Sochi R07: Karjakin beats Al-Modiahki, as bomb blast rocks Sochi

FIDE Grand Prix in Sochi 2008

The Second FIDE Grand Prix Tournament is taking place in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi, from July 30 to August 15, 2008, with 14 players from ten different countries. The field is dominated by Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk, who is 37 point ahead of the next highest ranked player in the field.

Bomb blast in Sochi

The Moscow Times is reporting that an explosive device detonated in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Thursday, killing two and injuring as many as 13. The device exploded on a beach in the village of Loo, just north of Sochi, at around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Killed in the blast were a 31-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, while four others were hospitalized with injuries. Eyewitnesses said that the bomb was hidden in a bag lying on the road. The blast could be heard a kilometer away. Sochi police announced a reward of 2 million rubles ($84,800) for any information that would help lead to the perpetrators.

Russia has lobbied extensively to host the 2014 Olympics, but the bid is economically, socially and environmentally disputed. The government has portrayed its selection as a sign of its prestige, symbolizing an increase of its presence and influence on the international stage. – Full Moscow Times article.

Report after round seven

In the only decided game of the day Sergey Karjakin played the rarely seen Vienna Game (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4) and got his opponent Mohamad Al-Modiahki, into a spot of trouble. However, the GM from Qatar, who is married to former world champion Zhu Chen, defended imaginatively and exchanged down to a queen ending where he had four pawns against Karjakin's three. But guess who won the game!

Qatari GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki vs 18-year-old Ukrainian GM Sergey Karjakin

Karjakin,Sergey (2727) - Al-Modiahki,M (2556) [C24]
2nd FIDE GP Sochi RUS (7), 07.08.2008
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Na5 5.Nge2 Nxc4 6.dxc4 d6 7.0-0 Be7 8.a4 0-0 9.a5 Be6 10.b3 c6 11.f4 exf4 12.Nxf4 Nd7 13.Bb2 Ne5 14.h3 g5 15.Nfe2 g4 16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.Qd4 f6 18.Ng3 Rf7 19.Nd1 Rg7 20.Ne3 Rg6 21.Nxg4 Rxg4 22.Nf5 Bf8 23.Qe3 Qe8 24.Rf4 Rxf4 25.Qxf4 Qh5 26.Rf1 Re8 27.Bd4 a6 28.Qg3+ Qg6 29.Qh3 Nf7 30.Rf4 Ng5 31.Qd3 Re6 32.Ng3 Bh6 33.Rg4 Bf8 34.Rh4 Be7 35.Bc3 Kf7 36.Kf2 Ke8 37.Kf1 Kd7 38.b4 Ke8 39.b5 Kf7 40.Kg1 Kg8 41.Kh2 Kf7 42.Bd2 Bf8 43.Bc1 Re8 44.Nf5 Kg8 45.bxc6 bxc6 46.c5 Nxe4 47.Rxe4 Qxf5 48.Rxe8 Qh5+ 49.Kg3 Qxe8 50.cxd6 Qe1+ 51.Kf3 Qxc1 52.d7 Be7 53.d8Q+ Bxd8 54.Qxd8+

Four vs three pawns, but White can pick up one of them very easily. The position is a dead draw – from the point of view of a computer. However, both Karjakin and Al Modiahki are human beings, and so destiny takes a different path. 54...Kg7 55.Qd7+ Kg6 56.Qe8+ Kg7 57.Qd7+ Kg6 58.Qd3+ Kg5 59.Ke2 Qg1 60.Qg3+ Kh6 61.Qf4+ Kg6 62.Qe4+ Kg7 63.Qxc6 Qb1 64.Qd7+ Kg8 65.Qd3 Kg7 66.Qg3+ Kf8 67.Qd6+ Kg7 68.Kd2 Qb5 69.Qc7+ Kg6 70.g3 h5 71.c4 Qb3 72.c5 Qb2+ 73.Kd3 Qb1+ 74.Kd4 Qd1+ 75.Kc4

Both players have stayed well within the drawing window, but Karjakin, after picking up the loose c-pawn, has managed to advance his pawn to c5. The tension is growing and Al-Modiahki starts to commit errors. 75...Qe2+? The first inaccuracy: Black should have played 75...Qf3 or 75...Qh1 to deny his opponent's king access to the queenside. 76.Kd5 Qf3+ 77.Ke6 Qb3+ 78.Kd7 Qd5+ 79.Qd6 Qb7+ 80.Kd8 Qa8+ 81.Kc7 Qa7+ 82.Kc6 Kg5 83.Qc7 Qa8+ 84.Kb6 Kg4 85.c6

Things have gone from bad to worse – Black has no more checks, White can secure his king and queen the c-pawn. 85...Qg8 86.Qb7 Kxg3 87.c7 Qe6+ 88.Ka7 Qe3+ 89.Ka8 1-0.

All pictures by Mark Gluhovsky © for FIDE

Draw average: After slightly more than half the event 34 of a total of 49 games have ended in draws. That is a high 70 percent. White won 12 games (=24%) and Black three games (=6%). Only five games were drawn in less than 30 moves – and none in less than 23. Wang Yue and Dmitry Jakovenko have drawn all their games so far. The least number of draws – just three in seven games – were made by Ivan Cheparinov and Teimour Radjabov.

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FIDE Grand Prix Sochi 2008 – Schedule and results

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