Inarkiev Breaks Through in Gjakova: EICC Rounds 7 & 8
Here are the some of the critical and most exciting games from the last two rounds:
Round 7
On Board 1 Inarkiev started to outplay Saric towards the end of the first time control, deep into the middlegame, culminating in an untimely queen sac that did not work out for the one-time leader of the event:
A determined Inarkiev showed no remorse in his first of two victories. | Photo Gunnar Bjornsson
On Board 2 Navara took GM Baduur Jobava into a simple rook endgame and displayed flawless endgame skill to grow his small advantage into a decisive one, forcing his opponent to resign a game where he couldn't mange to create a single threat:
A few boards lower GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan was able to outplay former FIDE World Champion GM Ruslan Ponomariov in a sharp and theoretical Sicilian:
Round 8
The new leaders Navara and Inarkiev faced off on Board 1, with the #1 Czech player lashing out on the kingside in a middlegame filled with pieces, soon regretting his decision:
Several boards down saw a combination for the ages: GM Daniil Dubov found a surprising queen sacrifice to end his game quickly against GM Ante Brkic:
Masterpiece from D.Dubov today! Remind me Torre-Lasker,1925. Studying material for next generation :)
— Pavel Eljanov (@Eljanov) May 20, 2016
For comparison, here is the famous game Eljanov is referring to:
With three rounds to go and 23 spots for the 2017 World Cup up for grabs, the finish is sure to filled with many decisive games.
European Championship | Round 8 Standings (Top 20)
| Rk. | SNo | Title | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | Rp | rtg+/- |
| 1 | 12 | GM | Inarkiev Ernesto | 2686 | 7 | 0 | 38.5 | 41.5 | 4 | 6 | 2967 | 27.2 |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Wojtaszek Radoslaw | 2722 | 6.5 | 0 | 39.5 | 43.5 | 4 | 5 | 2839 | 12.8 |
| 3 | 37 | GM | Kovalenko Igor | 2644 | 6.5 | 0 | 36 | 38.5 | 4 | 5 | 2726 | 11.1 |
| 4 | 60 | GM | Goganov Aleksey | 2600 | 6.5 | 0 | 34 | 35.5 | 4 | 5 | 2806 | 22.8 |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Navara David | 2735 | 6 | 0 | 38.5 | 42 | 3 | 5 | 2786 | 6.5 |
| 6 | 26 | GM | Jobava Baadur | 2661 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 41.5 | 4 | 5 | 2771 | 14.3 |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Vallejo Pons Francisco | 2700 | 6 | 0 | 36.5 | 41 | 3 | 4 | 2758 | 7.1 |
| 8 | 8 | GM | Fressinet Laurent | 2692 | 6 | 0 | 36.5 | 40 | 4 | 4 | 2764 | 8.7 |
| 9 | 43 | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | 2632 | 6 | 0 | 33.5 | 36 | 3 | 4 | 2699 | 9.2 |
| 10 | 36 | GM | Dubov Daniil | 2644 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 36.5 | 3 | 4 | 2751 | 11.3 |
| 11 | 16 | GM | Piorun Kacper | 2681 | 6 | 0 | 31.5 | 35.5 | 4 | 5 | 2722 | 6 |
| 12 | 30 | GM | Saric Ivan | 2650 | 5.5 | 0 | 38.5 | 42.5 | 4 | 5 | 2695 | 6.4 |
| 13 | 13 | GM | Cheparinov Ivan | 2685 | 5.5 | 0 | 37.5 | 41.5 | 3 | 4 | 2679 | 0 |
| 14 | 32 | GM | Ipatov Alexander | 2648 | 5.5 | 0 | 37 | 40.5 | 4 | 4 | 2639 | -0.8 |
| 15 | 42 | GM | Berkes Ferenc | 2636 | 5.5 | 0 | 35.5 | 39.5 | 4 | 3 | 2689 | 7.5 |
| 16 | 15 | GM | Najer Evgeniy | 2681 | 5.5 | 0 | 35.5 | 39 | 3 | 3 | 2627 | -5.6 |
| 17 | 29 | GM | Bartel Mateusz | 2653 | 5.5 | 0 | 35 | 38.5 | 3 | 4 | 2668 | 2.7 |
| 18 | 33 | GM | Zhigalko Sergei | 2647 | 5.5 | 0 | 35 | 38 | 4 | 4 | 2673 | 4.1 |
| 19 | 80 | GM | Donchenko Alexander | 2569 | 5.5 | 0 | 34 | 37.5 | 4 | 3 | 2701 | 14.6 |
| 20 | 55 | GM | Zubov Alexander | 2612 | 5.5 | 0 | 34 | 37.5 | 3 | 2 | 2728 | 12.4 |
The 17th European Individual Championship is taking place May 11-24 in Gjakova, a city in western Kosovo. The tournament is an 11-round Swiss. A total of 245 players are playing, including 103 GMs and 29 IMs. The prize fund is €120,000 / $135,708 with a €20,000 / $22,618 first prize. The top 23 players will qualify for the 2017 World Cup.
