Round 8 at Mtel Masters
Topalov wins again to stay in contention
The amazing Veselin Topalov (artist's impression pictured!) convincingly won his 8th round game against his countryman and friend, Ivan Cheparinov to close the gap to former runaway leader Vassily Ivanchuk to just half a point.
Ivanchuk was definitely second best in his game but hung on to draw against Bu Xiangzhi. Since his 5/5 start, Ivanchuk has now drawn his last three games.
Teimour Radjabov survived time trouble to convert a nice position into a win against Lev Aronian, who will probably want to forget this tournament as soon as possible.
The results in round 8:
| Topalov, Veselin | - Cheparinov, Ivan | 1-0 | 32 | D90 | Gruenfeld Flohr |
| Aronian, Levon | - Radjabov, Teimour | 0-1 | 44 | E97 | King's Indian Classical |
| Bu Xiangzhi | - Ivanchuk, Vassily | ½-½ | 61 | A30 | English Symmetrical |
The standings after round 8:
| Rank | Name | IRtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pts |
| 1 | Ivanchuk Vassily | 2740 | UKR | * * | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 ½ | 6,5 |
| 2 | Topalov Veselin | 2767 | BUL | 0 ½ | * * | ½ | 1 1 | 1 1 | 1 | 6,0 |
| 3 | Radjabov Teimour | 2751 | AZE | 0 ½ | ½ | * * | ½ | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 4,5 |
| 4 | Cheparinov Ivan | 2695 | BUL | 0 | 0 0 | ½ | * * | ½ ½ | 1 1 | 3,5 |
| 5 | Aronian Levon | 2763 | ARM | 0 | 0 0 | ½ 0 | ½ ½ | * * | ½ | 2,0 |
| 6 | Bu Xiangzhi | 2708 | CHN | 0 ½ | 0 | ½ 0 | 0 0 | ½ | * * | 1,5 |
