Top Boards (Open) Azerbaijan 1½-2½ Ukraine Armenia 1½-2½ Russia 1 Georgia 1½-2½ France Israel 2½-1½ Hungary Cuba 1½-2½ China Bulgaria 1½-2½ USA Round #9 Analysis: We are winding down the Olympiad and the Ukraine is still holding onto its one-point lead. Russia 1 beat defending champion Armenia with Peter Svidler beating Gabriel Sargissian. Trying to [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Russia 1 2-2 Ukraine Hungary 2-2 Azerbaijan Poland 1½-2½ Armenia USA 2-2 China Georgia 2½-1½ Belarus France 2½-1½ Russia 2 Iran 1-3 Cuba Estonia 3-1 Russia 3 Israel 2-2 Netherlands Serbia 2½-1½ Slovakia Richard Conn, a dapper Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov on the floor during the FIDE Assembly. FIDE’s Nigel Freeman [...]
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Chess community, Today marks the highly-anticipated election for the Presidency of the world body of chess known as FIDE (pronounced fee-day). More than 150 countries (including 56 proxies) will cast their ballots to select the body’s leader for the next four years. During the 2006 Olymipad in Turin, Italy, Bessel Kok lost to the Ilyumzhinov [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Ukraine 2½-1½ Georgia Armenia 1½-2½ Azerbaijan Russia 2 1½-2½ Russia 1 USA 2-2 Poland Brazil 1-3 Hungary Russia 3 2-2 Iran China 4-0 Turkmenistan Belarus 3-1 England Netherlands 2-2 Cuba France 2½-1½ Spain GM Vassily Ivanchuk is on 6/6 and a stratospheric 3382 performance. Photo by ugra-chess.com. Round #7 Analysis: Things are [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Georgia 2-2 Armenia Ukraine 3-1 Hungary Russia 2 3-1 Netherlands Russia 1 2½-1½ Czech Republic Azerbaijan 3-1 India Vietnam 1½-2½ USA Poland 3-1 Estonia Russia 3 2-2 Greece Montenegro 1½-2½ China Cuba 3-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina Heated battles in Round #6. Photo by ugra-chess.com. Round #6 Analysis: With five rounds left in [...]
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Posted in Games, Tactics Lab on Sep 26th, 2010 No Comments »
There are a number of exciting games at the 2010 Chess Olympiad. One of the problems with so many games is that there are often masterpieces or tactical flourishes going unnoticed. Jamaica’s Shane Matthews is known as “The Magician” in his home island and the seven-time national champion showed that he still has a bit [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Armenia 2½-1½ Russia 2 Vietnam ½-3½ Georgia Hungary 2½-1½ Russia 1 Poland 2-2 Netherlands Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-3 Ukraine Azerbaijan 2½-1½ Sweden Czech Republic 4-0 Mexico China 2-2 Slovakia Italy 2-2 Cuba USA 3-1 Argentina Round #5 Analysis: Now at the first rest day the field is shaking up as there are [...]
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Posted in Scholastic, USA on Sep 24th, 2010 27 Comments »
U.S. National Master Justus Williams After making strides in the past year to make National Master, Justus Williams has accomplished this feat smashing the age record for African-American master for almost three years! The 12-year old Bronx native has had a spectacular year winning the National K6 Championship and traveling to Brazil and Canada to [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Russia 2 3-1 India Hungary 2½-1½ China Armenia 2½-1½ Russia 3 Netherlands 3-1 Spain Russia 1 3-1 USA Explosive day in Khanty Mansiysk today. With top teams jockeying for position before the rest day, there were some questions that needed to be answered. Will Russia 2 continue their impeccable form? Would Armenia [...]
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Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Sep 23rd, 2010 5 Comments »
Women’s Grandmaster Yana Melnikova wrote an essay titled, “Carlsen, Topalov? Kramnik?” It dealt with the awarding of Olympiad medals. She endorses the awarding of medals on total performance rating (TPR) and admits that it limits the pool primarily to the top players such as Carlsen, Topalov and Kramnik. This is correct because performance ratings are [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Croatia 2-2 Ukraine Poland 2-2 Bosnia &Herzegovina Mexico 1½-2½ Georgia Peru ½-3½ Russia 2 USA 3-1 Chile Round #3 Analysis: Things are heating up as we enter a pivotal round. In Dresden, top teams started facing each other in round four and this tournament is no exception. We are about to meet [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Ukraine 4-0 Scotland Russia 2 3½-½ Venezuela Mongolia ½-3½ USA Israel 2-2 Indonesia Albania 0-4 Poland Round #2 of 2010 Chess Olympiad in session.Photo by ugra-chess.com Round #2 Analysis: The round brings a bit more parity, but there favorites are still expected to win. However, there were some notable upsets in the [...]
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Top Boards (Open) Russia 1 3½-½ Ireland Iraq 0-4 Ukraine China 3½-½ Kyrgyzstan IBCA 0-4 Russia 2 Hungary 4-0 Jordan Pregame Analysis: In the days of old it was not uncommon to have matches that were so lopsided, that the exercise seemed pointless. What is also interesting in the first round is noticing how top [...]
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Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Sep 20th, 2010 3 Comments »
The 39th Chess Olympiad officially opened this evening in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia in the Siberian region. The main site carried a videocast and featured what appeared to be a grand opening ceremony with elegant pageantry and splendid choreography. The ceremony was held in a hockey rink and the stands appeared to be filled with players and [...]
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Lekan Adeyemi was sitting in the Dubai International Airport when he received a Skype message from The Chess Drum’s Daaim Shabazz. At the time (21:30hrs in Dubai), the Nigerian team was residing in the airport during a 24-hour layover heading for Khanty-Mansiysk. However, his spirits were upbeat. “No problem. The most important thing is to [...]
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Namibia is excited to be participating in the 39th Olympiad and have assembled their delegation to make the long trip to Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The event will take place from 20 September to 4 October and the Namibian side will be sporting their beautiful colors with immense pride. The 2010 Namibian Olympiad Chess Team Max Nitzborn, [...]
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This is an open forum for teams and players to write about their experiences at the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. There are 157 teams scheduled to participate and an important FIDE election for the office of President. Olympiad tournaments are filled with memories, so we would like you to share yours with [...]
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2010 Jamaican Olympiad delegation at Normal Manley International Airport Jamaica’s best and brightest chess minds left Norman Manley International Airport enroute to the 39th Chess Olympiad. President Ian Wilkinson expressed excitement of the possibilities for the island nation of 2.7 million patriots. Jamaica acheived their best performance in the 2008 Olympiad in Dresden. In addition, [...]
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Posted in Africa, FIDE on Sep 17th, 2010 14 Comments »
In the upcoming election for FIDE President, there has been a lot of talk about the voting structure of one-nation, one vote. This idea is in line with the democratic ideals of general bodies, but seems to have met the ire of chess pundits and commentators. For the past two campaigns there has been the [...]
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In two years, so much has changed in the chess world. New players have emerged and the playing field is slowly leveling with a number of strengthened federations. In Khanty Mansiysk, the Siberia region of Russia, players from around the world will vie for glory at the 39th Chess Olympiad. A projected 160 nations will [...]
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