FIDE Grand Prix Sochi 2008

FIDE Grand Prix in Sochi begins – Grischuk, Radjabov win
01.08.2008 – 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 points ahead of the next highest ranked player in the field. In round one it was Alexander Grischuk and Teimour Radjabov who scored. Illustrated report.

Sochi R04: Ivan Cheparinov leads ahead of Grischuk
04.08.2008 – The second of Veselin Topalov, Ivan Cheparinov, is in the lead, with 3.0/4 points, in the Second FIDE Grand Prix Tournament which is taking place in Sochi. Cheparinov profited from a blunder by Gata Kamsky in round three. Kamsky defeated Vassily Ivanchuk in round two. Behind the leader is Alexander Grischuk with 2.5 points, followed by ten players with 2.0 points each. Illustrated report.

Sochi R06: Radjabov and Cheparinov lead in Sochi
06.08.2008 – For a while Ivan Cheparinov, the Bulgarian GM who assists Veselin Topalov, was in the clear lead. In round five he lost a wild and chaotic game to Teimour Radjabov, who also got a slightly lucky win against Boris Gelfand in round six. But Cheparinov bounced back with his own victory against Alexander Grischuk. Now Radjabov and Cheparinov lead in the FIDE Grand Prix. Round six report.

Sochi R07: Karjakin beats Al-Modiahki, as bomb blast rocks Sochi
07.08.2008 – 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%). With his win Sergey Karjakin advanced into the group of seven players with 50% scores. Cheparinov and Radjabov lead. On Thursday a bomb blast rocked the city of Sochi, killing two and injuring 13. Round seven report.

Sochi R09: Wang Yue wins two, joins Cheparinov in the lead
10.08.2008 – After drawing all his games in the first seven rounds Chinese GM Wang Yue suddenly galvanised into action, beating Boris Gelfand (with the black pieces) in round eight and then the tournament leader Teimour Radjabov, who fell into 3-7th place. Wang joins Ivan Cheparinov in the plus two lead, with four rounds to go in this event. Sunday is a free day. Report after round nine.

Sochi R10: fighting chess, five decisive games after rest day
12.08.2008 – It obviously did them good: the players at the Second FIDE Grand Prix Tournament in Sochi came back in a fighting mood. Two fighting draws and five decisive games provided great entertainment for the spectators. After the dust had settled, four GMs were in the lead, with three lurking half a point behind. We bring you results, videos and highlights from the games.

Sochi R13: Aronian wins Second FIDE Grand Prix
14.08.2008 – Armenian GM Levon Aronian defeated Alexander Grischuk to take clear first in the Grand Prix tournament, finishing with 8.5/13 points and a performance of 2816. Second is Teimour Radjabov, who beat his main rival Sergey Karjakin with the black pieces. Kamsky, Jakovenko and Svidler won their games against Navara, Cheparinov and Gashimov. Final report with games and statistics.

Sochi R11+12: more fighting chess, Aronian leads
14.08.2008 – Four games decided in round eleven, with the others well fought; then three unmemorable draws, two hard-fought ones and one beautifully instructive strategic win by Peter Svidler in round twelve. The Second FIDE Grand Prix in Sochi nears its end. Aronian is in the lead, but can still be caught or overtaken. Games on Playchess.com. Note: the final round starts an hour earlier.