2014 Tromsø Chess Olympiad

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tromso Olympiad 2014

Canada's Women's team has worked their way all the way up to board 13 against Slovakia for the final round Thursday (:

The three youngest members are all having productive results now. The youngest, 14-year-old Qiyu Zhou, has rattled off 3 consecutive wins and 5 of 6 (:

http://chess-results.com/tnr140381.a...flag=30&wi=821

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tromso Olympiad 2014

China is certainly well poised to win their inaugural Olympiad gold medal, needing only a draw against Poland on Thursday. I wonder if a gold medal has ever been won without that country's top board winning a single game. Unless Wang Yue wins his game Thursday, he will 'accomplish' that feat since he currently has zero wins, one loss (to Peter Leko in R3), and 7 draws. He also has the lowest TPR on the team by a good margin, 2671, 47 points below his 2718 FIDE rating.

The rest of the team however has certainly kicked some serious chess ass. Ding Liren, on board 2, has 4 wins and 5 draws in his 9 games, with a 2801 TPR. Board 3, Yangyi Yu, has been an absolute stud, playing all 10 games, with 7 wins and 3 draws, good for a 2902 TPR! Board 4, Ni Hua, has 4 wins and 4 draws in his 8 games and a 2740 TPR. Board 5, 15-year-old Wei Yi, has 3 wins and 2 draws in his 5 games and a 2739 TPR. Boards 2 through 5 have not lost a single game the entire Olympiad.

http://chess-results.com/tnr140380.a...flag=30&wi=821

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tromso Olympiad 2014

Here's a Duda gem from the 2014 European Individual Championship that Najdorf lovers may want to take a gander at (:

http://www.chess.com/blog/mnowotny/2...n-najdorf-6-h3

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tromso Olympiad 2014

Tromso Olympiad 2014

From the Aftenposten August 7, 2014

Two fifteen-year olds and chess

He could be the next Magnus Carlsen
Paul V. Hagesæther

15-year-old Yi Wei from China is better than Magnus Carlsen was the same age.
Also Norwegian Aryan Tari (15) is a super talent who is predicted to have a bright chess future.

- I think I can be world champion, he said.

There are 79 players under the age of 16 participating in the Chess Olympiad, Aftenposten wrote yesterday. Among them are two who stand out. One is Yi Wei (15). China's reserve is in fact the youngest player in history with over 2600 rating. He surpassed that level when he was 14 years and four months.

Thus Wei is indisputably one of the world's top young chess talents. Magnus Carlsen by comparison was 15 years and one month when he reached the same level.

The shy 15-year-old speaks little English, and he had to utilize the leader of the Chinese Chess Federation as an interpreter when Aftenposten met him. Wei says he started playing at the age of six, and that he spends 7-8 hours on chess every day. He does not go to an ordinary school, but studies at China's national chess center in Beijing, where the greatest talents gather. He also gets an ordinary school education.

Finds schoolwork is easy

- He finds schoolwork very easy anyway, so he does not spend so much time on it, says the leader.

Wei says that his goal in the first place is to pass the 2700 rating. Then he will go from being super grandmaster to a "hyper grandmaster".

- I'm not thinking much of the future after that. But I do hope to beat Carlsen perhaps, he says, and smiles shyly.

In the Olympiad as Board 4, he has so far won two games against lower ranked players from Guatemala and Albania, and played a draw against a Grandmaster from the Netherlands (Lorenzana(GUA), Pasku(ALB) and Van Kampen (NED)).

- Anyway I feel no pressure. I think it's just as much fun to play as before, and I especially like complex positions and attack, he said.

Aryan Tari

The Norwegian Aryan Tari (15) also has good results. The youngster plays on the Norway 2nd team as Boards 3 or 4, and has so far taken 2.5 points in four games (beating Sebenik(SLO), Bueno(ARU), drawing with Stojanovic (BIH) and losing to Moiseenko (UKR)). Tari is the second best player under 16 in the Olympics, and is rated about 200 points under Wei. Tari, who lives in Lier outside Drammen, recently finished second in the elite class in the Championship in Trondheim.

His father worked as a chess player in Iran, and it was he who taught Tari game.

- Yes, I think I can be world champion, he says to Aftenposten.

- I'm young, I've been playing a long time and if I work very hard, I think I can be. Then I have to concentrate on chess, and forget everything else.

- Are you prepared for that?

- Yes. But of course one can fail. Then it is stupid.

Coach from Russia

Tari think it would be a disaster if the Norwegian Chess Federation were to join the NIF, and had to cut out the Championship for players under 13 years because of their children's sports rules.

- It is important for the development of young players to meet good enough resistance, and to play NM is only positive. I have only good experiences with competing, he said.

Tari studies chess for two to three hours each day. He has a coach from Russia, and besides, uses books, videos and exercises.

- Who do you think has the best chances of you and Wei to be the next Magnus Carlsen?

- Wei. He has a higher rating, and does not go to regular school. The only thing he spends time on is chess. I really admire his devotion to it.

Wei Yi GM 2668

Aryan Tari IM 2440

Wei Yi is playing the #5 board for China and has only played 1/2 of China's 10 games. Aryan Tari is the #4 board for the Norway 2 team and having a mediocre tournament (3/7). Jan-Krzysztof Duda is a year older than these 2 (having turned 16 on 26/4/2014) and playing the #3 board for Poland. He's played all 10 rounds so far and has the remarkable score of 8.5 (7 wins and 3 draws) after quickly beating Bulgaria's Valentin Ioday with the Black pieces. Duda is now comfortably into 2600+ status..

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

They are in a 3rd place tie without him. We'll have to see how they finish but that's pretty good when you come in ranked 32nd.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

I think that's called addition by subtraction.

Why would you say that about the highest rated Romanian player ever, Gary?

Moreover, he hasn't lost a single game for Germany (3 wins and 5 draws), including a draw with Samuel Shankland today who had been a perfect 7/7 before running into Nisipeanu.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

I think that's called addition by subtraction.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

Romania has to be the Cinderella story of this Olympiad. The 32nd seed is only one point out of 1st heading into the penultimate round (:

All the more remarkable since Romania lost their only elite GM, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, to the German team (playing the #4 board there despite being the 2nd highest rated).

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

Tromso Chess 2014

Round Nine
August 11, 2014

Brazil – Canada Open 3.5 – 0.5

Leitao, Rafael (BRA) – Kovalyov, Anton (CAN) 0.5-0.5
Hansen, Eric (CAN) – Fier, Alexandr (BRA) 0-1
Mekhitarian, Krikor (BRA) – Samabuev, Bator (CAN) 1-0
Hambleton, Aman (CAN) – El Debs, Felipe (BRA) 0-1

Lebanon – Canada Women 1.5 – 2.5

Mouradian, Kharik (LIB) – Yuan, Yuanling (CAN) 0.5 – 0.5
Botez, Alexandra (CAN) – Nekrasova, Elena (LIB) 0.5 – 0.5
Jailoul, Maya (LIB) – Zhou, Qiyu (CAN) 0 – 1
Starr, Nava (CAN) – Makhlouf, Youmna (LIB) 0.5 – 0.5

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

Magnus Carlsen's 1st trainer, Torbjorn Ringdal Hansen, a 2450 FIDE IM playing the 3rd board for Norway 2, is having a remarkable tournament. After drawing Karjakin today, he remains undefeated with 5 wins and 3 draws. good enough for a 2732 TPR. I don't know how many GM norms he may or may not have, but he's clearly picking up one here.

[Steve Douglas]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

Thanks Wayne. Some of those are priceless.

Steve

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

Olympiad Tweets

Mostly from chessintweets.com

Tarjel J. Svensen : When Russia is facing Norway2 in the 9th round of the Chess Olympiad, it’s a clear sign that things are not (going) quite according to plan

- Both Akobian and Kamsky have been disappointing. Unfortunately you can bench only one of them.

- Yeah it’s just over, Czech Republic won 3-effing-1 against Russia. This is quite a dangerous result. Now we’re waiting for the Russian Chess Federation to sue the Czechs.

Kasparov: "The Russian CF throws a brick through your window. Then they knock on the door asking for the brick back."

#TromsoPickUpLines, so in case you need a pickup line at the party try this one: @Chessninja: “I’d love to buy you a drink but a beer here costs the average monthly salary in my country.”

- This Canadian team is impressively young. @MickeyAdamsGM was rated 2620 in 1992, when Hambleton, Hansen & Kovalyov were born.

- I honestly thought the United States would defeat Canada in the Chess Olympiad today…the big ouch. @SusanPolgar: “US lucky to tie Canada. Nakamura was near losing”.

And lastly, from Andy Stoker watching the Olympiad on the telly in England:

Flip me ... we were looking like we'd lose convincingly to Canada. India was 1 wicket down. I went out and dug the garden ... 7 wickets fell (Oh, 8 now) and some very odd things happened in the chess.

[Bindi Cheng]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

After my criticism earlier, I think it's only fair to commend Nava Starr for turning things around.

This round, the veterans carried the young guns.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

Tromso Chess 2014

Ninth Round Pairings
for August 11, 2014

Open Brazil – Canada

Women Lebanon - Canada

[David Ottosen]

Re: Tromso Chess 2014

After my criticism earlier, I think it's only fair to commend Nava Starr for turning things around.