Anish Giri pulled ahead of the pack with a massive win over Baadur Jobava with the black pieces today. A great win for Giri who won his 2nd game in a row with the black pieces after falling half a point behind the leaders after round 7. A brilliant bounce back by the top seed who is in true pole position before the last round.
Of the six previous leaders, most of them drew each other but Jobava lost a step losing to Giri. Giri will be chased by a massive pack of 10 players on 7 points trying to catch up to Giri on 7,5.
There were some norms secured in this round as Aman Hambleton took his 2nd GM norm while Nishal Sarin and Michael Kleinman secured IM norms. Sarin already had all the required norms but for Kleinman it was his 2nd norm.
The last round will start at 11:00 local time and promises some exciting matchup. Giri has white against Erwin l’Ami looking to secure an outright tournament win while a big pack while try to catch up and move up the leaderboard.
