Canadian Olympians in Barcelona

[Bob Armstrong]

After 8 rounds, the leaders are:

Rk. 0........... Nombre.............FED FIDE Pts.

1/2 GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 7,0
1/2 FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ESP 2424 7,0
- there is 7-way tie for third at 6.5 pts.

Round 9 Pairings ( Saturday, Aug. 28 ):

Horror of horrors ! It's a Canadian " same country " pairing !!??

1. Mark ( 5 wins; 2 draws; 1 loss ) and Leonid ( 4 wins; 4 draws ) each have 6/8 pts. and they play each other on Bd. 7! Mark is originally ranked 6th, and Leonid 29th.

7 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( Canada - 2471 ) 6 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( Canada - 2583 ) 6

2. Antoine has 4.5 / 8 pts. and plays on Bd. 54 . He is originally ranked 178th.

54 95 cm Sanchez Ibern, Marc ( Spain - 2255 ) 4½ 4½ Berube, Antoine ( Canada - 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

In Rd. 9 today:

1. Leonid won a great game against Mark with a double sac attack ( R & B ). Leonid now has 7/9 - undefeated - 5 wins; 4 draws ( originally ranked 29th ), and Mark 6/9 ( originally ranked 6th ):

7 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( Canada - 2471 ) 1 - 0 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( Canada - 2583 ) 6

I am not good enough to know if Mark had a defence in 29...Rg8 or 29....Qd7. Have to ask my coach - Fritz. Anyone know?

2. Antoine appears to have won on forfeit. He has 5 1/2 /9 ( originally ranked 178th ):

54 95 cm Sanchez Ibern, Marc ( Spain - 2255 ) 0 - 1 ( F ) Berube, Antoine ( Canada - 2140 ) 178

After 9 rounds, the leaders are:

1. GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 8,0
2. IM Barrientos, Sergio E COL 2477 7.5
3. GM Peralta, Fernando ARG 2570 7.5
4. Leonid is in an 8-way tie for fourth at 7 pts.

Bob

[Vladimir Birarov]

In Rd. 9 today:
I am not good enough to know if Mark had a defence in 29...Rg8 or 29....Qd7. Have to ask my coach - Fritz. Anyone know?
Bob

Position after 29. Qg5 looks lost for black:
29. ... Rg8 30. Rf1+ Ke8 31. Qh5+ Kd8 32. Rf8+
29. ... Qd7 30. g8Q+! Rxg8 31. Rf1+

What I don't understand is why Mark didn't capture on f5 on move 23?

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 10 Pairings ( Sunday, Aug. 29 ):

After 9 rounds, the leaders are:

1. GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 8,0

2/3. IM Barrientos, Sergio E COL 2477 7.5
2/3. GM Peralta, Fernando ARG 2570 7.5

4. Leonid is in an 8-way tie for fourth at 7 pts.

1. Leonid has 7/9 pts. and plays on Bd. 3 against the 10th ranked player. Leonid is originally ranked 29th.

3 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 7 7 GM Fier, Alexandr ( Brazil - 2570 ) 10

2. Mark has 6/9 pts. and plays on Bd. 17. He is originally ranked 6th.

17 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 6 6 IM Lanzani, Mario ( Italy - 2362 ) 63

3. Antoine has 5.5/9 and plays on Bd. 46. He is originally ranked 178th.

46 113 Uribe Arteaga, Daniel ( Columbia - 2233 ) 5½ 5½ Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 10 Results ( Sunday, Aug. 29 ):

After the final 10th round, the winners are:

1. GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 8,5

2/4. GM Markowski, Tomasz POL 2628 8
2/4. GM Handke, Florian GER 2494 8
2/4. FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ESP 2424 8

1. Leonid drew and ended with 7.5/10 pts. ( undefeated - 5 wins; 5 draws ), in a large tie for fifth. Leonid was originally ranked 29th.

3 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 1/2 - 1/2 GM Fier, Alexandr ( Brazil - 2570 ) 10

2. Mark won and ended with 7/10 pts.. He was originally ranked 6th.

17 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 1 - 0 IM Lanzani, Mario ( Italy - 2362 ) 63

3. Antoine lost and ended with 5.5/10. He was originally ranked 178th.

46 113 Uribe Arteaga, Daniel ( Columbia - 2233 ) 1 - 0 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Christopher Mallon]

Looks like Leonid *just* missed a GM norm, ignoring Round 1 and raising his Round 2 opponent to 2200, he had a performance rating of 2594. Still, it was a great result and I'm sure the GM title will happen soon!