The almighty Ukrainian team goes on with their unstoppable run for first ever Olympic gold as they beat Cuba today by 3-1, with only Ponomariov losing at board 2, and extended their lead over big favourites Russia up to 2½ points. The Russians, who have been chasing the leaders for last couple of rounds were lucky to narrowly beat their ex-Soviet compatriots, now representing USA by 2½-1½ with latecomer GM Svidler sealing their win at board 1. Armenia who are hunting for second consecutive bronze ran over surprising Switzerland thanks to superb veteran Rafael Vaganian. The Swiss star, Viktor Kortschnoj, 73, fought off Akopian's punches at board 1 of that match. The volatile Israeli took all their chances crushing young Azerbaijan to grab 4th place at the moment. India wiped out Canada recovering from yesterday's losses. Poland rose from scratch ripping Slovakia 3-1 thanks to GM Macieja's excellent play vs Movsesian. Desperate Spain did not manage to rebuild their morale barely halving vs disappointing Hungarians.

The Ukrainian lions retained the lead ahead of Russia and Armenia. Israel are lying in tied 4th with US, a full point behind Armenia though. Poland climbed up to 7th to match Ukraine at table 1 in a top clash of Wednesday's round. Another juicy pairings of the day include Georgia-Russia, Israel-India with Gelfand-Anand possibly at board 1, and Armenia-USA.

Standings: Ukraine 32; Russia 29½; Armenia 29; Israel 28; India and USA 27½; Poland 27; Bulgaria, Georgia and France 26½.

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