The final day of the 2007 Sydney International Open is about to commence, and two outstanding performances should be grabbing the headlines. After 7 rounds there are 3 players leading on 6 points. Not surprisingly 2 of those players are GM's, with Ian Rogers continuing his outstanding Doeberl Cup form, while Georgy Timoshenko is living up to his high seeding. But the third player is untitled Sydney player Tomek Rej. He plays on the top Board in Rd 8 against Timoshenko, and has good chances for an IM norm.
The other amazing performance is by Canberra uni student Gareth Oliver. He is on 5.5 points and is already on the verge of his first IM norm. His spectacular run started in Round 4 and went win over FM Smirnov, win over Steadman (NZ), draw with IM Toth (Hun), and finally a win over GM title aspirant IM David Smerdon.
Oliver is paired with GM Carlos Matamoros Franco in round 8. For an IM Norm Oliver only needs 0.5/2, and even if he loses round 8, a draw in round 9 against anyone will do.
Full results of the tournament are on the Sydney International Open page, and live games are here.
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