After yesterday's rest day, round 8 (of 11) of the European Chess Championship saw Vladimir Potkin drew his third consecutive game, and (some of) the chase pack finally caught up with him. Markus Ragger, Viorel Iordacescu, Mircea Parligras, Rauf Mamedov and Nikita Vitiugov are all tied with Potkin with 6.5 points, with 18 players just half a point behind.
Note: While winning the event would be both prestigious and financially rewarding, making it to the top 23 is also very important, as those finishers qualify for the 2011 World Cup.