With four rounds to play Ivan Cheparinov is in sole first place at the Black Sea Countries tournament in Burgas, Bulgaria. The Bulgarian grandmaster scored 4.5/6, half a point more than Alexander Areshchenko (Ukraine) and Vladimir Malakhov (Russia). 

Ivan Cheparinov | All photos thanks to Chief Arbiter Vladimir Sakotic, more here

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosphorus Strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the Strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean Sea region of the Mediterranean. These waters separate eastern Europe and western Asia. The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.

The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2 (168,500 sq mi) (not including the Sea of Azov), a maximum depth of 2,212 m (7,257 ft), and a volume of 547,000 km3 (131,200 cu mi). The Black Sea forms in an east-west trending elliptical depression which lies between Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south, the Caucasus Mountains to the east and features a wide shelf to the northwest. The longest east-west extent is about 1,175 km.

Source: Wikipedia

There are many different criteria for organizers to select the players for their tournament. In Burgas, Bulgaria the participants are from six different countries, all bordering the Black Sea! They are Baadur Jobava (2734, GEO), Alexander Areshchenko (2702, UKR), Vladimir Malakhov (2700, RUS), Ivan Cheparinov (2689, BUL), Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (2648, ROM) and Suat Atalik (2603, TUR).

Two of these players travelled from Istanbul, located about 200 km south west of Burgas. Cheparinov played the Olympiad for Bulgaria, while Atalik lives in Istanbul. Jobava had to withdraw from the Georgian Olympic squad at the last minute due to health issues, but apparently he's recovered now.

Atalik's participation draws attention of course, after all the turmoil in recent months. For a period of 15 months he cannot play in Turkey, and recently he was also banned by the Greek Chess Federation. Other federations seem less inclined to ban Atalik. At the FIDE General Assembly in Istanbul the Chairman of the FIDE Ethics Comission, Roberto Rivello, explained that if a player is suspened by federation for violating a national rule (not FIDE related), it makes no sense that the federation tries to enforce its ruling across borders.

The "Black Sea Countries tournament" is taking place at the Grand Hotel & SPA Primoretz in Burgas, Bulgaria. It's a 6-player double round robin and the players mentioned above together add up to a 2679 average rating. The rate of play is 90 minutes for the whole game and 30 additional seconds for every move. Draw offers before move 40 are not allowed.

In the first round there were two draws, and also the top clash between the two 2700s. Jobava was punished for his aggressive play on the kingside:

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The second round saw three interesting draws. Especially Cheparinov came close to a win after a thematic exchange sacrifice:

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The follow game from the third round ended in a draw, but not before some amazing fireworks, probably all cooked up during preparation:

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Atalik missed a thing or two in his game against Nisipeanu.

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Cheparinov is the leader after six rounds. The 25-year-old Bulgarian grandmaster has been especially lethal with the white pieces, beating Malakhov, Jobava and Atalik. (He drew his three black games.) In the third round Cheparinov played a nice attacking game against Malakhov:

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Ivan Cheparinov, the leader after 6 rounds

Malakhov is one of the two players trailing by half a point. He won two white games very quickly with a pawn on f6 and the black queen totally out of play. Here's what happened in round 4:

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And here's his game from round 6:

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Vladimir Malakhov

Black Seas Countries 2012 | Round 6 standings

The total prize fund is € 10, 000 with five prizes: € 2750, € 2500, € 2000, €1500, € 1250. Today rounds 7 and 8 will be played, tomorrow round 9 and on Wednesday round 10.