Brilliant Wojtaszek Surging In Shamkir
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov played with fire and lost today to an excellently prepared Radoslaw Wojtaszek in Round 8 of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijan. This cut his full point lead to just half a point, as both Wesley So and Veselin Topalov drew their games.
Wojtaszek vs. Mamedyarov. | Photo courtesy Shamkir Chess.
An easy pick for the game of the day, featuring comments by the winner on his fantastic preparation in the Anti-Grunfeld:
Meanwhile, Vladimir Kramnik essayed 1.e4 today to confidently defeat Michael Adams:
Sergey Karjakin also won, converting an endgame against Pavel Eljanov with two bishops vs. rook and two pawns:
Karjakin pressed and pressed to finally crack Eljanov's defenses. | Photo courtesy Shamkir Chess.
Wesley So also pushed for a while against Teimour Radjabov and even managed to win a pawn, but it wasn't enough to win in a same-color bishop endgame:
Lastly, Veselin Topalov could not make much progress against Pentala Harikrishna, but a draw does bring him to 4.5/8, within striking distance going into the last round:
2017 Vugar Gashimov Memorial | Round 8 Standings
| # | Fed | Name | Rtg | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar | 2772 | 2855 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.0/8 | ||||
| 2 | So,Wesley | 2822 | 2803 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 4.5/8 | 17.75 | |||
| 3 | Topalov,Veselin | 2741 | 2810 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4.5/8 | 17 | |||
| 4 | Wojtaszek,Radoslaw | 2745 | 2768 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4.0/8 | 16.25 | |||
| 5 | Karjakin,Sergey | 2783 | 2770 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4.0/8 | 16 | |||
| 6 | Adams,Michael | 2761 | 2768 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4.0/8 | 16 | |||
| 7 | Kramnik,Vladimir | 2811 | 2762 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4.0/8 | 15 | |||
| 8 | Radjabov,Teimour | 2710 | 2726 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 3.5/8 | 14.5 | |||
| 9 | Eljanov,Pavel | 2751 | 2718 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 3.5/8 | 12.75 | |||
| 10 | Harikrishna,P | 2755 | 2671 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 3.0/8 |
In the final round Mamedyarov will have White against Topalov, while So will be Black against Harikrishna. Should make for a very exciting finish in Shamkir!
Games from TWIC.
Previous Reports:
- Mamedyarov Maintains Firm Lead In Shamkir
- Mamedyarov Extends Lead As Kramnik Struggles
- Karjakin, So Notch 1st Wins In Shamkir
- Kramnik Wins With Amazing Rook Sac In Shamkir
- Mamedyarov Bamboozles Eljanov, Steals Lead In Shamkir
- Topalov Wins A Brilliancy In Shamkir
- So's Unbeaten Streak Ended By Mamedyarov
