GROUP A qual player ELO team Q IM Socko, Monika 2464 Q IM Paehtz, Elisabeth 2456 WGM Fierro Baquero, Martha 2314 Osmanodja, Filiz	GROUP B qual player ELO team Q GM Cramling, Pia 2521 Q IM Hunt, Harriet 2439 Fitzpatrick, Chantal (GER) Vagas, Gabriela
GROUP C qual player ELO team Q IM Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino (GER) 2374 Q WGM Lujan, Carolina 2380 GM Peng Zhaoqin 2420 IM Maric, Alisa 2394	GROUP D qual player ELO team Q WIM Leite, Caterina 2210 Q WGM Juergens, Vera (GER) 2290 Carreras, Paulina 2006 WGM Paridar, Shadi 2218
GROUP E qual player ELO team Q IM Sedina, Elena 2352 Q GM Polgar, Susan 2577 Winkelmann, Elena (GER) 2082 IM Jackova, Jana 2403	GROUP F qual player ELO team Q Chang, Suzana 2085 Q WIM Macek, Vlasta 2239 WIM Watai, Myoko 2032 WIM Sorokina, Anastasia 2221
GROUP G qual player ELO team Q IM Sebag, Marie 2448 Q WIM Heinatz, Gundula 2225 WIM Nill, Jessica (GER) 2283 --- did not compete ---	GROUP H qual player ELO team Q WGM Ushenina, Anna 2410 Q Fuchs, Judith (GER) 2052 WGM Calzetta Ruiz, Monica 2329 --- did not compete ---

PLAY-OFF STAGE
Achtelfinals		Quaterfinals		Semifinals		Final
Paehtz	1½	Paehtz	2	Paehtz	1½	Paehtz	½
Cramling	½
Kachiani-G.	1½	Kachiani-G.	0
Leite	½
Sedina	1	Chang	0	Sebag	½
Chang	1
Sebag	1	Sebag	2
Fuchs	1
Lujan	2	Lujan	2	Lujan	½	Polgar	1½
Juergens	0
Hunt	0	Socko	0
Socko	2
Heinatz	0	Ushenina	0	Polgar	1½
Ushenina	2
Polgar	2	Polgar	2
Macek	0

---

GOLD: GM Susan Polgar
SILVER: IM Elisabeth Paehtz
BRONZE: IM Marie Sebag
4TH PLACE: WGM Carolina Lujan

The 37th Chess Olympiad is over. Armenia and Ukraine were to celebrate their first wins in men's and women's events. It was by far the biggest Olympiad ever seen: over 100 women's and almost 150 men's teams arrived which is more than 10% more than in Bled, 2002, the largest Olympiad held so far. Also, the Turin tournament was the strongest of all Olympiads. The only World's top players missing in Turin were Topalov, Leko and Polgar. Also, rejuvenated Chinese women's squad was fairly weaker and China failed to wintheir fifth consecutive title.


INDIVIDUAL TRIVIA

Most points scored: 10 - Wang Yue (CHN) and Sargissian (ARM)

Most games won: 8 - by eight players

Most draws: 10 - Odeev (TKM)

Most losses: 11 - Skehan (PNG) <-- He has played at four Olympiads completing 42 games. He is still to discover the sweet taste of a game win!

Players to play all 13 games without a loss: Sargissian (ARM) and Popovic (SCG)

Best percentage result: 7 wins in 7 games - Al-Qudaimi (YEM)

Biggest game upsets:
round 1, Austria-Fiji: IM Danner (2402) - Gautam (1955) 0-1
round 6, Venezuela-Norway: IM Iturrizaga (2232) - GM Agdestein (2594) 1-0
round 7, Mongolia-Latvia: Gundavaa (2124) - GM Meijers (2482) 1-0
round 9, Singapore-Turkmenistan: Tay Li Jin (2011) - IM Grigorian (2411) 1-0 Tay Li Jin is a girl!
round 12, Mongolia-Brazil: Batchuluun (2303) - GM Vescovi (2622) 1-0

Consecutive Olympiads: 19 - Torre (PHI), continuously since 1970;
also: Westerinen played in his 19th Olympiad after 10 year long break.

Oldest player: 81 - Bill Hook (IVB)



TEAM TRIVIA

Most matches won: 10 - Armenia

Most matches drawn: 5 - by a few teams

Least matches lost: 0 - Armenia

Most games won: 23 - Italy "B" and China

Most games drawn: 33 - Hungary

Least games lost: 2 - Armenia

Top ten according to Elo performed:
1. Armenia 2703
2. Russia 2691
3. China 2686
4. USA 2655
5. Ukraine 2653
6. Netherlands 2638
7. Israel 2635
8. Hungary 2632
9. France 2631
10. Uzbekistan 2625

Biggest match upsets following Elo predictions:
Malaysia-Canada 3.5-0.5 (prediction: 1.24-2.76, difference 2.26)
Morocco-India 3-1 (prediction 0.92-3.08, difference 2.08)
Georgia-China 0-4 (prediction 1.84-2.16, difference 1.84)
Peru-Switzerland 3-1 (prediction 1.28-2.72, difference 1.72)
Latvia-Mongolia 1-3 (prediction 2.72-1.28, difference 1.72)
Azerbaijan-Cuba 0.5-3.5 (prediction 2.20-1.80, difference 1.70)

Armenia took a quick draw vs Hungary on the last day of the 37th Chess Olympiad to finish at 36 points and win the Hamilton-Russel Cup for the first time. Silver went to the Chinese who beat Netherlands while Israel sensationally defeated Russia 3-1 only to see USA pass them just at the line as the Americans wiped out Norway 3.5-0.5 on the last day to take bronze medals.

There was no question about who is going to take top honour on Sunday but the rest of the pool were still hoping for reaching medal zone. The Chinese fought hard to break resistance of strong Dutch team and deservedly won silver medals - not the first medal ever won by an Asian nation since Uzbekistan were second in 1992 - but it is quite an achievement given they gave their very first international display only 28 years ago in 1978, which symbolically was the first Olympiad when the Soviet team failed to win. In Turin the Russians, who fielded their strongest squad for the first time in the history, conceded terrible 3-1 loss to Israel on the last round to be put far out of the medal area and finish in disastrous sixth (judging by their standards of course). The Israeli were unlucky to miss bronze by the narrow margin.

Hungary came fifth drawing with Armenia while sixth position was shared by five sides which collected 32 points in 13 rounds. They were Russia, France, Ukraine (who were very lucky to scraped fortunate 3-1 win over Poland), Bulgaria (who beat France on the last day) and Spain (3-1 vs Denmark). There was no team to finish at 31.5 points (!). Czech Republic and the Netherlands, two valiant teams were the ones to open second ten. 13th seeds England beat Serbia & Montenegro to dogtrotted into top 20 (at last). Second seeds India beat Italy "B" by mere 2.5-1.5 and the only good news for them is that the nightmare is over - 30th position is far worse than most pessimistic prophecies could divine.

The Vera Menchik Cup went to Ukraine took quick draw with Armenia to secure gold medals. Russia beat strong Indian side 2-1 to retain silver. China came in third. Then there was a huge three point gap, and a number of teams shared fourth position at 24.5 points, of which USA had superior Buchholz to be classified in fourth.

Final standings men:
Gold: Armenia 36
Silver: China 34
Bronze: USA 33
Israel 33; Hungary 32.5; Russia, France, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Spain 32

Final standings women:
Gold: Ukraine 29.5
Silver: Russia 28
Bronze: China 27.5
USA, Hungary, Georgia, Netherlands 24.5; Armenia, Slovenia, Czech Rep. 24

The board prizes are a joke. In the men's section the winners of respective boards stem from the following countries: Pakistan, Andorra, Uruguay, China (uff!), Yemen, Zambia. With all respect to the winners (handshake!) their opposition and rating performances are by some 600 points inferior to that of the top players. The percentages are worst possible criterion for board prize distribution.

Detailed event summary, analysis and all-time statistics update will be available within a few days.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

6. Tiviakov (NED, 2669) - Zhang (CHN, 2623)
Spectacular highlights happen rarely. It is prosaic manouvres that are usually decisive. This one is typica: White employs "small tactics", not much breathtaking perhaps, but still ample to take a point. 27. Nxg7! Kxg7 28. h3 Qd5 29. Qe3! decisive shot. It's idea is just to grab the b6 pawn. 29... Rh8 30. Bxb4 in order to avoid Bc5 and Nd3 30... axb6 31. hxg6 fxg6 32. Qxb6 +- So, nothing special happened. White has just an extra passed pawn. But this is enough. 1-0 after 62 moves.


11. Morozevich (RUS, 2730) - Avrukh (ISR, 2633)
No, the diagram position is not a joke. White Queen ransacked the board to find herself in the very corner. Black unleashed his Queenside potential. 18... d4! 19. Rxd4 Rxb2! 20. Kd2!? Taking up the challenge. 20. Kxb2 led to a bizarre draw: 20... Rh7! 21. Qg8 Rg7! of course the idea is to release Queen's pin on the Bishop so white Queen cannot leave eigth rank. 20... Nb6 21. Bd3? Leaving the Knight unprotected. 21... Nd5 22. Rc4 Bb7? Rb4 was immediately winning 23. Re1 Rb4 too late 24. Ree4 c5 =+ The position is sharp and unclear. A lot of mistakes were made under time pressure and Black all in all won 0-1 after 51 moves. You should take a look at the entire game.


24. Czarnota (POL, 2529) - Moiseenko (UKR, 2662)
Black was outplayed in a sharp Sicilian line and White just has to complete a few protective steps. Black's threats abated and pair of passed white pawns is unstoppable. White has only to prevent black pieces from infiltrating his back ranks. Here 36. Bc6 is simple and powerful refutation of the threat, e.g. 36... Qg6 37. Nb5 Rcc8 38. a6 fxg3 39. hxg3 Bg7 40. a7 Bxb2 41. Nd4 Bxd4 42. Qxd4+ Qg7 43. Qxg7+ Kxg7 44. Ra4 +- Or just anything. Instead Czarnota blundered a piece 36. Rc4?? Qh3? A Moiseenko courtesly does not take Be8 which cannot be recaptured due to Qh3. 37. Qxf3? Another serious mistake. There was (little) hope for White after 36. Qf1 Qxf1+ 37. Kxf1 Rxc3 38. Nxc4 Rxe8 40. d6 Black is a Rook up but it is not so easy to win under time pressure. 37... Rxc4 38. Nxc4 Rxe8 0-1 Had the result of this game been reverted Poland would go up some six positions and Ukraine would go from 8th down to 13th!


33. Bruzon Batista (CUB, 2652) - Jobava (GEO, 2646)
TACTICS TEST (not very hard). White to move and win. Drag your mouse between the brackets to reveal the answer.
[ 34. Rxg5! Giving away the Rook and the tempo. 34... Rxd1+ 35. Kh2 A revoir! Black is to move and he is helpless. Mate will follow. 35... Bh6 36. Rh5 1-0 By the way, 34. Rxd7? fails: 34... Qxd7 35. Rxg5 Bh6 36. Rh5 Qd1+ and Qxh5 ]


65. Agrest (SWE, 2570) - Kulaots (EST, 2557)
White to move. The idea is apparent but no forced win is in sight. Let's try anyway: 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Qh5 Ke6 Risky move. Perhaps it was safer to shelter the King on g7 or g8. 19. Rad1 Bxd6 20. Qg4+ Ke7 21. Qg7+ Kg6 22. Ne2! Only chance to carry on with the attack. 22... c5 23. Nxf4 Bxf4 24. Rxf4 A horrific story for Black: his only developed and centralised piece is the King! 24... Rf8 Losing, but still causes least evil 25. Rxf8 Nxf8 26. Rxd8 and 1-0 after a few moves. I am not sure Agrest calculated all of the lines but he was brave enough to take a try and he succeeded.


71. Brunello (ITA, 2339) - Ganguly Surya (IND, 2578)
This game is really shocking for me. A 2300 bullies a 2600 with ease. Ganguly violated basic principles of French removing pressure from d4 and e5 pawns. Sabino Brunello finishes the game stylishly: 21. b4! cxb3 or 21... Nb3 22. Nxc4 Qxc4 23. Qb2 +- 22. c4! Nxc4 23. Rc1 +- Qb5 24. Nxc4 Bd7 25. Qf3! Creating mate threat 25... dxc4 26. Rxc4 b2 27. Rc2 Bg5 28. Rbxb2 Qxd5 29. hxg5 1-0 Ganguly was simply pulverized. Hats off Sabino!


80. Jenni (SUI, 2510) - Darbanvaighani (IRI, 2396)
White decided to take the risk 20. Nf5?! Objectively this is rather dubious move which can probably be refuted. But there's also a human factor behind it. 20... gxf5 21. Qg3 Kf8 22. Qh3 Qa4? +- White's play is caustic. Black could well defend but he had to be very precise. After 22... Kg8 White has nothing better than a perpetual check at his disposal. 23. Bh6 f6 24. Qh5 fxe5 25. Qxf5+ 1-0 Obviously it paid to take the risk.


163. Cawdery (RSA, 2235) - Grigoryan (TKM, 2411)
TACTICS TEST (rather easy). White to move and win.
[ 20. Rh5! Nxe3 20... Kg8 21. Bd3 f5 22. Bh6 g6 23. Bxf8 +- or 20... g5 21. Bd3 Rd7 22. Qh3 Bd6 23. Rxf6 Rg7 24. Bxh7 Rxh7 25. Rxh7+ Qxh7 26. Qxc8+ +- 21.Qg6 Kg8 22. Rxh7 Bc5 23. Qh5 1-0 ]


309. Radziewicz (POL, 2439) - Dzagnidze (GEO, 2454)
White was prevailing but she ran a risk to conduct ferocious attack: 21. Nd6? Nxd6 22. Bxf6 Nf5! -+ refute all the threats. This leaves White helpless. 0-1 after 41 moves.


See online games from round 13

A brisk four draw match vs France brought leading Armenia just one step from the line as they hold safe 2.5 points advantage with last round to go. China and Russia go side by side in a run for silver. Today they have been challenged by the Hungarian team who hit the jackpot trouncing Iceland 4-0.

Nothing can be said about top table match as Armenia keep control over the rest and will safely call at a Port Victory tomorrow to celebrate their first ever Olympic gold. The Czech Republic, who have been doing so well all the time lost 3-1 to China and dropped out the medal chase. Russia have finally did what everybody expects them to do and steamrolled gutsy Cuban team 3-1 with three wins and Swidler losing to Dominguez. The Russian are now lying in third, just a fraction behind China.

Nakamura won second consecutive game for the US but Gelfand beat Kamsky at top board to seal Israeli win over the American team. The two are now in sixth and seventh position respectively. Ukraine produced another miserable display losing to the Netherlands so that both teams occupy positions in the bottom of the top ten.

Canada's win over India was the sensation of the day. Charbonneau beat Anand to produce arguably biggest upset of the entire Olympiad. The Indian nightmare

The nature of the Swiss makes it essential to support good play with a lucky pairing in the last few rounds. A lot of teams showed good chess heretofore but misfortune has forced them out of the top. Teams like Czech Rep., Cuba or Uzbekistan that played major role in the competition, are now lying in 16th position hoping for nothing more than picking tickets for top ten.

Montenegro, a Balkan nation of 650,000 people declared independence from union with Serbia tonight following the referendum decision taken on 21st May to split formal ties with the Serbs. The Serbia & Montenegro team are lying in 30th at the moment, and there are two Montenegrins in the team: GM Kosic at board 3 and Marko Krivokapic at 2nd reserve board. They have been Montenegrin citizens for a few hours and tomorrow will be their first an only chance to play in a Serbian team. By the way, Serbia & Montenegro bid for 2010 Olympiad to be held in Budva, which happens to be part of Montenegro now. The newly emerged country will face its first chcance tomorrow.

In the women's section Ukraine earned decisive advantage defeating India 2.5-0.5. Zhukova contributed greatly to the team's success beating GM Humpy. There were no other major changes at the rest of the tables as most matches went on to draws. Russia and China are comfortably aiming at the podium.

Standings:
Men: Armenia 34; China 31.5; Russia 31; France and Hungary 30.5; Israel 30
Women: Ukraine 28; Russia 26; China 25; USA 23; Armenia 22.5

Key pairings for tomorrow (last round!): Armenia-Hungary; China-Netherlands; Russia-Israel; Bulgaria-France

Recommended links:
Detailed results and statistics at Wiener Zeitung page
Irish team blog - by IM Mark Orr
Malaysian team blog

Note! I am leaving to deliver my baby to the grandparents. Report from round 13 and tournament summary will be delayed for a day or two. Please excuse inconvenience. Family duties are force majeure.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

9. Kramnik (RUS, 2729) - Bruzon Batista (CUB, 2652)
TACTICS TEST (fairly tough). White to play and win.
[ 26. Bxf7+! Kx7 27. Qa2+ the idea behind this is to keep control over a2-g8 diagonal 27... Kf8 28. Ne6+ Rxe6 29. Qex6 Ne7 30. Re3! Ke8 31. Rf3 Qh5 32. Bd6 1-0 ]


10. Dominguez (CUB, 2647) - Svidler (RUS, 2732)
Another flash from Russia-Cuba match. White has some advantage but Black should conduct Queenside attack. He can do no harm exposing his Kingside. 33... f5? wrong choice. 34. exf5 Bxe3 35. Bxe3 gxf5 36. gxf5 Bxf5 37. Qxb5 Not only White is a pawn up and has a pair of Bishops at his disposal, but also Black's shield went into pieces. 1-0 after 54 moves.


11. Grischuk (RUS, 2719) - Nogueira Santiago (RUS, 2556)
The ending is dead draw. Nothing may happen. Suddenly Nogueira finds excellent suicidal idea 36... g6?? now Black King has been perfectly marooned 37. Bd1+ Kf5 38. Kh3! +- White wins a piece. 1-0 soon.


15. Sutovsky (ISR, 2628) - Nakamura (USA, 2664)
The game is on a whole worth studying. Black has just set a devilish trap. White takes the Greek gift 38. Rxc7? White had to keep an eye on h2 which now goes under Black's control 38... Nf3+ -+ 39. Kf2 h2 40. Rc6+ Kf5 41. f7 41. Rc1 would not be of help: 41... Ng1 42. Kg2 Rd2+ 43. Kh1 Ne1 and Nf3 41... h1=Q 42. f8=Q+ last chance 42... Ke5! 0-1 42... Kg5 would lead to a perpetual check.


17. Ivanchuk (UKR, 2731) - Sokolov (NED, 2676)
TACTICS TEST (quite hard). Sokolov was short on time and he decided to take the draw: 35... Nh4+? 36. Kh2 Nf3+ etc. 1/2-1/2 However he could well win. How?
[ 35... Qe7! (35... Qe6 was worse because of 36. Qd5) 36. Nd2 (another option is 36. Rde1 giving away exchange at once) 36... Rf5! (the Queen is trapped) 37. Qxf3 Rxf3 38. Nxf3 Qe2 39. Rd2 Rxg3+! -+ ]


47. Berkes (HUN, 2593) - Danielsen (ISL, 2520)
Hungary (remember, no Leko and Polgar) hammered Iceland 4-0, which will be a memorable landmark for them. The best game of the match was the following. The ending was vibrant. 40. Nf5! attacking pd6 and Rh6 40... d5 41. Qc3 Kh7 42. Nxh6 1-0 The Knight cannot be recaptured because of Qxc6+ or Rf7+


53. Shirov (ESP, 2699) - Gurevich (TUR, 2643)
That is Shirov's very first win in Turin, but he did it in style. 21. Nxd7! Making use of Black's late development 21... Bxa1 22. Bb5 0-0-0 too late 23. Rd1! 23. Rxa1 was tempting but the Knight is essential 23... e5 23... a6 was less evil but there was no hope whatsoever. 24. c6 a6 25. cxb7 kxb7 26. Qe4+ Ka7 27. Bc6+ 1-0 Immense material losses are inevitable. Well done.


57. Charbonneau (CAN, 2510) - Anand (IND, 2803)
The sensation of the day! Not only young Canadian GM beat Anand but we can put a statement he actually outplayed him! The diagram position is clearly better for White. Anand tries a desperate step. 35... g3? leaving a piece for rout 36. fxe5! simple and effective 36... Nxe4 37. Nxe4 Bxe4 38. Bd3! forces Bishop trade which is not advisable for Black. We bet Vishy overlooked this move. 38... Bxg2+? a gung-ho style. Of course this cannot work. We must praise the Canadian for staying cold blooded. Not every day one beats Anand after all. 39. Qxg2 gxh2 40. Bxg6 Rxg6 41. Ng3 doesn't hurt much, but why not simply 41. Qf3? 41... Rxg3 42. Qe4 Rg4 43. Be7! 1-0 We can only hope miserable performance in Turin will not discourage Anand from travelling to Dresden on the very next occasion in 2008.


297. Zhukova (UKR, 2425) - Humpy (IND, 2548)
Women's competition. 21. Nc4! a strong move. Black can find no antidote for the mortal Ne6 threat. She must capture the Knight after all. 21... Ne6 22. Bg3 dxc4 23. Bxb7 c3 24. Qxc3 cxd4 25. Qb4! +- White has passed pawn and pair of Bishops. 1-0 after 62 moves. Any doubts Ukraine deserves gold?


See online games from round 12

Armenia are knocking on heaven's door as they earned safe edge over the rest with just two rounds of the 37th Chess Olympiad to go. China lost to France and both teams share second position ahead of USA and Russia.

There wasn't much of a fight in the today's top encounter between Armenia and the Czech Republic. Aronian scored another thumping victory with devastating 11. Nf7!! to get full support from Asrian who beat Babula to seal Armenia's 3-1 win. The leaders edge runners-up China by clear 3.5 points and it is hardly possible to imagine they could miss the tournament win. France defeated China thanks to Lautier's win over Zhang to level with the Chines at 28.5 points.

Russia conceded yet another match loss. A team of four 2700s lost in a prestiguous match to USA, a team of 2600s with three men of Soviet and one of Japanese origin. The decisive win was scored by Nakamura - the only player in the field whose mother tongue isn't Russian. Cuba ran over Uzbekistan to advance to eigth place while Ukraine trounced Azerbaijan to be back in top ten. India lost to Israel to fell further back - it is all over for them. Spanish board 4 player blundered mate in 3 vs Poland to jam the team in 22nd.

There were quite a lot of interesting results at lower boards today. FM Batchuluun of Mongolia (Elo 2303) beta Vescovi (2622) in a highly entertaining game. 88th seeds Dominicana defeated Australia (probably their most valuable result ever scored). Hassan Syed, an unrated player from Pakistan managed to beat legendary GM Bouaziz, who is decades after his prime, but still...

There is a very tight competition behind Armenia's shoulders and one cannot rule out the possibility of Russia and Ukraine grabbing the lower podium positions which means the same trio as in Calvia would share top honours. Anyway, China and France seem to be tough and determined too, and will not give up strifless. It will be crucial for France to hold Armenia today, which is possible given their domination is unendangered. Time will tell.

In the women's section Ukraine beat Bulgaria 2.5-0.5 to extend gap over Russia up to a full point. China hammered Greece 3-0 to stand secure in third. USA and India share fourth position.

Today was an election day. As expected, the incumbent Ilyumzhinov beat Kok by a wide margin (96:57).

Standings:
Men: Armenia 32; China and France 28.5; Russia and USA 28; Czech Rep., Ukraine, Cuba and Israel 27.5
Women: Ukraine 25.5; Russia 24.5; China 23.5; India and USA 21.5; Georgia 21

Key pairings for tomorrow: France-Armenia (!); Czech Rep.-China; Russia-Cuba; Israel-USA; Ukraine-Netherlands

Recommended links:
Detailed results and statistics at Wiener Zeitung page
Armenian chess federation - they deserve more interest those days
Team Chess inc. - should be subject of interest for every chess official

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

1. Aronian (ARM, 2756) - Navara (CZE, 2658)
There are no doubts that Aronian is revelation of the year. In Turin he shatters his opposition with home preparation. Today he beat Navara with a blustering opening sac: 11. Nf7!! a thunderstruck. Black canont capture on f7 because of dxe6. 11... Qd7? there were two urgent needs here: one was to get the Queen out of Knight's reach, another one was to protect the Bishop. Only 11.. Qc8 was up to the mark. White would have an advantage, but the game would go on. Now it is all over. 12. Bxc3 Bxd5 13. Bxd5 Qxd5 14. e4! +- White is a Rook ahead and he went on for a win quickly. 1-0 after 25 moves. Hats off Armenia!


3. Asrian (ARM, 2646) - Babula (CZE, 2583)
This one is pure strategy. White has two little yet tangible pressures. The first one is pinned Knight. The other one is weakened pawn structure. However, the win seems to be utterly problematic. What plan would you employ? Asrian's choice explains everything: 29. f5!! Yes, two exclamation marks are fully justified here. They prove he understood the nature of the position in details. Black is helpless. He cannot prevent the winning plan: King strolls to h5 guarded by pair of pawns. Once the King reaches h5 White conducts decisive attack initiated with g4-g5. And so it was. 1-0 after 43 moves. Please refer to the game file to trace the game.


10. Svidler (RUS, 2743) - Onischuk (USA, 2650)
Black has substantial material advantage but pair of white major pieces threatens perpetual check. A win is still lurking around but Black has to be careful. 51... Kg7 was the only choice. Instead the Ukrainian born Onischuk chose awry 51... Kf6? and there happened a funny case of a "triangular perpetual check": 52. Re4! Qf5 Do not forget Bf2 that has to be protected 53. Qc3+ Kg6 54. Re5 Qf4 55. Qd3 Kf6 = the full cycle has just been completed 56. Re4 Qf5 57. Qc3+ Kg6 1/2-1/2. There is no oscillatory motion like in 99.9% of cases, but the three-step repetition.


11. Nakamura (USA, 2664) - Grischuk (RUS, 2719)
The outcome of the game was not only prestiguous, but also essential from the point of view of the final ranking. White is dead lost. Fritz9 shows -19.4 (!) at 13 ply depth. The way to a win is childlishy easy, e.g. 43.. Bxg3 44. Kxg3 Rg4+ 45. Kh3 e4 and White gets mated. Or just 43... Rd3 44. Rf3 Qd1 trading the pieces and leaving Black with won pawn endgame. Anything. Anything, but not 43... fxg6? Now White takes a draw: 44. Bxf4 exf4?? another blunder! 44... Rxf6 45. Qc8+ or 44... Rxf4 45. R1xf4 exf4 led to a perpetual check. Now Black is lost. 45. Rxf8+ Kxf8 46. Qb8+ Ke7? speeding things up, but there was no help for Black 47. Qe5+ Kf7 48. Qxd4 Qf5+ 49. Kh2 1-0. I would say time trouble does not justify what happened over here.


24. Moiseenko (UKR, 2662) - Mamedov (AZE, 2538)
TACTICS TEST (quite hard). White to move and win. Point out no less that first three halfmoves. Drag your mouse between the brackets to reveal the answer.
[ 27. Bxd6!! of course capturing black Queen leads to disaster: 27. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 28. Nd1 Re8! wins not one but two pieces. 27... Qf3 28. Ka1!! another stunning move. Its idea is to get out of black Bishop's way. 28... Nd7? 28... Nxd5 was far better 29. Bxb8 and White won. 1-0 ]


48. San Segundo Carillo (ESP, 2525) - Wojtaszek (POL, 2597)
This is something that will distress the Spaniard for a long time. White has won, he just has to complete his defending tasks, most simply with 40. f3 or 40. f4. Instead he greedily decided to promote the pawn with n preparation 40. e8=Q?? Now Black can just resign, or give a pre-mortal check: 40... Rh1+! 0-1 The only choice that was left is between 41. Kxh1 Qf1+ 42. Kh2 Qxg2+# or 41. Kg3 Qg4+# There's a good Latin sentence for that: nihil novi sub sol!


90. Short (ENG, 2677) - McNab (SCO, 2437)
TACTICS TEST (very easy). England are doing bad all along but this one was Short's short. White to move and win.
[ 23. Nxd5 Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Qe6 25. Ng5 1-0. Neat and quick. ]


97. Batchuluun (MGL, 2303) - Vescovi (BRA, 2622)
Everything was in Vescovi's favour on a paper. The life often scoffs at expectations. 36. f6! Only move. Black has considerable advantage after 36. Re1 Bf3 37. Nf2 g4 36... Bf8 37. Re1 Bd3 38. Nxg5 1-0 It is not common to beat a player rated 300 points higher than yourself. It is even more uncommon to win such game without a blunder on one side.


179. Hassan Syed (PAK, unr) - Bouaziz (TUN, 2338)
First Tunesian GM Slim Bouaziz is barely 2338 player those times but still he is a living legend. You will learn why if you do an in-depth study of OlimpBase Olympic archives. A win must have been a surprise for the Pakistani newbie. He is clear piece down here, but Bouaziz commits simple mistake 35... Rd7?? 36. Qxe5 Nxe5 37. Rxg6+ now Black cannot recapture because of Ne6+, which was apparently missed by Black. The position is now even, but it was White who went on for a win (!). 1-0 after 62 moves. The ending was played very well by Hassan Syed after all, and one would never guess a GM faces an unrated player. Please see the entire game in a game file.


196. Molina (ITA"C", 2290) - Phiri (ZAM, unr)
The Italian FM was in command of White pieces facing unrated Zambian player, who won second position at African Junior Championship last year. White is winning of course but he cannot take it too eay: 27. Ng1?? hogging the King 27... Qf4+ 28. Kh1 Bd6 29. Nf3 Rg5 30. Ne5 Bxe5 0-1 Phiri has scored 5.5/6 so far, one more game win and he can apply for a board medal. Best of luck to Richmond.


See online games from round 11

Armenia beat China in the top match of round 10 to strengthen their lead while Russia rose from scratch sweeping out declining Ukraine to move up to third. Today will be the rest day, and on Friday Armenia will test rampart Czech team at top table.

There wasn't much dispute today about who is going to prove its supremacy in the match of top two teams. The Chinese were in deep defence all along and honestly cannot complain about the outcome. Etienne Bacrot, head of French team, once again proved his indispensability as he brilliantly tore up Kamsky's position to compensate Bauer's loss at bottom board and level match score. France tied with USA and both teams stay undefeated lying in fifth and sixth respectively.

Ukraine are totally ruined as they did not make a stand today and lost 3-1 to Russia and top three seems to be out of their reach. It is quite strange that a team to readily sweep out the rest of the World in Calvia now struggle to get into top 10 although there is only one player missing from the winning team from 2004 (Ponomariov, who contributed least by the way). The Czech Republic made best use of lucky pairing wiping out Slovenia to climb to tied third. Now they face real test as they will play Armenia in the next round and excited Czech fans have already been calculating who bin a margin of a win should be to retain Czech hopes for gold (which, with all respect, appears to be a pious wish). India do not seem to be determined to pave their way to the top as today they conceded another dull draw vs Cuba. It is sorry to note, but Anand is still of no avail. Uzbekistan proved once again they have been fairly underrated as today they beat Germany and are in eighth. Azerbaijan recover after nightmare of first day and climb up the table day by day. Today we saw them defeat Norway 3-1 (Carlsen-Radjabov draw) to move up to 15th. Of top seeded teams Bulgaria are doing striving; they conceded another unexpected loss today vs Vietnam.

Tomorrow will be the rest day and we are on a straight way to finish. Armenia are one foot in heaven and no more than 8 or 9 teams may still be hoping of medalling. A lot of major nations are out: Ukraine, England, India, Israel... while there are teams fighting for top honours that hardly anyone would bet a penny on: Czech Republic, Cuba, Uzbekistan. We shall see. Stay tuned!

In the women's section Ukraine beat third seeds Georgia 2-1 and have now clear way to go. Russia keep the pase as today the defeated Bulgaria 2-1 (Kosteniuk lost to Stefanova). China ran over Armenia to lie in third.

Standings:
Men: Armenia 29; China 27; Russia and Czech Rep. 26.5; France 26; USA 25.5; Cuba and Uzbekistan 25
Women: Ukraine 23; Russia 22.5; China 20.5; Georgia 20; Bulgaria 19.5, India and Greece 19.5

Key pairings for tomorrow: Armenia-Czech Rep.; China-France; Uzbekistan-Cuba; USA-Russia; Azerbaijan-Ukraine; India-Israel

Recommended links:
Detailed results and statistics at Wiener Zeitung page
chessgames.com - a lot of comments and analyses
Fiji at the Olympiad - a very interesting Olympiad-related blog

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

5. Bacrot (FRA, 2708) - Kamsky (USA, 2671)
Black's Queenside is reasonably weaken so he should protect it rather than provoke. 15... c5? too much of a risk. 16. axb5 cxd4 17. Nxd4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Qxd4 19. Be3 Qxe4 now White cannot capture the Rook since Be2 is hanging 20. Bf3 not any more 20... Qe5 21. Bxa7 +- White won exchange and went on for a victory after 64 moves. 1-0


7. Fressinet (FRA, 2633) - Nakamura (USA, 2664)
No other player is more often guest starring in the highlight section than Fressinet (see also news archive from 2005). Unfortunately today he shows up in faded colours. White's position is won: 38. Qa7! Qf7 (only move) 39. Ra8+ Bf8 40. Qxf7+ Kxf7 41. Bf4 and White wins exchange. Fressinet's move was one step too far: 38. Qa8? Qxa8 39. Bxa8 Nxd5 40. Rb8+ Bf8 41. Nc6 += In the endgame White was two pawns up but he failed to nip off rival's counterchances. 1/2-1/2 after 82 moves.


8. Ibragimov (USA, 2637) - Bauer (FRA, 2638)
Another ghoulish game from France-Russia match. One can hardly imagine White can save the dead lost game. But.... 43... Rd8? seems robust at first glance but is not, since White can infiltrate King's area. Qe5 was good 44. Qf6 Rd5 45. Qe6+ Qf7 = White has perpetual check 46. Qc8+ Qf8 47. Qe6+ Qf7 48. Qc8+ draw? 48... Kg7?? no draw pal, I play for a win... 49. Bc3! +- suddenly Black King find himself in a trap 49... Kg6 50. Qxa6+ Kh5 51. g4+ Kh4 52. Qe2 and soon 1-0. There is now a philosophical matter, whether White was just lucky or is it according to the Latin sentence fortuna favet fortibus (fortune favours the bold)?


10. Svidler (RUS, 2743) - Volokytin (UKR, 2660)
Ukraine's play is huge disappointment to the fans. Volokytin's position scatters to dust: 16... f6? position was hardly playable but the move seals the fate. 17. c4 Rfd8? another bad move. Black should take the piece. 18. Qh5 fxe5 too late, White's attack cannot be refuted anymore 19.Qxh7+ Kf8 20. cxd5 exd5 21. f4! Only move. Black pawn cannot avoid trade since e4 is blocked. Opening f file is mortal threat for Black. 21... exf4 22. Bg6 Qe6 23. Qh8+ Qg8 24. Rxf4+ Bf6 25. Rxf6+! 1-0 The Rook is untouchable because of Qxf6.


12. Bareev (RUS, 2701) - Efimenko (UKR, 2648)
This is our question to the readers rather than a game preview. Black is dead lost, promotion cannot be stopped. There comes a pre-mortal check 41... gxf4+ now what? Kxf4 wins on spot, but the notation shows 42. Ke4?? (so does live coverage site) which blunders mate in one after 42... Rc4+# Black resigned here 1-0. There is a question: is Ke4 (most probably) a misprint or perhaps a terrible blunder unnoticed by both sides?


14. Pavasovic (SLO, 2534) - Babula (CZE, 2583)
Slovenia were hammered by the Czechs but this game could be some consolation for them. Virtually everything wins here, e.g. 38. Bf3 or 38. Bg2 and Black gets mated. 38. fxg6?? too fast! 38... Rxf1+ 39. Rxf1 Qd4+ 40. Rf2 Qe1 41. Rf1 Qd4+ 1/2-1/2 a perpetual check. Never lose concentration.


23. Gareev (UZB, 2522) - Luther (GER, 2593)
TACTICS TEST (quite hard). White to move and win. Please drag your mouse between the brackets to find the answer.
[ 28. e6! fxe6 29. f6 in order to protect g5 from a check 29...Rd6? better was Qd6 30. Nf3 Rbb6 31. Ng5 Kf8 32. Nf7+ +- ]


300. Kosteniuk (RUS, 2540) - Stefanova (BUL, 2502)
Time for women's stuff. White sacrificed a piece and she seems to have good prospects for a game. 22. Qf3? Bxd5! Seemingly gives back the piece... 23. Bxf6+ Qxf6 24. Qxd5 Bxf2+ 25. Kh1 Rh8! more effective that capturing the Rook 26. h3 Qf5 threatens Rxh3 27. Rg1 X-raying Black monarch 27... Bg3! 0-1


303. Mkrtchian (ARM, 2453) - Zhao Xue (CHN, 2423)
Black has just played 21... Kh8?? blundering a piece. There is a very simple win here 22. Qb5 Nb4 23. Nxb4 and if 23... cxb4 then 24. Qxf5 +-. Instead White chose 22. Re5? Position is still far better for White but all in all she managed to lose anyway. 0-1 after 83 moves. No comments.


See online games from round 10