Being the sole leader after
seven rounds, Alexei Shirov had to suffer a painful defeat yesterday at the hands of rising star Vugar Gashimov. All other games were drawn.
by IM Merijn van DelftNow four players (Rublevsky, Jakovenko, Gashimov and Shirov) are tying for first, which makes for a tense last round. The last round is currently underway, with Shirov-Rublevsky being the main attraction. A tough Taimanov/Paulsen hybrid Sicilian gives chances for both sides. Gashimov quickly drew with black against Wang Hao and Jakovenko is defending the black pieces against Onischuk. The other pairings are Volokitin-Sutovsky and Inarkiev-Bologan. See the
live page of the Russian Chess Federation.With Peter's absence (being on a well deserved holiday) we've had some technical problems putting up the gameviewer and the current standings. We apologize for the inconvenience. It makes one appreciate the work Peter has done in the past two years. We'll be back later with a round-up of the Poikovsky tournament, which has spoiled us with so many exciting games (in the spirit of our new editor Michael Schwerteck!).
UPDATEAll games drawn, which means that the aforementioned players share first place. The last round games were not overly exciting, but I have the impression that Shirov and Rublevsky really wanted to try something today. Possibly 20?¢‚Ǩ¬¶Rh5!? was a better way to hang on to the pawn. Gashimov and Jakovenko drew their black games and so they are the other two winners.Poikovsky 2008 will be remembered for a lot of interesting chess and positional sacrifices ;-)
Being the sole leader after seven rounds, Alexei Shirov had to suffer a painful defeat yesterday at the hands of rising star Vugar Gashimov. All other games were drawn. by IM Merijn van DelftNow four players (Rublevsky, Jakovenko, Gashimov and Shirov) are tying for first, which makes for a tense last round. The last round is currently underway, with Shirov-Rublevsky being the main attraction. A tough Taimanov/Paulsen hybrid Sicilian gives chances for both sides. Gashimov quickly drew with black against Wang Hao and Jakovenko is defending the black pieces against Onischuk. The other pairings are Volokitin-Sutovsky and Inarkiev-Bologan. See the live page of the Russian Chess Federation.With Peter's absence (being on a well deserved holiday) we've had some technical problems putting up the gameviewer and the current standings. We apologize for the inconvenience. It makes one appreciate the work Peter has done in the past two years. We'll be back later with a round-up of the Poikovsky tournament, which has spoiled us with so many exciting games (in the spirit of our new editor Michael Schwerteck!).UPDATEAll games drawn, which means that the aforementioned players share first place. The last round games were not overly exciting, but I have the impression that Shirov and Rublevsky really wanted to try something today. Possibly 20?¢‚Ǩ¬¶Rh5!? was a better way to hang on to the pawn. Gashimov and Jakovenko drew their black games and so they are the other two winners.Poikovsky 2008 will be remembered for a lot of interesting chess and positional sacrifices ;-)
