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Scotland, a team very close in average rating to the Canadian squad. A close match could be expected, and sure enough that's what developed.
Bluvshtein-Rowson was an excellent example of what happens when you have a big centre and your opponent infiltrates behind enemy lines. Black found a nice way to apply pressure to the light squares (12...Ba6; 13...Nc6 with idea of ...Na5; 14...d5) and I think he is better already. 18.Bxe4? saved the c-pawn (unlike e.g. 18.0-0 (18.Bf3!?) Bxe2!? 19.Qxe2 Nxc3) however the light squares were even weaker than before and it wasn't long before Black had a mating attack down the long diagonal.
Aagaard-Charbonneau was another blowout by Black. White played yet another anti-Sicilian (they seem quite popular), but must have underestimated 12...Ne4! which at least equalized immediately thanks to the uncoordinated White army. Looks to me like 15.Nxe4 Nxe5 16.cxd4 Nd7 is better for White than the game, but Black looks like he is doing well. The d-pawn is about to be blockaded and White doesn't even have a sniff of initiative. When White played the totally inexplicable 17.a4 and 18.Nb1 (waaay too slow) he was really asking for trouble. Pascal grabbed the initiative, and with the very clever 19...e3! and 20...Be1! had some material to go with the attack. I think no one, human or computer, could ever hope to save this position against someone who attacks as well as Pascal does. By the final position Black has a pile of threats, not least of which is 26...Bf2+ 27.Kh1 Qxh2+ 28.Kxh2 Rh4#. My favourite game thus far by the National Team in this Olympiad.
Zugic-Shaw was a sharp struggle which (as often happens) headed rapidly to an endgame, one that was slightly worse for White. Igor made defending look easy as he didn't seem to be even in the slightest bit of trouble, and they split the point.
Arakhamia-Roussel was exciting, and considering how early the likely results of the other games were, decided the match. Typical lengthy Lopez manoeuvrings were suddenly ended with 15.d4 and 15...f5. Thomas's position looked quite respectable, with the sort of goofy pawn structure/active pieces that Sveshnikov players just love (the pawn structure strongly resembled that of a Bxf6 gxf6 Sveshnikov). First White sacrificed a pawn, then Black sacrificed the Exchange. The resulting position looked at least easier for White to play. I think Thomas erred in allowing the rooks to be exchanged. These R and 2Bs v 2Rs and N are thought to be quite unclear. Once the Rs come off, though, the chances of winning the Exchange back really go down. 29...Bc6 (instead of 29...Rc8) looks to be an improvement, although Rybka still thinks White is a bit better in any case. As it turned out, White skillfully exchanged down into a position where Thomas had only a pawn for the Exchange, and won easily since Black's defenses are just spread too thin to defend both the a- and h-pawns.
A tough round, and a bit of a disappointment for the team, I am sure. One thing that I know from my Olympiad experiences is that the first half is just used to figure out who is already in form and who may need to play a few games before they are also. ;-) No need to push the panic button, that's for sure.
Bluvshtein-Rowson was an excellent example of what happens when you have a big centre and your opponent infiltrates behind enemy lines. Black found a nice way to apply pressure to the light squares (12...Ba6; 13...Nc6 with idea of ...Na5; 14...d5) and I think he is better already. 18.Bxe4? saved the c-pawn (unlike e.g. 18.0-0 (18.Bf3!?) Bxe2!? 19.Qxe2 Nxc3) however the light squares were even weaker than before and it wasn't long before Black had a mating attack down the long diagonal.
Aagaard-Charbonneau was another blowout by Black. White played yet another anti-Sicilian (they seem quite popular), but must have underestimated 12...Ne4! which at least equalized immediately thanks to the uncoordinated White army. Looks to me like 15.Nxe4 Nxe5 16.cxd4 Nd7 is better for White than the game, but Black looks like he is doing well. The d-pawn is about to be blockaded and White doesn't even have a sniff of initiative. When White played the totally inexplicable 17.a4 and 18.Nb1 (waaay too slow) he was really asking for trouble. Pascal grabbed the initiative, and with the very clever 19...e3! and 20...Be1! had some material to go with the attack. I think no one, human or computer, could ever hope to save this position against someone who attacks as well as Pascal does. By the final position Black has a pile of threats, not least of which is 26...Bf2+ 27.Kh1 Qxh2+ 28.Kxh2 Rh4#. My favourite game thus far by the National Team in this Olympiad.
Zugic-Shaw was a sharp struggle which (as often happens) headed rapidly to an endgame, one that was slightly worse for White. Igor made defending look easy as he didn't seem to be even in the slightest bit of trouble, and they split the point.
Arakhamia-Roussel was exciting, and considering how early the likely results of the other games were, decided the match. Typical lengthy Lopez manoeuvrings were suddenly ended with 15.d4 and 15...f5. Thomas's position looked quite respectable, with the sort of goofy pawn structure/active pieces that Sveshnikov players just love (the pawn structure strongly resembled that of a Bxf6 gxf6 Sveshnikov). First White sacrificed a pawn, then Black sacrificed the Exchange. The resulting position looked at least easier for White to play. I think Thomas erred in allowing the rooks to be exchanged. These R and 2Bs v 2Rs and N are thought to be quite unclear. Once the Rs come off, though, the chances of winning the Exchange back really go down. 29...Bc6 (instead of 29...Rc8) looks to be an improvement, although Rybka still thinks White is a bit better in any case. As it turned out, White skillfully exchanged down into a position where Thomas had only a pawn for the Exchange, and won easily since Black's defenses are just spread too thin to defend both the a- and h-pawns.
A tough round, and a bit of a disappointment for the team, I am sure. One thing that I know from my Olympiad experiences is that the first half is just used to figure out who is already in form and who may need to play a few games before they are also. ;-) No need to push the panic button, that's for sure.