Landa Edges Out Brunello On Tiebreak In Capo d'Orso

GMs Konstantin Landa of Russia and Sabino Brunello of Italy tied for first place at the seventh International “Capo d'Orso” tournament in Sardina. Both grandmasters finished on 7.0/9, with Landa finishing first on Sonneborn-Berger points.

In this short report we'll look at the final three rounds of the tournament held in the Porto Mannu resort in Sardinia. After the sixth round, Italians GM Sabino Brunello and IM Marco Codenotti were sharing the lead with five points.

The two players who would eventually finish in first place, met each other in the seventh round. On Thursday GM Sabino Brunello held GM Konstanin Landa to a draw in an Exchange Slav in a game that was always equal, until only bare kings were left on the board:

IM Marco Codenotti, the surprising co-leader after six rounds, drew his white game with Russian grandmaster Sergei Beshukov. GM Axel Rombaldoni grabbed his chance and joined the leaders thanks to a difficult win over one of the Icelandic stars, GM Margeir Petursson:

In round 9 two of the three Italians stayed on top: Rombaldoni (who beat Codenotti) and Brunello. The latter faced tough resistance from the reigning Dutch women's champion, WGM Anne Haast. White's activity eventually proved decisive:

In a fight between two players who were trailing the leaders by half a point, Icelandic icon GM Johann Hjartarson couldn't make it against GM Konstantin Landa. White was OK, until the queens got traded under unfavorable circumstances:

In the final round, on Saturday, Brunello drew with GM Jan Gustafsson. Rombaldoni could win the tournament outright, but instead lost his game with Landa. Trading the d-pawn for White's b-pawn wasn't a great idea; the ending was very difficult for Black. 

2015 Capo d'Orso | Final Standings (Top 12)