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Pogonina.com offers you a selection of some of the most informative chess tweets from last week. All the fresh chess news in one short post:
I wish all the Olympic chess champions received such a treatment Another reunion between Kasparov and FIDE Armenia won the Chess Olympiad (Open section) Too bad we can't clone Nakamura and have 5 of them on the US Team Russian ladies won the Chess Olympiad This means war Quote of the week Looking for new members Grand Slam preview Why do some federations insist on having national ratings?
Have we missed some of the best tweets? You can contribute to our next top-10 stories chart by retweeting the post you like and adding @Pogonina to the message so that we can see it.
Russian ladies won the team gold medal: Nadezhda Kosintseva, Natalia Pogonina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Tatiana Kosintseva. Captain: Sergey Rublevsky
Natalia Pogonina won gold for best individual performance on board 5
19:03 Silver medals: Radoslaw Wojtasjek (POL), Anton Filippov (UZB), Vladimir Akopian (ARM), Abhijeet Gupta (IND), Bartolomej Macieja (POL)
19:00 Gold medals in the Open section: Levon Aronian (ARM), David Navara (CZE), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE), Vladislav Tkachiev (FRA), Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)
18:55 Coaches of the Russian women team and two of the players:
18:20 I guess they are double-checking the results, because they are were important!
18:00 Before the event I predicted a tight race for gold between Russia and Armenia, and decent chances to win bronze for Ukraine. Now this is coming true! :)
17:45 According to the information that I have, the standings are the following:
Open section: Armenia - gold, Russia - silver, Ukraine - bronze
Women: Russia -gold, China - silver, Ukraine - bronze
Gaprindashvili Cup: Russia
Let's wait for the official stats and board medals.
17:20 We are waiting for the official results to be posted at the website. Very intriguing!
17:07 RUSSIA-KAZAKHSTAN: 4-0!!! I have calculated the SB! RUSSIA IS THE OLYMPIC CHAMPION!
17:00 China defeated Bulgaria 2.5-1.5, as expected.
16:51 Ukrainian ladies won bronze.
16:50 Russia-Germany 3-1! Wow!
16:46 Or maybe Russia will win gold?
16:40 The critical game in the women's section now. Another one is Huan Qian-Raeva:
16:26 Bravo, Valya Gunina. She won. Now we need Alexandra to save the game!
16:17 Kosteniuk's game is critical - it is worth 15 SB points!
16:08 In the women's section I am supporting Ukraine against Germany (this gives Russia 6 SB points) and Armenia vs. Poland (this match is worth 9 points). Before the final round China had 357 SB and Russia - 348 SB
16:01 Movsesian is completely winning. Will Armenia win gold?
15:47 Very important result: Kosintseva T. - Nahbaeva, 1-0
15:41 Bravo, Voiska! She defeated Ju Wenjun. So far China is losing to Bulgaria 0.5-1.5, but the final score will probably be 1.5-2.5 in China's favor.
15:37 Kramnik-Naiditsch 1-0
15:32 Lahno-Paehtz 1-0.
15:25 Nadezhda Kosintseva scores!!! Amazing result - she will get gold on her board and probably best performance in the women's section overall.
15:23 Ivanchuk played h8Q!, and now Wang Hao is shaking his head:
15:15 Ivanchuk seems to be winning against Wang Hao and Kramnik - vs. Naiditsch.
15:02 Stefanova-Hou Yifan: draw. Meanwhile, amazing things happen on the Voiska-Ju Wenjun board. The Chinese player won an exchange, but then blundered and had to pay the price of a queen!
14:53 A simple, yet elegant tactical shot in Kosintseva's game. White is now up two pawns.
14:46 Gunina snatched a pawn in her opponent's time trouble.
14:42 Gustafsson-Jakovenko: draw. Russia is maintaining pressure on the White boards and drawing with Black.
14:38 Leko-Aronian: draw.
14:36 Surprisingly, some players are already in time trouble. Gunina's opponent has 10 minutes for 22 moves.
14:22 And now I am starting to like Armenia's positions over Hungarian.
14:02 Armenia-Hungary looks balanced; Ukraine has an edge against China. Russia is doing better against Germany.
14:00 After two hours:
13:53 Zhao Xue, Nadezhda Kosintseva and Kateryna Lahno have a serious advantage.
13:30 If individual medals had been awarded after round 10, the Open standings would have looked like this:
Armenia - 1 gold, 1 silver
Czech Republic - 1 gold
Azerbaijan - 1 gold
Germany - 1 gold
Russia - 1 gold
China - 1 silver, 1 bronze
USA - 1 silver
Uzbekistan - 1 silver
France - 1 silver
Tajikistan - 1 bronze
Ukraine - 1 bronze
India - 1 bronze
Poland - 1 bronze
13:22 Grischuk finished his game quickly and is now supporting the Russian girls:
13:05 Most chess players are owls, so it's very hard for them to start playing so early. Some grandmasters are yawning, others are sipping drinks.
13:00 Russian positions after 1 hour of play:
12:56 Some statistics, scores between the leaders of the teams. Kramnik-Naiditsch: +5 -2 =6. Ivanchuk-Wang Hao +0 -0 =1. Aronian-Leko: +4 -1 =13
12:52 Russian ladies are trying to surprise the opponents. Gunina is playing the Scandinavian and Kosteniuk - improved Steinitz Defense.
12:40 Khenkin-Grischuk, draw in 15 moves!
12:36 Germany-Russia:
12:33 Armenia-Hungary:
12:30 Ukraine-China:
12:27 Ukraine-Germany:
12:23 China-Bulgaria:
12:17 Russia-Kazakhstan:
12:10 Off we go!
11:15 Today I am expecting a long and exciting round. We are going to wait until its very end in order to find out who won the team medals and the Gaprindashvili Cup (best federation award). Also, on each of the boards three medals are awarded (gold, silver, bronze). That is another 30 medals (15 for men, 15 for women). We will take note of them and congratulate.
11:05 Round 11, the ultimate fight. Earlier, when the scorings were kept using board points, one could calculate in advance how many points the team should score in the final round depending on how the competitiors do. Nowadays the first tie-break score is Sonneborn-Berger, which includes the results of the opponents. Hence, one is dependent on their performance and it's hard to predict anything in advance. On Friday evening I have spent some time in Excel calculating which results favor Russia today. However, first and foremost it is vital to win the match. Otherwise, there might not be any need to calculate anything.
In the Open section China had a favorable situation in terms of tie-breaks, but they are facing the reigning Olympic champions from Ukraine today. Armenia is challenged by a solid team from Hungary and Russia is playing the European Team Champion Germany. All the three matches are expected to be tense and intriguing.
Even more action is happening in the women's event. China and Russia are very close. Ukraine has a certain chance to sneak from behind. Russia is playing a dark horse of the tournament - Kazakhstan, China vs. Bulgaria, Ukraine vs. Germany.
21:20 Tomorrow is a rest day! Take care. On September 9th the round will begin 4 hours earlier than usual. See you at Pogonina.com!
21:17 Natalia Pogonina won her game. It is the fourth (!) 1-0 result in her last games against Maria. Russia-Armenia: 3.5-0.5
21:15 Jakovenko saved his game. Russia narrowly defeated Argentina: 2.5-1.5
21:12 Pogonina and Kursova, two friends, are still playing:
21:06 After many mutual mistakes Galojan drew Kosteniuk. Russia is winning 2.5-0.5, Natalia is still playing.
20:59 Chinese men are doing way better, Ding Liren beat Onischuk in a 3 vs 2 pawns rook endgame. China-USA: 2.5-1.5
20:54 It is unbelievable! China had almost a 300-point rating advantage on all the four boards, yet Kazakhstan managed to draw the match! Our sincere congratulations to the ladies from Kazakhstan! Well done!!!
20:50 Ponomariov says that he doesn't like the atmosphere at the Olympiad and is constantly distracted. That leads to silly mistakes from good players. As a positive example he uses Khanty-Mansyisk.
20:45 Ponomariov and Moiseenko, two-time Olympic champions from Ukraine, are giving a press conference:
20:38 Amazing! The player from Kazakhstan rated 2165 seems to be beating her 2465-rated opponent. Rf2!!
20:23 Important result: Ukraine defeated Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5
20:22 Wang Hao-Nakamura: draw
20:18 Aronian defeated Giri and Movsesian drew Van Wely. Akopian also has a winning position. Looks like 3-1 for Armenia.
20:07 Danielian collapsed all of a sudden. Tatiana Kosintseva won! Russia-Armenia 2-0 so far
20:05 Peter Leko, ex-World Chess Championship Challenger, is being interviewed:
19:58 Felgaer-Tomashevsky: draw. Jakovenko has a tough defense ahead.
19:45 I don't like the way Natalia played in the time trouble. She had a clearly winning position, but now White will have to grind out a technical endgame. Why leave Black with two bishops?
19:37 Zhukova defeated Raijlich; Gunina won her game!
19:34 Mkrtchian had a better position against Gunina, but then blundered horribly and is now losing.
19:06 Boris Gelfand was playing very well in the World Championship match against Vishy Anand, but failed to win the title.
19:03 In Natalia's game White had a more direct winning line, but the continuation she chose is also strong and positionally sound. Black doesn't have any helpful moves.
18:54 Karjakin-Flores 1-0.
18:51 Jakovenko-Mareco is double-edged. Black is doing fine.
18:48 The rook endgame in Peralta-Grischuk should be drawn, but Alexander has just 5 minutes left.
18:41 Karjakin has very good chances to score against Flores.
18:39 Akobian-Bu Xiangzhi: draw.
18:16 Kursova blundered with Be5, but will Natalia be able to find the winning line? Let's leep our fingers crossed.
18:05 After two hours:
18:01 Lahno and Zhukova have a considerable advantage. So far there is a serious edge for Ukraine in their match against Poland.
17:50 Most of the games are very balanced so far. Only at the lower boards there is traditionally lots of action. For example, Palau defeated Burundi 3-1 (but there are only two players in the Burundian team, so the real score was 1-1).
17:22 Chess Olympiad-2014 will take place in Tromso, Norway:
17:00 Russian boards after one hour of play:
16:50 The best performances so far: Mamedyarov, 7/8, 2892; Nakamura, 5.5/7, 2884; Jakovenko, 6/7, 2862
Women: Hou Yifan, 5.5/7, 2732; Kosintseva N., 7/8, 2694; Lahno, 5.5/8, 2596
16:40 Ukraine-Azerbaijan:
16:35 Armenia-Netherlands:
16:32 Russia-Argentina:
16:25 Ukraine-Poland:
16:21 Russia-Armenia:
16:16 Historically Wang Hao performs very well against Nakamura: 3 wins, 2 draws.
16:11 USA-China:
16:08 China-Kazakhstan:
14:55 Tomorrow is a rest day. Today in the evening another party will take place. However, I am somewhat puzzled by the poster: is it going to be a Turkish night or an Irish party? What is the dress-code? How are people expected to behave? Anyway, the teams that are in contention for the medals will probably avoid this event. On the other hand, it is important not to burn out by worrying too much about the upcoming games.
14:50 After 9 rounds China is leading in the Gaprindashvili Cup category with 31 points. Russia is in second place (30), Armenia is third (29). I hope that after round 11 the strongest chess federation in the world will be at the top.
14:45 After a dramatic loss vs. USA, Russia is now tied for first with USA, Armenia and China. Moreover, China has the best tie-break scores so far. Today USA is playing China, which means that one or even both of the teams will lose match points. Russia is facing Argentina. I am glad this is not soccer. Armenia-Netherlands: another tough duel.
In the women's section China is lazily cruising towards gold. They are playing Kazakhstan (#22) today. Russia has an important clash with Armenia. Ukraine-Poland is also a critical match-up.
21:21 USA-Russia 2.5-1.5. It was physically painful to watch Grischuk and Kramnik lose like that. Anyway, congrats to the American fans, this is a holiday for them! Now the competition will become much more intense.
21:04 Poland-Azerbaijan: 2-2. Grischuk blundered against Kamsky in a rook vs. rook+bishop endgame. This is too sad to be true!
21:01 Sorry, I had an important phone call. Kramnik blundered...
20:32 Kramnik has some chances to save the game. Grischuk should hold. Jakovenko has a large advantage.
20:27 Hou Yifan beats Skripchenko. Zhao Xue is also winning. Alas, France won't be able to save the match.
20:21 China crushed Philippines. 3-0 so far
20:19 Armenia-Germany: 2.5-1.5
20:16 Lahno beats Zatonskih with Black. Ukraine defeated USA. 2.5-0.5 so far
20:13 Georgia is doing surprisingly badly against Armenia: 0.5-1.5 so far and worse positions on the other two boards (women)
20:08 England is losing to Vietnam 1.5-0.5, and it looks like the final score might even be 3-1.
20:00 Russia vs. USA, 4 hours later:
19:52 Kramnik is observing his teammates' boards and hoping...
19:40 In time trouble Abrahamyan gave everything away in her game vs. Gaponenko. Ukraine is leading 1.5-0.5 against USA
19:38 Ivanchuk prevailed over Vachier-Lagrave.
19:35 Mamedyarov-Socko: 1-0. But Wojtaszek has two extra pawns vs. Radjabov.
19:28 Actually, Russia is struggling against USA. Kramnik is on the verge of losing. Grischuk has a difficult position. Jakovenko has an edge, but even if he wins, Russia will probably only draw the match.
19:24 Kramnik is doing something wrong. Naka's attack looks devastating.
19:22 Foisor-Ushenina: draw. Time trouble in all the other games.
19:16 Ding Liren defeated Barbosa.
19:15 Russian ladies beat India 3-1. Nice score, very little time and energy spent. Well done.
19:06 Giri-Gelfand: draw. Van Wely defeated Sutovsky with Black.
18:53 The knight has nowhere to go. Re4 loses to Nd6, threatening a mate in 1 and the rook.
18:50 Dronavalli-Kosintseva T.: draw. Kosteniuk is harassing her opponent's king mercilessly.
18:45 Karavade simply blundered a piece against Gunina. Unbelievable!
18:32 Anish Giri said that he arrived late due to not getting a visa on time. He still has a Russian passport.
18:25 Anish Giri (first board for Netherlands) and Vladimir Chuchelov (Dutch captain)
18:21 Germany-Armenia:
18:18 Garry Kasparov is in the playing hall. He is our team's lucky mascot!
18:10 Draw agreed in Sachdev-Kosintseva N.
18:00 Two hours later:
17:55 Vasily Ivanchuk sacrificed a knight. Will this idea work?
17:49 Ding Liren has an obvious advantage against Barbosa. Black can't complete development. Tight clashes on the other boards.
17:40 France is doing ok against China, but we all know that most of the games are decided in time trouble closer to move 40.
17:37 No real edge for anyone in the USA-Russia match.
17:33 Dronavalli-Kosintseva T.: only a minor advantage for White. Gunina-Karavade: White is definitely better. Sachdev-Kosintseva N.: should be an easy draw. Kosteniuk has a crushing attack and a serious time advantage against Soumya.
17:20 The playing hall is crowded:
17:00 Russian boards after one hour of play:
16:56 People who are not much into chess think that all the chess players wear glasses. Let's do a quick review. Carlsen - no. Aronian - yes. Kramnik - yes. Radjabov - no. Nakamura - now yes. Anand - yes. Karjakin - no. Caruana - yes. Ivanchuk - no. Morozevich - no. It's a tie: 5-5!
16:45 Who is Nakamura looking at: the girls, or their positions?
16:36 France-Ukraine:
16:30 Azerbaijan-Poland:
16:28 China-Philippines:
16:25 Kramnik-Nakamura, classical chess: +2 -2 =7. Very good score for Hikaru!
16:20 Russia-India:
16:15 China vs. France:
16:05 Kramnik is blowing invisible dust particles off the board. USA vs. Russia:
14:40 Russia won the junior U-16 Chess Olympiad twice in a row. Congratulations!
14:30 It's not over till it's over. Russia is leading the Open section by two points, but everything can change. Let's imagine what happens if USA beats Russia? Then we will have a few leaders. No, thank you, I prefer a different scenario. Meanwhile, on board two China is being challenged by Philippines. I wonder what odds the bookmakers would have offered before the event for a line "Philippines to play on one of the first three boards in round 9"? One could have become as rich as Bill Gates by making a bet.
An interesting twist of the pairings in the women's tournament: China-France, Russia-India and...Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan. USA has finally caught up with the leading group and will be playing Ukraine.
22:30 All this time you were pretending/so much for my happy ending
Anyway, thank you for watching the broadcast! See you tomorrow!
22:15 Ok, at least the Russian men are dominating. However, I am more of a women's chess supporter. But...now the Russian players have to pull themselves together and switch gears towards fighting for silver.
22:09 Upset of the day is Philippines-England: 3-1
22:05 Sergei Rublevsky, captain of the Russian women's team, is shaking his head:
22:03 USA-FYROM: 3-1.
21:56 OH MY GOD...Tanya could have won a gazillion times...
21:17 RUSSIA! Beats Ukraine and is leading even more convincingly than before.
21:09 Ivanchuk forgot about his time and nearly forfeited! You can see him shaking the king in the air and banged his fist on the desk.
21:02 Karjakin won his game against Volokitin!
20:59 Serbian women held Georgia to a draw. The website is buggy and says 1-3, while we can see that Rakic won.
20:51 Muzychuk-Gunina: draw.
20:43 Chinese ladies have basically secured gold. They are leading 2.5-0.5 against Poland
20:40 China-Azerbaijan: 2-2
20:37 Eugenio Torre rocks! He defeated Nigel Short who had an excellent performance so far (close to 2900).
20:31 Tanya is obviously very nervous. She could have won already. Why is the game even going on?
20:27 Hungary sensationally lost to Uzbekistan in the women's section: 1.5-2.5
20:20 Anna Ushenina won. Excellent opening preparation. The position didn't look that threatening, but with very slight inaccuracies Natalia lost the game. It's hard to say where she went wrong...
20:16 No, according to the Nalimov tablebase Karjakin-Volokitin is a win in 41 moves.
20:12 Karjakin had an excellent position out of the opening. And now the game is transposing into a dead drawn rook endgame...
20:00 Germany-Hungary: 2.5-1.5
19:54 The fate of the Russia-Ukraine match will probably be decided in the game between Nadezhda Kosintseva and Natalia Zhukova. The results on the other boards are relatively predictable.
19:50 Kramnik needs a banana to save the endgame down a pawn against Ivanchuk.
19:41 Sadly, the Russian players were not succesful in time trouble. Tanya is still better, but Kateryna has drawing chances. Nadezhda blew all her advantage. Natalia is lost.
19:27 Kosintseva T. vs. Lahno: 3 minutes against 1. White has a decisive attack. Will Tanya be able to convert her advantage?
19:23 Ponomariov-Grischuk: draw.
19:15 Kosintsevas have some initiative. Gunina's position is balanced. Pogonina has a tough defense ahead.
19:00
18:58 Mariya Muzychuk seems to have just 3 minutes against Gunina's 40 minutes. 4 moves until the time control. Will the Russian player be able to exploit her advantage? After trading pieces and rooks on e5 and playing Rd8 Black is better in the endgame.
18:51 Tanya has an amazing shot at her disposal - Bh7!! This looks like a decisive attack. However, this is close to impossible for a human to find.
18:45 Georgian women have an advantage against Serbia.
18:43 France-Cuba looks like 2.5-1.5
18:30 Eugenio Torre is playing Nigel Short. It is his record 21st appearance at the Chess Olympiads.
18:25 According to the official website, Ding Liren won his game.
18:18 USA-FYROM is balanced so far, but the gap in chess skills is too large.
18:16 Chinese men have good chances to win their match. Ding Liren is close to beating Mamedov. Or is it a technical glitch?
18:09 China is predictably outplaying Poland.
18:05 Briefly speaking, the Russian men seem to have a slight edge against the team from Ukraine. In the women's section the situation is reversed: the Ukrainian ladies are doing somewhat better.
18:00 After two hours:
17:58 The leader of the US chess Team Hikaru Nakamura is having a rest day and giving an interview:
17:47 Gata Kamsky is playing one of Natalia's coaches, Vladimir Georgiev.
17:35 Professional chess is becoming younger and younger. Most of the players reach their peak between 25 and 35 years. However, the veterans are also strong. Not to mention that the World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand is 42.
17:25 Teimour Radjabov has the best performance at the tournament so far: 3003! Breath-taking!
17:17 Fridman-Polgar: draw.
17:15
Yesterday and the day before Garry was in the playing hall. Today he is online again.
17:10 Andrew says that nearly 70% of the adults in the world have played chess at a certain point of their life.
17:05 Andrew Paulson, head of Agon, is promising to revolutionize chess:
17:00 Russian boards after one hour of play:
16:50 Kramnik vs. Ivanchuk. Score in classical chess: +10 -4 =26.
16:45 Central match: Russia vs. Ukraine
16:40 Philippines-England:
16:35 Uzbekistan vs. Armenia. Aronian's magic bottles:
16:30 Another important match: China vs. Azerbaijan:
16:21 Russia-Ukraine:
16:13 Hungary vs. Germany aka HunGer:
16:04 Poland is in a good mood vs. China. But who will have the last laugh?
16:02 Fight!
15:52 Karjakin will be playing for Russia against Ukraine.
Son: How do you call a person who left our party for another one?
Father: A traitor
Son: And how do you call someone who left the other party and joined ours?
Father: A convert!
13:45 Sadly, there are fewer women's chess super tournaments than men's. One of them was the North Urals Cup, often called "Women's Linares". The very best female players in the world used to take part in it.
Seated: Alisa Galliamova, Antoaneta Stefanova, Kateryna Lahno, Zhao Xue
Standing: Hou Yifan, Elizabeth Paehtz, Natalia Pogonina, Anna Muzychuk, Zhu Chen, Anna Ushenina
13:20 Every day I enjoy browsing the photo reports at the official website. The Olympiad is such an interesting event, after all.
10:35 Today Russia is playing Ukraine in both sections. This is the right time to remind you about the Gaprindashvili Cup - a trophy that is awarded to the strongest chess federation. Or, it's better to say the federation that performed better than others at the Olympiad. The standings (sum of points of the men's and women's teams) is the following: Russia - 25 points, China - 24, Ukraine - 23. In other words, this is a critical match-up.
10:30 The Russian men have improved their tournament situation by beating Azerbaijan and are now in clear first. If they beat Ukraine today, gold is nearly guaranteed, because they have already faced all the key competitiors. However, there are two caveats here. The first one is the "if" they beat Ukraine. The second one is that even the best of the best tend to get tired and fall victims of blunders. Anything can happen.
The Russian women's team has stepped back by drawing Poland. China has a much easier finish: they have already played Russia, Georgia and Ukraine. With all due respect, Poland is in a different league. China should be able to win all the remaining matches. Russia also has to do its best and win all the encounters in order to stay in contention for the gold medal.
21:40 In the Open section Russia is in sole lead and has excellent chances for gold. In the women's event China, Russia and Poland are leading. This will be a close race between Russia and China. Thank you for your attention and have a nice evening!
21:33 Russia vs. Poland: 2-2. Natalia saved the day.
21:31 Philippines - Hungary: 2-2. Amazing!
21:27 We need a draw!
21:20 China defeated Georgia 2.5-1.5, a pity.
21:17 Poland has a devilish strategy to neutralize Natalia Pogonina by heading for a dead drawn endgame with White. But they didn't take into account the fact that the Russian Women's Champion can beat her opponents in any positions! Natalia scores as Black.
21:15 Alexandra Kosteniuk lost :(
21:10 Nadezhda Kosintseva saves the game, 1/2-1/2. She had a hopeless position. That's what I call steel nerves!
21:00 Typical flame wars of fans at ChessBomb:
username: Kosteniuk saves the draw and 2-2 in the match
pesel: russian propaganda
Maxim: draws on boards 1,2,3 and pogonina wins somehow:-)
pesel: funny russian propaganda
dawid: russian dreams
20:48 Russia-Poland will make my hair grey prematurely. I don't event want to comment on what's happening. Let's just wait a bit.
20:36 Grischuk won! Russia is in a commanding position now! Sole lead.
20:28 Grischuk has a winning position.
20:15 Arentina is sensationally leading 2-1 against India
20:10 Germany should beat Moldova 2.5-1.5
20:03
19:56 Khotenashvili has trapped her opponent's rook, but Javakhishvili is down a pawn. I am shamelessly supporting Georgia. No objectivity involved.
19:45 I don't see how Russia can save the match against Poland. Our only hope to stay in the race for gold is a tie between China and Georgia. If China wins, the tournament will be close to over.
19:35 Safarli is very nervous:
19:32 Ukraine-France: 2-2 (women)
19:30 Russia-Azerbaijan. Everything depends on the Grischuk-Safarli game. Alexander has certain winning chances.
19:27 China-Armenia: 2.5-1.5
19:23 Kosteniuk blundered...
19:20 ussia is having a tough time against Poland:
19:12 China-Georgia: the battle is still going on. Ding Yixin has a winning position against Khurtsidze.
19:02 Levon Aronian, #2 in the world and the highest-rated player at the Olympiad:
19:00
18:52 Armenia seems to be losing to China! Two games were drawn. Wang Yue has a commanding advantage against Movsesian. An equal endgame on board #4.
18:40 Very close match between Ukraine and France (women). Milliet desperately sacrificed a piece. Looks like the game will end in a perpetual check.
18:30 Russia vs. Poland: what is going on? Pogonina and Gunina don't have any advantage. Kosteniuk is better, but there is no obvious plan of improving the position. Meanwhile, Kosintseva made a few inaccurate moves and is simply down a pawn.
18:18 USA is playing Turkey. There is a serious gap in chess skills. I don't think that USA will have any difficulties winning.
18:16 Both Kosteniuk and Kosintseva missed their chances to obtain a serious advantage.
18:10 China-Georgia. Georgian ladies had very nice positions out of the opening, but now it looks like China is slowly outplaying them.
18:01
18:00 Kramnik and Karjakin have less space and are slightly worse. Grischuk has a very nice position. Jakovenko sacrificed a pawn, but will he be able to justify it?
17:52 France-Ukraine:
17:50 Dzagnidze-Hou Yifan: draw.
17:46 Gunina: White didn't get anything out of the opening. Socko is doing well. Kosintseva Nadya has a chance to obtain an advantage now by playing 14...Qg6. Kosteniuk has a very promising attacking position. Pogonina has two bishops, but a slightly worse pawn structure. Balanced game.
17:42 Russia vs. Poland:
17:31 Germany-Moldova:
17:14 Armenia, one of the co-leaders, is playing China. Wang Hao-Levon Aronian: draw.
17:06 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is posing for the camera:
17:00 Russian boards after one hour of play.
16:49 Radjabov made a move and prevented Kramnik from tasting a banana:
16:34 Hungary-Philippines. Philippines is playing on board 3, what a sensation. However, I know that chess is very popular there. Sometimes when I am playing on ChessCube it seems that half of my opponents are from there.
16:28 Double fianchettoe by Kramnik. This is more popular among amateurs than among super grandmasters.
16:20 China-Georgia:
16:12 Ukraine-Spain:
16:06 Game of the day: Radjabov-Kramnik.
16:02 Let's go!
15:10 Yuri Dokhoian, the Russian men team's coach, used to be a long-time second of Garry Kasparov.
15:00 The players live in two identical twin tower hotels. Each room has a door to the next one. For example, Valentina Gunina lives next room to Vladimir Kramnik. She says the leader of the Russian team is a night owl who goes to bed very late.
14:45 Tension at the Chess Olympiad is growing. In the Open section Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia are in the lead (11 match points). Russia is facing Azerbaijan, while Armenia has a tough match-up against China.
In the Women's section Poland is doing above expectations and sharing 1st with Russia. Will the reigning Olympic champions be able to beat their less titled opponents today? China vs. Georgia is an extremely important confrontation. Ukraine vs. France is also worth following.
21:15 Thank you for following the breath-taking matches. Have a nice evening!
21:11 Georgia vs. Slovakia: 2.5-1.5 (women)
21:08 Russia vs. China ended in a draw. Well, this is a sensible result. Other teams have caught up with Russia, but at least China is still one point behind.
21:05 Yahoo! Nadya scores:
20:48 Movsesian defeated Grischuk, what an upset! Armenia-Russia ended in a tie.
20:45
20:39 All my attention is focused on Kosintseva N.-Zhao Xue.
20:26 Keeping fingers crossed.
20:15 India-Israel is a close fight. Two draws. Israel is better on board #4, India - on board #3.
20:11 Ukraine-Montenegro: 3-1.
20:08 By the way, isn't it great to watch the games live, including video? I remember the times when we used to find out the results from newspapers.
20:06 Like expected, 2-2 in USA vs. Germany
20:02 Ukraine-Azerbaijan: 3.5-0.5 (women)
19:50 18-year old Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan beats Tatiana Kosintseva.
19:45 Movsesian has a very good position against Grischuk. Premature joy in the Russian team?
19:38 Natalia drew her game. Let's hope that Nadezhda will be able to win her game.
19:36 Russia vs. China will be decided on boards #2 and #3. Hou is winning, Natalia has an opposite-colored bishop endgame. This is a draw.
19:32 USA-Germany: two games drawn, Kamsky and Nakamura also seem to have more or less equal positions.
19:30 Kramnik says a new super event featuring all the top players in coming in May 2013!
19:20 Hero of the day - Vladimir Kramnik:
19:15 Natalia's attack didn't work out. Looks like she will be defending a slightly worse endgame. The bishops are of opposite color, but the Black piece is more active. Also, the rooks are on the board.
19:12 Azerbaijan drew two games against Croatia and is winning the other two.
19:07 Karjakin-Akopian: draw.
19:05 I am very worried about the Russian women's team. While board #2-4 are unclear yet, Hou is definitely winning on board 1.
19:00 The answer to the last question is no...
18:58 Hou Yifan makes a serious mistake - b3. But will Tania be able to realize it and get back into the game? She has very little time left.
18:54 Kramnik-Aronian 1-0! Everybody is congratulating Vladimir. Even Garry Kasparov!
18:45 Aronian is shaking his head. The position is hopeless.
18:35 Tatiana Kosintseva is on the verge of losing.
18:23 Aronian must have overlooked an interesting knight sacrifice (Nb7). Now Kramnik has serious winning chances.
18:17 Runner-up of the last World Chess Championship Boris Gelfand looks determined. Israel-India:
18:15 Kramnik has some pressure on Aronian, but not much. Grischuk's position against Movsesian is somewhat cramped. Karjakin-Akopian: rather balanced, White looks a tad better. Sargissian-Jakovenko looks like a draw.
17:57 Hou Yifan - Kosintseva T. Hou seems to be better prepared for this line of the Marshall. Not sure that Black will be able to play actively enough to compensate for 2 missing pawns. Kosintseva N. has a positional advantage vs. Zhao Xue. Ju Wenjun sacrificed a pawn against Alexandr Kosteniuk, looks like full compensation. Natalia Pogonina has a double-edged position vs. Huan Quan. White is threatening to start an attack on the Black king, but the bishop on b5 is not taking part.
17:29 Russia vs. China is so interesting. Right, Levon?
17:19 Italy vs. England, a soccer match-up:
17:15 USA-Germany. Nakamura looks bored:
17:00 Russian boards after one hour of play. Balanced in the Open section. Some advantage for White on all the boards in the women's section.
16:45 Natalia Pogonina made a move and is now observing the other boards:
16:43 Russia vs. China, the main contenders for Gold in the Women's tournament:
16:34 Yesterday I took a careful look at the team compositions. Since I have no chance to play for Russia, maybe it makes sense to change the federation and participate in the Olympiad? The only problem is that I love Team Russia too much.
16:25 Armenia-Russia:
16:20 The games have begun:
15:40 Yesterday Alexander Morozevich won for the 6th time the prestigious annual Moscow Blitz event with a round to go. Some of his competitors were such world class players as Nepomniatchi, Malakhov, Bareev, Dreev, Grachev and many others.
13:45 If you want to see some sights from Turkey, take a look at this great photo report.
13:40 During the rest day World Women's Chess Champion Hou Yifan received the Caissa Cup award as the best female chess player in 2011. Unlike the traditional Chess Oscar, this prize has been established very recently, in 2009.
13:26 The key game today is Kramnik (2797)-Aronian (2816). Vladimir and Levon are the two highest rated players at the Olympiad. Objectively speaking, they are now of about the same playing strength. Their recent training match finished in a tie (2-2). However, each of the players will be trying to score and help his team succeed.
13:20 The Chess Olympiad is back The players has a chance to relax during the rest day, so let's hope that today some exciting games will be played. The central match-ups are Russia vs. Armenia (Open) and Russia vs. China (Women).
