivan Cheparinov lost for the second round in a row, this time to Sergey Karjakin, as he slipped up in a complex endgame.
Finally, Peter Svidler recovered some ground by winning against Al-Modiahki, who is, as expected, struggling against the strong field.
The results in round 11:
| Aronian, Levon | - Gelfand, Boris | 1-0 | 26 | E15 | Queens Indian |
| Wang Yue | - Kamsky, Gata | ½-½ | 44 | D80 | Gruenfeld 4.Bg5 |
| Karjakin, Sergey | - Cheparinov, Ivan | 1-0 | 54 | B12 | Caro Kann Advanced |
| Jakovenko, Dmitry | - Gashimov, Vugar | 1-0 | 52 | A61 | Benoni |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | - Radjabov, Teimour | ½-½ | 37 | E61 | King's Indian Defence |
| Navara, David | - Grischuk, Alexander | ½-½ | 55 | B43 | Sicilian Paulsen |
| Al-Modiahki, Mohamad | - Svidler, Peter | 0-1 | 42 | B12 | Caro Kann Advanced |
The standings after round 11:
| 1 | Aronian, Levon | ARM | 2737 | 7 |
| 2 | Wang Yue | CHN | 2704 | 6½ |
| 3 | Karjakin, Sergey | UKR | 2727 | 6½ |
| 4 | Radjabov, Teimour | AZE | 2744 | 6½ |
| 5 | Jakovenko, Dmitry | RUS | 2709 | 6 |
| 6 | Kamsky, Gata | USA | 2723 | 6 |
| 7 | Gashimov, Vugar | AZE | 2717 | 6 |
| 8 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2781 | 5½ |
| 9 | Grischuk, Alexander | RUS | 2728 | 5½ |
| 10 | Cheparinov, Ivan | BUL | 2687 | 5½ |
| 11 | Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2738 | 5 |
| 12 | Gelfand, Boris | ISR | 2720 | 4½ |
| 13 | Navara, David | CZE | 2646 | 3½ |
| 14 | Al-Modiahki, Mohamad | QAT | 2556 | 3 |
