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The premier group competitors in chess, the 180-nation Chennai Olympiad, ended on Tuesday with a shock end result. Uzbekistan, who had a median age of 20 and had been seeded solely 14th, edged to gold forward of the three-time winners Armenia and India’s youngsters, whereas the highest seeded United States completed out of the medals.
India’s Gukesh D, 16, and the Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 17, stood out as fast-rising abilities destined for the world prime. The pair took gold and silver for the primary board, leaving the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, with the bronze. Carlsen scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 however nonetheless dropped score factors, as he has accomplished in each group look for Norway since 2007.
The silver medallists Armenia are the good chess group specialists, already winners of three Olympiad golds. Their success was notable after what might have been two crippling setbacks. Their longtime star Levon Aronian transferred to the US, whereas official assist in Yerevan has sharply diminished.
Uzbekistan already has a $4m annual funds for chess and this may improve in 2026 when Tashkent performs host to the Olympiad, following Budapest 2024.
Its teenage stars had been doubtless impressed of their early years by Rustam Kasimdzhanov’s victory within the 2004 Fide world championship. The loser on tie-break then was England’s Michael Adams – if he had gained there have been plans for a match with Garry Kasparov. A historic missed likelihood for English chess, maybe.
England’s David Howell gained gold on board three with 7.5/8 and a efficiency score of 2898, the best of the complete Olympiad, however his group failed on the ultimate hurdle, shedding 1.5-2.5 to outsiders Moldova in Tuesday’s eleventh and final spherical and ending up 14th when a win would have positioned them within the prime six.
Howell, from Seaford in Sussex, is a former prodigy who certified for the grownup British championship at 9 and have become England’s youngest ever grandmaster at 16. Now 31, he has grow to be a preferred commentator for the Meltwater Tour on-line circuit and has simply cooperated with Carlsen in an instruction course Grind like a Grandmaster. He has overcome what was once power habit to time strain and considered one of his greatest wins at Chennai reveals his refined use of his favorite bishop pair.
In England’s all-time lists, Howell’s result’s matched by John Nunn’s 10/11 gold at Thessaloniki 1984, whereas Murray Chandler twice totalled 9/11, at Dubai 1986 and Novi Unhappy 1990. Comparability is tough, since Nunn and Chandler performed in silver medal groups which met the USSR and USA giants, whereas Howell scored increased however in opposition to principally center rating opponents.
There was virtually a second British Isles gold when Eire’s Conor Murphy reached 7.5/8, solely to lose within the penultimate spherical. It was the best Olympiad efficiency by an Irishman, extra vital than the way back victory by Brian Reilly in opposition to the world ranked Reuben High quality at Warsaw 1935.
Murphy nonetheless got here away with a grandmaster norm. At 23, the Cambridge maths graduate and main mild of Charlton CC in south-east London has the potential to grow to be Eire’s greatest ever participant.
The massive losers in Chennai had been the US, who within the absence of Russia (banned) and China (Covid and visa points) had been odds-on favourites. World top-10 gamers Aronian and Fabiano Caruana had been undone by the power of the Asian teenagers. Spherical eight, when the US misplaced 3-1 to India 2, appeared like a brand new model of the notorious 1945 radio match in opposition to the Soviet Union.
US chess technique in recent times, masterminded by Rex Sinquefield and the globally famend St Louis chess membership, has been to encourage established star gamers to switch to the US and so construct a extremely rated nationwide group. What occurred in Chennai reveals the constraints of this strategy. The formidable and fearless Uzbek and Indian youngsters look to be the way forward for chess.
Ukraine took the ladies’s Olympiad gold when India, who had led all the way in which, faltered within the ultimate spherical. Georgia gained silver, India bronze. England completed thirty second, but it surely was a promising efficiency with actual hope for the long run. Lan Yao, Akshaya Kalaiyalahan and Zoe Varney are all of their early 20s and may progress to increased ranges earlier than the following Olympiad at Budapest in 2024.
3828: 1…dxe4 2 Qxf7+! Kxf7 3 Bc4+ Kf6 4 Nxe4+ Kf5 5 g4+ Kxe4 6 Re1+ Kf3 7 Re3 mate or 7 Bd5 mate.
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