Going into the final round tomorrow, the same trio are still leading the event. Here are the standings after 8 rounds:

1-3. Leko, Peter g HUN 2741, Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2703, Aronian, Levon g ARM 2741 5.0

4. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 4.5

5-7. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2710, Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2728, Svidler, Peter g RUS 2750 4.0

8-9. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2720, Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2698 3.0

10. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2747 2.5

Here are the matchups in the last round:

Ponomariov – Leko
Grischuk – Carlsen
Gelfand – Aronian
Morozevich – Shirov
Mamedyarov – Svidler

Gelfand is trailing the leaders by 1/2 point. That means that Gelfand with the White pieces has to beat Aronian to have a shot to tie for 1st. The other 2 leaders Ponomariov and Leko are facing each other. Perhaps we will see a quick draw? Morozevich – Shirov is an interesting matchup. Morozevich is probably dying to get out of last place. Or he just want to go home as soon as possible. I do not expect to see too much fighting between Mamedyarov and Svidler as they have no chance for the top prize. I expect Grischuk trying to make something happen with the White pieces. Can the young phenom score his 1st victory?

What do you think?
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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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