Checkmate Coronavirus: Vanakkam Chennai!
A massive online project, Checkmate Coronavirus, was launched by FIDE in May 2020. Over 720 non-stop hours of this chess marathon, 2,762 tournaments were played by 120,000 unique participants from at least 140 countries. The weekly project prize draw winners received 1500 prizes, including souvenirs, free master classes, and mini-matches with top grandmasters. The luckiest ones got the major prize of the event – a six-night trip to Chennai with paid air tickets, a full board, and a chance to attend the Chess Olympiad, a flagship event of FIDE with 186 national teams participating. After two years of anticipation, the winners of the major prize of FIDE’s Checkmate Coronavirus project arrived in Chennai, India and are now enjoying their stay in a 382-year-old city, the chess capital of India and the home of five-time World Champion GM Viswanathan Anand. The chess fans representing Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden and Thailand have already visited the Olympiad venue, watched the games of their favourite players and participated in the side events, including festivals, concerts, and performances organized by AICF to show the big cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu. “I had an excellent impression of this Olympiad. I was very well received from the arrival at the airport to the hotel. I went to the beach and pool and took a walk on the sand. I can’t say what I liked the most because I loved everything. Indian people are very hospitable. At the Olympiad venue, I saw several famous players, including Magnus Carlsen. I want to thank FIDE for this great present and also for the wonderful gifts we received,” said Carlos Gomes from Taguatinga, the oldest member of the delegation. “I’m enjoying the Olympiads very much, and I’m glad to see so many top players fighting in live action instead of Youtube streaming! I played a few friendly games here and there with random players from around the world,” – adds Nicolas Noel from Thailand. During the pandemic, he played online a lot on many platforms and participated in hundreds of Checkmate Coronavirus tournaments. “Chess Olympiad is my dream. I’ve never been to foreign countries before,” said Than Min Hlaing from Myanmar. “There is no word to say how happy I am. The Olympiad chess games are the greatest games I’ve ever seen. I’m feeling ecstatic. The person I want to see the most here is Magnus Carlsen. I also want to play chess with a great player. I’ll never forget this memorable huge event. I hope that we will meet at the next Olympiad too.” With two more rounds of the Chess Olympiad to go, Checkmate Coronavirus winners have all the chances to meet in person many chess ledends, take selfies with them and get autographs. The visit will end with a spectacular closing ceremony which includes Indian traditional performances and awarding the strongest teams of the event.
India A Women’s team held to a draw by Ukraine but retains the lead
The India Women A Team victory march was halted with a 2-2 draw against second seed Ukraine, the squad boasting of two former Women World Champions, Mariya Muzychuk and Anna Ushenina. All the four encounters ended in deadlock, and India A continues to be in charge of the sole lead with 15 points while Georgia has inched closer, sitting on 14 points. Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan and Mongolia are bunched together in the third spot with 13 points each. Just like Gukesh D in the open section, WIM Oliwia Kiolbasa (pictured below) of Poland also scored a fantastic 8/8 in the Women’s competition. The encounter between former Women’s World Chess Champion Mariya Muzychuk and Humpy Koneru was much-awaited, and the former opted for the Nimzo Indian defence. After the massive exchanges, the opponents ended up in a rook and four pawns each drawish ending and signed peace on move 40. Anna Muzychuk unleashed the prehistoric Italian Greco gambit against Harika Dronavalli on the second board. Harika played sensibly to complete development and quickly extinguished White’s initiative. She had a good chance for advantage in the ending, but Anna found a way out in a pawn down opposite colour bishop ending and forced a draw on the move 49. Vaishali R countered the Petroff Defence by Anna Ushenina with the Nimzowitsh attack but failed to gain any initiative. She slipped to a slightly inferior ending after simplifications and had to demonstrate good calculation and understanding of Rook endings to hold off Anna. Tania Sachdev and Nataliya Buksa played out a Ruy Lopez, which also failed to excite the spectators. The game petered out to a draw by repetition after massive exchanges on the queenside. India C Team, seeded 16th, were no match for fourth-seeded Poland and went down 1-3. India B team seeded 11th, defeated Croatia 3.5-0.5, with Vantika Agrawal, Padmini Rout and Divya Deshmukh scoring victories and Mary Ann Gomes conceding a draw. Complete results for round 8 can be found at the official website for the Olympiad, https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Standings after round 8 can be found at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-standings Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
44th Chess Olympiad: USA toppled by Indian teenagers
Armenia leads the Olympiad after eight rounds From the outside, it’s always very difficult to speculate on what may be happening to the USA team, but it’s clear that they are not going through their best moment. Despite having the best team on paper by quite a margin, none of their players seem to be in great shape, and Fabiano Caruana in particular, is unrecognizable. This afternoon they suffered a clear and resounding defeat against India’s B team by 3-1. Caruana and Dominguez lost against Gukesh and Sadhwani, while the other two games ended in draws after a very complicated play. GM Noel Studer summed it nicely on social media minutes after the round ended: Gukesh notched up his eighth victory in a row – with an impressive 3366 rating performance – and has overtaken Pentala Harikrishna on the live rating list, becoming India’s number two player behind Vishy Anand. It seems that the sky is the limit for the kid! Although the game was mentally demanding, he still had enough energy to answer some questions in the media center, stating above all that “Fabiano is one of my favourite players and it was a pleasure to play against him”. The round began with the ceremonial first move on Women’s Section number two match between Georgia and Armenia. We were honoured to receive the visit by Mr Mikheil Chkhenkeli, Georgian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, along with Mr. Archil Dzuliashvili, Georgia’s Indian Ambassador. On the other Women’s match between India and Ukraine, Mr Iraianbu IAS, Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, played the first move. In the other main match of the day, Armenia made a huge step towards the medal by defeating India A by the slightest of margins. Three of the games were drawn, but Sargissian managed to convert a small edge in the ending against Harikrishna on board one. All the Armenian players are overperforming – first board Sargissian is on a roll – but reserve player Robert Hovhannisyan is smashing the winning button on board four with an undefeated score of 6.5/8. After eight of the eleven scheduled rounds, Armenia is leading the open section of the Olympiad with 15 points, followed very closely by India B with 14 points. Also, on 14 points are another teenager team, Uzbekistan, who closed the gap this afternoon by defeating Germany by 2.5-1.5 – a tremendous result for the young team coached by seasoned GM Ivan Sokolov. The match was heavily contested on all four boards, but the Uzbek team pulled ahead on board two when Yakubboev defeated Bluebaum. The other three games were drawn. Azerbaijan and the Netherlands are the other two teams that, along with Iran, are inching closer to the top of the standings to fight for the medals in the later rounds. The team led by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – who rested today – got rid of Kazakhstan by the minimum result. Iran defeated France by the same result, while the Netherlands took down Hungary convincingly with victories by Giri and Warmerdam. Born in 2000, the young Dutchman has gained more than 100 rating points since the pandemic and is in top form in Chennai. He was kind enough to answer some questions in a short postgame interview, offering some great insight on how they prepare the matches – a team effort. On a positive note, Jergus Pechac received this afternoon the 2021 Gligoric Trophy in recognition of his exemplary behaviour and fair play spirit. The Slovak GM offered a draw to Boris Gelfand after the latter had erred due to a mouse slip, during the European Qualification Tournament, held in a hybrid format. FIDE Vice President Mahir Mamedov and GM Eugene Torre, who chaired the Award Commission together with Judit Polgar, awarded Jerguš before the start of the 8th round. Visibly pleased with the award, Pechac also held World Champion Magnus Carlsen to a draw: a fine afternoon for the Slovac. Round 9 will be played August 7th at 3pm sharp and can be followed live on the tournament website. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/open-results/ Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Chennai Photos: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
Monaco to host Pool A of Women’s Candidates
The glamorous Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo will host the Pool A of the Women’s Candidates tournament, organised by the Monaco Chess Federation, from October 24 to November 6. This bracket will see the clash between Humpy Koneru and Anna Muzychuk (first Quarter-Final), and Lei Tingjie and Mariya Muzychuk in the second Quarter-Final. Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. The main sponsor for the event will be The Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), a company that owns and manages the Monte Carlo Casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo. Originally founded in 1863 by Charles III, Prince of Monaco, and previously owned by Aristotle Onassis, SBM is now a publicly traded company registered in the Principality of Monaco, with the Government of Monaco as the main shareholder. Photo: Håkan Dahlström The games venue will add a touch of distinction to the event, as the Hôtel Hermitage is one of the most emblematic hotels in Europe. Set in a palace in Monaco listed as a historical monument, this luxurious five-star hotel features Belle-Époque décor, a winter garden, and a 7,000 m² spa. Among other recognitions, it received the “Best spa in a hotel in Europe” Prix by Villégiature Award in 2016 and the Gold Award in the “Event Hotel of the Year” category by Eventia in 2012. Pool B of the Women’s Candidates will be staged under the same conditions, and the host city will be confirmed in the coming days. The Final that will determine the challenger to Ju Wenju’s throne, played over the distance of 6 games, will take place in the first quarter of 2023, and two different European cities have already expressed their interest in organising it.
44th Chess Olympiad: Illegal move gives lead to Armenia
India B Gukesh stuns the world with 7/7. The Olympiad is arguably the world’s largest team championship, played at the same time in a single venue. It’s so big – more than 350 four-player teams – that it typically takes two or more buildings to lodge all the games. Here in Chennai, the main venue hall has a capacity for 27 matches in the open category and 20 women’s matches, with more than 350 players. However, since the Norwegian team is not doing very well at the moment – only the world champion Magnus Carlsen is playing at a decent level – this afternoon they faced North Macedonia on open table 28, in venue hall room B, with capacity for the other 1200 players! Carlsen’s presence generated great expectations amongst all the mostly amateur teams that play their “own” non-grandmaster Olympiad, and of course, one of the sponsors of the event, Mr Shrikant Madhav Vaidya Indian Oil Corporation Chairman, who performed the traditional ceremonial first move on his board. FIDE Director General, GM Emil Sutovsky captured this sentiment magnificently on Twitter. The final score of the match, 2.5-1.5 for Norway, will allow them to return to the main venue tomorrow. However, if they want to continue climbing the ladder, they need to improve on the lower boards. We were lucky enough to catch board two, Aryan Tari, just before he left the venue, and he agreed to a short interview with FIDE Press Officer IM Michael Rahal. Check it out if you want to know what it feels like sitting next to Magus every day! Meanwhile, in the main venue, all eyes were on the two main matches. USA vs Armenia was a classic, one of the most exciting matches to date. After less than 20 moves, Wesley So was already winning against Hrant Melkumyan: the American crashed through with a fantastic rook sacrifice, which, in one of the lines, would have been followed up by an unbelievable queen sacrifice and mate in six. On board three, Lenier Dominguez also brought home the point for 2-0, but then disaster struck. Fabiano Caruana lost on board one against Gabriel Sargissian – a very strong grandmaster who always performs strongly in team competitions. Fabiano is not having the best of events, performing more than 200 points below his rating. It looked like Shankland was going to lose on board four (for a final 2-2), but he got back into the game. When a draw was about to be agreed, a devastated Shankland illegally “premoved” his king and had to resign immediately. The final result permits Armenia to maintain the lead by one match point. The other top match was India A vs India C. The A-team outrated their colleagues by more than 100 points, and the final 3-1 score more or less reflects what happened on the boards. Not without difficulties, Erigaisi and Narayanan took down their opponents on boards three and four, while Harikrishna (slightly better most of the game) and Vidit secured draws on the top boards. They will face Armenia for the tournament lead tomorrow. Playing for India B, Gukesh D is still on a roll, and this afternoon he won his seventh game in a row! His TPR (tournament rating performance) is mind-blowing: 3335, nearly 400 points more than Magnus Carlsen, chasing him down. His opponent, Cuban grandmaster Carlos Albornoz, rated 2566 and is a very strong player. Still, Gukesh achieved a comfortable position after the opening with Black, and then he just gradually outplayed Carlos in a complicated endgame. Sarin and Praggnanandhaa also won their games, notching up a convincing 3.5-0.5 win against Cuba. Tomorrow they will face the USA in a match that might easily decide the outcome of the young guns – medal or not? We caught up with five-time World Champion Vishy Anand, India’s chess superstar, in the playing venue. Vishy is not playing this year with team India because he is running for election. Amongst other things, we wanted to find out what he thought about Gukesh’s uncanny performance. You can watch the interview with Vishy here. Tomorrow’s other two top matches will feature Germany (2.5-1.5 against Serbia today) against Uzbekistan, who whitewashed Peru (4-0). Surprise winners Kazakhstan also have 12 points: they defeated Spain by a marginal 2.5-1.5 score in an up and down match that could have gone either way. Their opponent tomorrow will be Azerbaijan, another tough nut to crack. Of the other favourites, England, Ukraine and especially Poland are underperforming. However, with four rounds to go, anything can happen if a team can string together three in a row. Round 8 will be played on August 6 at 3 pm sharp and can be followed live on the tournament website. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/open-results/ Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Chennai Photos: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
India A Women’s team extends sole lead
Indian Women A notched their seventh successive victory against sixth seed Azerbaijan by a 2.5-1.5 score to maintain their sole lead in the Women’s section of the 44th Chess Olympiad with 14 points – two points ahead of second-placed Ukraine and Armenia. Indian eves suffered a few hiccups after Humpy ended up on the losing side in the first game to end. Tania and Vaishali once again rose to the occasion magnificently by scoring hard-fought victories, while Harika also battled hard to split the point. Tania and Ulviyya battling in a Queen’s Gambit Declined game matched pace for the most part till the middle game. A strayed knight on the king-side allowed Tanya to break through in the centre, and even though her opponent’s rook had invaded the seventh rank, Tanya managed to exchange most pieces and steered the game to a much better ending. Tanya eventually broke her opponent’s resistance and scored a full point on the move 63. Vaishali played splendidly in a drawish rook endgame, pressurizing her opponent with precise and active moves and finally pulled off so much-needed victory. Vaishali later confessed: “Till the 40th turn, my game was dead equal, and I considered settling for a draw. After Humpy’s loss, I had to keep pressing and, interestingly, this was one position which we had worked in the camp with Boris Gelfand, and I followed his suggestions to the ‘T’. A hallmark of the Women’s A Team has been the ability of every player to score a win when the team needed it most.” Abhijit Kunte said: “The way Harika, Vaishali and Tania continued in this pressure position is very heartening. The players understand the situation perfectly and deliver.” Georgia bounced back after yesterday’s loss to beat Romania 2.5-1.5, and Ukraine trounced Netherland 3.5-0.5, while Bulgaria held Poland to a 2-2 draw. India Women B team, seeded 11th, was shocked by 27th seeded Greece 1.5-2.5. Divya Deshmukh scored the lone victory for India, while Vantika Agrawal and Soumya Swaminathan lost their encounters, and Mary Ann Gomes had to settle for a draw. India Women C defeated Switzerland by 3-1, with victories by Eesha Karavade and P V Nandhidhaa and draws by Bodda Pratyusha and Vasnawala Vishwa. The complete results for round 6 can be found at the official website for the Olympiad, https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Standings after round 7 can be found at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-standings.
Year of the Woman in Chess Awards Granted in Chennai
Photo courtesy: FIDE/Anna Volkova We are happy to announce the winners of the Year of the Woman in Chess Awards honouring outstanding women and those supporting women in chess. The ceremony took place on the evening of August 5 in Chennai, India, as part of the 44th Chess Olympiad, and was broadcast live on our YouTube channel. In the months before the ceremony, national chess federations were encouraged to submit their nominations in more than a dozen award categories that covered nearly all aspects of chess life. Apart from the overall winner in each category, the awards were also presented to continental winners. FIDE Managing Director, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, opened the ceremony with an inspiring speech. “We must ensure that when a girl or a woman thinks of what she wants to become, she keeps in mind that chess is also a career path. It is our duty to create an environment where they can become the greatest players in the world, the greatest arbiters, managers, leaders of the chess world.” Dana is a women-in-chess movement enthusiast who works tirelessly to encourage more women to participate in every aspect of chess life, from playing to administrative roles. She received a special Spirit of FIDE prize for her contribution and passion. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich welcomed guests of the ceremony and praised the awardees: “Ladies who will be awarded today did a great job already for a long period of time, including this year. They are examples and role models for everyone who loves chess and who wants to contribute every day, every month, every year. 2022 was announced the Year of the Woman in Chess, but it should not be just one year; it should be the whole life.” Hungarian legend Judit Polgar, the strongest female chess player of all time, received the Fide ICON award. “It is a great honour to receive the FIDE ICON Award. This award is a recognition of my decades-long career as a chess player and my work promoting chess and encouraging women’s orientation towards chess. We must continue to work to ensure that more girls experience this ancient game’s beauty, knowledge, and benefits. I take every opportunity to convey the message to girls and people around them: strive to make the most of their talents. Because if we do not limit girls, if we encourage and inspire them to persevere and build their confidence, they will succeed in any field of life,” said Judit Polgar after receiving the award. The awards have been provided by Dr Alwahshi Abdullah Salem of the Saudi Arabian Chess Federation, which fielded a women’s team at the Olympiad for the first time. Some of the recipients of the Awards, like Anastasiya Karlovich, the overall winner of Outstanding photographer, came to Chennai for the occasion. Others, like Sonja Johnson (Outstanding chess administrator) or Anastasia Sorokina (Outstanding chess arbiter), were already at the Chess Olympiad performing other duties. Some winners, like Alexandra Kosteniuk (Outstanding chess player of 2021), could not be present but recorded a touching speech. Here is the complete list of winners. Our congratulations to all! Outstanding ‘game changer’ (social project leader, role model, etc.) Jennifer Shahade Susan Namangale (Africa) Tris-Ann Richards (Americas) G.S.Wijesuriya Mrs. (Asia) Nona Gaprindashvili (Europe) Outstanding chess administrator Sonja Johnson Christiana Ashley (Africa) Alejandra Beatriz Zavala Galindo (Americas) Medina Zhumashova (Asia) Gulkiz Tulay (Europe) Outstanding chess arbiter Anastasia Sorokina Tshepiso Lopang (Africa) Sabrina de San Vicente (Americas) Kaussar Bauyrzhan (Asia) Shohreh Bayat (Europe) Outstanding chess educator Alshaeby Razan Magret Ngugama (Africa) Sandra Torres Braiz (Americas) Rozaliya Vendrova (Asia) Nilufer Cinar Corlulu (Europe) Outstanding chess organiser Cristina Pernici Rigo Judith Kiragu (Africa) Beatriz Marinello (Americas) Gulmira Dauletova (Asia) Yana Sidorchuk (Europe) Outstanding chess player of 2021 Alexandra Kosteniuk Amanda Ngwinondebe (Africa) Maria Esther Granados Diaz (Americas) Bibisara Assaubayeva (Asia) Outstanding chess trainer Shadi Paridar Anzel Laubscher (Africa) Regina Ribeiro (Americas) Baktygul Tilebaeva (Asia) Natalia Popova (Europe) Outstanding influencer/commentator/social media star Tania Sachdev Jovita Nwansi (Africa) Alexandra Botez (Americas) Dilayla Sadvakasova (Asia) Ellen Fredericia Nilssen (Europe) Outstanding photographer Anastasiya Karlovich Patricia Claros Aguilar (Americas) Shakhnazi Musaeva (Asia) Eteri Kublashvili (Europe) Peter-Heine Nielsen received award for his wife from the hands of Vishy Anand Outstanding politician Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen Damaris Abarca (Americas) Zhansaya Abdumalik (Asia) Outstanding representation of ‘He-For-She’ Jean Michael Rapaire Erick Takawira (Africa) Carlos Rivero Gonzalez (Americas) Ye Jiangchuan (Asia) Wojciech Zawadzka (Europe) Woman with disability for outstanding fighting spirit Svetlana Gerasimova Valeska Rozas Lazcano (Americas) Dariia Kudainazarova (Asia) Handenur Sahin (Europe) Federation with the highest % of female rated players Vietnam – 37% Mozambique (Africa) – 34% Ecuador (Americas) – 24% Mongolia (Asia) – 35% Georgia (Europe) – 27%
FIDE CONGRESS 2022
2022 FIDE Congress will take place in Chennai, India, from 31 July – 9 August 2022. You can find all the information on the dedicated webpage https://congress.fide.com/
Indian eves crush Georgia to jump into sole lead
Led by Indian ace Koneru Humpy, top-seeded Indian eves won their sixth straight match, defeating former champions Georgia in the sixth round of the 44th chess Olympiad by a score of 3-1 here at the Four Points by Sheraton. The early indications gave an even fight between the two teams, but Vaishali R (pictured above), playing on the third board, proved to be the key factor as she cruised to a fine victory at the expense of experienced International Master Lela Javakhishvili of Georgia. The Berlin Defence of Ruy Lopez has a solid reputation, but on this day, Vaishali was well-prepared to punish it. The symmetrical set-up by the Indian gave her a slight but long-lasting advantage in the middle game, and the Georgian felt the heat as her pieces gasped for breath. Finding some solace in an exchange that cost her two pieces for a rook, Javakhishvili fought on, but Vaishali was relentless and romped home in 36 moves. Grandmaster D Harika played out an easy draw with Nino Batsiashvili on the second board. The mother-to-be Indian kept things under check right from the word go with black pieces, and routine exchange of pieces led to a drawn rook and pawns endgame where neither player had any hesitation in signing the peace treaty. On the top board, Indian ace Koneru Humpy facing Nana Dzagnidze, had things under control, and the consistent threat of pawn promotion from the advanced passer on the queenside forced the Georgian to resign on the move 42. On board four, Tania Sachdev held her forte quite nicely against Salome Melia, and a draw was agreed on the 35th move. This critical match victory will bolster Indian chances as their confidence in the rounds to come. On the second table, Romania held mighty Ukraine to a 2-2 score and remains in the hunt for a podium finish. Irina Bulmaga facing a former women’s world champion GM Mariya Muzychuk played innovative and fearless attacking chess from the get-go. Irina sacrificed an exchange to break through the centre on move 27 and got winning chances in the ensuing ending. Mariya had to summon all her defensive skills to draw the inferior ending. Mihaela Sandu faced the elder of the Muzychuk sisters on the second board. Anna, only the fourth woman in chess history to attain a FIDE rating over 2600, played an aggressive game pushing pawns on the kingside from the white side in a Ruy Lopez and forced resignation before the first time control. Two other games in this tense match were drawn. In a high stake clash, top teams Azerbaijan defeated Kazakhstan thanks to the victories on boards three and four. On the third board, Gulnar Mammodova came out on top against Xeniya Balabayeva in a complex French Defence encounter in which Black had a clearly better position in the middlegame. On the fourth board, Ulviyyan Fataliyeva outwitted Nakhbayeva Guliskhan to hand the match 3-1 to Azerbaijan. With five rounds still to come in the biggest chess extravaganza on the planet India A on 12 match points, has a full point lead over Romania and Azerbaijan, sitting on 11 match points. The battle resumes after the only rest day that will be preceded by the famous Bermuda party for the players and enthusiasts on late Wednesday night. The complete results for Round 6 can be found at the official website for the Olympiad, https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Standings after Round 6 can be found at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-standings. Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
Triple-gold Armenia leads the Olympiad halfway through
India’s 16-year-old prodigy Gukesh wins his sixth game in a row Three-time Olympic champions Armenia scored a huge win this afternoon in the 4 Points Sheraton Convention Centre, defeating India B by 2.5-1.5 in a very exciting match. Despite losing on board one – Sargissian was steamrolled by Gukesh – the Armenians were stronger on the lower boards, and GMs Samvel Ter-Sahakyan and Robert Hovhannisyan (pictured below) won their games. Going into the rest day, they are the sole leaders of the open section with a perfect twelve match-point score. However, the man of the day was once again 16-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh D, who scored his sixth win in a row. The feat is reminding many of us of the brilliant performance of former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik at the 1992 Manila Olympiad. Barely known internationally, Vladimir scored 8.5/9, notching up a 2958 rating performance, and winning the gold medal on board five. Kramnik was only 17 at the time… Of course, both performances are not totally comparable – Gukesh is already a well-known grandmaster and the Olympiad is only halfway – but even so, his performance is already outstanding. The round began with a double-move opening ceremony. The Director of Citi Bank, Mr. Pradeep Sekar opened the Women’s India vs Georgia match while veteran Indian IM K. Murugan – representing NLC – played the ceremonial move on the India B vs Armenia first board. Murugan has been an Olympic team member for India on a few occasions and is highly respected in the national chess community. In addition to the key India B vs Armenia match, all eyes were focused on team India A. Would they be able to keep up the pace of the youngsters, against Uzbekistan, arguably an even younger team? A tough day in the office; a very focused Harikrisna defeated Abdusattorov with Black on board one, when the young Uzbek misplayed a topical Italian opening. On board four, Sasikiran was having trouble facing his young opponent’s attack, and in the end, it came crashing through: Vokhidov Shamsiddin scored a massive win putting the tie on the score boards. On board two Vidit drawed effortlessly but on board three Erigaisi was on the verge of losing. All in all, a lucky save for India A – 2-2 in the end – who now have the same points as India B. Fabiano Caruana went from villain to hero. His clear win this afternoon over Iran’s top player Parham Maghsoodloo – 2.5-1.5 was the final score for USA – leaves the Americans in prime position to continue climbing up the standings ladder. They are now clear second with 11/12 points and things are looking brighter for them every day. Spain – Cuba ended in a 2-2, probably leaving the Spaniards slightly disappointed. Board two and elite player Vallejo Pons was unable to play again due to a slight throat infection: many players are suffering the outside heat combined with the air conditioning inside the playing hall. These results on the top matches have permitted none less than ten teams to tie for third place with 10/12 and although there are still five rounds to go, these teams will clearly be medal contenders. France, the Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Peru … and the list goes on. The Netherlands are clearly an up and going team. Sporting first board Anish Giri, they seem to be on a roll after their unexpected loss against Israel. First a 4-0 win against Canada and this afternoon they defeated the always dangerous Georgian team by 2.5-1.5 with two wonderful exchange sacrifices on boards one and two. In his short postgame interview with FIDE Press Officer IM Michael Rahal, Giri was kind enough to offer some insight into the game. Check it out to improve your chess skills! Players will enjoy tomorrow’s day off and games will continue on August 5th according to schedule. India A vs India C will be the main dish on the menu although all eyes will be on Armenia vs USA for first place. Armenia (12) – United States of America (11) India A (10) – India C (10) France (10) – Netherlands (10) Serbia (10) – Germany (10) Cuba (10) – India 2 (10) Peru (10) – Uzbekistan (10) Games will begin at 3pm sharp and can be followed live on the tournament website. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/open-results/ Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Chennai Photos: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage