Armenian grandmaster Vladimir Akopian tied a game vs. Boris Gelfand (Israel) in the first round of Men’s Grand Prix in Astrakhan, Russia, and is currently the 3rd with 0.5 points.

In the second round, Akopian will rival Pavel Elyanov (Ukraine), who made a draw with Peter Svidler (Russia) in the first round and is currently the 2nd in the standings.