Yair Parkhov still at the top, Alexandra Botez extends her sole lead by a full point

GM Yair Parkhov (ISR) is still in the sole lead 6/7. He is chased by eleven players at 5.5/7. It definitely speaks volumes about how strong and close the competition is. 

Italy no.4 GM Lorenzo Lodici quite possibly won the most exciting game of the round and perhaps the tournament too, so far

Chigaev - Parkhov

Position after 38.Re2

GM Yair Parkhov (ISR, 2510) had one solitary opportunity in the entire game to extend his lead. GM Maksim Chigaev's (ESP, 2647) c6-rook is virtually trapped. So, Black needed to attack it 38...Ke7 39.Rd2 Rxd2+ 40.Kxd2 Bf2 41.Ke2 Bxg3 and it would have been good for Black. It was not easy to find. Black played 38...Rad8? the window of opportunity was shut and White salvaged a draw.

GM Yair Parkhov (ISR) had a great opportunity to extend his lead by a full point

GM Jorden van Foreest (NED) pushed a lot for a double hat-trick...

...but GM Alan Pichot (ESP) provided incredible defense
"When Fabi didn't win, we felt like we didn't win" - Evgenij Miroshnichenko | Video: ChessBase India

Fedoseev - Bharath

Position after 40.Qc2

GM Bharath Subramaniyam H (2545) needed to exchange the queens to continue the fight. Declining the queen trade worsened things in a hurry 40...Qa1?? 41.Qc8+ Kh7 42.Qf5+ Kg8 43.Qxa5 and GM Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO, 2545) went to the game.

Velten - Lorenzo

Position after 30.Rxe5

The craziest game of the day was between GM Paul Velten (FRA, 2481) and GM Lorenzo Lodici (ITA, 2565).

A little over 3.5 hours after the start of the game, this position garnered a lot of intrigue among those who witnessed this exciting game

If the above two diagrams doesn't convince you how wild the game was, maybe the next diagram will.

Position after 43...Ka4

Lorenzo ran with his king to find safety. This game is best studied by an explanation by the victor Lorenzo himself, not a computer. Stay tuned for his beautiful analysis video.

GM Lorenzo Lodici analyses his win over GM Paul Velten | Video: ChessBase India

Kanov - Sanan

Positon after 31...b4!

GM Sanan Sjugirov (HUN, 2692) made an excellent knight sacrifice 31...b4! 32.bxc4 bxc3+ 33.Kc2 Nxc4 34.Bxc4 Rxc4 and Black won the game in the next few moves.

Hugues - Alexandra

Position after 12...g5!

WFM Alexandra Botez (CAN, 1971) made an excellent judgment to sacrifice her exchange when she played 12...g5! 13.Bh2 Nf5 14.Nxd8 Kxd8 15.Nd2 Nxe5 Black had enough compensation. She played bravely, capitalized on her opponent's mistake and won the game. An interview with Alexandra will be published soon where she talks about the game, increasing her lead and chances of winning the tournament.

WFM Alexandra Botez (CAN) increased her sole lead by a full point 6.5/7

Alessia Natoli (POL) missed a couple of good chances to win against CM Joel Paul Ganta

Interview with the oldest participant of the event - 97-years-old Giovanni Diena (ITA) and his nephew Antonio Rossini (ITA) who helped us translate, will be published soon

For more Round 7 photos, please click here. Lots of exciting, interesting game videos will be published soon, stay tuned!

How an International Master Became a Live Chess Broadcaster: A Fascinating Journey | Video: ChessBase India

Replay live stream

Replay Round 7 live commentary by GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko (UKR) and WCM Alexandra Prado (BOL)  | Video: UniChess

Replay Round 7 Open A games

Replay Round 7 Open B games

Replay Round 7 Open C games

Round 7 Open A results

Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.PGN
19
GMChigaev Maksim26215½ - ½5½GMParkhov Yair2513
20PGN
25
GMPichot Alan26445½ - ½5GMVan Foreest Jorden2668
4PGN
37
GMMurzin Volodar26324½1 - 05GMMoroni Luca Jr2580
12PGN
41
GMFedoseev Vladimir26904½1 - 04½GMBharath Subramaniyam H2544
18PGN
53
GMShevchenko Kirill26754½1 - 04½IMAizenberg Benny2409
46PGN
624
IMZhalmakhanov Ramazan24904½½ - ½4½GMDardha Daniel2630
8PGN
723
IMSokolovsky Yahli24904½½ - ½4½GMMoussard Jules2610
10PGN
813
GMGurel Ediz25784½1 - 04½FMTudor Henry Edward2279
81PGN
925
GMVelten Paul24814½0 - 14½GMLodici Lorenzo2565
14PGN
1027
IMCosta Leonardo24764½0 - 14½GMSivuk Vitaly2551
16PGN
1140
FMKanov Nikola24234½0 - 14GMSjugirov Sanan2689
2PGN
1233
IMLevin Guy245140 - 14GMLagarde Maxime2640
6PGN
1341
IMHaldorsen Benjamin241941 - 04GMHuschenbeth Niclas2607
11PGN
1415
GMSonis Francesco256241 - 04FMLumachi Gabriele2413
44PGN
1519
IMErdogmus Yagiz Kaan254041 - 04IMVantika Agrawal2398
50PGN

Details

Standings after Round 7

Rk.SNo NameTypsexFEDRtgIPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
120
GMParkhov YairISR25136312925,502498
25
GMPichot AlanESP26445,533,529,525,502492
31
GMFedoseev VladimirSLO26905,53228,523,502442
414
GMLodici LorenzoITA25655,531,52823,752418
59
GMChigaev MaksimESP26215,53127,523,502453
616
GMSivuk VitalySWE25515,530,52823,252409
73
GMShevchenko KirillROU26755,5302723,252377
813
GMGurel EdizU18TUR25785,529,526,522,502380
97
GMMurzin VolodarU18FID26325,527,52521,252421
104
GMVan Foreest JordenNED26685,52624,519,752345
118
GMDardha DanielBEL2630531,528,521,752446
1224
IMZhalmakhanov RamazanKAZ2490531,528,521,502496
1353
FMVergara Anton DiegoU18ESP2387530,52820,252396
1423
IMSokolovsky YahliU18ISR24905302721,002406
1519
IMErdogmus Yagiz KaanU18TUR2540529,526,519,502422

Details

Round 8 Open A pairings

Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.
120
GMParkhov Yair251365½GMShevchenko Kirill2675
3
29
GMChigaev Maksim26215½5½GMFedoseev Vladimir2690
1
34
GMVan Foreest Jorden26685½5½GMGurel Ediz2578
13
416
GMSivuk Vitaly25515½5½GMPichot Alan2644
5
514
GMLodici Lorenzo25655½5½GMMurzin Volodar2632
7
62
GMSjugirov Sanan268955IMErdogmus Yagiz Kaan2540
19
76
GMLagarde Maxime264055IMSokolovsky Yahli2490
23
88
GMDardha Daniel263055IMHaldorsen Benjamin2419
41
910
GMMoussard Jules261055IMLewtak Damian2343
63
1012
GMMoroni Luca Jr258055IMZhalmakhanov Ramazan2490
24
1154
IMBellia Fabrizio238455GMSonis Francesco2562
15
1253
FMVergara Anton Diego238754½GMVelten Paul2481
25
1318
GMBharath Subramaniyam H25444½4½FMShohat Yotam2398
51
1422
IMRozen Eytan24994½4½IMPapadiamandis Elliot2312
71
1552
FMZemach Nadav23964½4½IMCosta Leonardo2476
27

Details

Round 7 Open B results

Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.PGN
16
CMJoel Paul Ganta19695½ - ½5Natoli Alessia1917
19PGN
28
Wang Shanshan196650 - 14½Knors Rudi1992
2PGN
324
Moreno Latorre Francisco Jose18994½0 - 14½Dimitrov Dejan1998
1PGN
416
Benoit Hugues193550 - 15½WFMBotez Alexandra *)1970
5PGN
528
Botez Andrea *)18793½1 - 03½Fontaine Thomas1649
87PGN
613
Becker Alexander19504½0 - 14½Molinari Carlo1867
34
74
Neri Enzo19784½ - ½4½Mascia Germano1884
27
826
Simonelli Mattia18864½ - ½4Nassa Nicolas1969
7
99
Forno Diego19614½ - ½4Xu Ten Lon1877
30
1010
Maida Federico196141 - 04AFMMelis Giovanni1804
47

Details

Standings after Round 7

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
15
WFMBotez AlexandrawCAN19706,5302727,251901
26
CMJoel Paul GantaIND19695,53127,523,001857
319
Natoli AlessiawPOL19175,530,52822,251827
434
Molinari CarloITA18675,529,52822,251849
51
Dimitrov DejanBUL19985,526,52420,751805
62
Knors RudiBEL19925,521,51918,501826
78
Wang ShanshanwCHN196652926,519,001886
870
Valente LucaITA17165292520,751909
916
Benoit HuguesFRA1935528,52718,001815
1010
Maida FedericoITA1961526,524,516,001843

Details

Round 8 pairings

Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.
11
Dimitrov Dejan19985½5½CMJoel Paul Ganta1969
6
219
Natoli Alessia19175½5½Knors Rudi1992
2
327
Mascia Germano188455Wang Shanshan1966
8
45
WFMBotez Alexandra *)19706½5½Molinari Carlo1867
34
57
Nassa Nicolas19694½4½Botez Andrea *)1879
28
670
Valente Luca171655Maida Federico1961
10
711
Costabile Vincenzo195555Benoit Hugues1935
16
815
Carfagna Alex193955Peretti Eva1698
74
924
Moreno Latorre Francisco Jose18994½4½Neri Enzo1978
4
1064
Orman Attila17284½4½Forno Diego1961
9

Details

Round 7 Open C results

Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.PGN
15
Cilenti Giuseppe Maria15744½0 - 15Ozdogan Ertan1399
22PGN
220
Ferraro Luca139951 - 04Krishnan Vishwanathan1575
4PGN
39
Pajak Radoslaw154240 - 15Sun Hanyu1399
26PGN
47
Corbo Giuseppe A.15583½1 - 04Isaia Daniele1548
8
53
Piovesan Sara15793½1 - 03½Salis Davide1503
12

Details

Standings after Round 7

Rk.SNo NameFEDRtgIRtgNPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
122
Ozdogan ErtanTUR01399632,52926,501496
220
Ferraro LucaITA0139963128,525,001525
326
Sun HanyuCHN01399629,52723,501481
43
Piovesan SaraITA157904,5292617,001482
57
Corbo Giuseppe A.ITA155804,527,52515,751481
65
Cilenti Giuseppe MariaSMR157404,5272513,001492
714
Geraci DanieleITA148604,524,522,513,751510
84
Krishnan VishwanathanIND1575043228,515,501475
99
Pajak RadoslawPOL15420428,526,512,501430
108
Isaia DanieleITA15480427,525,514,001474

Details

Round 8 pairings

Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.
13
Piovesan Sara15794½6Ferraro Luca1399
20
222
Ozdogan Ertan139964½Corbo Giuseppe A.1558
7
314
Geraci Daniele14864½6Sun Hanyu1399
26
48
Isaia Daniele154844½Cilenti Giuseppe Maria1574
5
54
Krishnan Vishwanathan157544Saba Andrea1399
24

Details

Links

Sardinia Chess Festival: Official site, fb page and instagram

Tournament details