After Van Wely closed the gap to a mere 1/2 point, Adams stretched his lead back to a full point by defeating fellow British GM Speelman. Looking ahead, Adams has to face Van Wely and Sokolov, 2 of the top seeds. On the other hand, Van Wely has to face Adams and Cherniaev, one of the lowest rated players of the tournament. Another point worth noting is the performance of Timman. He is in clear third with 5.5 point, only 1/2 point back of Van Wely.

Round 9 results:

Adams, Michael – Speelman, Jon 1-0
Short, Nigel – Van Wely, Loek ½-½
L’Ami, Erwin – Wells, Peter ½-½
Timman, Jan – Werle, Jan 1-0
Cherniaev, Alexander – Sokolov, Ivan 0-1
Wade, Robert – Smeets, Jan 0-1

Standings after 9 rounds:

1. Adams, Michael g ENG 2735 7
2. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2644 6
3. Timman, Jan g NED 2562 5½
4. Short, Nigel g ENG 2655 5
5. Smeets, Jan g NED 2593 5
6. Sokolov, Ivan g NED 2658 5
7. L’Ami, Erwin g NED 2610 4½
8. Speelman, Jon g ENG 2524 4½
9. Werle, Jan g NED 2591 4
10. Wells, Peter g ENG 2526 4
11. Cherniaev, Alexander g RUS 2431 3½
12. Wade, Robert m ENG 2167 0

Official website: http://www.howardstaunton.com/hsmt2008/index.shtml

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