Mamedyarov defaults again, leaves European Championship

In round 9 of the European Championship in Plovdiv Shakhriyar Mamedyarov again lost by default, and then decided to leave the tournament. He agreed to a draw with his opponent Alvar Alonso Rosell before move 40 without asking the arbiter, whereupon the game was declared lost for both players. Mamedyarov then informed the organizers in written form that he would not continue the tournament. Seven grandmasters are sharing the lead with 7/9 and two rounds to go.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov calls it quits in Plovdiv

Round 9

The 13th edition of the Individual European Championship will go down in history as one with many incidents. Apparently the chess players in Plovdiv have a hard time adjusting to some of the new rules that were implemented by the European Chess Union (ECU) on January 1st, 2012. In the 9th round this led to a climax, with second seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan leaving the tournament after having lost by default for the second time.

In round 8 the Azeri grandmaster arrived a little too late at his board, and lost because the Championship is using a zero-tolerance policy: everyone has to be at his board at the start of the round, not a second later. A day later he arrived in time, and started playing his game, with black against IM Alvar Alonso Rosell of Spain.

After the moves 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 c5 7. d5 b5 8. cxb5 a6 9. a4 Nbd7 10. Rb1 axb5 11. axb5 Nb6 12. Be2 e6 13. dxe6 Bxe6 14. O-O d5 15. exd5 Nbxd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bg5 Qb6 18. Qd2 Nc7 19. Bh6 Nxb5 the players agreed to a draw. Then, an arbiter declared the game as lost for both players because of the anti-draw rule that is in effect in Plovdiv: draws before move 40 are not allowed without consulting the arbiter, who has to decide whether the position is really drawn.

To Chess-News, Mamedyarov said:

I didn't like the position. I thought it'd be a draw but it ended up as zero. In general, I knew I'd probably get zero anyway, but it didn't matter any more, as everything was going terribly for me. So I didn't pay any particular intention.

(Translation by Colin McGourty.)

There was not a problem with for example the following game, played on board one:

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Akopian, Vladimir"]
[Black "Malakhov, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2705"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bc8 14. Ne2
Be6 15. Nf4 Bc8 16. Ne2 1/2-1/2

This game, which ended in a perfectly legal repetition of moves, was the absolute top encounter in round 9. Of course it was a big disappointment for chess fans, sponsors and anyone who loves fighting chess. (For the professionals it's understandable that they like to play one or two of such games in a grueling 11-round Swiss where qualification for the World Cup is at stake, but that's another story.) It also points out once more that no anti-draw rule will prevent a short draw when both players want to draw quickly.

After his loss by default, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov decided to call it quits. As we were told, he acted professionally and didn't make any remarks towards the organizers. Very disappointed about his poor results in Plovdiv, he decided not to play the last two rounds, and informed the organizers in a written letter.

In fact in the same round another game was also declared lost for both players, Tal Baron and Eltaj Safarli, who agreed to a draw after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be4 11.Qc1 Bb7 12.Qc2 Be4 13.Qc1 Bb7 14.Qc2. This was a well-known move repetition, but apparently the players didn't bother to consult an arbiter and were punished for this...

As mentioned above, co-leaders Akopian and Malakhov drew quickly, and the third leader, Maxim Matlakov, also split the point, with Nikita Vitiugov. Four players just behind them won their games and joined the three in the lead: Laurent Fressinet, Ernesto Inarkiev, Mikhail Kobalia and Dmitry Andreikin. Kobalia beat Jobava with white in a Panov Caro-Kann:

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Kobalia, Mikhail"]
[Black "Jobava, Baadur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D42"]
[WhiteElo "2666"]
[BlackElo "2706"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Re1 Nf6 11. a3 b6 12. Bg5 Bb7 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Qd3 g6 15.
Rad1 Nd5 16. Bh6 Rc8 17. Ba4 a6 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Qe3 Bf6 20. Bb3 Qd8 21. Ne5
Qe7 22. Ng4 Na5 23. Ba2 Nc4 24. Qf4 Bg7 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 26. d5 g5 27. Qg3 h5 28.
Bxc4 Rxc4 29. Ne5 exd5 30. Nf3 Rd4 31. Rc1 Rc4 32. h4 Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Rc8 34. Re1
Qf6 35. hxg5 Qf5 36. Re7 Rc1+ 37. Kh2 Bc8 38. g6 Qg4 39. Rxf7+ Kh6 40. Qe5 1-0

Against Ivan Sokolov, Inarkiev played a game that we'd like to dub Fischeresque: all moves seemed simple and crystal clear, but were the result of a tactically sharp vision.

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 4. Nc3 d6 5. d4 a6 6. Be2 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 exd4 8.
Qxd4 Nc6 9. Qd3 g6 10. h4 Bg7 11. Bg5 f6 12. Be3 Be6 13. Nd5 Qd7 14. O-O-O f5
15. h5 Ne5 16. Qb3 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 O-O-O 18. Bg5 c6 19. Qb3 Rdf8 20. f4 h6 21.
fxe5 hxg5 22. Rxd6 Qc7 23. Rhd1 Rd8 24. hxg6 Kb8 25. Rxd8+ Rxd8 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8
27. Bxa6 Qc7 28. Qxb7+ Qxb7 29. Bxb7 Bxe5 30. Bxc6 Kc7 31. Bd5 Kd6 32. b4 g4
33. Kd2 f4 34. Ke2 Ke7 35. Bc6 Kf6 36. Bd7 Kxg6 37. Bxg4 Kf6 38. Kd3 1-0

Gawain Jones and Andrei Volokitin played an extremely interesting draw:

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.6"]
[White "Jones, Gawain C B"]
[Black "Volokitin, Andrei"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2635"]
[BlackElo "2695"]
[PlyCount "165"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. e4 d5 6. e5 Ne4 7. Bd3 c5 8. Nf3
cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nc5 10. Bxh7+ Kh8 11. Nf3 d4 12. Bg5 f6 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Bf4 d3
15. Qd1 Kxh7 16. O-O Nc6 17. Nh4 Qe8 18. Nb5 e5 19. Nd6 Qd7 20. Nhf5 Kh8 21.
Bh6 Rf7 22. a3 Ne4 23. Qh5 Rh7 24. axb4 Nxd6 25. Nxd6 Ne7 26. Bg7+ Kxg7 27.
Qf7+ Kh6 28. Qxf6+ Ng6 29. f4 Qe7 30. fxe5 Qxf6 31. exf6 Bg4 32. Rf2 Rd7 33. c5
Ne5 34. Kf1 Nf7 35. Nc4 Re8 36. Rxa7 Re4 37. Nd2 Rxb4 38. b3 Rc7 39. Ra4 Rxa4
40. bxa4 Rxc5 41. Rf4 Rf5 42. Rxf5 Bxf5 43. Kf2 Kg5 44. Ke3 Kxf6 45. g4 Bxg4
46. Kxd3 Ne5+ 47. Kc3 Ke6 48. Kb4 Kd5 49. Kb5 Nd7 50. Nb1 Kd4 51. h4 Be2+ 52.
Kb4 Nf6 53. Nd2 Nd5+ 54. Ka3 Ne3 55. Kb4 Nc2+ 56. Kb3 Bd1 57. Nb1 Ne3+ 58. Kb4
Nd5+ 59. Ka3 Nc3 60. Nd2 Bxa4 61. h5 Bc2 62. Nf3+ Kc4 63. Ne5+ Kd5 64. Ng4 Bf5
65. h6 Ke6 66. Kb4 Nd5+ 67. Kc5 b6+ 68. Kb5 Kd6 69. Kc4 Bg6 70. Kd4 Ne7 71. Kc4
Nd5 72. Kd4 Nc7 73. Nf6 Ne6+ 74. Kc4 Kc6 75. h7 b5+ 76. Kb4 Bxh7 77. Nxh7 Nc7
78. Nf6 Na6+ 79. Ka5 b4 80. Kxa6 b3 81. Ne4 b2 82. Nc3 b1=Q 83. Nxb1 1/2-1/2

Laurent Fressinet was awarded for continuing to play for a win several times:

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "Fressinet, Laurent"]
[Black "Korobov, Anton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2693"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Nbd7 6. O-O dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. a4 b4 10. Nbd2 c5 11. Qe2 Be7 12. Rd1 O-O 13. a5 Rc8 14. Nc4 cxd4 15.
exd4 Nd5 16. a6 Ba8 17. Nfe5 N7f6 18. Bg5 h6 19. Bd2 Nb6 20. Nxb6 Qxb6 21. Be3
Bd5 22. Rac1 b3 23. h3 Rfd8 24. Qf1 Bd6 25. Bb1 Qb8 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Rc1 Rc7
28. Nc4 Bxc4 29. Rxc4 Nd5 30. Bd2 Bh2+ 31. Kh1 Bf4 32. Bxf4 Nxf4 33. Rc5 Rxc5
34. dxc5 Qe5 35. Qc1 Ne2 36. Qd1 Nd4 37. Qc1 Qd5 38. Qc3 e5 39. Bd3 Kf8 40. Qb4
Nc6 41. Qb5 g5 42. Bc4 Qe4 43. f3 Qe1+ 44. Kh2 g4 45. fxg4 Qe4 46. Qxb3 Qf4+
47. Kg1 Qc1+ 48. Kh2 Qf4+ 49. Kg1 Qc1+ 50. Bf1 Qxc5+ 51. Kh1 e4 52. Qb5 Qc1 53.
Qc4 Qd1 54. Kh2 Qd6+ 55. Kh1 Qd1 56. Qc5+ Kg8 57. Kg1 Nd4 58. Qe5 Nb3 59. Qb8+
Kg7 60. Qxa7 Nd2 61. Qd4+ Kg8 62. Qf6 e3 63. a7 Qa1 64. Qa6 Qe1 1-0

Andreikin demonstrated the power of the bishop pair on his game against Istratescu.

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.9"]
[White "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Black "Istratescu, Andrei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2689"]
[BlackElo "2633"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. b3 Bg4 6. Bb2 e6 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. h3
Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Bd6 10. d4 b5 11. O-O O-O 12. Re1 Rb8 13. Rb1 Re8 14. e4 dxe4 15.
Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 bxc4 17. Bxc6 cxb3 18. axb3 Re7 19. d5 Nc5 20. Bc3 exd5 21.
Qxd5 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Bf8 23. Re3 Ne6 24. Be5 Rc8 25. Bb7 Rc1+ 26. Kh2 Qb6 27.
Bg3 a5 28. Qd7 a4 29. Bd5 h6 30. Rf3 Ng5 31. Rxf7 Kh7 32. Rxf8 1-0

The following game seemed a bit à la Fischer as well, but maybe that's just us. Caruana, now a top 10 player, likes to grind down his slightly lower rated opponents and really has a special knack for it:

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.11"]
[White "Rodshtein, Maxim"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A35"]
[WhiteElo "2652"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[PlyCount "158"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nd4 4. e3 Nxf3+ 5. Qxf3 g6 6. b3 Bg7 7. Bb2 d6 8. g3
e6 9. Bg2 Ne7 10. O-O O-O 11. Rad1 Nc6 12. Qe2 e5 13. a3 Re8 14. Nd5 a5 15. Rb1
Be6 16. Bc3 Ne7 17. b4 cxb4 18. axb4 a4 19. Qd3 f5 20. e4 Nxd5 21. exd5 Bf7 22.
Ra1 b5 23. cxb5 Qb6 24. Rfc1 e4 25. Qe3 Qxe3 26. fxe3 Bxd5 27. Bxg7 Kxg7 28.
Bf1 Kf6 29. Ra3 Reb8 30. Be2 Bb3 31. Rc6 Ke6 32. Kf2 Kd7 33. d4 Rc8 34. Ra6
Rxa6 35. bxa6 Kc6 36. Ra1 Kb6 37. Ke1 Rc2 38. h4 h6 39. b5 d5 40. Rb1 Rc3 41.
Kd2 Rc2+ 42. Ke1 a3 43. Rxb3 a2 44. Ra3 Rc1+ 45. Kf2 a1=Q 46. Rxa1 Rxa1 47. Bf1
g5 48. hxg5 hxg5 49. Be2 Rh1 50. Kg2 Rh8 51. Kg1 Rf8 52. Kf2 Rf7 53. Bf1 Rc7
54. Be2 Rc1 55. Kg2 Rc8 56. Kf1 Rf8 57. Kf2 Rf6 58. Bf1 f4 59. gxf4 gxf4 60.
exf4 Rxf4+ 61. Ke1 Rf3 62. Be2 Rb3 63. Kf2 Rh3 64. Bf1 e3+ 65. Ke1 Rh1 66. Ke2
Kxb5 67. a7 Rh8 68. Kxe3+ Kc6 69. Kf4 Ra8 70. Ke5 Rxa7 71. Bg2 Re7+ 72. Kf4 Kd6
73. Bf3 Re1 74. Bg2 Ra1 75. Bf3 Ra3 76. Be2 Kc6 77. Bf1 Ra2 78. Ke5 Rd2 79. Ba6
Rd1 0-1

Alexander Khalifman, who played an excellent Aeroflot Open this year, is doing well again. The former FIDE World Champion won a splendid game against a 2700 GM:

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.13"]
[White "Khalifman, Alexander"]
[Black "Laznicka, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2649"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ne7 8. O-O
Nbc6 9. Bb5 a6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. c4 dxc4 12. Qa4 Qd7 13. Na3 c3 14. bxc3 Nd5
15. Nxf5 exf5 16. Nc4 Be7 17. Rfd1 O-O 18. Nb6 Nxb6 19. Bxb6 Qe6 20. Bc7 f6 21.
Qb3 Kf7 22. Bd6 fxe5 23. Bxe5 Qxb3 24. axb3 Rfd8 25. Kf1 g5 26. f4 gxf4 27.
Bxf4 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Ra7 29. Ra1 Bf6 30. Ra5 Bxc3 31. Rxf5+ Ke8 32. Ke2 Rf7 33.
Rxf7 Kxf7 34. Kd3 Bb4 35. g4 Be7 36. Kd4 Ke6 37. Bg3 Bf8 38. h4 Be7 39. h5 Bf8
40. Bf4 Be7 41. Ke4 Bd8 42. g5 Be7 43. Bd2 Bd8 44. g6 hxg6 45. hxg6 Be7 46. Bc3
Ba3 47. Kf4 Bc1+ 48. Kg4 Be3 49. Kh5 Bc1 50. Ba5 Be3 51. Bd8 Bf4 52. Bg5 Be5
53. Kh6 c5 54. Bd2 Kd5 55. Kh7 c4 56. bxc4+ Kc5 57. Kg8 Bd4 58. Kf7 Kxc4 59.
Bg5 1-0

For the players of the following game, we hope they have enough energy left for two more rounds.

[Event "13th EICC round_9"]
[Site "Plovdiv BUL"]
[Date "2012.03.29"]
[Round "9.129"]
[White "Sanal, Vahap"]
[Black "Can, Emre"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B38"]
[WhiteElo "2286"]
[BlackElo "2476"]
[PlyCount "456"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8.
Be2 b6 9. Nc2 Bb7 10. f4 Na5 11. e5 Ne4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. b4 Nc6 14. Bf3 Bxf3
15. Qxf3 Qc7 16. O-O d6 17. exd6 Qxd6 18. Rad1 Qc7 19. a3 e6 20. Bf2 Rac8 21.
Rd3 e5 22. Ne3 f5 23. Nd5 Qf7 24. Rdd1 Nd4 25. Bxd4 exd4 26. Rfe1 Rfe8 27.
Rxe8+ Qxe8 28. Qf1 Qd7 29. Re1 Re8 30. Kf2 Re4 31. Qd3 Qe6 32. Rc1 h6 33. h4
Kh7 34. g3 b5 35. Nc7 Qc6 36. Nd5 a6 37. Rc2 Qe6 38. Nc7 Qe7 39. Nd5 Qd6 40.
Rd2 Qc6 41. Rc2 Qd6 42. Rd2 Qe6 43. Rd1 bxc4 44. Qxc4 d3 45. Qxd3 Bd4+ 46. Qxd4
Rxd4 47. Rxd4 Kg7 48. Rd2 Qc6 49. Ne3 Kf7 50. Rc2 Qa4 51. Rc7+ Ke6 52. Rc3 Qd7
53. Rc5 h5 54. Re5+ Kf7 55. Rd5 Qa4 56. Ra5 Qc6 57. Rc5 Qa4 58. Rc7+ Kf8 59.
Rc3 Qd7 60. Ke2 Kg7 61. Rd3 Qc6 62. Kd2 Qh1 63. Nc2 Qc6 64. Ne3 Qh1 65. Nc4
Qg2+ 66. Kc3 Qa2 67. Kd4 Qg2 68. Re3 Kf6 69. Kc3 Qa2 70. Rd3 Qa1+ 71. Kd2 Qa2+
72. Kc3 Qa1+ 73. Kb3 Qb1+ 74. Nb2 Ke7 75. a4 Qg1 76. Nd1 Qf1 77. Kc4 Qe2 78.
Nc3 Qe6+ 79. Rd5 Qc6+ 80. Kb3 Qb6 81. Rxf5 Qd4 82. Rd5 Qf2 83. Rd3 Kf7 84. Kc4
Qb6 85. Rd7+ Kf8 86. b5 a5 87. Rd3 Qc7+ 88. Kd4 Qb6+ 89. Kc4 Qc7+ 90. Kb3 Qc5
91. Rd5 Qb6 92. Kc4 Qe6 93. Kd4 Qf6+ 94. Kd3 Qb6 95. Rd4 Qc5 96. Rd8+ Ke7 97.
Rd5 Qf2 98. Re5+ Kf7 99. Re3 Qb2 100. Re2 Qb4 101. Kc2 Qc5 102. Rd2 Qe3 103.
Rd7+ Kf8 104. Rd3 Qc5 105. Kd2 Qf2+ 106. Ne2 Qc5 107. Rd4 Kf7 108. Re4 Qd5+
109. Ke3 Qc5+ 110. Kf3 Qa3+ 111. Kf2 Qc5+ 112. Nd4 Qc1 113. f5 gxf5 114. Nxf5
Qc2+ 115. Kf3 Qd1+ 116. Kf4 Kf6 117. Ne3 Qd2 118. Kf3 Qb2 119. Rc4 Ke6 120.
Rc6+ Kd7 121. Rc4 Qb3 122. Re4 Qb1 123. Kf4 Qa1 124. Kf5 Qg7 125. Kf4 Qa1 126.
Nf5 Qc1+ 127. Ke5 Qc3+ 128. Rd4+ Kc7 129. Kf4 Qc1+ 130. Ne3 Qb2 131. Rc4+ Kd7
132. Kf3 Ke6 133. Rc5 Qb3 134. Rc6+ Kd7 135. Rc4 Ke6 136. Rd4 Qb1 137. Re4+ Kf7
138. Kf4 Qb2 139. Kf3 Qb1 140. Rf4+ Ke6 141. Rd4 Qb2 142. Rd6+ Ke7 143. Nf5+
Kf7 144. Kf4 Qc1+ 145. Ke5 Qa1+ 146. Rd4 Qc3 147. Nd6+ Ke7 148. Ne4 Qb2 149.
Kd5 Kd7 150. Rc4 Qb1 151. Nc5+ Kc7 152. Ne6+ Kb8 153. Nd4 Qd3 154. Kc5 Kb7 155.
Nc6 Qf5+ 156. Kd4 Qg4+ 157. Kd5 Qd7+ 158. Ke5 Qg7+ 159. Kf5 Kb6 160. Ne5 Qxg3
161. Rd4 Kc5 162. Rf4 Qg7 163. Rf3 Qh7+ 164. Ke6 Qg8+ 165. Rf7 Qe8+ 166. Kf6
Kb4 167. Nd7 Qd8+ 168. Re7 Qh8+ 169. Kg6 Qd4 170. Nf6 Kc5 171. Re4 Qb2 172. Rf4
Kd6 173. Kxh5 Qe5+ 174. Kg4 Qe2+ 175. Kg5 Qe5+ 176. Rf5 Qe3+ 177. Kh5 Qe2+ 178.
Ng4 Qe8+ 179. Kg5 Qg8+ 180. Kh5 Qe8+ 181. Kh6 Qh8+ 182. Kg5 Qg8+ 183. Kf4 Qc4+
184. Kg3 Qxa4 185. b6 Kc6 186. Rf6+ Kb7 187. h5 Qa1 188. h6 Qg1+ 189. Kf4 Qh1
190. Ne5 a4 191. Kg5 a3 192. Rf7+ Kxb6 193. Nc4+ Kc5 194. Nxa3 Qc1+ 195. Kg6
Qxa3 196. Rf5+ Kd6 197. h7 Qg3+ 198. Kf7 Qh4 199. Kg6 Ke7 200. Rh5 Qe4+ 201.
Kg5 Qe5+ 202. Kg4 Qh8 203. Kh3 Kf6 204. Rh4 Kf5 205. Kg3 Qb8+ 206. Kg2 Qb2+
207. Kh3 Qc3+ 208. Kg2 Qd2+ 209. Kf1 Qc1+ 210. Kf2 Qb2+ 211. Kg3 Qe5+ 212. Kf2
Qh8 213. Kg3 Kf6 214. Rf4+ Ke5 215. Rh4 Ke6 216. Kh3 Kf5 217. Kg3 Qe5+ 218. Kf2
Qc5+ 219. Kf1 Qc1+ 220. Kf2 Qb2+ 221. Kg3 Qg7+ 222. Kf2 Qa7+ 223. Kg2 Qa2+ 224.
Kf1 Qb1+ 225. Kg2 Qb2+ 226. Kg3 Qc3+ 227. Kg2 Qg7+ 228. Kf2 Qb2+ 1/2-1/2

European Championship 2012 | Round 9 standings (top 40)

Previous reports

• European Championship starts with many upsets (and a dress code)
• Gawain Jones leads European Championship after four rounds
• European Championship: 10 players in the lead, 7 defaulted
• Akopian, Malakhov, Matlakov lead in Plovdiv, Mamedyarov forfeits