Uzbekistan Wins Gold In Open; Ukraine In Women’s; India Wins Gaprindashvili Cup

Open Part

When the high-pressure ultimate spherical began, essentially the most essential matches have been Twelfth-seeded Armenia (17 match factors) vs. fourth-seeded Spain (15) and 14th-seeded Uzbekistan (17) vs. the seventh-seeded Netherlands (15). Although “in-form” groups, Armenia and Uzbekistan weren’t dealing with straightforward opposition; in all however one of many boards—GM Javokhir Sindarov vs. GM Benjamin Bok in Uzbekistan vs. the Netherlands—in each the matches mixed, the gamers of Armenia and Uzbekistan confronted larger rated opponents. 

Armenia’s token to the highest on this match has been their gamers’ consistency, and it was this primary issue that enabled GM Gabriel Sargissian to prevail over GM Alexei Shirov on the highest board. However, in a means, it was Shirov’s obvious artistic urge that resulted in making an impulsive try for issues in an important place:

This was the ultimate act of glory by Sargissian, who drew his first 4 video games towards respectable opposition, misplaced to Gukesh within the sixth spherical, after which got here again with a 4.5/5 end, which extremely included wins towards GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and at last Shirov! Sargissian wresting the benefit early within the sport additionally made life straightforward for all his teammates as they needed to simply maintain their positions to win the match. An ideal match technique.

In distinction, the younger Uzbekistan’s match with the Netherlands had moments of a whole combating on all the boards sooner or later:

On the Chess.com broadcast, GM Daniel Naroditsky predicted GM Max Warmerdam vs. Vakhidov can be the “pivotal” sport for your entire match, and it was certainly this sport that gave Uzbekistan the gold medal, which is analyzed because the Sport of the Day:

Talking within the press convention after the top of the match, coach of the staff GM Ivan Sokolov remarked, “That is (a) huge end result… I’m very glad that this nice end result was achieved with these incredible younger gamers which have a really brilliant future forward of them.”

Vakhidov stated, “At the moment …I performed for a win not just for my folks however for my board (too). It was an excessive amount of stress, …I attempted to focus, as a result of throughout stress something… can occur. When all the outcomes …rely in your sport, that is an excessive amount of stress.”

However one of the best second of the convention got here when GM Nodirbek Yakubboev was requested if he was conscious of his second board particular person medal possibilities earlier than his sport towards GM Jordan van Foreest and he replied firmly, “…Crew medal is extra essential than particular person”.

There was an intense battle within the different two matches of the day too, and the younger India 2 as soon as once more scalped the higher-seeded Germany with a 3-1 rating. Nihal’s win over GM Matthias Bluebaum was termed by Naroditsky as a “resounding positional masterpiece”:

GM Raunak Sadhwani and GM Dieter Nisipeanu determined to play a marvelously sophisticated sport true to their types:

It was ironic that the highest two seeds of the match, the U.S. and India, needed to play one another within the ultimate spherical once they each had an out of doors probability of a medal, however that they had a full-fledged battle too. However it all led to parity, as befitted a fair matchup.

GM Arjun Erigaisi impressed with a well-conducted positional sport towards the formidable GM Leinier Domniguez:

GM Sam Shankland was spectacular in a well-conducted endgame:

Girls’s Part

Comparatively, the ladies’s part noticed many video games the place the tense match state of affairs induced plenty of uneven play and apparent errors by the gamers. Event leaders and the top-seeded groups had a nasty day on the workplace, as not one of the video games went their means virtually from the very starting. Whereas GM Humpy Koneru survived anxious moments within the middlegame, IM Tania Sachdev was crushed in an advanced wrestle by IM Carissa Yip from the black aspect of an advanced King’s Indian Protection. Although the sport wasn’t flawless, the aggressive stress of the final spherical in all probability acquired on to Sachdev:

On the fourth board, too, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan caught IM Bhakti Kulkarni in early difficulties and performed a near-flawless sport to attain a creditable win:

With India thus caught in early difficulties for the reason that starting of the spherical, it invigorated Ukraine and Georgia to present their finest on the board. For Ukraine, GM Mariya Muzychuk benefitted from a “fingerfehler”:

 GM Anna Ushenina received a pawn within the middlegame towards in-form WIM Oliwia Kiolbasa and once more benefitted from inaccurate play in an equal rook ending:

The opposite essential battle between Azerbaijan and Georgia additionally noticed many uneven moments:

The very best sport of the match was performed by IM Meri Arabidze:

Thus, Ukraine and Georgia each received their matches and overtook the chief India. Ukraine was declared the winner on tiebreaks. Each GM Arturs Neiksans and Naroditsky have been beneficiant of their reward for Ukraine’s effort. “Effectively deserved by staff Ukraine, given the very fact what is occurring [in] their nation. I imply, how do you even focus on chess proper now?” stated Neiksans, whereas Naroditsky joined him with, “All of them nonetheless have … their [families] in Ukraine. What a heartwarming story!”  

See full outcomes right here.

The forty fourth FIDE Chess Olympiad and Girls’s Chess Olympiad are over-the-board staff occasions the place nationwide chess federations compete in classical video games for gold medals, trophies, and the title of strongest chess nation on this planet. The occasion consists of an 11-round Swiss match the place every participant from a nationwide staff performs towards one other participant from the opposing nationwide staff. Groups obtain “sport factors” for profitable or drawing video games and “match factors” for profitable or drawing a match. Groups with essentially the most match factors for every part develop into the champions of their part, with a 3rd award going for the staff with essentially the most factors from each sections mixed.

Earlier Protection:

• Armenia, Uzbekistan Share Lead In Open; India Leads In Girls’s
• Uzbekistan Jumps To Lead In Open; 4 Share Lead In Girls’s; Kiolbasa Advances To 9/9
• Armenia In Open, India In Girls’s Keep Lead; Gukesh Defeats Caruana To Rating 8/8
• Armenia Retains Lead In Open; India Widens Lead In Girls’s; Gukesh 7/7
• Armenia Sole Chief In Open, India In Girls’s, Gukesh 6/6 On High Board
• India 2, Armenia Lead Open; India, Georgia, Romania Lead Girls’s
• Held By Uzbekistan, U.S. Survives Scare; Abdusattorov Shocks Caruana
• Italy Shocks Norway On Day Of Endgames, Estonian Grandmaster Faints At Board
• Favorites Proceed With All Wins
• Almost Easy Crusing For High Seeds In Day Of Zugzwangs
• forty fourth FIDE Chess Olympiad Inaugurated In Chennai, India
• forty fourth FIDE Chess Olympiad: All The Info
• forty fourth FIDE Girls’s Chess Olympiad: All The Info