Onischuk and Radjabov in best position to win Biel 2007

Full point against Carlsen on the previous day gave wings to Yannick Pelletier, who next beat Bu Xianghzi

Round 7: Magnus Carlsen was enjoying firm lead in the tournament until he played 16.Bxh7 against Yannick Pelletier. Two pawns were poor compensation for the piece and young Swiss scored his first win in Biel 2007. Teimour Radjabov used this opportunity to even up with Carlsen on the top. The continued discussion with Van Wely in Kings Indian bayonet attack ended in Radjabov's favor after the Queens went off. Nevertheless, it looked like Van Wely had strong pressure when he sacrificed both exchanges, and only careful analysis will show if this variation is stable for Black.

Kings Indian discussion: Teimour Radjabov and Loek Van Wely

Alexander Onischuk dropped significant advantage against Judit Polgar and the game was drawn in heavy pieces' endgame. Alexander Motylev had tough job with Black against Boris Avrukh, but the material imbalance created in the time scrabble was not sufficient for either of them and game ended with repetition. Motylev thus recovers after three consecutive defeats. Bu-Grischuk was also draw by repetition, although without excitement.

Round 7 results:
Judit Polgar - Alexander Onischuk draw
Loek Van Wely - Teimour Radjabov 0 - 1
Bu Xianghzi - Alexander Grischuk draw
Boris Avrukh - Alexander Motylev draw
Magnus Carlsen - Yannick Pelletier 0 - 1

Round 8: Obviously, win against Carlsen on the previous day gave wings to Yannick Pelletier, who annihilated Bu's Slav defence to move up on 3rd place tie. Carlsen might be experiencing turning-point as he run into lost position against Van Wely straight out of the opening. Once those pawns started rolling, it was impossible to stop them. The imaginative temporary Rook sacrifice with a long forced sequence allowed Onischuk to earn extra pawn against Avrukh. The rest was matter of his excellent technique.

What went wrong: Magnus Carlsen

Judit Polgar saved tough endgame with the wonderful stalemate motif. Grischuk's Rook + Knight squadron made a deadly mess among Judit's pawns earlier. Radjabov-Motylev was the shortest game of the tournament - 14 moves draw in Scotch opening.

Round 8 results:
Teimour Radjabov - Alexander Motylev draw
Alexander Onischuk - Boris Avrukh 1 - 0
Loek Van Wely - Magnus Carlsen 1 - 0
Yannick Pelletier - Bu Xiangzhi 1 - 0
Alexander Grischuk - Judit Polgar draw

Nice view from the top floor: Alexander Onischuk

Round 8 standings:
1-2. Alexander Onischuk (USA 2650) and Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan 2746) 5.0
3-5. Magnus Carlsen (Norway 2710), Yannick Pelletier (Switzerland 2583) and Judit Polgar (Hungary 2707) 4.5
6. Alexander Grischuk (Russia 2726) 4.0
7-8. Bu Xianghzi (China 2685) and Boris Avrukh (Israel 2645) 3.5
9. Alexander Motylev (Russia 2648) 3.0
10.Loek van Wely (Netherlands 2679) 2.5

Going into round 9: Two consecutive defeats have pushed Magnus Carlsen down to the 3rd place tie. Alexander Onischuk and Teimour Radjabov are now in best position to win the tournament. Still, there is one round left, and Magnus will certainly seek for a win with White against Radjabov. Onischuk is playing Black against shaken Motylev. Other pairings are Bu Xiangzhi - Loek van Wely, Judit Polgar - Yannick Pelletier and Boris Avrukh - Alexander Grischuk. If two or more players tie the first place at the end, there will be a tie-break on the same day (with the two best players) to promote the official winner of the Tournament - two rapid games (15 minutes) and, if necessary, blitz.