Ruslan Ponomariov chose a quiet line of the King's Indian, and was able to keep some pressure. Later with two rooks, opposite bishops and only three pawns apiece, Nakamura had drawing chances, but the defence was always unpleasant due to the Ukrainian's passed pawn.
Ponomariov thus obtained the double over Namamura.
Georg Meier's opening gambit in the Catalan didn't work very well and Anish Giri emerged with an extra pawn. Meier had some positional compensation, but had to spend the whole game defending before finally earning his half-point.
Le Quang Liem's choice of opening led to a tense early middlegame. Simplification left him with a passed pawn, and thus some practical chances, but Kramnik was able to defend accurately.
The round 8 summary:
| White | Rating | Result | Black | Rating | Moves | Openings details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Quang Liem | 2715 | ½-½ | Vladimir Kramnik | 2781 | 56 | Colle System |
| Ruslan Ponomariov | 2764 | 1-0 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2770 | 65 | King's Indian Classical |
| Georg Meier | 2656 | ½-½ | Anish Giri | 2701 | 69 | Catalan Opening |
The standings after the eighth round:
| Rank | Name | Country | Rating | Kw | Kb | Lw | Lb | Gw | Gb | Pw | Pb | Nw | Nb | Mw | Mb | Points | Perf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2781 | * | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | . | 1 | ½ | . | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6½ | 2968 |
| 2 | Le Quang Liem | VIE | 2715 | ½ | ½ | * | * | . | ½ | 1 | . | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4½ | 2777 |
| 3-4 | Anish Giri | NED | 2701 | . | 0 | ½ | . | * | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4 | 2734 |
| 3-4 | Ruslan Ponomariov | UKR | 2764 | ½ | 0 | . | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | * | 1 | 1 | ½ | . | 4 | 2734 |
| 5-6 | Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2770 | 0 | . | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | * | . | ½ | 2½ | 2583 |
| 5-6 | Georg Meier | GER | 2656 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | . | ½ | ½ | . | * | * | 2½ | 2600 |
Kramnik will need half-a-point to ensure first place and perhaps one and a half for a 3000 performance!?
Schedule:
July 21st to 25th: Rounds 1 to 5
July 26th: Rest day
July 27th to 30th: Rounds 6 to 9
July 31st: Round 10 (note: two hours earlier!)
The first nine rounds begin at 3pm local time (3pm Paris, 2pm London, 9am New York).
The final round will be two hours earlier.
The time limit is 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 in 20, and finally 15 minutes for the remainder of the game. The players also receive an increment of 30 seconds per move.
Official site: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/2011
Live games: http://schachtage.dokomserver.de/toma/live.htm
The transmission is with a 30 minute delay in order to avoid any possibility of 'external influences affecting the players decisions'.
