1.e4 c5! ive been neglecting this move for sometime now.I was in a fighting mood and had no desire to attempt to grind down my opponent but to play aggressively. 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4 Nf6 7.Nf3 0–0 8.0–0 Rb8 9.h3 b5 10.a3 a5 11.Be3 Nd7 12.Rb1 Nd4 [12...b4 13.axb4 axb4 14.Ne2 Ra8] 13.Ne2 Nxf3+ 14.Rxf3 b4 15.axb4 axb4 16.g4 Ra8 17.g5 Ra2 18.b3 Bb7 19.h4 f5! Countering on light squares. 20.Rh3 Qa8! 21.Ng3 e5! I spent too much time here.The position is ripe to be opened as all blacks pieces has already been activated,hence no calculation was required for the textmove. 22.h5 exf4 23.hxg6 hxg6 [23...fxg3 24.Qh5 hxg6 25.Qh7+ Kf7 26.exf5 Ne5 27.f6 Bxg2] 24.Bxf4 Bd4+ 25.Kh1 Ne5 26.Bxe5 dxe5 [26...Bxe5 27.Rh6 Bxg3 28.Rxg6+ Kf7 29.Rf6+ (29.Qh5 Ke7 30.Qh7+ Kd8 31.Rg7 Bc6 32.Rc7 Re8 33.g6 Ra1 34.Rf1 fxe4) 29...Ke7] 27.Rh6 [27.Nh5 Kf7 28.Nf6 Rh8] 27…Ra6 28.Bf3 Be3 29.Kg2 Bxg5 30.Qh1 Bxh6 31.Qxh6 Rf7 32.Rh1 Rg7 33.Kf2 Qf8 34.exf5 [34.exf5 Bxf3] 34…Bxf3 35.Kxf3 Qa8+ [35...Rf6 36.Qh8+ Kf7] 36.Ke3 [36.Kf2 gxf5] 36…Qg2? this goolooking mov is a bunder. [36...gxf5 was correct.] 37.Qh8+ Kf7 38.Nh5 [he missed a draw here with 38.fxg6+ Raxg6 39.Rf1+ Ke7 40.Qf8+ Ke6 41.Qe8+ Kd5 42.Qd8+ Rd6 43.Qa8+ Rc6 44.Qd8+ Rd6 45.Qa8+ Rc6 but he had only 20 seconds left.] 38…Qg5+ 39.Ke2 Qg4+ 40.Kd2 gxh5 41.Rxh5 Qf4+ 0–1

Solomon - Hertneck [D11]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Qb3 Qc7 6.g3 [6.Bf4 dxc4 7.Bxc7 cxb3 8.e4 Bg6 (8...Bg4 9.Ne5) 9.axb3² (9.a3 Nf6 10.Nd2 Nbd7 11.f3 Rc8 12.Bg3 c5 13.Nxb3 cxd4 14.Nxd4 a6 15.0–0–0 Bxa3 16.bxa3 Rxc3+ 17.Kb2 Rc8 18.Bd6 Nc5 19.Be2 Na4+ 20.Kb3 Nc3 21.Rc1 Kd7) ] 6…Nf6 7.Bg2 Nbd7 8.0–0 Qb6 9.c5 Qxb3 10.axb3 a6 11.b4 Rc8 12.Bf4 Be7 13.Rfc1 h6 14.h3 0–0 15.Nd2 g5 16.Be3 Kh7 17.Nb3 Ne8 18.Na5 [I spent too much time trying to make 18.b5 work 18...cxb5 (18...axb5 19.Ra7 Rc7 20.Na5 Nef6 21.Rxb7 Rxb7 22.Nxb7 Ra8 23.b4 Bg6 24.g4) 19.Na5 b6 20.Nb3 Nc7 21.Na2 bxc5 22.dxc5 e5³] 18…Rc7 19.g4 Bg6 20.f4 f5 21.Rf1 Ng7 22.Rad1 Bf6 23.Bc1 Rf7 24.Nb3 Rc8 [24...fxg4 25.fxg5 hxg5 26.e4 g3 27.Bf3 Rf8 28.Kg2 Be7 29.Kxg3 Nf6 30.Bxg5 dxe4 31.Be2³] 25.Na5 Nf8 26.Be3 Re8 27.fxg5 hxg5 28.Bf3 time-trouble. [28.Bc1] 28…Rd7 29.Kf2? [29.Kg2 Bf7 30.Bf2 e5 31.gxf5] 29…f4 30.Bc1 e5 31.dxe5 Bxe5 32.h4 with the text move i felt i needed to break the g5,f4 chain and get active piece play.i understood my position was strategically lost and realized that should blacks knight get to g6,then h4 it would be a slow death. 32…gxh4 33.Rh1 Nge6 34.Rxh4+ Kg7 35.g5 Nh7 36.e3 even though whites position is dead lost,i believe it was the correct way to go,to change the characher of play was important,to force my opponent to play precisely with calculation which is not his main strength. 36…fxe3+ 37.Bxe3 d4 38.Bc1 Rf7 39.Ne2 Nhxg5 40.Ng1 Ref8 41.Kg2 Rxf3 42.Nxf3 Rxf3 43.Re1 Rf5 [43...Bg3 wins,but i knew he might not play it because it involves precise calculation.Also with 1 minute on my clock he wanted to play quickly and hope for me to self destruct.] 44.Rf1 Rxf1 45.Kxf1 Nf3 46.Rh1 d3 47.Kf2 Be4 48.Bh6+! this intermdiate move is essential to whites survival. 48…Kg6 49.Nc4 Bd4+ 50.Be3 Bd5? Black was alway winning and i was very close to resigning,but i noticed my opponent was too relaxed and lazy to calculate. [50...d2 wins] 51.Rh6+! i had about 1 minute and my opponent an extra hour. 51…Kg7 [51...Kf7 52.Nd6+ Kf8 53.Rxe6 Bxe6 54.Kxf3] 52.Rxe6! he missed this tactic.even with 1 minute its easy to hold this position. 52…Bxe6 53.Kxf3 Bxe3 [53...Bd5+ 54.Kf2 Bf6 55.Nd6 Bxb2 56.Ke1 Ba3 57.Bd2] 54.Nxe3 Kf6 55.Ke4 d2 56.Kd3 Ke5 57.Kxd2 Kd4 58.Nc2+ Kc4 59.b3+ Kxb3 60.Nd4+ Kxb4 61.Nxe6 Kc4 62.Kc2 Kd5 63.Nd8 Kxc5 64.Nxb7+ Kb4 65.Kb2 a5 66.Ka2 a4 67.Kb2 c5 68.Nxc5 ½–½

 Results 6.5/9

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.c5 g6 7.Ne5 Bg7 8.f4 0–0 9.Be2 Be6 10.Bf3 a5 11.a3 Nfd7 12.Nd3 Na6 13.0–0 [i spent alot of time considering 13.g4 f6 14.h4 Bf7 15.g5 fxg5 16.hxg5 e5÷] 13…Bf5 14.Nf2 h5 forced 15.e4! dxe4 16.Ncxe4 Qc7 17.Be3 Rad8 18.Qe2 Be6 19.Rfd1 Bc4 20.Qe1 Bb3 21.Rd3 Bc4 22.Rdd1 Bb3 23.Rd3 Bc4 24.Rdd1 Bb3 25.Rd3 ½–½

  Solomon - Rozentalis [E11]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 c5 5.Bg2 0–0 6.Nf3 Qb6 7.0–0 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxd2 9.Qxd2 Nc6 10.Rd1!± d5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Nc3 Be6 [12...Nxd4 13.Qxd4 Qxb2 14.Rab1 Qc2 (14...Qa3 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.Bxd5) 15.e4 dxe4 (15...Nxe4 16.Bxe4 dxe4 17.Rd2) 16.Rd2] 13.Na4 Qd8 14.Nxc6 [Correct was 14.Rac1 Ne5 15.Qg5 Ng6 16.Nc5 with a dominating position.] 14…bxc6 15.Rac1 Re8 16.Qd4 Bg4 17.f3 Bd7 18.e3 Qe7 19.Rc3 [19.Nc5] 19…Reb8 20.Rd2 Be8 [20...Ne8 21.Nc5 Nd6 (21...Nc7 22.Bf1 Ne6 23.Nxe6 fxe6 24.e4 Rb7 25.a3) 22.Bf1] 21.b3?! [21.Nc5±] 21…a5 22.Qc5 Qe6 23.Rdc2 h5 [23...d4 24.Qxd4 Rd8 25.Qh4 Rd1+ 26.Kf2 Nd5 27.Nc5 Qe5 28.f4 Rd2+ 29.Kf3 Rxc2 30.fxe5 Rxc3] 24.Bf1 time trouble 24…Nd7 25.Qxc6 Qxc6 26.Rxc6 Ne5 27.R6c5 Nxf3+ 28.Kh1 Bxa4 29.bxa4 Rb1 30.Rc1 Rxc1 31.Rxc1 Re8 32.Rc3 [32.Rc5 was whites best chance to fight for a win. 32...Rxe3 33.Rxd5 Ra3 (33...Re5 34.Rb5 f6 35.Kg2 Nd4 36.Rxe5 fxe5 37.Kf2) 34.Bc4] 32…g6 33.Kg2 Nd2 34.Bb5 Re5 35.Rd3 Ne4 36.Bc6 Nf6 37.h3 Kg7 38.Rb3 Rf5?! [38...Re6 39.Bb7 Re4 40.Bc6 Rc4] 39.Rb5 Ne4 40.Rxa5 [40.Bxd5 Nc3 41.e4 Re5] 40…Rf2+ 41.Kg1 Rf3 42.Rxd5 Rxg3+ 43.Kh2 Rxe3 44.Re5! f5 45.a5 Kf6 46.Re8 Re2+ 47.Kg1 Rxa2 48.Bxe4 fxe4 49.Rxe4 Rxa5 50.Kg2 Ra2+ 51.Kg3 Ra3+ 52.Kg2 Kf5 53.Rb4 Re3 54.Ra4 Re4 55.Ra3 g5 56.Rf3+ Kg6 57.Rf8 Rd4 58.Rf3 Rd5 59.Rf8 Rd2+ 60.Kg1 ½–½

Result 5/7

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Re1 a6!? 8.a4 b6 9.Bg5 [At the Olimpaid in Siberia,Rozentalis played  9.Ne2 against me afterwhich black had no problems equalizing. 9...Bb7 10.Ng3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Re8 12.Bf4 Bf8 13.Bd3 Ne5 14.Ndf5 Ng6] 9…Bb7 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 [My opponent spend some time here considering 11.Ba2 Nxe4 (11...Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Nd7 was my intention.) 12.Bxe7 Nxc3 13.Bxd8 Nxd1 and rejected the whole continuation,but after 14.Nxe5 dxe5 15.Be7 white is winning.] 11…dxe5 12.Qf3 c6 [12...Qd4 13.b3 Rad8 14.Rad1 Qc5 15.Be3 Qb4 16.Bd2 Qc5 also equalizes.] 13.Rad1 Qc7 14.Ne2! b5 [14...Ne8 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Ng3 g6 was the simplest way to equalize.] 15.Ba2 Bc8! 16.h3 h6 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Ng3 bxa4 a concrete decision. 19.Qa3 Qb6? [Correct was 19...Rb8 20.Qxa4 Be7] 20.Nh5 Bh4 21.g3 Bd8 22.Qd6 When playing ba i missed that after Qd6 my e pawn was hanging. 22…Be6 I felt like resigning here but i saw one trick. 23.Bxe6 fxe6 24.Qxe6+ Kh7 25.Re2 Ra7 26.Qxe5 [26.Rd7 Rxd7 27.Qxd7 Qc7 28.Rd2 Qxd7 29.Rxd7 Bb6 30.Rxg7+ Kh8 31.Rg6 Rxf2 32.Kh1 Rf1+ 33.Kg2 Rf2+; 26.c4 Re7 27.Qd6 Qb3] 26…Re7! he was expecting Raf7. 27.Qd6 Qb5 28.Nf4 Rxf4 29.Qxf4 Qxe2 30.Rxd8 Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Qxe4 32.Qf8 Qe6 33.Qf3 Qe4 34.Qf8 Qe6 35.Qf3 Qe4 ½–½

Result 4/5

Solomon,K - Ludwigg,M  [E94]

Bad Wiessee Notes by [,KennySolomon]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0–0 6.Nf3 e5 7.Be3 Nbd7 8.0–0 Re8 9.d5 Nh5 10.g3 Bf8 11.Ne1 Ng7 12.Nd3 f5 13.f3 Nf6 [Usual is 13...Be7 14.Qd2] 14.b4 fxe4 15.fxe4 Bh3 16.Rf3! Be7 [16...Ng4 17.Rxf8+ Rxf8 18.Bxg4 Rf1+ 19.Qxf1 Bxf1 20.Rxf1 and white is clearly better.] 17.Nf2 Bd7 18.h3 [Better was 18.Qb3 ] 18…h5 19.c5 Nh7 20.h4 g5 21.hxg5 Nxg5 22.Bxg5 Bxg5 23.Qb3 Rf8 24.c6! The idea is to restrict blacks light squared bishop and momentarily sadate blacks rook on a8 while the action takes place on the K-side. [24.Rxf8+ Qxf8 25.Nb5 Bxb5 26.Bxb5 Qe7] 24…Rxf3 25.Bxf3 Bc8 26.Kg2 Be3 [26...h4 27.Rh1 hxg3] 27.Rh1 Qg5 28.Ncd1 Bf4 29.Be2 b6 30.a4 a5 31.b5 Bd2 32.Qf3 Bg4 33.Nxg4 Rf8 34.Qd3 hxg4 35.Rh4 Rf4 36.Nf2 Nf5 37.exf5 Rd4 38.Qxd4 Qxh4 39.Qxd2 1–0

Results　2-2

In the Arctic chess challenge I made 5 out of 9, For me Round 2 was the most interesting experience of the tournament when I was paired against the number 1 seed Loek Van Wely .It was more difficult preparing for my opponent than actually playing him.I chose to play in an irregular style which was not a good decision because  this allowed my opponent to stand in the middle of the ring. In retrospect I think this strategy would have worked against a GM with 2500 rating but not against one who has played on 2650 level for years

Van Wely,L (2677) - Solomon,K (2383) [E15]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Nc3 0–0 8.Rc1 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Bg2 Ba3 Not a move i would usually play but i wanted to take my opponent off the beaten track.Usual is Bb7 followed by c5. 11.Rb1 Nc6 another irregular move. 12.0–0 Qe7 13.Re1! A good move played after some thought. 13…Nxc3 14.Bxc3 Nb4 15.Ne5 Rae8 [15...Rad8 was better] 16.e4 Here too my opponent thought for a long time. 16…Bb7? This loses the game.I believed my high rated opponent and assumed the a2 pawn was poison.This mistake is typical between opponents of huge rating difference. [16...f6 17.Nc4 (17.Bxb4 Bxb4 18.Nc6 Qd6 19.e5 fxe5 20.Rxe5 Bb7 21.Nxb4 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 Qxb4) 17...Nxa2 18.Bd2 Bb4 19.Ra1 Bxd2 20.Qxd2 Nb4 21.Ra4 c5] 17.Qd2 b5 18.d5 Rd8 Here i had 5minutes left and my opponent 15. [18...f6 19.Ng4 Rd8] 19.Ng4 f6 20.Rbd1 a5? [20...Rfe8 21.Ne3 Qd6±] 21.Qe2 Ba6 22.Ne3 c6 23.dxe6 Qxe6 24.Nf5 Kh8 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.e5 fxe5 27.Qxe5 Qxe5 28.Bxe5 Kg8 29.Bxg7 Bc8 30.Bf6 Rd2 31.Bg5 1–0

My best game of the tournament was against Prakken in which white demonstrated play on both sides of the board,positional on the Q-side and attack on the K-side.

Solomon - G Prakken [E09]

Arctic Chess Challenge Tromso

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 c6 4.Nbd2 Nf6 [In Gibralta early this year Cozer played  4...f5 against me] 5.g3 Be7 6.Bg2 0–0 7.0–0 Nbd7 8.Qc2 b6 9.e4 Bb7 10.e5 Ne8 11.cxd5 its important to fix the center else black plays c5 and frees his light sq bishop on b7 11…cxd5 12.Re1 a5 13.h4 Rc8 14.Qd3 Should black now attempt to exchange queens with Qc7,and Qc2 white will answer with Qe3 14…h6 with the white Queen on the b1–h7 diagonal,sooner or later this concession (h6)has to be played. 15.Nf1 Nc7 16.N1h2 Ba6 17.Qe3 a4 18.Bd2 a3!? my opponent fights for the initiative by sacrificing this pawn. 19.bxa3 I have a weakness for grabbing pawns but here i wanted to play on both sides of the board to confuse my opponent. 19…Bc4 20.Bb4 Ra8 21.Nd2 forcing b5 and taking the b5 square away from blacks knight. 21…b5 22.Nb3 Nb8 23.Na5 Qd7 24.Rec1! now all whites pieces are working. 24…Ra7 25.Ng4 Nca6 26.Bd2 Rc8 27.Qf3! both sides were busy with play on the q-side,and now suddenly theres an attack on the k-side. 27…Qd8 28.Nxc4 bxc4 29.Bxh6 The result of this positional sacrifice of two pieces is that white gets enough pawns and completely exposes the black King.Heavy Calculation is not required in such positions. 29…gxh6 30.Nxh6+ Kg7 31.Qxf7+ Kxh6 32.Qxe6+ Kg7 33.Bxd5 Bxa3 34.Rxc4 Rxc4 35.Bxc4 Nb4 36.Rd1 N8c6 37.d5 Na5 38.Bb5 Nxa2 39.Rd4 Bc1 40.Rg4+ Kh8 41.Be8 1–0

            by  MAXWELL SOLOMON

With his strong push mid-way through the tournament FM Daniel Naroditsky (2403) of the USA made his intentions clear. When IM Kenny Solomon (2383) lost the lead in round 8, FM Naroditsky became the sole leader of the tournament. After notching up four consecutive victories between rounds 6 and 9, FM Naroditsky’s winning streak was halted by none other than Kenny himself in round 10. In round 11 FM Naroditsky’s inertia continued when GM Tibor Fagorasi (2431) of Hungary also weighed in with a draw against him. Though he lost the momentum to secure a GM norm, FM Naroditsky nevertheless held on to win the tournament. A deserved victory indeed!

Kenny’s performance in this tournament was impressive. He played a solid and a somewhat enterprising brand of chess. (Who would forget his beautiful win over GM Zlatko Ilincic (2455) of Serbia in round 7.) Kenny remained unbeaten for the first seven rounds. Were it not for his setback in round 8, Kenny would have continued to be among the leaders fighting for tournament victory. In the end, Kenny scored a creditable 5½/10 having conceded only one loss. In round 11 Kenny forfeited his game due to his flight arrangements and because his opponent, FM Admad Samhouri (2379) of Jordan, refused to play their game during the earlier rounds.    

In sum, from a South African perspective, Kenny’s +1 score against such a tough field is indeed encouraging. I am sure that Kenny will build on his performance in Budapest.

Full results of round 11:

GM Fogarasi (2431) ½-½ FM D Naroditsky (2403)

GM Ilincic (2455) ½-½ GM Vera Gonzalez-Q (2513)

IM K Solomon (2383)- +FM Samhouri (2379)

IM G Pap (2508) ½-½GM Z Varga (2488)

FM E Kislik (2329) 1-0 IM T Cabrera (2365)

IM Kjartansson (2384) 1-0 IM Brck-Claussen (2290)

Final round 11 standings:

1.FM D Naroditsky (2403)     7½                   

2.  IM G Pap (2508)                            7

3.  GM R Vera Gonzalez-Q (2513)     6½

4.  GM Z Ilincic (2455)                        6

5.  FM E Kislik (2329)                         6

6.  IM T Cabrera (2365)                      6

7.  IM K Solomon (2383)                    5½/10

8.  GM T Fogarasi (2431)                    5½

9.  GM Z Varga (2488)                         5

10. FM A Samhouri (2379)                  5/10

11. IM G Kjartansson (2384)                4½

12. IM B Brinck-Claussen (2290)         1½

In round 10 IM Kenny Solomon (2383) played the free-scoring leader of the tournament, FM Daniel Naroditsky (2403) of the USA. Between rounds 6 and 9, FM Naroditsky scored four consecutive victories, whereby he became the sole leader of the tournament. His fellow competitors could not keep pace. Indeed, he seemed unstoppable in carving up the opposition and marching towards the victor’s podium at the end of the tournament.  Enjoying such momentum and having the advantage of playing the white pieces against Kenny, FM Naroditsky seemed favoured to notch up his fifth consecutive victory. However, Kenny himself was in good shape, having lost only one game in the tournament. Their match-up could easily have been billed as the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.  

Playing e4, and hoping for an open game, FM Naroditsky was keen to take the fight to Kenny. In response Kenny allowed the Ruy Lopez Opening in which the white player gains a small positional edge. For his part, FM Naroditsky steered away from the main variation of the Ruy Lopez and instead opted for the slower d3 line. Kenny, however, had no problems neutralising his opponent’s strategic plan of manouevring his pieces to their best squares and thereby slowly building up an attacking formation. To this end, Kenny liquidated the central pawns. Not too long after that an endgame position arose. Though it slightly favoured FM Naroditsky, he could not hope for more than a draw. When the rooks came off the board, a bishop endgame arose wherein Kenny had only one weakness to defend. Kenny had no problems holding the line, and a draw was agreed. So ended their much awaited clash – not with a bang …    

Sadly, with this drawn result, FM Naroditsky has narrowly missed gaining a GM norm, even though he may yet win the tournament. For his part, Kenny has once again come into his stride after his hiccup in round 8 (which in retrospect might have cost him the GM norm).

Full results of round 10:

IM T Cabrera (2365) ½-½ GM Z Ilincic (2455)

GM Vera Gonzalez-Q (2513)½-½IM G Pap (2508)

FM D Naroditsky (2403)½-½IM K Solomon (2383)

GM Z Varga (2488) ½-½ GM Fogarasi (2431)

FM Samhouri (2379) ½-½ IM Kjartansson (2384)

IM Brck-Claussen (2290) 0-1 FM E Kislik (2329)

Standings after round 10:

1. FM D Naroditsky (2403)       7                  

2.  IM G Pap (2508)                           6½

3.  GM R Vera Gonzalez-Q (2513)      6

4.  IM T Cabrera (2365)                        6

5.  IM K Solomon (2383)                      5½

6.  GM Z Ilincic (2455)                          5½

7.  GM T Fogarasi (2431)                     5

8.  FM E Kislik (2329)                           5

9.  GM Z Varga (2488)                          4½

10. FM A Samhouri (2379)                   4

11. IM G Kjartansson (2384)                3½

12. IM B Brinck-Claussen (2290)    1½

                 by  MAXWELL SOLOMON

After slipping back in the tournament standings after his round 8 loss to GM Reynaldo Vera Gonzalez-Quevedo (2513) of Cuba, IM Kenny Solomon (2383) was keen to face the stern test of facing the experienced GM Zoltan Varga (2488) of Hungary in round 9. An interesting feature to their clash would be whether GM Varga would exploit the psychological advantage of playing an opponent who (after an unbeaten run) had lost his first game in the previous round of the tournament.

Full results of round 9:

IM Brck-Claussen (2290) 0-1 IM T Cabrera (2365)

FM E Kislik (2329) ½-½ FM A Samhouri (2379)

IM Kjartansson (2384) 0-1 FM Naroditsky (2403)

IM K Solomon (2383) ½-½ GM Z Varga (2488)

GM Fogarasi (2431) ½-½ GM Vera Gonzalez-Q (2513)

IM G Pap (2508) 1–0 GM Z Ilincic (2455)

Standings after round 9:

1.  FM D Naroditsky (2403)    6½           

2.  IM G Pap (2508)                              6

3.  GM R Vera Gonzalez-Q (2513)       5½

4.  IM T Cabrera (2365)                        5½

5.  IM K Solomon (2383)                      5

6.  GM Z Ilincic (2455)                          5

7.  GM T Fogarasi (2431)                     4½

8.  FM E Kislik (2329)                           4

9.  GM Z Varga (2488)                          4

10. FM A Samhouri (2379)                   3½

11. IM G Kjartansson (2384)                 3

12. IM B Brinck-Claussen (2290)          1½