FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 28, 2020

Quarter-Finals

Match 2: Ukraine - USA 2:4

Korobov 0-1 So
Shtembuliak 0-1 Shankland
Osmak ½-½ Zatonskih
Gaponenko 1-0 Abrahamyan
Shevchenko ½-½ Xiong
Shpanko 0-1 Wang

Team USA won both matches against Ukraine and went through to meet Russia in the semifinals.

Selected Games

Match 2, August 28
Ukraine – USA
Korobov, Anton – So, Wesley
D05 Queen’s Pawn game, Rubinstein variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 b6 6.O-O Bb7 7.Bb2 Be7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.Qe2 Rc8 11.Rad1 Qc7 12.f4 g6 13.Ndf3 cxd4 14.exd4 Ne4 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.Ne5 Qc7 17.Bxe4 dxe4 18.c4 Rfd8 19.a4 a6 20.Qe1 b5 21.Bc3 Qd6 22.axb5 axb5 23.c5 Qd5 24.Ng4 f5 25.Ne3 Qxb3 26.Rf2 Ra8 27.Rb2 Qa4 28.g4 fxg4 29.Rb4 Qa6 30.Nxg4 Qc6 31.Qe3 Bxc5 32.Rbb1 Be7 33.Bb4 Bxb4 34.Rxb4 Ra2 35.Rc1 Rc2 36.Rbb1 Rc8 37.Rxc2 Qxc2 38.Qb3 Qxb3 39.Rxb3 Rc1+ 40.Kf2 Rc2+ 41.Kg3 Bc6 42.Ne5 Be8 43.Ra3 Rd2 44.Ra7 Rxd4 45.Ng4 Kf8 46.Nf6 Bc6 47.Nxh7+ Ke8 48.Ng5 Bd5 49.Nf7 b4 50.Nd6+ Kd8 51.Nf7+ Kc8 52.Nd6+ Kb8 53.Ra5 b3 54.Rb5+ Kc7 0-1

Match 2, August 28
Ukraine – USA
Shankland, Sam – Shtembuliak, Evgeny
A42 Modern Defence, Averbakh System

1.d4 g6 2.e4 d6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 e5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Be3 Bg4 9.Ng5 Ke8 10.Nb5 h6 11.Nf3 Kd8 12.O-O-O+ Kc8 13.Be2 Nf6 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 h5 16.g4 a6 17.Nc3 Nd4 18.Bg2 hxg4 19.hxg4 Rxh1 20.Rxh1 c6 21.f4 Ne6 22.f5 Nxg4 23.fxe6 Nxe3 24.Rh7 Bf8 25.Rxf7 Bh6 26.Bh3 Kb8 27.e7 Ka7 28.Bd7 Nxc4+ 29.Kc2 Nd6 30.Rf6 Ne8 31.Rxg6 Be3 32.Rg8 Nf6 33.Rf8 Bg5 34.Na4 Rb8 35.Nb6 Bh4 36.Nc8+ Ka8 37.Rxf6 1-0

Match 2, August 28
Ukraine – USA
Abrahamyan, Tatev – Gaponenko, Inna
D76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 d6 9.f3 Bd7 10.h4 Qa5 11.Qd2 Rfc8 12.h5 Nxh5 13.g4 Nf6 14.O-O-O Ne5 15.Bh6 Bxh6 16.Rxh6 Rxc3 17.Qxc3 Qxc3 18.bxc3 Rc8 19.Kb2 Kg7 20.Rh2 a5 21.a4 Be8 22.g5 Nh5 23.Rdh1 Bd7 24.Rh4 Nc4+ 25.Kc1 Ne5 26.f4 Ng4 27.f5 Ne5 28.Kb2 f6 29.gxf6+ Nxf6 30.Be6 h5 31.Bxd7 Nexd7 32.Ne6+ Kf7 33.Rg1 Ne5 34.Rh3 Nxe4 35.Ng5+ Nxg5 36.Rxg5 Kf6 37.Rhg3 gxf5 38.Rxh5 f4 39.Rg1 f3 40.Rf1 Rc4 41.Kb3 Rf4 42.Rh8 Kf7 43.Rh7+ Ke6 44.Rh8 f2 45.Rh2 Ng4 46.Rg2 Kf5 47.c4 e5 48.Kc3 Ne3 49.Rfxf2 Nd1+ 0-1

Match 2, August 28
Ukraine - USA
Shevchenko, Kirill – Xiong, Jeffery
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Bd7 10.h3 h6 11.b3 Kc8 12.Bb2 b6 13.Rad1 Ne7 14.Rfe1 c5 15.Ne2 Be6 16.Nf4 Kb7 17.c4 Nc6 18.Rd2 Be7 19.g4 g5 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Kg2 Raf8 22.Nh2 Bd8 23.Nf1 Ne7 24.Ng3 Ng6 25.Red1 Be7 26.Rd7 Rh7 27.Ne4 Rhf7 28.Nd6+ Bxd6 29.Rxf7 Rxf7 30.exd6 Rd7 31.Bg7 Nf4+ 32.Kh2 h5 33.gxh5 Nxh5 34.Be5 Nf4 35.Bxf4 gxf4 36.Kg2 cxd6 37.h4 Kc6 38.Kf3 b5 39.Kxf4 bxc4 40.bxc4 Rf7+ 41.Kg5 Rxf2 42.Rh1 Kd7 43.h5 Ke7 44.h6 Rg2+ 45.Kf4 Rf2+ 46.Kg5 Rg2+ 47.Kf4 Rf2+ 48.Kg5 1/2-1/2

Match 2, August 28
Ukraine – USA
Wang, Annie – Shpanko, Nadiia
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 c6 9.Be2 Nd7 10.O-O dxc4 11.Bxc4 e5 12.Ne4 Qg6 13.Bd3 exd4 14.Nxd4 Ne5 15.Bb1 Qg4 16.Qxg4 Bxg4 17.h3 Bd7 18.Nc5 Bxc5 19.Rxc5 Rfe8 20.Rd1 b6 21.Rcc1 c5 22.Nf5 Red8 23.f4 Nc6 24.Nd6 Rab8 25.Be4 Kf8 26.Rd2 Na5 27.Rcd1 Bc6 28.Bc2 Nb7 29.e4 Nxd6 30.Rxd6 Rxd6 31.Rxd6 Be8 32.Kf2 Ke7 33.Rd2 Rd8 34.Rxd8 Kxd8 35.e5 Bc6 36.g4 Bd5 37.b3 f6 38.exf6 gxf6 39.Ke3 Ke7 40.h4 Kd6 41.Bd3 Be6 42.f5 Bd5 43.Kf4 Ke7 44.g5 hxg5+ 45.hxg5 a5 46.g6 a4 47.Bc4 axb3 48.Bxd5 b2 49.Be4 c4 50.Ke3 c3 51.Bc2 b5 52.a3 Kf8 53.Kd3 Kg7 54.Kxc3 1-0

Match 2: Poland - Azerbaijan 2:4

Duda ½-½ Radjabov
Wojtaszek 0-1 Mamedov
Socko 0-1 Mammadzada
Cyfka 0-1 Fataliyeva
Gumularz 0-1 Asadli
Sliwicka 1-0 Balajayeva

After Azerbaijan stuck back and won the second match it came down to the Armageddon decider on the women's board. Monica Socko downed Gunay Mammadzada in a nail-biter riddled with mutual mistakes and pulled Poland through to the semifinals.

Match 2, August 28
Azerbaijan – Poland
Mamedov, Rauf – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B18 Caro-Kann, Classical variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.N1e2 e6 7.Nf4 Bd6 8.Ngh5 Bxh5 9.Nxh5 g6 10.Ng3 Nf6 11.c3 Nbd7 12.Bc4 Qc7 13.Qf3 h5 14.Bg5 Be7 15.h4 Nd5 16.Bd2 N7f6 17.Bb3 a5 18.c4 Nb6 19.a3 Nbd7 20.O-O-O O-O 21.Bg5 b5 22.c5 Rae8 23.Rhe1 Nd5 24.Kb1 N7f6 25.Qd3 Nf4 26.Qd2 N4d5 27.Bc2 Nh7 28.Bh6 Bxh4 29.Ne4 Be7 30.g4 hxg4 31.Rh1 f5 32.Rdg1 Rf7 33.f3 Bf8 34.Bxf8 Rexf8 35.Nd6 Rg7 36.fxg4 f4 37.Rh6 Qe7 38.Rgh1 Qg5 39.Qh2 Ndf6 40.Ne4 Nxe4 41.Bxe4 Nf6 42.Bxc6 Nxg4 43.Rh8+ Kf7 44.Rxf8+ Kxf8 45.Qe2 Ne3 46.Qxb5 Qf5+ 47.Ka2 Kf7 48.Qb8 Qc2 49.Qc7+ Kf6 50.Qe5+ Kf7 51.Be8+ Kxe8 52.Qxg7 Qc4+ 53.Kb1 Qd3+ 54.Ka2 Qc4+ 55.Kb1 Qd3+ 56.Ka1 Nc2+ 57.Ka2 Qc4+ 58.b3 Nb4+ 59.axb4 Qc2+ 60.Ka1 Qc3+ 61.Ka2 Qc2+ 62.Ka3 axb4+ 63.Ka4 Qa2+ 64.Kb5 1-0

Match 2, August 28
Azerbaijan – Poland
Socko, Monika – Mammadzada, Gunay
D11 QGD Slav, Breyer variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nbd2 Bf5 5.Nh4 Be4 6.e3 e6 7.Be2 h6 8.O-O Bh7 9.Nhf3 Nbd7 10.c5 Qc7 11.b4 Be7 12.Bb2 O-O 13.a4 b6 14.Nb3 bxc5 15.dxc5 Rab8 16.b5 Nxc5 17.Be5 Bd6 18.Nxc5 Bxe5 19.Na6 Qd6 20.Nxe5 Qxe5 21.Nxb8 Rxb8 22.bxc6 Ne4 23.Qd4 Qc7 24.Rab1 Rc8 25.Ba6 Rd8 26.Rfc1 e5 27.Qb4 Nd6 28.Rb2 Bf5 29.Qc5 Be6 30.Bb7 Nc4 31.Rb5 e4 32.Qxa7 d4 33.exd4 Qf4 34.Rbb1 e3 35.c7 exf2+ 36.Kh1 Qxc7 37.d5 Bxd5 38.Qxf2 Bxb7 39.a5 Rc8 40.h3 Ba6 41.Rb6 Bb7 42.Rxc4 Qxc4 43.Rxb7 Ra8 44.Qb6 Qf1+ 45.Kh2 Qf4+ 46.Kh1 Qf1+ 47.Kh2 Qf4+ 48.Kh1 Rc8 49.Qg1 Rc1 50.a6 Rxg1+ 51.Kxg1 Qd4+ 52.Kh1 Qa1+ 53.Kh2 Qxa6 54.Rb8+ Kh7 55.Re8 Qd6+ 56.Kh1 f5 57.Re1 g5 58.Rb1 Kg6 59.Kg1 f4 60.Rf1 h5 61.Kh1 g4 62.Kh2 f3+ 63.Kh1 Qd2 64.gxf3 g3 65.Rg1 Qh2# 0-1

Match 2, August 28
Azerbaijan – Poland
Gumularz, Szymon – Asadli, Vugar
A42 Modern Defence, transposed Averbakh, Kotov variation

1.d4 d6 2.e4 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Be3 e5 6.d5 Nce7 7.g4 f5 8.gxf5 gxf5 9.Qh5+ Kf8 10.Bh3 Nf6 11.Qf3 f4 12.Bd2 Ng6 13.Bxc8 Qxc8 14.h4 h5 15.O-O-O a6 16.Qd3 Rg8 17.Nf3 c5 18.Ng5 Ke7 19.Rdg1 Bh6 20.Rg2 Qd7 21.Rhg1 Nxh4 0-1

Armageddon, August 28
Ukraine – USA
Socko, Monika – Mammadzada, Gunay
D11 QGD Slav, Breyer variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nbd2 Bf5 5.Nh4 Be4 6.e3 e6 7.Be2 h6 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.g3 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Bb4 11.a3 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2 Qc7 13.O-O O-O 14.Rac1 a5 15.f4 Rd8 16.Qc3 c5 17.f5 cxd4 18.exd4 Nc6 19.fxe6 Nxd4 20.exf7+ Qxf7 21.Rce1 Rac8 22.Nf5 Nxf5 23.Rxf5 Qd7 24.Qxa5 Qd4+ 25.Kh1 Qxb2 26.Qb4 Rd2 27.Qxb2 Rxb2 28.Bf1 Rd8 29.Rb5 Rdd2 30.Rxb2 Rxb2 31.Rc1 Kf7 32.c5 e3 33.Re1 Rc2 34.Rxe3 Rxc5 35.Be2 Nd7 36.Kg2 Ne5 37.h3 Ke6 38.g4 Kd6 39.Kf2 Nc4 40.Rc3 Ne5 41.Rb3 Kc7 42.a4 b6 43.h4 Rc2 44.Rb4 Ra2 45.Ke3 g5 46.hxg5 hxg5 47.Bd1 Ng6 48.Bb3 Ra1 49.Bc2 Nf4 50.Rc4+ Kd6 51.Be4 Ra3+ 52.Kf2 Ke5 53.Bf3 Nd3+ 54.Ke2 Nc5 55.Rb4 Nxa4 56.Rb5+ Kf6 57.Rf5+ Kg6 58.Be4 Kh6 59.Rf7 Ra2+ 60.Ke3 Ra3+ 61.Kd4 Nc3 62.Rh7# 1-0

The bracket for the finals can be found at:

http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/173398

Round Three Pairings

Semi-Finals, August 29

India – Poland

Russia – USA

The Final takes place on Sunday, August 30

[Aris Marghetis]

0900 UTC India v Poland
1600 UTC Russia v United States

(those are UTC times, subtract 4 for Ontario time)

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 28, 2020

Quarter-Finals

FIDE Round-up of the Day’s Action and the Arbiters’ Decision

India – Armenia

Match 1: 3.5-2.5
Match 2: India wins by default

The first match of the day turned out to be a very eventful one, with a very unfortunate outcome. The first game to come to an end was the clash of the giants - Vishy Anand and Levon Aronian They played until only the bare kings where left on the board and split a point. Humpy Koneru pressed too hard in an equal endgame and lost, while Lilit Mkrtchian fell for a little tactical trick and lost to Harika Dronavalli.

It was in this moment when, in barely five minutes, a lot of unexpected things happened: Vankita Agrawal overlooked a double-check which cost her a rook, Gabriel Sargissian blundered his Queen in the most spectacular fashion, and in the decisive moment, Haik Martirosyan got disconnected when he only had 53 seconds left on his clock, losing on time. This left the final score at 3½-2½ for the Indian team.

Following the disconnection of Haik Martirosyan, the Armenian team filed an official appeal that was rejected by the Appeals Committee, formed by the FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Michael Khodarkovsky, and Sava Stoisavljevic. Not satisfied with this decision, Armenia defaulted the second match, and as a result, India is through to the semifinals.

The Appeals Committee resolution:

Moscow, August 28, 2020

The Appeals Committee considered the protest of the Armenian team against the result of the 1st match of the India-Armenia quarterfinal. In this match, the game between Nihal Sarin and Haik Martirosyan was considered a defeat for the Armenian team after its player got disconnected.

According to the regulations for the event, which were discussed in detail with the team captains, the quality and stability of the of Internet connection is the sole responsibility of the players.

In their appeal, the Armenian team pointed out that the specified player was connected to the zoom call during the whole incident, and the video call was not interrupted. In their opinion, this confirms the normal operation of the Internet connection in the game room, and proves that the technical problems were limited to the chess.com website.

The Appeals Committee would like to point out that as a general rule (section 2 of the technical requirements for players), the quality of the Internet connection is the responsibility of the player, including its reliability and stability. The practice of applying this point during the Olympiad has been already established in previous incidents. Among other examples, the Indian national team (the current rival of Armenia in this match) lost two games in a match with the Mongolian team precisely for reasons of the quality of the Internet.

Thus, in order to overcome this presumption, the evidence of the site's guilt must be direct and prove the guilt beyond any doubt. No other reliable evidence of problems on the game server was presented to the Appeals Committee, in addition to the general conclusion provided by the Armenian team. The Appeals Committee also noted that there were problems with the quality of the Internet in one of the other games of the match, where the normal course of the game was restored 3 minutes after the failure. No appeal was filed by any of the teams in this case. In the game being considered as part of the appeal, the Armenian player had about 50 seconds to restore the connection, which turned out to be insufficient.

In the current situation, any other decision would be inconsistent with the tournament regulations, creating a precedent that could lead to further conflincting situations. The Appeals Committee also finds that any other decision would be unfair to the opposing team.

In view of this, the Appeals Committee decides to reject the appeal of the Armenian team. The Armenian team will not be charged for presenting this appeal.
__________

Russia - Hungary

Match 1: 5-1
Match 2: 3-3

Russia was just too strong for Hungary in their first match, winning by a convincing score: 5-1. Viktor Erdos made a fatal mistake against an attacking player like Ian Nepomniachtchi: playing Black, he didn't castle on time. As soon as Ian got the chance (16…Nh5?) broke through in the center, launched a smashing attack, and quickly scored a victory. Dubov and Esipenko drew their games, but the Russian ladies did the rest of the work to round up the result: Goryachkina, Kosteniuk, and Shuvalova took home three points.

The second match was kind of a moral victory for Hungary, which proved to be a very worthy quarter-finalist. The Hungarians say goodbye to the Online Olympiad after a 3-3 draw against Russia. Nepomniachtchi won again, this time with the black pieces and against a different rival: Tamas Banusz instead of Viktor Erdos.

On the sixth board, Polina Shuvalova demonstrated one more time that there are not many girls in her age group who can play at her level. Polina was the 2019 World Girls U-20 Champion, as well as the World Girl's U18 Champion in 2018 and 2019, and her results in the Online Olympiad show why. However, for the second match, the Russian team decided to field Lagno and Gunina instead of Kosteniuk and Goryachkina, and these substitutions didn't work quite well. Both Russian stars lost to Petra Papp and Ticia Gara, who turned in an excellent performance.

USA - Ukraine

Match 1: 4½-1½
Match 2: 4-2

Vassily Ivanchuk is always unpredictable, and today it wasn't one of his good days. He went for a French defense against Wesley So, came out of the opening with a worse position, and then simply lost on time on move 27. The game between Anton Korobov and Sam Shankland was a spectacular battle, but it ended in a draw. Carissa Yip and Annie Wang sealed the result in favor of the American team, beating Julia Osmak and Mariia Berdnyk, respectively.

The second match didn't go much better for the Ukrainians. This time they decided to play without Ivanchuk, but nevertheless the lost on the first board, where Wesley So proved to be stronger than Anton Korobov, despite playing with Black. The game between Shankland and Shtembuliak looked balanced, but as soon as the complications arose, Samuel showed his class and outplayed his young opponent. Annie Wang scored another decisive point for her team, against Nadiia Shpanko. For the second time in a row, Kirill Shevchenko drew against Jeffery Xiong, but the way he did it, with a very beautiful resource (31.Bg7!), only reinforces his candidacy as the most valuable player of the Online Olympiad 2020.

Poland - Azerbaijan

Match 1: 4-2
Match 2: 1½-4½
(Poland wins the tie-break)

Very much like it happened yesterday in preliminary round Poland was unstoppable in the top two boards. Jan-Krzysztof Duda extended his streak to a sensational 10/11, beating Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in a very fine game with the black pieces. His level of play and accuracy could be comparable to what you would expect from a game played under classical time control. Wojtaszek - Mamedov was a great fight, where the Azerbaijani player had an absolutely winning position at some point (apparently Radoslaw overlooked 29…Rxf3), but then lost the thread of the game and missed not only a win but even a draw. Gulnar Mammadova went all-in to the attack against Karina Cyfka, correctly sacrificing a knight to leave the white King naked and exposed but was not precise enough - Karina consolidated her position and forced a Queen exchange: with this, the game and the first match was over, but the quarterfinals - not yet!

Azerbaijan added some drama to the last clash of the day, striking back in the second match, which they won by a wide margin: 4½-1½. To begin with, this time Radjabov played on the first board, and that helped to hold the unstoppable Duda to a draw. On the rest of the boards, Azerbaijan scored one point after another: Radek Wojtaszek, Monika Socko, Karina Cyfka, and Szymon Gumularz, they all lost. It was the young Alicja Sliwicka the only player to score a full point for the Polish team: her first victory in the event so far.

The Armageddon game was a face-off between the two top women of both teams, Monika Socko and Gunay Mammadzada, with the 7-time Polish champion playing White. As it is expected under the circumstances, Monika played very aggressively, and we could say that Black came out of the opening slightly better, but White succeeded in creating some complications. In the end, the opponents reached a balanced endgame, but somehow Gunay missed some obvious moves and got entangled in a basic mating net. With just a couple second left on her clock, Monika checkmated her opponent and Poland got the ticket to the semifinals.

https://www.fide.com/news/719

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 29, 2020

Semi-Finals

From the official site:

https://www.fide.com/news/720

India - Poland

India beats Poland to become the first finalist of the Online Chess Olympiad. India's rival will come out of the clash between Russia and the USA.

It wasn't an easy match for the winners, who had to come from behind after losing 4-2 in the first round. Jan-Krzysztof Duda managed to out-prepare Vishy Anand on the black side of a Sicilian and came out of the opening with a solid positional advantage that he didn't fail to convert. Vidit played very aggressively with black, resolutely advancing his h-pawn all the way to h3 and creating some problems to Radek Wojtaszek. However, after the Indian missed an interesting tactical solution (21…Rxe3) White contained the attack, the advanced pawn was captured, and the Polish GM took the whole point. India seemed to have good chances of tying the match thanks to their last two boards, where both Nihal Sarin and Divya Desmukh had better positions. But only Sarin managed to win his game, while Deshmukh fell into time trouble, ruined her little advantage and lost.

It is not easy to bounce back right after a defeat, but that's exactly what India did in the second round of the day, winning on-demand to level the match. Poland decided to replace Wojtaszek for the second round, maybe with the hope to surprise the Indians and avoid Vidit's preparation, so it was Grzegorz Gajewski who played on board two. Out of the opening, the position was about equal, but the black king was more exposed and that tends to be an important factor in rapid chess. Vidit played 18.f4, went for the kill, and scored the whole point. Humpy Koneru completely outplayed Monika Socko, and Harika Dronavally managed to defeat Karina Cyfka in an endgame where her Bishop was stronger than Black's knight. Vishy Anand took his revenge against Duda although by this time the match was already decided in India's favor. The final score was 4½-1½ for India.

The match came down to the Armageddon tie-break where, like in the last of the quarterfinals played yesterday, Monika Socko had to represent the whole Polish team, fighting against Humpy Koneru for the spot in the finals. It was a fantastic clash between two experienced players and probably one of the best Armageddon games we have seen recently. Monika played aggressively - as the situation demanded - sacrificing a pawn right away to grasp the initiative. But Humpy kept her cool, immediately returned a pawn, gradually coordinated her pieces, and then exploited inaccuracies by Socko to score a well-deserved victory. Monika Socko showed once again great sportsmanship, smiling after the defeat and congratulating the winning Humpy.

India's best result at a Chess Olympiads so far has been the third place in Tromsø 2014, but now the team is guaranteed a Silver Medal.

Match 1: India – Poland 2:4

Anand 0-1 Duda
Wojtaszek 1-0 Vidit
Koneru ½-½ Socko
Nihal 1-0 Janik
Sliwicka 1-0 Divya
Cyfka ½-½ Dronavalli

Match 2: Poland – India 1½: 4½

Duda 0-1 Anand
Dronavalli 1-0 Cyfka
Janik 1-0 Praggnanandhaa
Socko 0-1 Koneru
Vantika ½-½ Sliwicka
Vidit 1-0 Gajewski

Tiebreak: Socko - Koneru 0:1

Selection of Games

Match 1, August 29
India – Poland
Anand, Vishy – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qd2 Ng4 11.Bxg4 Bxg4 12.f3 Be6 13.Rfd1 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 15.Qxd4 Rc8 16.Rd2 Rc4 17.Qf2 Qa5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 b5 20.b3 Rc3 21.Rdd1 b4 22.Rd2 Rfc8 23.Re1 R8c5 24.h3 Qc7 25.Ree2 a5 26.Kh1 Qc8 27.Kg1 Qe6 28.Kh1 h5 29.Kg1 Qf6 30.Re3 Qf4 31.Rxc3 Rxc3 32.Rd1 Rc5 33.Rd2 g5 34.Re2 Kg7 35.Qd4+ f6 36.Qd2 Qg3 37.Qe3 Qe5 38.Qf2 Qf4 39.g3 Qc1+ 40.Kg2 Kf7 41.Rd2 Qa1 42.Qe2 Qe5 43.Qf2 Qc3 44.Re2 Re5 45.Re3 Qc6 46.g4 h4 47.Re2 Rc5 48.Rd2 Rc3 49.Qe2 Qc5 50.Qf2 Ke6 51.Qe2 Qe5 52.Qf2 Qf4 53.Rd1 Kf7 54.Rf1 Qe3 55.Qxe3 Rxe3 56.Rf2 Ke6 57.Rd2 Rc3 58.Kf2 Rc5 59.Ke3 Ke5 60.Rd3 Rxc2 61.Rd5+ Ke6 62.Rxa5 Rc3+ 63.Kf2 Rxb3 64.Rb5 Kd7 65.Rb6 Kc7 66.a5 Ra3 67.Rxb4 Rxa5 68.Rb2 Kd7 69.Rb7+ Ke6 70.Rc7 Ra2+ 71.Kg1 Rb2 72.Ra7 Rc2 73.Rb7 Ra2 74.Rc7 Ke5 75.Rxe7+ Kf4 76.Re6 Kg3 77.Kf1 Rf2+ 78.Ke1 Rxf3 0-1

Match 1, August 29
India – Poland
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Vidit, Santosh
E00 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Nd2 c5 5.dxc5 Bxc5 6.Bg2 O-O 7.Ngf3 Nc6 8.O-O d5 9.a3 a5 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Nb3 Bb6 12.Nbd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Re8 14.e3 Bg4 15.Qd3 Qd7 16.Bd2 a4 17.Rac1 h5 18.Bc3 h4 19.Nf3 h3 20.Bh1 Bf5 21.Qd1 Ne4 22.Nd4 Bg6 23.Bf3 Nf6 24.Ne2 Be4 25.Nf4 d4 26.Bxd4 Bxd4 27.exd4 Rad8 28.Re1 Bxf3 29.Qxf3 Qxd4 30.Rxe8+ Rxe8 31.Qxb7 Qc5 32.Rd1 Qc2 33.Qf3 Qf5 34.Qd3 Qg4 35.Qf1 Rb8 36.Nxh3 Rxb2 37.Rd8+ Kh7 38.Qd3+ g6 39.Nf4 Rb3 40.Qc4 Kg7 41.Qc5 Nh7 42.Qd4+ Kh6 43.Rg8 Qf3 44.Qg7+ Kg5 45.Qe5+ Kh6 46.Qg7+ Kg5 47.Ne6+ Kg4 48.Qd4+ Kf5 49.Ng7+ Kg5 50.Qh4# 1-0

Match 1, August 29
India - Poland
Nihal Sarin – Janik, Igor
E15 Queen’s Indian, Buerger variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 c5 6.d5 exd5 7.Ng5 h6 8.Nh3 b5 9.Nc3 bxc4 10.Nf4 Be7 11.Nfxd5 Bxd5 12.Nxd5 Nc6 13.O-O O-O 14.Bf4 Nxd5 15.Qxd5 Rc8 16.Qxc4 Bf6 17.Bd6 Re8 18.Bd5 Ne5 19.Bxe5 Rxe5 20.Bxf7+ Kh8 21.Rad1 Rb8 22.b3 Qe7 23.Bg6 Rxe2 24.Rxd7 Qxd7 25.Qxe2 Bd4 26.Bd3 Qc6 27.Bb1 g6 28.Be4 Qe6 29.Kg2 Re8 30.f3 Kg7 31.Rd1 Rd8 32.Qb5 Qe7 33.Qc4 Rd6 34.h4 Re6 35.Qc2 g5 36.hxg5 hxg5 37.Rh1 Rh6 38.Rxh6 Kxh6 39.Qd1 Qf7 40.Qh1+ Qh5 41.Qf1 g4 42.Qa6+ Kg7 43.Qxa7+ Kf6 44.Qb6+ Kg7 45.Qc7+ Kf6 46.Qf4+ Ke7 47.Qc7+ Kf6 48.Qd6+ Kg7 49.Qe7+ Kg8 50.Qe6+ Kf8 51.Qxg4 Qh6 52.Qf5+ Ke7 53.f4 Qa6 54.Qh7+ Kf8 55.Qf5+ Ke7 56.Qg5+ Kf8 57.Qd8+ Kf7 58.Qc7+ Kf8 59.Qb8+ Ke7 60.Qb7+ Qxb7 61.Bxb7 Kd6 62.Ba6 Ke6 63.Bc4+ Kf6 64.a4 Bc3 65.Kf3 Ba5 66.g4 Bb4 67.g5+ Kg7 68.Kg4 Bd2 69.f5 1-0

Match 1, August 29
India – Poland
Silwicka, Alicja – Divya Deshmukh
B55 Sicilian, Prins variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3 Nc6 6.c4 e6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.Be2 O-O 9.Be3 d5 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.O-O Bf6 15.Qd2 Rb8 16.Rab1 Bf5 17.Bd3 Rxb2 18.Rxb2 Bxd3 19.Rd1 Bxb2 20.Qxd3 Qe7 21.Bf2 d4 22.Rb1 Qb4 23.Be1 Qa3 24.Qc4 Re8 25.Qb5 Qe3+ 26.Bf2 Qc3 27.Qxe8# 1-0

Match 2, August 29
India – Poland
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Anand, Vishy
E48 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 c5 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qc7 10.Be2 b6 11.O-O Bb7 12.Ne5 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.f3 Rfd8 15.Bb2 Nd5 16.Qd2 b5 17.e4 Nb6 18.Rfd1 Na4 19.Rab1 a6 20.Ba1 c4 21.Qf4 f5 22.exf5 Rf8 23.Re1 Nb6 24.Bd1 Nd5 25.Qd2 exf5 26.Bc2 Qd6 27.Bb2 Bc6 28.Re5 f4 29.Rbe1 Ne3 30.Bc1 Rae8 31.Qf2 Nd5 32.Bb2 Rxe5 33.dxe5 Qe6 34.Bc1 Be8 35.Be4 Nxc3 36.Bxh7+ Kxh7 37.Qc2+ Bg6 38.Qxc3 Bd3 39.Qd4 g5 40.Bd2 g4 41.fxg4 f3 42.gxf3 Rxf3 43.Be3 Qf7 44.Qa7 Kg6 45.Qxa6+ Kh7 46.Qa7 Kg8 47.Qxf7+ Kxf7 48.Bc5 Ke6 49.Kg2 Rf7 50.Bb4 Rc7 51.h4 c3 52.h5 c2 53.Bd2 Rd7 54.Bc1 Bh7 55.g5 Rd1 56.g6 Bxg6 57.Kf2 Bxh5 58.Bb2 Bg4 59.Rg1 Bf5 60.Re1 Kd5 61.e6 Bxe6 62.Re5+ Kd6 63.Re1 Bc4 64.Rg1 Kc5 65.Rg5+ Bd5 66.Rg1 Kc4 67.Rg4+ Kb3 68.Rb4+ Ka2 69.Ke3 Bb3 0-1

Match 2, August 29
India – Poland
Vidit, Santosh – Gajewski, Grzegorz
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qa4+ Nc6 8.e3 O-O 9.Be2 dxc4 10.O-O Bd7 11.Bxc4 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Qe7 13.Be2 b6 14.Qc2 Na5 15.Ne5 Rfd8 16.Qe4 Be8 17.Bd3 f5 18.Qf4 Nc6 19.e4 Qd6 20.Rad1 g5 21.Qf3 Nxe5 22.dxe5 Qxe5 23.exf5 exf5 24.Bxf5 Bf7 25.Bb1 Kg7 26.Rde1 Qf6 27.Qg3 Qd6 28.f4 Bc4 29.Rf3 Re8 30.Rfe3 Rxe3 31.Qxe3 gxf4 32.Qe4 Qc5+ 33.Kh1 Bd5 34.Qg6+ Kf8 35.Qxh6+ Kf7 36.Bg6+ Kg8 37.Qh7+ Kf8 38.Qh8+ Bg8 39.Qh6# 1-0

Match 2, August 29
India – Poland
Socko, Monika – Koneru, Humpy
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 b5 7.a4 c6 8.O-O a5 9.e4 Bxd2 10.Bxd2 Nxe4 11.axb5 cxb5 12.Ng5 Nxd2 13.Qxd2 Ra7 14.d5 O-O 15.Qe3 Ra6 16.Rfd1 Rd6 17.Qc5 Na6 18.Qe3 exd5 19.Rd4 Re8 20.Qd2 Nb4 21.h4 Bf5 22.Qf4 Rf6 23.Qd2 Bd3 24.Rf4 h6 25.Nh3 Re2 26.Qc1 Nc2 27.Rxf6 Qxf6 28.Rxa5 Re1+ 29.Qxe1 Nxe1 30.Bxd5 Bf5 31.Nf4 Nd3 32.Nh5 Qb6 33.Ra8+ Kh7 34.Kh1 Qxf2 35.Rf8 Qe1+ 36.Kg2 Qe2+ 37.Kg1 Qxh5 38.Bxf7 Qd1+ 39.Kg2 Qe2+ 40.Kg1 Qf2+ 41.Kh1 Be4# 0-1

Armageddon, August 29
India – Poland
Socko, Monika – Koneru, Humpy
E02 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nd2 Qxd4 6.Ngf3 Qd8 7.O-O c3 8.bxc3 Be7 9.Qc2 O-O 10.e4 Nc6 11.Nc4 Nd7 12.Rd1 Qe8 13.Bf4 e5 14.Nfxe5 Ndxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 c6 17.Rab1 b6 18.Bf4 Be6 19.Be3 Qc8 20.f4 Bh3 21.f5 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 f6 23.Bf4 Bc5 24.Rd2 Rd8 25.Rbd1 Rxd2+ 26.Qxd2 Qe8 27.Qe2 Rd8 28.Qc4+ Kf8 29.Rxd8 Qxd8 30.h4 Qd7 31.a4 a5 32.Qa6 Kf7 33.Qa8 h6 34.Qa6 Qd1 35.Qc4+ Kf8 36.e5 Qc2+ 37.Kf3 Qxf5 38.exf6 Qxf6 39.Kg2 Qf7 40.Qe2 Qd5+ 41.Kh2 Kf7 42.h5 Qe6 43.Qf3 Kg8 44.Bd2 Qa2 45.Qf4 Qd5 46.Be1 Qxh5+ 47.Kg2 Qe2+ 48.Kh3 Qxe1 49.Qf5 Qh1+ 50.Kg4 Qd1+ 51.Kh4 Qh1+ 52.Kg4 Qd1+ 53.Kf4 Qf1+ 54.Ke5 Qxf5+ 55.Kxf5 Kf7 56.Ke5 b5 57.g4 bxa4 58.Ke4 a3 59.Kd3 a2 60.Kc2 g6 61.Kb3 h5 62.Kxa2 hxg4 63.Kb3 g3 64.Kc2 g2 65.Kd2 g1=Q 66.Ke2 Qe3+ 67.Kd1 Qxc3 68.Ke2 a4 69.Kf1 a3 70.Kg2 a2 71.Kh2 a1=Q 72.Kg2 Qa2+ 73.Kh1 Qc1# 0-1

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 29, 2020

Semi-Finals

Russia – USA

Match 1, August 29
Russia – USA
Grischuk, Alexander – So, Wesley
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Nh5 8.Bd3 Nxf4 9.exf4 b6 10.b4 a5 11.a3 c6 12.O-O Ba6 13.Ne2 Qc7 14.g3 Bf6 15.Rb1 axb4 16.axb4 Qb7 17.Nc1 Bxd3 18.Nxd3 Ra3 19.Qc2 Rfa8 20.Rfc1 b5 21.Kg2 Nf8 22.Qd1 Ng6 23.Ra1 1/2-1/2

Match 1, August 29
Russia – USA
Shankland, Sam – Dubov, Daniil
C11 French, Steinitz, Boleslavsky variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bb4 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Ne7 11.Bd3 Nc5 12.O-O Nxd3 13.cxd3 O-O 14.a4 Bd7 15.Qb3 b6 16.Qa3 Rc8 17.Rfc1 Ng6 18.a5 Qc7 19.axb6 axb6 20.Qa7 f6 21.f5 fxe5 22.fxg6 exd4 23.gxh7+ Kxh7 24.Bxd4 Bb5 25.Rd1 Rfe8 26.Qxc7 Rxc7 27.Rab1 Ba4 28.Re1 Bc2 29.Rxb6 Bxd3 30.Rbxe6 Rxe6 31.Rxe6 Be4 32.Kf2 Rb7 33.g4 Kg8 34.Kg3 Kf7 35.Rc6 g6 36.h4 Rb1 37.Kf4 Rh1 38.Kg5 Rh2 39.Rc7+ Ke6 40.Bc5 d4 41.Re7+ Kd5 42.Bxd4 Bd3 43.Re5+ Kc4 44.Re3 Rg2 45.Kf4 Rh2 46.Kg5 Rg2 47.Rf3 Be2 48.Rf4 Kd5 49.Bf2 Kc6 50.c4 Bd3 51.c5 Be2 52.Bd4 Kd5 53.Be3 Kc6 54.Kxg6 Bxg4 55.Rf6+ Kd5 56.Rd6+ Ke4 57.Bg5 Bf5+ 58.Kf6 Rf2 59.Kg7 Ke5 60.Rf6 Rc2 61.c6 Be4 62.c7 Rxc7+ 63.Rf7 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 61….Be4



Sam should have played 62.Bf4+ and won.

- Big mistake. 62 bf4 protects c7. What a miss
- 62. c7 lost USA the match.
- well, Xiong got a nice draw...

Match 1, August 29
Russia – USA
Goryachkina, Aleksandra – Zatonskih, Anna
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 b6 6.c3 O-O 7.Ne5 Ba6 8.Bxa6 Nxa6 9.Qe2 Nb8 10.h4 c5 11.g4 Qc7 12.g5 Nfd7 13.Ndf3 Nc6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15.Bxd6 Qxd6 16.h5 e5 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.O-O-O Rad8 19.Nxe5 Qxe5 20.Qg4 Qe6 21.Rh4 f5 22.gxf6 Qxf6 23.Rh2 Rf7 24.Rg2 b5 25.Qg5 Qd6 26.h6 g6 27.f4 Re8 28.Qxd5 Qxd5 29.Rxd5 Rxe3 30.Rxc5 a6 31.f5 Rh3 32.Rc8+ Rf8 33.Rxf8+ Kxf8 34.fxg6 Rxh6 35.gxh7 Rxh7 36.Rg6 a5 37.Rg5 Rb7 38.a4 b4 39.Rxa5 bxc3 40.bxc3 Ke7 41.Rd5 Ke6 42.Rd4 Ke5 43.Kc2 Rb8 44.a5 Ra8 45.Ra4 Kd5 46.a6 Kc6 47.a7 Kb7 48.Kb3 Rc8 49.a8=Q+ Rxa8 50.Rxa8 Kxa8 51.Kc4 Kb7 52.Kb5 Kc7 53.Kc5 1-0

Match 1, August 29
Russia – USA
Abrahamyan, Tatev – Kosteniuk, Alexandra
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.Re1 Ng4 7.Re2 Kh8 8.h3 f5 9.Bg5 Nf6 10.Nc3 d6 11.Nd5 fxe4 12.dxe4 Be6 13.Nxf6 gxf6 14.Bxe6 fxg5 15.Rd2 Qf6 16.Bg4 Ne7 17.Qe2 Qg6 18.h4 gxh4 19.Nxh4 Bxf2+ 20.Qxf2 Qxg4 21.Qe1 Rf4 22.g3 Rxe4 23.Qf2 Rf4 24.Qg2 Rf7 25.Kh2 Raf8 26.Qxb7 Rf2+ 27.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 28.Ng2 Rf3 29.Qxc7 Rxg3 30.Qb8+ Ng8 31.Qb7 Rh3+ 32.Kg1 Qd4+ 0-1

Match 1, August 29
Russia – USA
Esipenko, Andrey – Xiong, Jeffery
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Bd7 8.O-O e6 9.d4 Be7 10.Qe2 O-O 11.Bd2 Qc7 12.e4 Rad8 13.Rfd1 Na5 14.Bd3 f6 15.Be3 b6 16.h3 Kh8 17.Rac1 e5 18.Bb5 Bc8 19.Nh4 g6 20.Nf3 Be6 21.Bh6 Rg8 22.dxe5 g5 23.exf6 Bxf6 24.e5 Be7 25.Qe3 Rg6 26.Bxg5 Rdg8 27.h4 h6 28.Bxe7 Qxe7 29.Kf1 Nc4 30.Bxc4 Bxc4+ 31.Ke1 Rxg2 32.Qxh6+ Qh7 33.Qxh7+ Kxh7 34.Rd6 R8g4 35.Rc2 Kg7 36.Rd7+ Kf8 37.Rxa7 Rf4 38.Rd2 Ke8 39.Ra8+ Ke7 40.Ra7+ Ke8 41.Ra8+ Ke7 42.Ra7+ Ke8 1/2-1/2

Match 1, August 29
Russia – USA
Wang, Annie – Shuvalova, Polina
D32 QGD, Tarrasch Defence

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.dxc5 d4 7.Na4 Bxc5 8.Nxc5 Qa5+ 9.Bd2 Qxc5 10.Rc1 Qb6 11.e3 dxe3 12.Bxe3 Qb4+ 13.Bd2 Qe7+ 14.Be2 Nf6 15.O-O O-O 16.Re1 Bg4 17.Qa4 Rad8 18.Bg5 Be6 19.Bb5 h6 20.Be3 Rfe8 21.Nd4 Bd5 22.Nxc6 bxc6 23.Bxc6 Bxc6 24.Qxc6 Qb4 25.Qc3 Qxc3 26.bxc3 Nd5 27.Bd4 Rxe1+ 28.Rxe1 Rc8 29.Kf1 Rc4 30.Ke2 Ra4 31.Ra1 f6 32.g3 Kf7 33.Kd3 Ke6 34.Bc5 Kd7 35.a3 Nc7 36.c4 Ne6 37.Bb4 Kc6 38.Re1 Kd7 39.Kc3 Ra6 40.f4 f5 41.Re5 g6 42.c5 Nc7 43.Kc4 Rc6 44.Ba5 Ne6 45.Rd5+ Ke7 46.Kb5 Rc8 47.Re5 Kd7 48.Bb4 Rb8+ 49.Kc4 Rc8 50.Kd5 Nc7+ 51.Kc4 a6 52.Re3 Ne6 53.Rd3+ Ke7 54.c6+ Kf7 55.Rd7+ Ke8 56.Re7+ Kd8 57.Rxe6 Kc7 58.Rxg6 Kb6 59.a4 a5 60.Bc5+ Kc7 61.Kd5 1-0

Result of Match 1

Russia – USA 3.5-2.5

The USA have to win the second match to get to an Armageddon game.

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 29, 2020

Semi-Finals

Watching the commentary with Jovanka Houska and Simon Williams; haven’t seen them for a while.

Russia – USA

Match 2, August 29
Russia – USA
So, Wesley – Grischuk, Alexander
C54 Giuoco Piano, d3 variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 a5 8.h3 Ba7 9.Bb3 h6 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.Bc2 Re8 12.Nf1 d5 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Ng3 Qd6 15.Nf5 Qd7 16.N3h4 Ne7 17.Rxe5 Nxf5 18.Rxf5 Qe6 19.d4 Qe1+ 20.Kh2 c5 21.Bxh6 Bb8+ 22.Bf4 Qxd1 23.Rxd1 Be6 24.Rxf6 gxf6 25.Bxb8 Raxb8 26.d5 Bd7 27.Rd2 b5 28.Bf5 Rbd8 29.Bxd7 Rxd7 30.Nf5 Kh7 31.g4 Re4 32.Kg3 b4 33.d6 bxc3 34.bxc3 Rc4 35.Rd3 Ra4 36.Re3 Rd8 37.Re7 Rc4 38.Rxf7+ Kg8 39.Rxf6 Rxc3+ 40.Kh4 c4 41.g5 Rd3 42.g6 Rf8 43.Kg5 c3 44.Ne7+ Kg7 45.Nf5+ Kg8 46.Rxf8+ Kxf8 47.Kf6 Rxd6+ 48.Nxd6 c2 49.g7+ Kg8 50.Nf5 c1=Q 51.Ne7+ 1-0

Match 2, August 29
Russia – USA
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Shankland, Sam
B40 Sicilian (Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo and Kan)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.a4 Nc6 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O d6 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 e5 11.Qd3 Be6 12.Bg5 Nd7 13.Bxe7 Kxe7 14.Rfd1 Nf6 15.a5 b5 16.axb6 Qxb6 17.b3 Rhc8 18.Rd2 Rc6 19.Nd1 Rac8 20.Ne3 a5 21.c4 g6 22.Ra3 Rb8 23.Rda2 Nd7 24.Qd1 Nc5 25.h4 h5 26.Kh2 Kf8 27.Qf3 Qd8 28.Nf1 a4 29.bxa4 Bxc4 30.Rc2 Be6 31.Qe3 Ra6 32.Rd2 Qf6 33.a5 Rb3 34.Rxb3 Nxb3 35.Rb2 Nxa5 36.Qh6+ Ke7 37.Rb8 Kd7 38.Qf8 Kc7 39.Ne3 Nc6 40.Nd5+ 1-0

Ian said he has sympathy with Sam Shankland’s play in these matches.

Match 2, August 29
Russia – USA
Yip, Carissa – Goryachkina, Aleksandra
B15 Caro-Kann, Tartakower (Nimzowitsch) variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.Qc2 Re8+ 9.Ne2 h5 10.Be3 Nd7 11.O-O-O Nf8 12.h3 Be6 13.c4 Rc8 14.Nc3 Bb4 15.Ne4 Be7 16.g4 b5 17.gxh5 bxc4 18.Be2 Qa5 19.Bxc4 Bxc4 20.Qxc4 Qxh5 21.Qc2 Qa5 22.Kb1 Ne6 23.Rhg1 f5 24.Ng3 f4 25.Bd2 Qd5 26.Nf5 Bf6 27.Nh6+ Kf8 28.Bb4+ c5 29.dxc5 Qh5 30.c6+ Be7 31.Bxe7+ Rxe7 32.Nf5 Rec7 33.Qe4 Rxc6 34.Rd5 Qh7 35.a3 Rc4 36.Qe5 Kg8 37.Ka2 Kh8 38.Nd6 R4c7 39.Nxf7+ Rxf7 40.Qxe6 Rcf8 41.Rgg5 Kg8 42.Rdf5 Qh4 43.Rg4 Qh7 44.Rgxf4 g6 45.Rxf7 Rxf7 46.Qxf7+ Qxf7+ 47.Rxf7 Kxf7 48.Kb3 1-0

Match 2, August 29
Russia – USA
Kosteniuk, Alexandra – Zatonskih, Anna
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 Be7 7.Bd3 Bg4 8.O-O O-O 9.Re1 Nbd7 10.h3 Bh5 11.g4 Bg6 12.g5 Nh5 13.Nd5 Re8 14.Nh4 c6 15.Nxe7+ Rxe7 16.Nf5 Rxe1+ 17.Qxe1 Bxf5 18.Bxf5 g6 19.Bg4 Ng7 20.Bf4 Nb6 21.Qa5 Nd5 22.Qxd8+ Rxd8 23.Bd2 Ne6 24.c3 Ndf4 25.b3 h5 26.gxh6 f5 27.Bf3 Nxh3+ 28.Kg2 Nhf4+ 29.Kg3 g5 30.Re1 Kf7 31.c4 Nxd4 32.Bxf4 gxf4+ 33.Kxf4 Kf6 34.Rh1 Ne6+ 35.Ke3 Rh8 36.Be2 d5 37.cxd5 cxd5 38.Bd3 d4+ 39.Kd2 Ng5 40.Kc2 Nf7 41.Rh5 Nxh6 42.Bxf5 b6 43.Kd2 Nf7 44.Rxh8 Nxh8 45.Bg4 Ke5 46.Bh5 Kf5 47.Kd3 Ke5 48.b4 a5 49.a3 Kd5 50.f4 axb4 51.axb4 Ke6 52.Kxd4 Kf5 53.Ke3 Kf6 54.b5 1-0

Match 2, August 29
Russia – USA
Xiong, Jeffery – Esipenko, Andrey
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.e4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 c5 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nd7 10.Bf4 Qh4 11.g3 Qh5 12.h4 Nxe5 13.Be2 Ng4 14.Bxg4 Qxg4 15.f3 Qh5 16.g4 Qg6 17.fxe4 e5 18.O-O-O Bxc3 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.gxf5 Qa6 21.Qxc3 d4 22.Qb3 exf4 23.Rxd4 Rad8 24.Qd3 Rxd4 25.Qxd4 Rc8 26.b3 Qxa2 27.Rd1 g6 28.f6 h5 29.Rd3 Qg2 30.Qd7 Rf8 31.Qe7 Qg1+ 32.Kc2 Qb6 33.Rd6 Qa5 34.Rd5 Qb6 35.Rd6 Qa5 36.Rd5 Qb6 37.Rg5 Qf2+ 38.Kb1 Qe1+ 39.Ka2 Qd2+ 40.Ka3 Qc1+ 41.Ka4 Qa1+ 42.Kb4 Qe1+ 43.Kb5 a6+ 44.Kb6 Qe3+ 45.Kc7 Qc3 46.Rxg6+ Kh7 47.Rg7+ Kh6 48.Qxf8 Qe5+ 49.Qd6 1-0

Match 2, August 29
Russia – USA
Shuvalova, Polina – Wang, Annie
B69 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O Bd7 9.f4 Be7 10.Nf3 b5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Kb1 Qb6 13.Bd3 O-O-O 14.Rhe1 Rhe8 15.f5 b4 16.Ne2 Ne5 17.Nfd4 Nxd3 18.Qxd3 e5 19.Qc4+ Kb8 20.Nb3 Rf8 21.Nec1 Rc8 22.Qd5 Bc6 23.Qa5 Qxa5 24.Nxa5 Ba8 25.b3 Rg8 26.g3 Rg4 27.Nd3 Bxe4 28.h3 Bxd3 29.Rxd3 Rg5 30.g4 Rc5 31.Nc4 d5 32.Nb6 Rb5 33.Nxd5 Bc5 34.Nxf6 Bd4 35.h4 Rg7 36.g5 Rb7 37.Rxd4 exd4 38.Re8+ Kc7 39.Nh5 Rxg5 40.hxg5 Kd6 41.Nf6 Rb5 42.Ra8 a5 43.Ne4+ Ke5 44.Re8+ Kxf5 45.Nd6+ 1-0

Result of Match 2

Russia – USA 3-3

Russia meets India in the Final tomorrow
________

Summary of the Match

Russia defeats USA and advances to the final against India.

The first round ended in a narrow win for Russia 3½:2½ and it was a very close match. Although Russia earned two points on the women's boards (both Goryachkina and Kosteniuk won), the USA's chances looked superior in the games of Wang and Shankland. One of the tournament's best players on the girls' board, Annie Wang proceeded to win and advance her streak to 10 points in 12 games (7/9 in Top Division and 3/3 in Playoffs). However, Daniil Dubov saved a game against Sam Shankland, capitalizing on the blunder of the latter, and Russia took the round.

Team USA was in a must-win situation in the second round and Wesley So & Co were very close to a comeback. It was all topsy turvy on so many boards as the nervousness of the ultimate moment showed off. With five encounters ending in wins for White, it all came down to one game. Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Anna Zatonskih and saved the match for Russia. A draw 3:3 was enough for Russia to advance to the final.

https://www.fide.com/news/720

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 29, 2020

Final

From the FIDE website:

India is the last obstacle between Russia and the gold medal. Russia has not won a Chess Olympiad since 2002. The final will take place tomorrow Sunday, August 30, at 11:00 UTC (14:00 in Moscow, 16:30 in Delhi).

That’s 7:00 AM Toronto/Montreal time.

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 30, 2020

Final

Russia – India

In the second round of #ChessOlympiad final match India vs Russia, two Indian players Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh lost connection to their games and forfeited on time. India filed an official appeal, the issue is now being investigated.

(There was a complete server outage by Cloudfare in the subcontinent. Thousands of chesscom users got logged off simultaneously.)

Later:

International Chess Federation

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made a decision to give gold medals of FIDE Online #ChessOlympiad to both teams - India and Russia. More details & an official statement to follow.

[Aris Marghetis]

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made a decision to give gold medals of FIDE Online #ChessOlympiad to both teams - India and Russia. More details & an official statement to follow.

[Aris Marghetis]

hopefully this will work, trying to attach a picture of world traffic at that moment:

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 30, 2020

Finals

Online Olympiad: India and Russia win gold medals

Match 1: India - Russa 3:3

Vidit ½-½ Nepomniachtchi
Harikrishna ½-½ Artemiev
Koneru ½-½ Lagno
Harika ½-½ Kosteniuk
Praggnanandhaa ½-½ Sarana
Divya ½-½ Shuvalova

Russia drew the first match against India after saving a couple of very tough positions.

Match 2: Russia - India 4½:1½

Nepomniachtchi ½-½ Anand
Dubov ½-½ Vidit
Goryachkina 1-0 Koneru
Kosteniuk ½-½ Harika
Esipenko 1-0 Nihal
Shuvalova 1-0 Divya

In the second match, two Indian players Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh lost connection to their games and forfeited on time.

The Online Chess Olympiad has been impacted by a global internet outage, that severely affected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian players have been affected and lost connection, when the outcome of the match was still unclear.

The Appeals Committee has examined all the evidence provided by Chess.com, as well as information gathered from other sources about this internet outage. After being informed of their considerations and in absence of an unanimous decision, and taken into account these unprecedented circumstances, as FIDE President I made the decision to award Gold Medals to both teams.

(games to follow)

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 30, 2020

Final (continued)

Russia – India

Match 1, August 30
Russia – India
Vidit, Santosh – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Qd2 Qa5 9.Nf3 O-O 10.Rc1 Bg4 11.d5 b5 12.Bxc5 Rc8 13.Bb4 Qc7 14.Nd4 a5 15.Ba3 b4 16.Bb2 Qb6 17.Bb5 e5 18.dxe6 Bxe6 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.c4 Bxb2 21.Qxb2 Nc6 22.Qf6 Nd4 23.Bd7 Rf8 24.Qe5 Rxf2 25.Kxf2 Rf8+ 26.Ke3 Nf5+ 27.Kd3 Qe3+ 28.Kc2 Nd4+ 29.Kb1 Qd3+ 30.Ka1 Rf2 31.Bxe6+ Kf8 32.Qd6+ Kg7 33.Qe7+ Kh8 34.Qd8+ Kg7 35.Qe7+ Kh8 36.Qd8+ Kg7 37.Qe7+ 1/2-1/2

Match 1, August 30
Russia – India
Artemiev, Vladislav – Harikrishna, Pentala
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 c6 3.Bb2 Bf5 4.g3 e6 5.Bg2 h6 6.O-O Nf6 7.d3 Be7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.c4 Bh7 10.a3 a5 11.Qc2 Nbd7 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Nd7 14.Bc3 Bf6 15.b4 Ne5 16.cxd5 cxd5 17.Rac1 axb4 18.Bxb4 Re8 19.Qc7 Nc6 20.Qxb7 Nxb4 21.Qxb4 Be7 22.Qb5 Bxa3 23.Ra1 Bg6 24.Rfb1 Be7 25.Nf3 Bf6 26.Rxa8 Qxa8 27.h4 Bh5 28.e3 Rc8 29.Qb7 Qxb7 30.Rxb7 Rc1+ 31.Kh2 g5 32.hxg5 hxg5 33.Rb4 Bg6 34.d4 Kg7 35.Rb2 Be4 36.Ng1 Rc2 37.Rxc2 Bxc2 38.Bf3 Be7 39.Ne2 Bb4 40.Kg2 Bd2 41.g4 Kf8 42.Ng3 Ke7 43.Be2 f5 44.gxf5 exf5 45.Bf3 Ke6 46.Kg1 f4 47.exf4 gxf4 48.Ne2 Kd6 49.Kg2 Be4 50.Bxe4 dxe4 51.f3 Kd5 52.fxe4+ Kxe4 53.Nxf4 Bxf4 54.d5 Kxd5 1/2-1/2

Match 1, August 30
Russia – India
Koneru, Humpy – Lagno, Kateryna
D86 Grunfeld, Exchange, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O b6 11.dxc5 Qc7 12.Nd4 Ne5 13.Nb5 Qb8 14.Bd5 Ng4 15.g3 a6 16.Bxa8 Nxe3 17.fxe3 axb5 18.Bd5 Qc7 19.cxb6 Qxb6 20.Qe2 e6 21.Bb3 Bb7 22.Bc2 b4 23.Rab1 Bxc3 24.a3 Rd8 25.axb4 Rd2 26.Qf3 f5 27.Rf2 Rxc2 28.Rxc2 Bxe4 29.Qxe4 fxe4 30.Rxc3 Qb5 31.Rb2 h5 32.Kg2 h4 33.gxh4 Qf5 34.h3 Qf6 35.Rc8+ Kh7 36.Rf2 Qe5 37.b5 g5 38.h5 g4 39.hxg4 Qg7 40.Kh3 Qa7 41.Rc3 Qa1 42.Rc7+ Kh6 43.Kg2 Qd1 44.Rcf7 Qxg4+ 45.Kf1 Qd1+ 46.Kg2 Qg4+ 47.Kf1 Qd1+ 48.Kg2 Qg4+ 1/2-1/2

Match 1, August 30
Russia – India
Kosteniuk, Alexandra – Harika, Dronavalli
C07 French, Tarrasch, open variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.dxc5 Nf6 6.Ngf3 Qxc5 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.O-O Be7 9.Re1 O-O 10.Ne4 Qc7 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.Ng5 Bxg5 13.Bxg5 Nc5 14.Bf1 e5 15.Qd5 Ne6 16.Bh4 Qxc2 17.Qxe5 Bd7 18.Rac1 Qg6 19.Rc3 Rfe8 20.Qd6 Nf8 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.Qxg6 Nxg6 23.Bg5 Re1 24.Rc1 Rxc1 25.Bxc1 a6 26.f3 Kf8 27.Kf2 Ke7 28.b3 Bb5 29.Bxb5 axb5 30.Ke3 Ke6 31.Bb2 Ne7 32.Kd4 b6 33.a4 Nc6+ 34.Kd3 bxa4 35.bxa4 g6 36.Kc4 Kd6 37.Kb5 Kc7 38.Bf6 Na7+ 39.Ka6 Nc8 40.Kb5 Nd6+ 41.Kb4 Kc6 42.g4 h5 43.h3 Nb7 44.Kc4 Nc5 45.Kb4 Nd3+ 46.Kc4 Nc5 47.Kb4 Nd3+ 48.Kc4 Nc5 1/2-1/2

Match 1, August 30
Russia – India
Praggnanandhaa, R – Sarana, Alexey
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.Qd3 O-O 10.O-O Nbd7 11.a4 Nb6 12.Nd2 Rc8 13.a5 Nc4 14.Nxc4 Bxc4 15.Qd2 d5 16.Bxc4 dxc4 17.Qxd8 Rfxd8 18.Bg5 Rd4 19.Ra4 Kf8 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Rb4 Rd2 22.Rxb7 Rxc2 23.Rd1 Be7 24.Na4 Rd8 25.Rxd8+ Bxd8 26.Kf1 Bxa5 27.Ra7 Rc1+ 28.Ke2 Ra1 29.Nc5 c3 30.bxc3 Bxc3 31.Rxa6 Rb1 32.Ra8+ Ke7 33.Ra7+ Kf6 34.Nd7+ Kg5 35.Nf8 Rb2+ 36.Kd3 Bb4 37.Rxf7 Bxf8 38.Rf5+ Kh6 39.Rxf8 g6 40.Rf7 Kg5 41.Kc4 Rd2 42.Kc5 h5 43.g3 Kg4 44.h4 Rd4 45.Rf6 Kh3 46.Rxg6 Rxe4 47.Kd5 Re2 48.Rf6 e4 49.Kd4 Kg2 50.Rf4 Rxf2 51.Kxe4 Ra2 52.g4 hxg4 53.Rxg4+ Kh3 54.Rf4 Ra4+ 55.Kf5 Rxf4+ 56.Kxf4 Kxh4 1/2-1/2

Match 1, August 30
Russia – India
Shuvalova, Polina – Divya Deshmukh
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 a6 6.Ba4 b5 7.Bc2 c4 8.b3 Qc7 9.bxc4 bxc4 10.Na3 Nb6 11.Rb1 e5 12.O-O Be7 13.d4 cxd3 14.Bxd3 O-O 15.c4 Na4 16.Bd2 d5 17.Nc2 dxc4 18.Bxc4 Nc5 19.Nb4 Bb7 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Bd6 22.g3 Rab8 23.Kg2 Rxb1 24.Rxb1 Rb8 25.Rxb8+ Qxb8 26.Bxa6 Nxd5 27.Bc4 Nb6 28.Bb5 Qa8 29.Bc3 f6 30.Kg1 Kf8 31.Bb4 Nd5 32.Bxc5 Bxc5 33.Qc4 Be7 34.Bc6 Nb6 35.Qb5 Qd8 36.Kg2 Nc8 37.a4 Na7 38.Qb7 Nxc6 39.Qxc6 Bb4 40.Qc4 Ba5 41.Qc5+ Kf7 42.Nh4 Bb6 43.Qc4+ Kf8 44.Nf5 g6 45.Qb4+ Kf7 46.Nd6+ Ke6 47.Nc4 Qd5+ 48.Kg1 Qd1+ 49.Kg2 Qd5+ 50.Kg1 Qd1+ 51.Kg2 Qd5+ 1/2-1/2

Match 2, August 30
India – Russia
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Anand, Vishy
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 h6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.h3 a5 10.Re1 Be6 11.b3 Re8 12.Bb5 Bd7 13.Bb2 Ba7 14.Nf1 Nb8 15.Bxd7 Nbxd7 16.Ng3 d5 17.Qc2 c6 18.Rad1 Qc7 19.Nf5 Rad8 20.b4 Nf8 21.Bc1 Ne6 22.g3 b5 23.axb5 cxb5 24.bxa5 dxe4 25.dxe4 Rxd1 26.Rxd1 Bc5 27.Be3 Ra8 28.Ra1 Bxe3 29.Nxe3 Rxa5 30.Rxa5 Qxa5 31.Nd5 Qa4 32.Nxf6+ gxf6 33.Qd3 Ng5 34.Nxg5 hxg5 35.Kg2 Qb3 36.Qf3 Kg7 37.h4 gxh4 38.gxh4 b4 39.cxb4 Qxb4 40.Qg4+ Kh7 41.Qf5+ Kg7 42.Qg4+ Kh7 43.Qf5+ Kg7 44.Qg4+ 1/2-1/2

Match 2, August 30
India – Russia
Vidit, Santosh – Dubov, Daniil
E62 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Uhlmann variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5 h6 10.Qxd8 Rxd8 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nd5 Kg7 13.Nxc7 Rb8 14.Nd5 e4 15.Nd2 e3 16.fxe3 Bxb2 17.Rab1 Ba3 18.Nb3 Bf5 19.Rbd1 Rbc8 20.Nd4 Nxd4 21.exd4 Be6 22.Rd3 Bf8 23.Ne3 Bxc4 24.Nxc4 Rxc4 25.Bxb7 Rcxd4 26.Rfd1 Bc5 27.Rxd4 Rxd4 28.Rxd4 Bxd4+ 29.Kg2 1/2-1/2

Match 2, August 30
India – Russia
Goryachkina, Aleksandra – Koneru, Humpy
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Ba6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.O-O Bxd3 11.Qxd3 c5 12.e4 Qb7 13.d5 exd5 14.exd5 Nd7 15.d6 Bf6 16.Ng5 Bxg5 17.Bxg5 Ne5 18.Qg3 f6 19.Bf4 Rfe8 20.Rad1 Qd7 21.Bxe5 Rxe5 22.Qb3+ Kh8 23.Rd2 Rae8 24.h3 h6 25.Rfd1 R8e6 26.Qf3 Re8 27.b3 Kg8 28.a4 a6 29.Rd5 R5e6 30.Qd3 Ra8 31.a5 bxa5 32.Rxc5 Rd8 33.Rd5 a4 34.bxa4 Qxa4 35.d7 Re7 36.g3 a5 37.Rd6 Qa2 38.Qc3 Qf7 39.Qc7 Qf8 40.Qxa5 f5 41.Qd5+ Kh8 42.Qd4 Kh7 43.h4 f4 44.Qxf4 Qxf4 45.gxf4 Rf7 46.R6d4 Kg8 47.Kg2 Kf8 48.Kg3 Ke7 49.Re4+ Kf8 50.Red4 Ke7 51.Kg4 Rf6 52.Re4+ Kf7 53.Re5 Rg6+ 54.Kf3 Rb6 55.Rd3 Rb7 56.Red5 Ke7 57.Kg4 Rb6 58.h5 Kf7 59.Rf5+ Ke7 60.Re5+ Kf7 61.f5 Rb4+ 62.f4 Rb7 63.Red5 Rb1 64.Rd6 Rb5 65.R6d5 Rb6 66.Kf3 Rb7 67.Ke4 Rb4+ 68.R3d4 Rb6 69.Rd6 Rb5 70.R4d5 Rb4+ 71.Ke3 Rb3+ 72.Rd3 Rb5 73.R6d5 Rb6 74.Kf3 Rb1 75.Rd2 Rb3+ 76.Kg4 Rb6 77.Rd6 Rb5 78.R2d5 Rb1 79.f6 Rg1+ 80.Kf5 Rh1 81.fxg7 Rxh5+ 82.Kg4 Rh1 83.Rc6 Rg1+ 84.Kf5 Rxg7 85.Rxh6 Ke7 86.Re6+ Kf8 87.Rf6+ Kg8 88.Rg6 1-0

Final Position



Match 2, August 30
India – Russia
Harika, Dronavalli – Kosteniuk, Alexandra
A05 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.O-O d5 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 e5 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.c4 Be6 9.Qa4 Qd7 10.Nc3 Rc8 11.Bg5 d4 12.Rfd1 Bd6 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.e3 c5 15.Qxd7+ Kxd7 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.Bxd5 Rb8 18.b3 Ke7 19.Kg2 Rb6 20.Rd2 a5 21.Re1 Kf8 22.Rd3 Kg7 23.f4 a4 24.fxe5 fxe5 25.exd4 cxd4 26.c5 Bxc5 27.Rxe5 f6 28.Re2 Rd8 29.Bc4 a3 30.Kf3 Kg6 31.Re4 Rbd6 32.Rg4+ Kh6 33.Rh4+ Kg6 34.Rg4+ Kh6 35.Re4 Kg6 36.Rg4+ 1/2-1/2

Match 2, August 30
India – Russia
Esipenko, Andrey – Nihal Sarin
A33 English, symmetrical, Geller variation

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7.Ndb5 Ne5 8.Bg2 a6 9.Na4 Qa5+ 10.Nbc3 Nxc4 11.O-O d5 12.b3 Nd6 13.Qe1 Qd8 14.e4 Ndxe4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Bg5 Be7 17.Rd1 Nd5 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.Qxe4 Bd7 20.Rfe1 Bc6 21.Qg4 f5 22.Qe2 Rd8 23.Qxe6 Qxe6 24.Rxe6+ Kf7 25.Re5 1-0

Position when Black forfeited (after 25.Re5)



Match 2, August 30
India – Russia
Divya Deshmukh – Shuvalova, Polina
A07 Reti, Kings Indian Attack

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O b5 5.d3 Be7 6.Nbd2 Bb7 7.c3 O-O 8.Qc2 c5 9.Re1 Nc6 10.e4 Qc7 11.Nf1 Rfd8 12.e5 Nd7 13.Bf4 a5 14.h4 a4 15.a3 h6 16.Ne3 Nb6 17.Ng4 Bf8 18.Qd2 Kh7 19.d4 Nd7 20.Bf1 c4 21.Be2 Ne7 22.Bd1 Nf5 23.Bc2 Ra6 24.Kg2 Qc8 25.Rh1 Kg8 0-1

Position where White forfeited (after Black’s 25….Kg8)

[Dilip Panjwani]

FIDE Online Olympiad 2020

August 30, 2020

Finals

Online Olympiad: India and Russia win gold medals

Match 1: India - Russa 3:3

Vidit ½-½ Nepomniachtchi
Harikrishna ½-½ Artemiev
Koneru ½-½ Lagno
Harika ½-½ Kosteniuk
Praggnanandhaa ½-½ Sarana
Divya ½-½ Shuvalova

Russia drew the first match against India after saving a couple of very tough positions.

Match 2: Russia - India 4½:1½

Nepomniachtchi ½-½ Anand
Dubov ½-½ Vidit
Goryachkina 1-0 Koneru
Kosteniuk ½-½ Harika
Esipenko 1-0 Nihal
Shuvalova 1-0 Divya

In the second match, two Indian players Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh lost connection to their games and forfeited on time.

The Online Chess Olympiad has been impacted by a global internet outage, that severely affected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian players have been affected and lost connection, when the outcome of the match was still unclear.

The Appeals Committee has examined all the evidence provided by Chess.com, as well as information gathered from other sources about this internet outage. After being informed of their considerations and in absence of an unanimous decision, and taken into account these unprecedented circumstances, as FIDE President I made the decision to award Gold Medals to both teams.

(games to follow)

One way out of this problem for online chess may be that the player getting disconnected seals his move by say sending an SMS to a designated arbiter...

[Aris Marghetis]

One way out of this problem for online chess may be that the player getting disconnected seals his move by say sending an SMS to a designated arbiter...

Yes, perhaps that could work in some situations, but sometimes there's concurrent challenges, like a player being in actual time pressure where losing on time is plausible. Also, it's often not clearly evident when/where a disconnection has occurred, in fact sometimes time runs out and one of the players wasn't even aware that it had actually been their move. In my opinion, in conjunction with Fair Play measures, there's potentially a huge market for online chess super-software that combines screen-sharing, multiple video cameras, audio coverage, etc. At some points this morning, we were managing over 20 video and audio sources simultaneously per team. Multiple Arbiters & Chess.com people caught the disconnections, but within literally seconds, continuation chances died.

[Guan Eric]

strange that chess.com cannot dedicate a server for such important tournament