Grand Prix #2 Begins in Sochi, Russia

Players this time around:

01	Ivanchuk	Vassily	UKR	2781
02	Radjabov	Teimour	AZE	2744
03	Svidler	Peter	RUS	2738
04	Aronian	Levon	ARM	2737
05	Grischuk	Alexander	RUS	2728
06	Karjakin	Sergey	UKR	2727
07	Kamsky	Gata	USA	2723
08	Gelfand	Boris	ISR	2720
09	Gashimov	Vugar	AZE	2717
10	Jakovenko	Dmitry	RUS	2709
11	Wang	Yue	CHN	2704
12	Cheparinov	Ivan	BUL	2687
13	Navara	David	CZE	2646
14	Al Modiahki	Mohamad	QTR	2556

Round 1 Results

Grischuk (2728) - Karjakin (2727) [D43]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Ne5 h5 10.h4 g4 11.Be2 Bb7 12.0-0 Nbd7 13.Qc2 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 Bg7 15.b3 cxb3 16.axb3 0-0 17.Bg3 c5 18.e5 Nd5 19.Nxb5 cxd4 20.Nd6 Rb8 21.Qd2 Nc3 22.Bd3 a5 23.Ra3 Bd5 24.Bc2 Rb6 25.Re1 a4 26.Qd3 f5 27.exf6 Rxf6 28.Nc4 Bxc4 29.bxc4 Qe7 30.Qxd4 Qxa3 31.Qxb6 e5 32.Qd8+ Qf8 33.Qa5 e4 34.Bxe4 Nxe4 35.Rxe4 a3 36.Re3 Qf7 37.Qxa3 Qxc4 38.Qa5 Qf7 39.Re5 Rh6 40.Qd8+ Kh7 41.Re7 1-0

Radjabov (2744) - AlModiahki (2556) [A07]
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bg4 4.c4 Bxf3 5.Bxf3 e6 6.Qc2 Nf6 7.0-0 Be7 8.d4 0-0 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.b3 Rc8 11.Nc3 c5 12.cxd5 cxd4 13.Rxd4 Bc5 14.Rh4 exd5 15.Bb2 Ne5 16.Qf5 Ng6 17.Ra4 d4 18.Nb5 a6 19.Rc4 Ne7 20.Qg5 h6 21.Qc1 d3 22.Bxf6 d2 23.Qc2 axb5 24.Rxc5 Rxc5 25.Qxc5 d1R+ 26.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 27.Kg2 gxf6 28.Qxe7 Kg7 29.Qxb7 Qd2 30.a3 Qb2 31.Qxb5 Qxa3 32.Qc4 Qd6 33.b4 Rb8 34.b5 Qe5 35.Bc6 Qe7 36.Qg4+ Kf8 37.Qf4 Qe5 38.Qxh6+ Ke7 39.h4 Qc7 40.Qd2 Qe5 41.Qd7+ Kf8 42.b6 Qe6 43.Qxe6 fxe6 44.b7 Ke7 45.g4 Kd6 46.Bf3 Kc7 47.Kg3 Rg8 48.Bg2 1-0

The other five games were drawn.

Tournament website: http://sochi2008.fide.com/

Dortmund Round 7 (Final) - Leko wins it

Van Wely,L (2677) - Mamedyarov,S (2752) [D38]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Qc2 h6 8.Bh4 0-0 9.e3 c5 10.Bd3 c4 11.Bf5 Nb6 12.g4 g5 13.Bg3 Bxf5 14.gxf5 Ne4 15.Nd2 Qe7 16.Ke2 Nxd2 17.Kxd2 Qe4 18.h4 g4 19.Qxe4 dxe4 20.h5 Kh7 21.Rh4 Rg8 22.Rg1 Nd5 23.Be5 f6 24.Bh2 Rac8 25.Rhxg4 Rxg4 26.Rxg4 Rc6 27.Rxe4 Ra6 28.a3 Bxc3+ 29.bxc3 Rxa3 30.Re6 b5 31.e4 Ra2+ 32.Ke1 Nxc3 33.e5 Ra1+ 34.Kd2 Nd5 35.exf6 c3+ 36.Kd3? Rd1+ 37.Ke2?? 38.f7 Kg7 39.Rxh6 Kxf7 0-1
(Wow, this has not been Van Wely's tournament - underperforming by 300 points he ends in last place with the truly terrible score of +0 -5 =2, two full points behind the next competitor.)

Ivanchuk,V (2740) - Kramnik,V (2788) [C42]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.c4 Nf6 10.Nc3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nxd4 12.Qd1 Ne6 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Bb5+ c6 15.Nxd5 cxb5 16.Qh5 0-0 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.Qxb5 Rfd8 19.Be3 a6 20.Qb3 Rac8 21.h3 h6 22.Rad1 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 b5 24.Rd3 Rc6 25.Qd5 Qe8 26.Rd2 Qc8 27.b3 Rc3 28.h4 a5 29.Rd1 Rc2 30.Qxb5 Rxa2 31.h5 Nf8 32.Rd4 Qc7 33.Rd1 Rb2 34.Rc1 Qd7 35.Qb8 Rc2 36.Ra1 Qf5 37.Qd8 Qxh5 38.Rxa5 Qg4 39.Ra4 Qd7 40.Rd4 Qb7 41.b4 Rb2 42.Bd2 Rb1+ 43.Kh2 Qb5 44.Qd5 Qe2 45.Be3 Ng6 46.Qf5 Qf1 47.Kg3 Rb3 48.Re4 Nf8?? 49.Rf4! 1-0
(And with that defending champion and eight-time winner Kramnik finishes next-to-last with a -1 score.)

Nepomniachtchi,I (2634) - Gustafsson,J (2603) [C77]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.Nc3 d6 8.Nd5 h6 9.c3 Be6 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.Be3 Bxb3 12.axb3 Bxe3 13.fxe3 0-0 14.0-0 Qe6 15.Nh4 Ne7 16.Nf5 Kh7 17.b4 Ng8 18.Qc2 g6 19.Ng3 c5 20.bxc5 dxc5 21.d4 c4 22.Rf3 ½-½
(Thanks for at least showing up.)

Leko,P (2741) - Naiditsch,A (2624) [C89]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d3 Bd6 13.Re1 Bf5 14.Qf3 Qh4 15.g3 Qh3 16.Bxd5 cxd5 17.Qxd5 Rad8 18.Qg2 Qxg2+ 19.Kxg2 Bxd3 20.Be3 Be4+ 21.f3 Bc6 22.Nd2 Rfe8 23.Bd4 Rxe1 24.Rxe1 f6 25.Kf2 h5 26.Ne4 Bf8 27.Re2 Kf7 28.Nc5 Bxc5 29.Bxc5 Rd7 30.Bd4 a5 31.b3 ½-½
(Leko's +2 is enough to win it.)

Dortmund Round 6 - Leko takes lead from Gustafsson

Naiditsch,A (2624) - Van Wely,L (2677) [B90]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Nc5 10.Qe2 Be7 11.0-0-0 0-0 12.Bg3 Qc7 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxe5 Qa5 15.Kb1 Bd7 16.f4 b5 17.g4 b4 18.g5 bxc3? 19.gxf6 gxf6?? 20.Nf5 exf5 Qd8 22.Qh5 Kh7 23.Rhg1 Qe8 24.Rg3 Rg8 25.Bxf7 Rxg3 26.hxg3 1-0
(Bad tournament for Van Wely - two thumpings from lower rated players in consecutive rounds)

Gustafsson,J (2603) - Leko,P (2741) [E15]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qa4 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.dxc5 bxc5 8.0-0 Be7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Rd1 Qb6 11.Bf4 Rd8 12.Rd2 d6 13.Rad1 Ne8 14.e4 Bc6 15.Qc2 Qb7 16.Qb3 Qxb3 17.axb3 f6 18.Ne1 Nd7 19.Ra1 Rdb8 20.Ra3 Rb7 21.e5 Nxe5 22.Bxe5 Bxg2 23.Bxd6 Nxd6 24.Kxg2 Nf5 25.Ra6 Nd4 26.Nf3 Nxb3 27.Rd3 e5 28.Rd5 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Bxd8 30.Rd6 Be7 31.Ra6 Nd4 32.Nxd4 cxd4 33.Nb5 d3 34.Kf1 Bc5 35.Rc6 d2 36.Ke2 Rd7 37.Nc3 Bd4 38.Kxd2 Bxf2+ 39.Nd5 a5 40.b3 Kf7 41.g4 Rb7 42.Ke2 Bd4 43.h4 e4 44.h5 Rxb3 45.Rc7+ Ke6 0-1

Dortmund Round 5 - Gustafsson in sole lead

Ivanchuk,V (2740) - Naiditsch,A (2624) [D37]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e3 a6 6.a4 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.0-0 Be7 9.dxc5 Qxd1 10.Rxd1 Bxc5 11.Bd2 b6 12.Bd3 Bb7 13.Ne4 Be7 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Rac1 0-0 16.Be4 Rfc8 17.b3 Na5 18.Bxb7 Nxb7 19.Bb4 Bb2 20.Rxc8+ Rxc8 21.Rd7 Na5 22.Bxa5 bxa5 23.g4 h6 24.Kg2 Bc3 25.g5 Rb8 26.Rd3 Rc8 27.h4 hxg5 28.hxg5 Kh7 29.Kg3 Kg6 30.Kf4 Rc6 31.e4 f6 32.Kg4 fxg5 33.Nxg5 e5 34.Nf3 Kf6 35.Kh5 Ke7 36.Nh4 Kf6 37.Rf3+ Ke6 38.Nf5 Kd7?! 39.Rd3+ Kc7 40.Nxg7 Be1 41.f3 Rc3 42.Ne6+ Kc6 43.Rxc3+ Bxc3 44.Kg6 Kd6 45.Kf5 Kc6 46.f4 exf4 47.Kxf4 Bf6 48.e5 Be7 49.Ke4 Bh4 50.Kd4 Bg3 51.Ng5 Bf4 52.Nf3 Bg3 53.Kc4 1-0

Van Wely,L (2677) - Gustafsson,J (2603) [D31]
1.c4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 Na6 9.Ba5 b6 10.Qd6 Bd7 11.0-0-0 0-0-0 12.Bc3 f6 13.Bf3 (Van Wely - Shirov, Monte Carlo 2002, continued 13.b3) Qxc4 14.Be2? (Bick-Balazs, Budapest 2006, continued 14.Qa3) Qxa2 15.Nf3 Nc5 16.Ne5 Ne4! 17.Bc4 Qa1+ 18.Kc2 Qa4+ 0-1

Dortmund Round 4 - Leko, Gustafsson, Nepomniachtchi in Lead

Nepomniachtchi,I (2634) - Van Wely,L (2677) [B90]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.0-0-0 Be7 10.f4 Ng4 11.g3 Nxe3 12.Qxe3 b5 13.Kb1 Qb6 14.Qe2 b4 15.Na4 Qc6 16.f5 Bxf5 17.exf5 Qxa4 18.Bg2 0-0 19.Bxa8 Rxa8 20.g4 Qc6 21.Na5 Qc7 22.Nc4 a5 23.Nxd6 Bxd6 24.Qd3 Nf6 25.Qxd6 Qxd6 26.Rxd6 Nxg4 27.Rg1 Nxh2 28.f6 g6 29.Rg2 Nf3 30.Re2 h5 31.Re3 e4 32.Rxe4 g5 33.Rd3 g4 34.Rd5 Ra6 35.Rf4 Re6 36.a4 Re1+ 37.Ka2 Rh1 38.Rxa5 Kh7 39.Rd5 Kg6 40.a5 Re1 41.a6 Re8 42.a7 Ra8 43.Ra5 Nh2 44.Rxb4 g3 45.Rb8 Rxa7 46.Rg8+ Kxf6 47.Rxa7 Ng4 48.Ra3 1-0

Dortmund Round 3 - Leko, Gustafsson in Lead

Naiditsch,A (2624) - Kramnik,V (2788) [C42]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.c4 Nf6 10.Nc3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nxd4 12.Qd1 Ne6 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Bb5+ c6 15.Nxd5 cxb5 16.Bf4 Nxf4 17.Rxe7+ Kf8 18.Re5 Qd6 19.Qd2!N Ng6?! (19...Qxe5) 20.Ree1 f6 21.Rad1 Kf7 22.Qe3 Rhe8 23.Ne7 Qxe7 24.Qb3+ Kf8 25.Rxe7 Rxe7 26.Qxb5 Rae8 27.g3 Ne5 28.Kg2 Nc6 29.b4 a6 30.Qb6 h6 31.a4 Ne5 32.Qc5 Kg8 33.b5 axb5 34.axb5 Nf7 35.h4 Kh8 36.Rd2 Kg8 37.Kh3 Kh8 38.f4 Kg8 39.h5 Kh8 40.Qf5 Nd8 41.Rd7 Ne6 42.Qd5 1-0

FIDE Rating List

Given the massive rating inflation of recent years, I will no longer be posting all GMs over 2700 in my quarterly list. I will only be publishing those with ratings above the average of this group.

1	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2798	2	1969
2	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2788	20	1977
3	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	0	1975
4	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2781	25	1969
5	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2777	10	1975
6	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2775	16	1990
7	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2744	31	1987
8	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	g	AZE	2742	23	1985
9	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2741	11	1972
10	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2741	0	1979
11	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2738	32	1976
12	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2737	11	1982
13	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2735	20	1971