Round 9 at Mtel Masters
Bu defeats Topalov for first win
Just when Veselin Topalov seemed to be catching Vassily Ivanchuk, he lost in the penultimate round to bottom placed Bu Xiangzhi (pictured) to leave the Ukranian genius leading by a point going into the final round.
Ivanchuk drew his game with with Aronian with a threefold repetition after just 26 moves. Neither player seemed to want to risk losing when a draw was available.
Radjabov - Cheparinov was also drawn by threefold repetition, but lasted 6 moves longer and reached a Queen endgame before the end.
In the final round tomorrow, Topalov will need to win his game with the White pieces against Radjabov and hope his compatriot Cheparinov beats Ivanchuk with the White pieces, for Topalov to be the winner on tie breaks (the first tie-break is the number of wins).
With everything to play for, it should be an exciting last round!
The results in round 9:
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | - Aronian, Levon | ½-½ | 26 | D11 | Slav Defence |
| Radjabov, Teimour | - Cheparinov, Ivan | ½-½ | 32 | D46 | Semi-Slav Defence |
| Bu Xiangzhi | - Topalov, Veselin | 1-0 | 47 | D23 | QGA |
The standings after round 9:
| Rank | Name | IRtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pts |
| 1 | Ivanchuk Vassily | 2740 | UKR | * * | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 7,0 |
| 2 | Topalov Veselin | 2767 | BUL | 0 ½ | * * | ½ | 1 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 6,0 |
| 3 | Radjabov Teimour | 2751 | AZE | 0 ½ | ½ | * * | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 5,0 |
| 4 | Cheparinov Ivan | 2695 | BUL | 0 | 0 0 | ½ ½ | * * | 1 1 | ½ ½ | 4,0 |
| 5 | Bu Xiangzhi | 2708 | CHN | 0 ½ | 0 1 | ½ 0 | 0 0 | * * | ½ | 2,5 |
| 6 | Aronian Levon | 2763 | ARM | 0 ½ | 0 0 | ½ 0 | ½ ½ | ½ | * * | 2,5 |
