After 7 rounds, Sasikiran has the sole lead with 6 points, followed by a 6-way tie for 2nd with 5.5.
Leaders after 7:
| Rank | SNo. | |
Name | Rtg | FED | Typ | Pts | vict | ||
| 1 | 13 | GM | K. Sasikiran | 2653 | IND | |
6 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 46 | GM | K. Chernyshov | 2556 | RUS | |
5Ѕ | 5 | ||
| 3 | 17 | GM | E. Bareev | 2643 | RUS | |
5Ѕ | 4 | ||
| 4 | 16 | GM | Q. Le | 2647 | VIE | |
5Ѕ | 4 | ||
| 5 | 15 | GM | E. Inarkiev | 2649 | RUS | |
5Ѕ | 4 | ||
| 6 | 3 | GM | V. Bologan | 2692 | MDA | |
5Ѕ | 4 | ||
| 7 | 21 | GM | F. Amonatov | 2634 | TJK | |
5Ѕ | 4 | ||
| 8 | 63 | GM | R. Khusnutdinov | 2513 | KAZ | |
5 | 5 | ||
| 9 | 1 | GM | A. Motylev | 2697 | RUS | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 35 | IM | M. Matlakov | 2587 | RUS | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 11 | 24 | GM | S. Azarov | 2622 | BLR | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 12 | 20 | GM | D. Andreikin | 2635 | RUS | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 13 | 6 | GM | I. Kurnosov | 2668 | RUS | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 14 | 91 | FM | A. Reshetnikov | 2447 | RUS | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 15 | 58 | GM | A. Shimanov | 2535 | RUS | U18 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 16 | 23 | GM | S. Volkov | 2623 | RUS | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 17 | 56 | GM | E. Gasanov | 2536 | UKR | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 18 | 36 | GM | K. Miton | 2586 | POL | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 19 | 53 | GM | S. Dvoirys | 2539 | RUS | |
5 | 4 | ||
| 20 | 4 | GM | X. Bu | 2673 | CHN | |
5 | 3 | ||
| 21 | 12 | GM | B. Grachev | 2653 | RUS | |
5 | 3 | ||
| 22 | 2 | GM | S. Rublevsky | 2697 | RUS | |
5 | 3 | ||
| 23 | 32 | GM | V. Belov | 2595 | RUS | |
5 | 3 | ||
| 24 | 71 | IM | A. Ipatov | 2497 | ESP | U18 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 25 | 25 | GM | E. Vorobiov | 2621 | RUS | |
5 | 3 | ||
| 26 | 54 | GM | A. Kharitonov | 2538 | RUS | |
5 | 3 |
Round 8 top board pairings:
| Bo. | SNo. | Name | Pts | Res. | Pts | Name | SNo. | ||
| 1 | 16 | GM | Le Quang Liem | 5Ѕ | – | 6 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 13 |
| 2 | 17 | GM | Bareev Evgeny | 5Ѕ | – | 5Ѕ | GM | Bologan Viktor | 3 |
| 3 | 21 | GM | Amonatov Farrukh | 5Ѕ | – | 5Ѕ | GM | Inarkiev Ernesto | 15 |
| 4 | 1 | GM | Motylev Alexander | 5 | – | 5Ѕ | GM | Chernyshov Konstantin | 46 |
| 5 | 2 | GM | Rublevsky Sergei | 5 | – | 5 | IM | Matlakov Maxim | 35 |
| 6 | 4 | GM | Bu Xiangzhi | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Dvoirys Semen I | 53 |
| 7 | 6 | GM | Kurnosov Igor | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Miton Kamil | 36 |
| 8 | 12 | GM | Grachev Boris | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Kharitonov Alexandr | 54 |
| 9 | 20 | GM | Andreikin Dmitry | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Gasanov Eldar | 56 |
| 10 | 23 | GM | Volkov Sergey | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Shimanov Aleksandr | 58 |
| 11 | 63 | GM | Khusnutdinov Rustam | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Azarov Sergei | 24 |
| 12 | 91 | FM | Reshetnikov Alexey | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Vorobiov Evgeny E | 25 |
| 13 | 71 | IM | Ipatov Alexander | 5 | – | 5 | GM | Belov Vladimir | 32 |
| 14 | 55 | GM | Zinchenko Yaroslav | 4Ѕ | – | 4Ѕ | GM | Zhigalko Sergei | 7 |
| 15 | 8 | GM | Najer Evgeniy | 4Ѕ | – | 4Ѕ | GM | Panarin Mikhail | 62 |
| 16 | 60 | GM | Gabrielian Artur | 4Ѕ | – | 4Ѕ | GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 11 |
| 17 | 65 | GM | Kabanov Nikolai | 4Ѕ | – | 4Ѕ | GM | Savchenko Boris | 19 |
| 18 | 66 | GM | Shcherbakov Ruslan | 4Ѕ | – | 4Ѕ | GM | Sjugirov Sanan | 29 |
| 19 | 40 | GM | Rychagov Andrey | 4Ѕ | – | 4Ѕ | IM | Shinkevich Vitaly | 67 |
| 20 | 72 | GM | Krapivin Alexander | 4Ѕ | – | 4Ѕ | GM | Shomoev Anton | 44 |
Full pairings here.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Sasi is back to 2700 form.
Sasi lost to Le Quang Liem in Round 8, and back to 2600+ form.
February 7, 2010
Party of the day. Says Vladimir Barsky
In the eighth round of a young Vietnamese Le Quang Liem, a technical master, outplayed
single leader Krishnan Sasikiran and led the tournament race in the company with his coach Russia’s Evgeny Bareev and another of his
countryman, Konstantin Chernyshov.