Superfinal: Tomashevsky Tops, Goryachkina Still Great

Both sections in the Russian Championship Superfinal have two clear leaders with three rounds to go: GM Evgeny Tomashevsky and WGM Aleksandra Goryachkina. The latter will face GM Alexandra Kosteniuk on Tuesday.

Earlier this week it became clear that the players not only have to worry about their opponents in Chita. Chess-News reports that several participants are suffering from stomach issues as a result of bad food.

Sergey Karjakin tweeted about it on Sunday, and in another tweet he was a bit more specific:

Еда для нас, шведский стол, местами сносно,но качество продуктов увы не дотягивает до столичного).От дальнейших подробностей пока воздержусь

— Sergey Karyakin (@SergeyKaryakin) 16 augustus 2015

“The food for us, the buffet, is sometimes satisfactory, but the food quality is, alas, lower than in the capital. I won't comment on further details.”

In round seven (for earlier rounds see the links below the article), just one of the three leaders won his game. GM Evgeny Tomashevsky returned to being the sole leader thanks to a good win over GM Ildar Khairullin.

He found a strong pawn sacrifice in what seemed like a quiet Grünfeld. Initially Khairullin reacted well, but in the long run the bishop was strong than the knight, as it helped Tomashevsky to play on both sides of the board. 

Tomashevsky at the start of round seven.

Another pawn sac was seen in the game below. GM Daniil Dubov played in the style of Garry Kasparov when he preferred to give up material in the opening, to prevent ending up in a passive position. Denis Khismatullin played his part too in what is a candidate for game of the tournament:

Annotations by GM Dejan Bojkov

Below you can watch a brief interview with Dubov, conducted by press chief Eteri Kublashvili. The young Russian star speaks about the tournament, and also about the recent suggestion by Magnus Carlsen about the world championship cycle:

In round eight it was Khismatullin's turn again to be victorious. Against Motylev he could use his Najdorf preparation, which he intended to use earlier against Karjakin. In doing so he provided many Black players with an almost new idea against 6.Bg5.

Black castled kingside after a bishop fianchetto, and responded to f4-f5 with g6-g5. That sounds like asking for trouble (isn't White's h2-h4 killing?), but Khismatullin showed that it's more than playable.

Annotations by GM Dejan Bojkov

An excellent Najdorf by Khismatullin.

All other games were drawn, and so it's Tomashevsky who leads, with three rounds to go. He won't have an easy life though: in the remaining rounds he faces Bukavshin, Karjakin and then Svidler. 

2015 Superfinal | Round 8 Standings

Like Tomashevsky, WGM Aleksandra Goryachkina is back to being the sole leader among the women. The 16-year-old maintained her good form, winning both her games in rounds seven and eight. After grinding down Olga Girya in 120 moves in a queen ending, the next day she beat Marina Guseva:

We just have to mention Sergey Shipov's great description of Goryachkina during his commentary: “Petrosian in a skirt” (hat tip Chess24).

Alexandra Kosteniuk couldn't keep pace as she scored “only” 1.5/2. However, in the ninth round, on Tuesday, she'll play Goryachkina with the white pieces in what will be the crucial game of the tournament.  

2015 Women's Superfinal | Round 8 Standings

Three more rounds will be played, starting at 15:00 local time (10:00 Moscow, 08:00 London, 03:00 New York, midnight Los Angeles). Chess.com is streaming the official live commentary of all rounds at www.chess.com/tv, with GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko and WGM Anna Burtasova. Photos by Eteri Kublashvili & Vladimir Barsky. Games via TWIC