Reggio Emilia Chess Tournament R7: Gashimov beats Vallejo Pons, catches up with lead

Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hello Everyone,

The seventh round at the 53rd Torneo di Capodanno in Reggio Emilia Italy saw the leader Vallejo Pons go down fighting to Vugar Gashimov. This allowed the latter to catch up with joint lead. Also, Ivanchuk lost his second game in a row which is a rarity for the grandmaster.

Vugar Gashimov and Martha Fierro (The latter is providing commentary for the tournament.)

Round 7 results

Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Navara, David	0-1
Movsesian, Sergei	- Morozevich, Alexander	1/2-1/2
Onischuk, Alexander	- Caruana, Fabiano	1/2-1/2
Vallejo Pons, Francisco	- Gashimov, Vugar	0-1
Godena, Michele	- Short, Nigel	0-1

Standings after 7 rounds

1.	Gashimov, Vugar	AZE	2733	4½
2.	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	ESP	2698	4½
3.	Movsesian, Sergei	SVK	2721	4
4.	Onischuk, Alexander	USA	2683	4
5.	Navara, David	CZE	2708	4
6.	Caruana, Fabiano	ITA	2709	3½
7.	Short, Nigel	ENG	2680	3½
8.	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	2700	3
9.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	2764	3
10.	Godena, Michele	ITA	2549	1

Here is the nice Vallejo Pons-Gashimov game. You can go through the moves via our pgnplayer or watch in flash below. Enjoy.

PGN: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 d6 5. Be2 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. h3 Nbd7 8. Bf4 Qa5 9. Nd2 Qc7 10. a4 e5 11. Be3 Ng4 12. Bxg4 exd4 13. Bxd4 Bxd4 14. Nc4 Bc5 15. a5 Ne5 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Bxc8 Raxc8 18. Qe2 Bb4 19. a6 b5 20. Na2 Be7 21. Nc1 Rfd8 22. Nb3 Qb6 23. Rfd1 Kg7 24. Qg4 c5 25. Nd2 c4 26. Nf1 Bc5 27. Qg3 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Qxa6 29. Qxe5+ Qf6 30. Qxf6+ Kxf6 31. Rd5 Ke6 32. g4 a6 33. Nd2 c3 34. bxc3 Bb6 35. c4 bxc4 36. Kf1 a5 37. Rb5 Bd8 38. Ke2 a4 39. Nb1 Ra8 40. Na3 Be7 41. Nxc4 a3 42. Rb6+ Kd7 43. Rb1 Kc6 44. c3 a2 45. Ra1 Kb5 46. Ne3 Bc5 47. Kd3 Bxe3 48. fxe3 f6 49. h4 h5 50. gxh5 gxh5 51. Kc2 Kc4 52. Kb2 Rb8+ 53. Kc2 Rg8 54. Rxa2 Rg2+ 55. Kb1 Rxa2 56. Kxa2 Kxc3 57. Kb1 Kd2 0-1

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com