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Dominguez-Jakovenko: The first 24 moves in the Sicilian Sveshnikov were made in about 15 minutes. Jakovenko experienced certain problems, but managed to hold after the long defence. 1/2-1/2.
Shirov-Onischuk: A known line of the Catalan Opening, in which Black solved his main strategic problem, getting rid of the weakness on c6. But after that Onischuk 'forgot' to regain the pawn, probably underestimating 25.a3!. White was clearly better but Onischuk held. 1/2-1/2.
Svidler-Sasikiran: One of the main lines of Breyer System of the Ruy Lopez Defence. Black developed a certain initiative, but in the time trouble Sasikiran performed unsuccessfully and missed a good chance: 35...Nxg3!. After that White was better, but Black managed to save half a point. 1/2-1/2.
Karjakin-Nisipeanu: An interesting line of the Sicilian Scheveningen, where 12.Kb1 seems to be new. The opponents agreed for a draw after 18 moves, when Black's position was somewhat more promising. 1/2-1/2.
Rublevsky-Ivanchuk: The Fischer Attack in the Sicilian Najdorf, with Ivanchuk opting for a relatively rare line with 7...Be7. After series of strong moves (20...f5!, 22...a4, 24...f4!) Ivanchuk was clearly better and managed to win this grueling 66-move game. 0-1.
Van Wely-Eljanov: Ragozin Defence, which is nowadays often used by Levon Aronian. An acute position emerged with opposite castelling and each side hoping to attack the enemy's king. On move 53 Van Wely sacrificed an exchange, which proved to be enough for a victory. 1-0.
Ivanchuk-Dominguez: A relatively calm variation of the Sicilian Najdorf. After a complex struggle Ivanchuk sacrificed a queen for a rook and knight (on move 28) and obtained a decent positional compensation. Ivanchuk had some chances for a victory, had to agree to a draw after a 136-move marathon. 1/2-1/2.
Jakovenko-Shirov: A Sicilian Sveshnikov, repeating a line which first occurred in Topalov-Leko, Linares 2005. Jakovenko deviated on move 26 to reach a complex position with the opposite coloured bishops. On move 36 Jakovenko avoided the repetition and gradually he got a worse position. Shirov preserved his extra pawn and won in the endgame, his third win with black. 0-1.
Onischuk-Svidler: Svidler used the Gruenfeld Defence, Onischuk opted for a pawn sacrifice which lately was used by White quite successfully, and preserved compensation in the complex position. After move 26, however, only Black could fight for a win, but Onischuk defended successfully. 1/2-1/2.
Nisipeanu-van Wely: A line of the Najdorf System in which Nisipeanu deviated from Fischer-Najdorf, Leipzig 1960, with 10.h4 (instead of Fischer's 10.Qd2). The queenless ending looked somewhat more pleasant for White, but eventually the game ended in a draw. 1/2-1/2.
Eljanov-Rublevsky: A calm line of the Chebanenko Slav in which Eljanov's 16.Qb2 caused Rublevsky to think for almost 50 minutes. He decided to sacrifice a knight and after 21...Rxc4 it was Eljanov's turn for a long think. Rublevsky was forced to go for a somewhat worse ending, but Eljanov did not played very well and gradually lost the important h2 pawn. 1/2-1/2.
In a bad position White decides to sacrifice an exchange: 23.Rxg4 Bxg4 24.fxg4 Qh4+ 25.Ke2 Qxg4+ 26.Kd3 Re7 27.Qd1 Qf5 28.a4 Kh8 29.Rc1 Rfe8 30.Qh1 Qd5 31.Qg2 b6? 32.Qg6 Rf8 33.Rxc6 Ref7 34.Rc1 Qd7 35.b3 Re7 36.Rc6 Qh3 37.Rd6 Rg8 38.Rf6 Rd8 39.Rf3 Qh4?
40.Qf5? Sasikiran missed a forced win: 40.Nd6 Rxe3+ 41.Rxe3 Qxd4+ 42.Kc2! Qxd6 43.Re8+. 40...Re5 41.Rh3 Qe7 42.Qg4 b5 43.axb5 Rxb5 44.Rg3 Rf8 45.Qg6 Rb6 46.Qg4 Rd8 47.Ke2 Ra6 48.Nc4 Ra2+ 49.Kd3 Qf7 50.Rf3 Qe7 51.Qg6 Qb7 52.Ned2 Ra6 53.Qe4 Qd7 54.Rf4 Ra1 55.Qf5 Qb7 56.Qg6 Ra6 57.Qe4 Qb5 58.Rf5 Qd7 59.Nf3 Rb8 60.Nfe5
60...Ra2. Spectacular but unsound. 61.Kc3 Qe8 62.Ng6+ Kg8 63.Ne7+ Kh8. White is completely winning, e.g. after 64.Qe6 Kh7 65.Rf7 Ra6 66.Rxg7+ Kxg7 67.Nf5+ Kh8 68.Qxa6. 64.Ng6+? Kg8 65.Qxe8+ Rxe8. Now Sasikiran is always better, but he managed not to win in this crazy game. 66.Rf3 a5 67.Nge5 Rh2 68.Rf5 Ra2 69.Nd3 Ra8 70.Nc5 Rh2 71.Na4 Bf8 72.Kd3 Bb4 73.Nc5 Rh1 74.Nb6 Rd1+ 75.Kc4 Rd8 76.Nbd7 Bxc5 77.Nxc5 Rc1+ 78.Kb5 Rb8+ 79.Ka6 Rc3 80.Re5 Kf7 81.Rf5+ Ke7 82.Re5+ Kf7 83.Re4 Rc1 84.Rf4+ Ke7 85.Rg4 Kf7 86.Rf4+ Ke7 87.Rg4 Kf7 88.Rg6 Rc3 89.Rxh6 Rxe3 90.Rb6 Rd8 91.Rb7+ Re7 92.Rxe7+ Kxe7 93.Kxa5 Rxd4 1/2-1/2.
Notes based on GM Mikhail Golubev
Vassily Ivanchuk vs Pavel Eljanov in round seven (1-0)
Sergey Karjakin vs Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu in round eight (draw)
Sergey Karjakin vs Loek van Wely in round seven (1-0)
Krishnan Sasikiran vs Sergei Rublevsky in round five (0-1).
Sasi always plays with a "tilka", a Hindu caste-mark on his forehead.
Alexander Onischuk vs Pavel Eljanov in round five (draw)
Top seed Peter Svidler (center, behind the hands)
Peter Svidler vs Lenier Dominguez Perez, Cuba, in round three (draw)
Checking the latest news: Vassily Ivanchuk in the press room
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and a fan at the Aerosvit in Foros
Players at the opening ceremony: Sasikiran, van Wely, Rublevsky, Shirov, Nisipeanu,
Ivanchuk, Jakovenko
Pictures by Anatoly Javorsky and the official web site
