Round 9 at Aerosvit
Eljanov wins to move into second place
Pavel Eljanov (pictured) from Ukraine moved into sole second place on 5.5/9 ahead of his compatriots Ivanchuk and Karjakin by defeating yet another Ukranian Andrei Volokitin. The home country for the Aerosvit event is certainly blessed with an amazing number of talented players.
The only other decisive game of the day featured Alexei Shirov - but this time he was on the receiving end against Nisipeanu in a Sveshnikov Sicilian. The game was also notable for featuring a rare underpromotion to a Knight.
All the other games were drawn in 20 moves or less as the players' fighting spirit seemed to desert them as Magnus Carlsen coasts effortlessly to an impressive tournament win.
The results in round 9:
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | - Svidler, Peter | ½-½ | 19 | C88 | Ruy Lopez Closed |
| Karjakin, Sergey | - Van Wely, Loek | ½-½ | 20 | D94 | Gruenfeld Closed |
| Jakovenko, Dmitry | - Carlsen, Magnus | ½-½ | 16 | A30 | English Symmetrical |
| Volokitin, Andrei | - Eljanov, Pavel | 0-1 | 48 | C67 | Ruy Lopez Berlin |
| Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter | - Shirov, Alexei | 1-0 | 36 | B33 | Sicilian Sveshnikov |
| Onischuk, Alexander | - Alekseev, Evgeny | ½-½ | 17 | E17 | Queens Indian |
The standings after round 9:
| 1 | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2765 | * | 1 | 1 | . | ½ | ½ | ½ | . | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 7 |
| 2 | Eljanov, Pavel | UKR | 2687 | 0 | * | . | . | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5½ |
| 3 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2740 | 0 | . | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | . | 1 | ½ | 5 |
| 4 | Karjakin, Sergey | UKR | 2732 | . | . | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5 |
| 5 | Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2746 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | . | . | 1 | 4½ |
| 6 | Alekseev, Evgeny | RUS | 2711 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | . | . | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 4½ |
| 7 | Jakovenko, Dmitry | RUS | 2711 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | . | * | 1 | . | 1 | 0 | ½ | 4½ |
| 8 | Volokitin, Andrei | UKR | 2684 | . | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | . | 0 | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter | ROU | 2684 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | . | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | . | 4 |
| 10 | Van Wely, Loek | NED | 2677 | 0 | ½ | . | ½ | . | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | 0 | ½ | 3½ |
| 11 | Shirov, Alexei | ESP | 2740 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | . | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | . | 3½ |
| 12 | Onischuk, Alexander | USA | 2664 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | . | ½ | . | * | 3 |
