The rest day seems to have reinvigorated the players who were involved in some hard-fought struggles with six out of the seven games going beyond move forty.
The sixth round featured four decisive results, of which three were with Black!
Gelfand was tricked by Inarkiev, the Russian having a strong resource at the end of a sharp line, as he gained two bishops for a rook. The ending was then hopeless for the World Cup champion.
Game No. | Name | Rating | Result | Name | Rating | Opening |
1 | Peter Svidler | 2735 | 0.5-0.5 | Peter Leko | 2735 | Spanish Berlin (C67) |
2 | Vassily Ivanchuk | 2741 | 0.5-0.5 | Teimour Radjabov | 2740 | English opening (A16) |
3 | Dmitry Jakovenko | 2725 | 1-0 | Ruslan Ponomariov | 2733 | Grünfeld Exchange (D85) |
4 | Boris Gelfand | 2741 | 0-1 | Ernesto Inarkiev | 2669 | Semi-Slav defence (D46) |
5 | Pavel Eljanov | 2751 | 0-1 | Evgeny Alekseev | 2700 | Queen's Indian defence (E17) |
6 | Vladimir Akopian | 2694 | 0-1 | Wang Yue | 2752 | Petroff's defence (C42) |
7 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 2763 | 0.5-0.5 | Vugar Gashimov | 2734 | Chebanenko Slav (D15) |
Alekseev had Black against the (former!) leader.
As a reminder here are the results from Friday's fifth round, which coincidentally was another good day for the holders of the black pieces!
Game No. | Name | Rating | Result | Name | Rating | Opening |
1 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 2763 | 0.5-0.5 | Peter Svidler | 2735 | Grünfeld Russian System (D97) |
2 | Vugar Gashimov | 2734 | 0.5-0.5 | Vladimir Akopian | 2694 | Spanish Chigorin (C99) |
3 | Wang Yue | 2752 | 0-1 | Pavel Eljanov | 2751 | Slav defence (D12) |
4 | Evgeny Alekseev | 2700 | 0.5-0.5 | Boris Gelfand | 2741 | Italian game (C54) |
5 | Ernesto Inarkiev | 2669 | 0.5-0.5 | Dmitry Jakovenko | 2725 | Spanish Berlin (C67) |
6 | Ruslan Ponomariov | 2733 | 0-1 | Vassily Ivanchuk | 2741 | Semi-Slav (D46) |
7 | Teimour Radjabov | 2740 | 0.5-0.5 | Peter Leko | 2735 | Queen's Gambit Vienna |
The general impression is that the players are making hard work of gaining any advantage as White!
The rankings after six rounds:
Ranking | Name | Country | Present Rating | Points |
1st | Ernesto Inarkiev | Russia | 2669 | 4 |
2nd-5th | Pavel Eljanov | Ukraine | 2751 | 3.5 |
2nd-5th | Vugar Gashimov | Azerbaijan | 2734 | 3.5 |
2nd-5th | Dmitry Jakovenko | Russia | 2725 | 3.5 |
2nd-5th | Peter Leko | Hungary | 2735 | 3.5 |
6th-9th | Evgeny Alekseev | Russia | 2700 | 3 |
6th-9th | Boris Gelfand | Israel | 2741 | 3 |
6th-9th | Teimour Radjabov | Azerbaijan | 2740 | 3 |
6th-9th | Wang Yue | China | 2752 | 3 |
10th-13th | Vassily Ivanchuk | Ukraine | 2741 | 2.5 |
10th-13th | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Azerbaijan | 2763 | 2.5 |
10th-13th | Ruslan Ponomariov | Ukraine | 2733 | 2.5 |
10th-13th | Peter Svidler | Russia | 2735 | 2.5 |
14th | Vladimir Akopian | Armenia | 2694 | 2 |
Twelve of the fourteen players are within a win or a loss of 50%.
The two under-2700s are first and last.
For further information on this event, I suggest that you go to the official tournament site.