27 September 2010

Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiads After 6 Rounds

Hello everyone!

Just thought you’d like to know that today, the main (Women’s) match was Russia 1 vs the Ukraine. Russia won, with wins by A. Kosteniuk and A. Galiamova and draw by N. Kosintseva, only 1 loss of T. Kosintseva (see full results). Again, what’s important is team spirit and a win for the team. Up to now, Russia 1 team is the only one with only team wins. But the next days will be tough. Tomorrow Russia plays Hungary (see 7th round pairings). Hungary had a great day today, they beat the strong team of Poland 4-0!

For reference, here’s the Press Release of the Organizers (see it here):

The Russian women team become the sole leader of the Olympiad. Round 6 Report

PRESS-RELEASE №6



September 27, 2010 г. Khanty-Mansiysk


The 6th round of the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk produced a sole leader in the women competition: Russia-1 defeated Ukraine, the winners of the Olympiad-2006, and moved to the clear first place. The Russians won all the six games and collected 12 team points.
The match was very tense; the Russians were trailing at some point, as Tatiana Kosintseva quickly lost to Kateryna Lahno. However, Russia managed to turn the tables and celebrate a win with victories of Alexandra Kosteniuk and Alisa Galliamova over Anna Ushenina and Maria Muzychuk respectively.


Hungary moved to the second place after beating Poland with the perfect score 4-0. Four teams are sharing the third place with 10 points – Georgia, Ukraine, China, and India.
 Georgia defeated USA with a minimal margin. China defeated Russia-3 – 3-1. India drew with Italy, Bulgaria drew with Serbia, and Armenia drew with Russia-2.
Three teams are in the lead in the open tournament – Georgia, Armenia, and Ukraine all have 10 points. Six teams are one point behind – Russia-1, Russia-2, Poland, USA, Azerbaijan, and Hungary.


The key match of the round was played between Armenia and Georgia and ended in a draw. Arman Pashikian, Armenia’s best player at the Olympiad, won another game, and now has 5 points after 6 games. The Georgian Levan Pantsulaya equalized the score.
Ukraine swept off Hungary 3-1. Vassily Ivanchuk and Pavel Eljanov defeated Peter Leko and Judit Polgar.


Russia-1 outplayed Czech Republic in a tense match: Karjakin won against Hracek, and other games were drawn. Russia-2 won against the Netherlands – Ian Nepomniachtchi and Artyom Timofeev outplayed Luke van Wely and Daniel Stellwagen.
In other matches Azerbaijan defeated India 3-1, USA won against Vietnam 2,5-1,5, Poland def. Estonia 3-1, Russia-3 drew with Greece 2-2.
Note the second defeat of the world number one Magnus Carlsen, who lost as Black to Michael Adams.


On Tuesday, September 28, the key matches of the open section are Ukraine – Georgia, Armenia – Azerbaijan, Russia-2 – Russia-1, USA – Poland.
The key matches of the women section are Russia-1 – Hungary, China – Georgia, Ukraine – India, Russia-2 – Romania, USA – Armenia.


Press Office
, 39th World Chess Olympiad

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s