Grandmasters David Anton Guijarro from Spain and David Howell from England emerged as leaders at the European Individual Chess Championship 2017 in Minsk.
They were the only two of leading players to score the victories in the 7th round, and now lead by half a point ahead the group of 5.5 points.
Standings after 7 rounds:
1-2 Anton and Howell 6 points
3-13 Kovalenko, Dubov, Fridman, Cheparinov, Mastrovasilis, Matlakov, Jones, Shimanov, Demchenko, Ivanisevic and Mikaelyan 5.5 points, etc.
Top pairings of the 8th round:
Anton vs Howell, Matlakov vs Shimanov, Ivanisevic vs Chearinov, Dubov vs Mikaelyan, Demchenko vs Kovalenko, Fridman vs Jones, Jobava vs Mastrovasilis, Saric vs Andreikin, Ponomariov vs Kozul, Naiditsch vs Erdos, etc.
WGM Olga Girya was defeated in the 7th round by GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili, while IM Alisa Galliamova drew with GM Andrey Zhigalko. WFM Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated IM Miguel Santos Ruiz, and WFM Natalie Kanakova defeated IM Mihnea Costachi. All four players are on 4 points.
The organizers provided live broadcast of 100 boards, along with professional commentary in English and Russian, done by Evgeniy Miroshnichenko and Sergey Shipov. Live games can be followed on the Official Website of the Championship, or through the ECU website, section LIVE.
The European Individual Championship 2017 is a qualification event for the next World Cup. According to FIDE regulations and the decision of the ECU Board, 22 players will qualify. The total prize fund is 100 000 EUR, including the special prizes.
The Championship takes place from 29th May to 11th June in the Sports Palace in Minsk.
The event is organized by the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk City Executive Committee and Belarus Chess Federation under the auspices of the ECU.
