Americans in Gibraltar
February 2, 2009
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GM Hikaru Nakamura in Gibraltar, Photo IM Irina Krush

Seven rounds into the Gibraltar Gibtelecom Masters (January 27-February 5), Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan leads with 6/7 and faces Peter Svidler in round 8. Defending champion GM Hikaru Nakamura and Varuzhan Akobian have 5/7. Here is Nakamura's seventh round win. Update: Nakamura draws on board one and finishes a half a point off of first. Peter Svidler and Vadim Milov tie for first on 8/10. Nana Dzagnidze wins the women prize.

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Irina Krush, who contributed a photo gallery below, defeated GM Chanda Sandipan (2568) in round six, but lost to an even higher rated Indian GM, Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2614) on the White side of the Grunfeld. Now Krush has 4.5/7.

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IM Anna Zatonskih, who recently confirmed an appearance at the 2009 SuperNationals (look for more details soon) stands on 4/7.

Check out round eight pairings here. Watch live games on the official site , Monroi or the Internet Chess Club. Look for more games, photos and news on Monroi.com. 

Gibraltar Photo Gallery by Irina Krush

 
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Former World Champion Boris Spassky makes the first move in Stefanova's game; in the foreground is GM Nana Dzagnidze. 


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An ape on the rock


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Your photographer, Irina Krush, in a good mood


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The host hotel for the tournament


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Top seed, GM Peter Svidler of Russia


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Do you think they're playing blindfold chess?