2010 Chess Olympiad: Ukraine and Russia 1 draw in round 8

The 2010 Chess Olympiad takes place from September 21st to October 3rd in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. It is an 11-round Swiss System team event, in which each team has four players with one reserve. Time control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 30 seconds/move as of move one. Game start: rounds 1-10 at 9 AM UTC (5 AM New York / 2 AM Pacific daylight), and round 11 at 5 AM UTC (1 AM New York / 10 PM Pacific daylight) Rest day: September 26th (after round 5) and October 2nd (after round 10).

2010 Chess Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk

Round 8

The second half of the Olympiad, setup with a brilliant build up, has been very exciting with so many competitive teams trying to elbow their way on to the podium. The biggest match of the day, was obviously Ukraine versus Russia 1, with both teams pulling out all the guns. On top of Ukraine’s lead in the standings, a lot has been made (justifiably) of Ivanchuk’s magic start of 6/6, so much of the focus was on his game against Kramnik to see whether he could keep it up.

They played a Grunfeld which led to a series of exchanges after 20 moves, and a draw in 35. With this draw, one might think that he still sat by himself with 6.5/7 and a 3000+ performance, however, another young Russian had something to say about this. Karjakin had played brilliantly as well, and was on 5.5/6, facing Eljanov (2761) in this round.

Karjakin,Sergey (2747) - Eljanov,Pavel (2761) [B12]
39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (8), 29.09.2010
[Albert Silver]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nc3 Qxb2 8.Qb1 Qxb1+ 9.Rxb1 c4 10.Rxb7 Nc6 11.Nb5 Nd8 12.Rc7

12...Rb8?N Placing a question mark here, knowing the engines will certainly disagree with it for the longest time, is not done lightly. The first time any of the engines even suspect there is a problem, is *much* later. Naturally, efforts were made to find the correct alternative when they did cry blunder, but all failed. This led to the obvious conclusion that the mistake had to have occured a move earlier, and thus the investigation was renewed, except that once again, all attempts to hold fell flat. This form of retrograde analysis continued until... You guessed it: the original novelty. The main analysis is here, though naturally readers are invited to do their own investigative work and share any new findings they might come across.

Karjakin, the new top performer as of round eight with 6./7 and a 3040 performance.

13.Nd6+ Bxd6 14.exd6 14.exd6

14...Rb1+

14...Rb2 15.Rxa7 Bxc2 16.Bc1 Rb7 17.Ra8 Nh6 18.Kd2 Be4 (18...Bf5 19.Bd1 f6 20.Ba4+ Kf7 21.h3 Be4 22.Kc3 Nf5 23.Ba3) 19.Bd1! This move is not actually the main choice of any of the engines used, at least not in a reasonable time frame, but appears to be the strongest continuation. 19...f6 (19...0-0 20.d7 Rxd7 21.Ba3 f6 22.Bxf8 Kxf8) 20.Ba4+ Kf7 21.Kc3 Ng4 22.h3! Bxf3 (22...Nxf2 23.Ng5+! fxg5 24.Rf1 Kg6 25.Rxf2 Black is almost in zugzwang. The combination of bishop pair, pin on the 8th, and d6 pawn is overwhelming.) 23.hxg4 Bxg2 24.Rxh7 Rg8 (24...Rxh7 25.Rxd8 and black cannot stop the pawn without giving up material.) ;

14...Bxc2 15.Bc1 Rb6 16.Kd2 Bf5 17.Bd1! Ra6 18.a4 Nf6 19.Re7+ Kf8 20.Ba3 Ne4+ 21.Ke3 g5 22.Ne5 Kg7 23.d7 Rg8 24.h4! Black is hanging on a cliff. 15.Bd1 Bxc2 16.Kd2 Bxd1 17.Rxd1 Rb6 17...Rb2+ 18.Kc3 Rxa2 19.Rb1 Ra6 20.Bf4 Rb6 21.Rxb6 axb6 22.Bc1 is losing. 18.Bf4.

18...Nf6 Black is already out of good options at this point. The issues with the weak seventh and eighth ranks seem to have no solution, and even this natural move cannot hold.

18...Rb2+ only leads to misery after 19.Kc3 Rxa2 20.Rb1 Ra3+ 21.Kc2 Ra2+ 22.Kd1 and if 22...Rxf2 23.Rb8;

And after 18...Ra6 white has 19.a4! This paradoxical looking move has a simple double purpose. If black takes with 19...Rxa4 (If 19...Nf6 then 20.Re7+ Kf8 21.Rb1 Ne4+ 22.Kc2 Rb6 23.Rb5 threatening Rxa7 is winning.) then white can now play 20.Rb1 with deadly effect and black's rook can no longer try to cover the hole with Rb6. 20...Ra2+ 21.Ke1 Ra6 22.Rb8 Rb6 23.Ra8;

19.Re7+ Kf8 20.Rxa7 Ne4+ 20...Rb2+ also doesn't save after 21.Kc1! Rb7 (21...Rxf2 22.Ra8 Ke8 23.Bd2+- threatening Ba5. 23...Kd7 24.Ra7+ Ke8 25.Ne5) 22.Rxb7 Nxb7 23.Kc2 and the combination of racing a-pawn with the rook on the b-file are decisive. 23...Ne4 24.Rb1 Nbxd6 25.Bxd6+ Nxd6 26.Rb8+ Ne8 27.a4 Ke7 28.a5 Rf8 29.Ne5 f6 30.Rb7+ Kd8 31.Nc6+ Kc8 32.a6+- 21.Kc2 f6 21...Nxd6? 22.Rb1 Rc6 (22...Rxb1 23.Bxd6+) 23.Ne5 Rc8 24.Nd7+ Ke7 25.Nb6+ Kf6 26.Bxd6 22.h4 Nxf2 23.Rb1 Rxb1 24.Kxb1 Ne4 25.a4 Rg8 26.a5 Nc6 27.Ra6 Nb8 28.Ra7 Nc6 29.d7 Nd8 30.Kc2 Ke7 31.a6 e5 32.Bc1 Kd6 33.Ba3+ Kc6 34.Ra8 1-0 [Click to replay]

Hungary and Azerbaijan also faced each other but neither was able to break the deadlock and they drew 2-2. After yesterday’s loss to Azerbaijan, Armenia recovered with a win over Poland by 2.5-1.5, while the US drew China, after Nakamura's loss to Wang Hao was offset by Shulman’s victory over Li Chao. A slight surprise in the eighth round was France’s victory over Russia 2. France’s lineup is not to be trifled with, and while one may talk about the burgeoning youthful talent of Russia 2, the fact is that France’s team also has more than its fair its fair share with 19-year-old Sebastien Feller (2649), and of course 19-year-old Vachier-Lagrave (2721), not to mention 2010 French champion, Laurent Fressinet who just joined the 2700 club.

Magnus Carlsen (right) out to reestablish his authority, this time against Diego Flores

Magnus Carlsen has quietly led his team to victories over both Lithuania, in the previous round, and Argentina in this one, with a convincing 3-1 score.

Flores,Diego (2615) - Carlsen,Magnus (2826) [A37]
39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (8), 29.09.2010

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.0-0 Nh6 7.b3 0-0 8.Bb2 Rb8 9.e3 Nf5 10.d3 a6 11.Qe2 b5 12.Nd5 e6 13.Bxg7 Nxg7 14.Nc3 b4 15.Ne4 f5! 16.Ned2 e5!

In yesterday's report, it was mentioned that avoiding Elo loss in this Olympiad was not obvious, but in truth, if Magnus continues his revenge warpath, he may even gain a few by the end of the event. 17.a3 bxa3 18.Rxa3 Nb4 19.Rc1 Bb7 20.Ne1 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Rb6 22.Nc2 Qa8+ 23.f3? A mistake that further weakens the kingside. Kg1 was safer. 23...Nc6 24.Rf1 Qb7 25.Kg1 Ne6 26.f4 exf4 27.gxf4 Qg7 28.Raa1 Re8 29.Ra2 Qc3 30.Ne1 Nb4 31.Nb1 Qg7 32.Ra3 d5 33.cxd5 Nxd5 34.Ng2

34...Nd4! 35.Qf2 White loses a pawn. 35.Qb2? loses to 35...Nf3+ 36.Rxf3 Qxb2 and 35.Qa2 runs into 35...Nxe3 35...Nxb3 36.Qa2 Qb7 37.Qc2 Nxe3 38.Nxe3 Rxe3 39.Nc3 Nd4 40.Qa2+ Kg7 41.Qd5 Rxd3 42.Qe5+ Kh6 43.Qxc5 Rb2 0-1 [Click to replay]

As to the women, the competition is very hard fought... for the silver and bronze medals.  Russia 1 continued its steamroller impression with a 3.5-0.5 route over India, with wins by both Kosintseva sisters, and one by Galliamova. First board Tatiana Kosintseva (2573) was actually in serious danger in her game, but Indian IM Harika Dronavalli (2515) misstepped several times and ended up losing.

The ninth round will see Ukraine take on Azerbaijan in the men’s section, with Mamedyarov playing against Ivanchuk, while Russia 1 faces Armenia, and will see a classic meeting between Aronian and Kramnik on board one. France will also face Georgia, and the game between Jobava and Vachier-Lagrave should see sparks fly. Also noteworthy is the US against Bulgaria, who have finally brought back Georgiev, with Topalov facing Nakamura in another exciting matchup. In the women’s section, Russia 1 will play Serbia, who are tied for second, and Russia 2, also tied for second, will meet Georgia.

Men's team pairings for round 9
Women's team pairings for round 9

Photographs by FIDE, Austrian Chess Federation, and Russian Chess Federation.

Watching the games

It goes without saying that the options to watch the games live are wide and varied. You can watch them at no cost on Playchess, enjoying the software's new options to display multiple boards at the same time, and if you are a Premium member, live grandmaster commentary will be provided on Playchess for every round by GM Daniel King, author of the best-selling Power Play series, and GM Yasser Seirawan. If you miss the live games, you can always watch the commentary after the fact, or get an abridged tale via the Daily Roundup show also hosted on Playchess at 6 PM UTC (2 PM New York). Again, if you miss the show, it remains available on the server at your disposal.

Video reports

We received video reports by both Elmira Mirzoeva and Europe Echecs which we are sharing with their kind permission.

 
The eighth round report includes frank comments by Magnus Carlsen.

 
The round eight report includes comments on the teams and impressions by Sergey Karjakin.

Top men's results

Current men's standings (after eight rounds)

Top women's results

Current women's standings (after eight rounds)

Sponsors

Links Official tournament site Men's games in PGN (zipped) Women's games in PGN (zipped) The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!