Month: May 2016

In-form Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev scored a crucial victory over top seed GM David Navara in the eighth round of the European Individual Chess Championship 2016. Playing the black side of a Nimzo-Indian Defence, Inarkiev efficiently refuted his opponent’s over-ambitious play on the King-side and went on to register a convincing 37-move victory. Courtesy of this result, Inarkiev is currently in sole lead with an impressive 7/8, half a point ahead of his nearest rivals.

Meanwhile, GMs Wojtaszek, Goganov and Kovalenko scored important wins over GMs Ter-Sahakyan, Bartel and Ivan Saric respectively to race their way to 6.5/8. This was Ivan Saric’s second consecutive defeat, after having grabbed the sole lead earlier with 5.5/6.

In the 9th round, tournament leader Inarkiev will be up against Kovalenko, who has notched up a creditable 4.5 points from his last 5 games to cover up for a slightly slow start.

Round 8 Results

Overnight sole leader GM Ivan Saric of Croatia suffered a tough 49-move defeat at the hands of Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev in the 7th round of the European Individual Chess Championship 2016. The Inarkiev-Saric clash, that commenced with the ever-popular King’s Indian Defence, saw the White player sacrifice a pawn soon after the opening. A complex middlegame ensued, wherein Inarkiev masterfully outplayed his Croatian opponent. Saric found the going tough, throwing in the towel on move 49.

On the second board, top seed GM David Navara overcame the Georgian free-spirit GM Baadur Jobava. The former displayed exceptional endgame technique on his way to this crucial victory.

After 7 rounds of gruelling battles, GM Navara and GM Inarkiev are in joint lead with 6/7. The two will be up against each other in the 8th round of this 11-round swiss event.

Round 7 Results

The sixth round of the European Individual Chess Championship 2016 finally led to the emergence of a sole leader in the form of GM Ivan Saric. The 26-year-old from Croatia overcame Russian GM Maxim Matlakov from the white side of a Ruy Lopez Marshall to take his points tally to 5.5/6.

Meanwhile, the battle between the top seed GM David Navara and second seed Radoslaw Wojtaszek resulted in an uneventful 24-move draw. A total of five players, including Navara and Wojtaszek, are currently placed second with 5 points each.

In the 7th round, tournament leader Saric will be locking horns against in-form Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev whilst top seed Navara will be up against the creative genius of Georgian GM Baadur Jobava.

Round 6 Results

The fourth round of the European Individual Chess Championship 2016 saw a trio of three top-notch Grandmasters emerge as joint leaders. GMs Wojtaszek, Inarkiev and Jobava, all playing White, overcame GMs Ipatov, Andriasian and Parligras respectively, thus moving on to a perfect 4 points from 4 rounds. The competition, however, is quite intense, with as many as 8 Grandmasters, including top seed GM David Navara, placed joint second with 3.5/4.

In the fifth round, Inarkiev and Wojtaszek will be locking horns on the top board whilst Jobava has been paired against third-seed Vitiugov.

Round 4 Results

The 17th European Individual Chess Championship commenced yesterday in Gjakova, Kosovo. The field is simply mind-boggling – a total of 245 players are participating, which includes as many as 103 Grandmasters! Czech GM David Navara, rated 2735, is the top seed at this 11-round Swiss event.

The tournament took off on a relatively easy note for the stronger players. A huge majority of the Grandmasters scored victories to commence their campaign, with GMs Kryvoruchko, Sargissian and David Howell being the only ones to be held for draws. No upsets were registered.

After an easy opening round, a staggering 41 GM vs GM encounters will be seen in Round 2, making it an absolute spectacle.

The rounds begin daily at 13:30 GMT or 7 PM Indian Standard Time, with the sole exception of the final round which commences at 9:00 GMT/ 2:30 PM IST. A rest day will be observed on the 18th of May.

Round 1 Results