Top
Browse > Home / Reports / Olympiad R1: Armenia & Azerbaijan start convincingly

Olympiad R1: Armenia & Azerbaijan start convincingly

14 November 2008, 0.32 CET | Last modified: 19:37 | By Peter Doggers  | Filed under: Reports | Tags:

Campomanes makes the first moveThe defending champions had a most convincing start in Dresden: Armenia defeated Italy 4-0. Azerbaijan crushed the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with the same score; Switzerland almost held Russia to a tie: only Jenni lost to Morozevich. Round 1 of the Olympiad with games, results and photos.

The Chess Olympiad takes place 12-25 november in Dresden, Germany. ChessVibes provides daily coverage and will be reporting from the venue in Dresden during the last six rounds. But for now… let’s check out the first round!

On board one, FIDE Honorary President Florencio Campomanes started the first round of the 38th Olympiad by playing the move 1.e4 in the game Svidler-Kortchnoi. In a very interesting game, the 77-year-old drew his first game in Dresden – will he meet more 2700s? Let’s hope so. The match ended in three draws and one win: Morozevich, on board three, beat Jenni.

Fabiano Caruana tested Levon Aronian in an Anti-Moscow Gambit but the Armenian was clearly more comfortable in this opening and crushed the young Italian. His team members Akopian, Sargissian and Petrosian also won and so the title defenders had a most convincing start. The team from Azerbaijan, with Radjabov and Mamedyarov on the first two boards, also won their first match 4-0.

The very strong home team with Naiditsch, Khenkin, Gustafsson and Baramidze defeated Scotland 3?Ǭ?-?Ǭ?. Like their Russian colleagues, Ukraine could only win on one board and so they defeated Vietnam 1?Ǭ?-2?Ǭ?. With the same score China beat Philippines but the talented Wesley So won his game.

Norway beat Austria 3-1 with Magnus Carlsen beating Markus Ragger on board one. 2-2 was a fantastic result for Iran against the Hungarians with Polgar and Almasi on one and two. Germany’s second team managed to beat Bulgaria who started without Topalov. Australia, for the first time in ages without Ian Rogers on board one, lost ?Ǭ?-3?Ǭ? to the Czech Republic.

We’re secretly rooting for The Netherlands who went to Dresden with a young team led by KingLoek: first board Loek van Wely brought Stellwagen, Smeets, L’Ami and Werle. Watch out for them – especially in the last few rounds!

Few surprises also in the women’s section, where favourite Russia crushed Azerbaijan (with Mamedyarov’s sisters on the first two boards) 4-0 and Iran copied their men’s stunt by holding Germany to a 2-2 tie. Argentina’s 2-2 versus Ukraine and Greece-Mongolia, also 2-2, were also quite amazing.

Results for the first twenty matches in both sections:

38th Olympiad, Dresden | Results round 1 (Open section, top 20 matches)

Bo. 1 RUS Russia (RUS) Rtg - 36 SUI Switzerland (SUI) Rtg 2½:1½
1.1 GM Svidler Peter 2727 - GM Korchnoi Viktor 2584 ½ - ½
1.2 GM Grischuk Alexander 2719 - GM Pelletier Yannick 2557 ½ - ½
1.3 GM Morozevich Alexander 2787 - GM Jenni Florian 2543 1 - 0
1.4 GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2737 - GM Gallagher Joseph G 2480 ½ - ½
Bo. 11 GER Germany 1 (GER1) Rtg - 46 SCO Scotland (SCO) Rtg 3½: ½
2.1 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2678 - GM Rowson Jonathan 2596 1 - 0
2.2 GM Khenkin Igor 2647 - GM Shaw John 2469 1 - 0
2.3 GM Gustafsson Jan 2634 - IM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2448 1 - 0
2.4 GM Baramidze David 2557 - GM McNab Colin A 2455 ½ - ½
Bo. 37 VIE Vietnam (VIE) Rtg - 2 UKR Ukraine (UKR) Rtg 1½:2½
3.1 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2567 - GM Ivanchuk Vassily 2786 ½ - ½
3.2 GM Le Quang Liem 2583 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2730 ½ - ½
3.3 GM Dao Thien Hai 2510 - GM Eljanov Pavel 2720 ½ - ½
3.4 CM Nguyen Van Huy 2422 - GM Efimenko Zahar 2680 0 - 1
Bo. 3 CHN China (CHN) Rtg - 38 PHI Philippines (PHI) Rtg 2½:1½
4.1 GM Wang Yue 2736 - GM Villamayor Buenaventura 2468 1 - 0
4.2 GM Ni Hua 2710 - GM So Wesley 2610 0 - 1
4.3 GM Wang Hao 2696 - GM Gonzales Jayson 2469 1 - 0
4.4 GM Li Chao B 2622 - IM Gomez John Paul 2519 ½ - ½
Bo. 39 MKD Former Yug Rep of Macedonia (MKD) Rtg - 4 AZE Azerbaijan (AZE) Rtg 0 : 4
5.1 GM Georgiev Vladimir 2517 - GM Radjabov Teimour 2752 0 - 1
5.2 GM Nedev Trajko 2525 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2731 0 - 1
5.3 GM Stanojoski Zvonko 2502 - GM Huseynov Gadir 2650 0 - 1
5.4 IM Colovic Aleksandar 2458 - GM Mammadov Rauf 2631 0 - 1
Bo. 5 HUN Hungary (HUN) Rtg - 40 IRI Iran (IRI) Rtg 2 : 2
6.1 GM Polgar Judit 2711 - GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2599 ½ - ½
6.2 GM Almasi Zoltan 2663 - GM Moradiabadi Elshan 2499 ½ - ½
6.3 GM Balogh Csaba 2616 - GM Bagheri Amir 2490 ½ - ½
6.4 GM Berkes Ferenc 2645 - GM Mahjoob Morteza 2507 ½ - ½
Bo. 41 GER Germany 2 (GER2) Rtg - 6 BUL Bulgaria (BUL) Rtg 2½:1½
7.1 GM Meier Georg 2558 - GM Cheparinov Ivan 2696 1 - 0
7.2 IM Braun Arik 2567 - GM Georgiev Kiril 2645 1 - 0
7.3 GM Bindrich Falko 2517 - GM Delchev Aleksander 2632 ½ - ½
7.4 IM Bogner Sebastian 2448 - GM Iotov Valentin 2532 0 - 1
Bo. 7 FRA France (FRA) Rtg - 42 MNE Montenegro (MNE) Rtg 2 : 2
8.1 GM Bacrot Etienne 2705 - GM Djukic Nikola 2519 1 - 0
8.2 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2716 - GM Drasko Milan 2537 ½ - ½
8.3 GM Tkachiev Vladislav 2664 - GM Kosic Dragan 2511 ½ - ½
8.4 GM Maze Sebastien 2577 - GM Blagojevic Dragisa 2522 0 - 1
Bo. 43 LAT Latvia (LAT) Rtg - 8 ISR Israel (ISR) Rtg 2 : 2
9.1 GM Miezis Normunds 2557 - GM Roiz Michael 2677 ½ - ½
9.2 GM Sveshnikov Evgeny 2525 - GM Avrukh Boris 2657 1 - 0
9.3 GM Meijers Viesturs 2514 - GM Postny Evgeny 2674 ½ - ½
9.4 GM Lanka Zigurds 2491 - GM Rodshtein Maxim 2609 0 - 1
Bo. 9 ARM Armenia (ARM) Rtg - 44 ITA Italy (ITA) Rtg 4 : 0
10.1 GM Aronian Levon 2757 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2640 1 - 0
10.2 GM Akopian Vladimir 2679 - GM Godena Michele 2517 1 - 0
10.3 GM Sargissian Gabriel 2642 - IM Shytaj Luca 2472 1 - 0
10.4 GM Petrosian Tigran L 2629 - IM Brunello Sabino 2455 1 - 0
Bo. 45 ISL Iceland (ISL) Rtg - 10 USA United States of America (USA) Rtg 1½:2½
11.1 GM Stefansson Hannes 2575 - GM Kamsky Gata 2729 ½ - ½
11.2 GM Steingrimsson Hedinn 2540 - GM Onischuk Alexander 2644 0 - 1
11.3 GM Danielsen Henrik 2492 - GM Shulman Yuri 2616 1 - 0
11.4 IM Kristjansson Stefan 2474 - GM Akobian Varuzhan 2606 0 - 1
Bo. 47 GER Germany 3 (GER3) Rtg - 12 ESP Spain (ESP) Rtg ½ :3½
12.1 GM Buhmann Rainer 2541 - GM Shirov Alexei 2726 0 - 1
12.2 GM Prusikin Michael 2538 - GM Vallejo Pons Francisco 2664 0 - 1
12.3 GM Naumann Alexander 2518 - GM Illescas Cordoba Miguel 2604 ½ - ½
12.4   Heimann Andreas 2428 - GM Khamrakulov Ibragim S 2580 0 - 1
Bo. 13 IND India (IND) Rtg - 48 CAN Canada (CAN) Rtg 2½:1½
13.1 GM Harikrishna P 2659 - GM Bluvshtein Mark 2557 ½ - ½
13.2 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2603 - GM Charbonneau Pascal 2499 1 - 0
13.3 GM Geetha Narayanan Gopal 2548 - IM Zugic Igor 2457 ½ - ½
13.4 GM Sandipan Chanda 2579 - IM Noritsyn Nikolay 2372 ½ - ½
Bo. 49 EGY Egypt (EGY) Rtg - 14 ROU Romania (ROU) Rtg ½ :3½
14.1 GM Adly Ahmed 2586 - GM Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter 2684 ½ - ½
14.2 GM Amin Bassem 2560 - GM Istratescu Andrei 2633 0 - 1
14.3 IM Ezat Mohamed 2425 - GM Parligras Mircea 2611 0 - 1
14.4 IM Frhat Ali 2418 - GM Vajda Levente 2582 0 - 1
Bo. 15 ENG England (ENG) Rtg - 50 TUR Turkey (TUR) Rtg 2½:1½
15.1 GM Adams Michael 2734 - GM Gurevich Mikhail 2634 1 - 0
15.2 GM Howell David W L 2593 - IM Can Emre 2464 ½ - ½
15.3 GM Jones Gawain C B 2548 - IM Erdogdu Mert 2449 1 - 0
15.4 GM Conquest Stuart C 2526 - IM Haznedaroglu Kivanc 2436 0 - 1
Bo. 51 EST Estonia (EST) Rtg - 16 CUB Cuba (CUB) Rtg 1 : 3
16.1 GM Kulaots Kaido 2556 - GM Dominguez Perez Leinier 2719 ½ - ½
16.2 GM Kanep Meelis 2524 - GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro 2623 0 - 1
16.3 IM Liiva Riho 2460 - GM Quezada Perez Yuniesky 2580 ½ - ½
16.4 IM Sepp Olav 2440 - GM Hernandez Carmenates Holden 2580 0 - 1
Bo. 17 GEO Georgia (GEO) Rtg - 52 FIN Finland (FIN) Rtg 2½:1½
17.1 GM Izoria Zviad 2610 - IM Sammalvuo Tapani 2463 1 - 0
17.2 GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2615 - IM Agopov Mikael 2449 ½ - ½
17.3 GM Pantsulaia Levan 2580 - IM Lehtinen Heikki 2385 1 - 0
17.4 GM Arutinian David 2584 - IM Karttunen Mika 2411 0 - 1
Bo. 53 AUS Australia (AUS) Rtg - 18 CZE Czech Republic (CZE) Rtg ½ :3½
18.1 GM Zhao Zong-Yuan 2567 - GM Navara David 2633 ½ - ½
18.2 IM Smerdon David 2470 - GM Hracek Zbynek 2613 0 - 1
18.3 IM Solomon Stephen J 2470 - GM Laznicka Viktor 2591 0 - 1
18.4 IM Xie George Wendi 2403 - GM Babula Vlastimil 2608 0 - 1
Bo. 19 NOR Norway (NOR) Rtg - 54 AUT Austria (AUT) Rtg 3 : 1
19.1 GM Carlsen Magnus 2786 - GM Ragger Markus 2518 1 - 0
19.2 GM Agdestein Simen 2588 - GM Kindermann Stefan 2517 ½ - ½
19.3 GM Lie Kjetil A 2526 - IM Atlas Valery 2465 1 - 0
19.4 GM Johannessen Leif Erlend 2545 - IM Neubauer Martin 2422 ½ - ½
Bo. 55 BAN Bangladesh (BAN) Rtg - 20 NED Netherlands (NED) Rtg ½ :3½
20.1 GM Rahman Ziaur 2510 - GM Van Wely Loek 2618 ½ - ½
20.2 GM Hossain Enamul 2494 - GM Smeets Jan 2604 0 - 1
20.3 FM Abu Sufian Shakil 2418 - GM Stellwagen Daniel 2605 0 - 1
20.4 FM Minhazuddin Ahmed 2377 - GM L'Ami Erwin 2610 0 - 1


38th Olympiad, Dresden | Results round 1 (Women section, top 20 matches)

Bo. 1 RUS Russia (RUS) Rtg - 28 AZE Azerbaijan (AZE) Rtg 4 : 0
1.1 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2525 - WGM Mamedjarova Zeinab 2351 1 - 0
1.2 IM Kosintseva Tatiana 2513 - WGM Mamedjarova Turkan 2269 1 - 0
1.3 IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2468 -   Isgandarova Khayala 2206 1 - 0
1.4 IM Korbut Ekaterina 2459 -   Kazimova Narmin Nizami qizi 2171 1 - 0
Bo. 39 IRI Iran (IRI) Rtg - 12 GER Germany 1 (GER1) Rtg 2 : 2
2.1 WIM Pourkashiyan Atousa 2241 - IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2471 0 - 1
2.2 WGM Paridar Shadi 2248 - WGM Michna Marta 2399 1 - 0
2.3 WIM Ghader Pour Shayesteh 2149 - WFM Ohme Melanie 2237 0 - 1
2.4 WFM Salman Mahini Mona 2113 - WFM Hoolt Sarah 2274 1 - 0
Bo. 29 ARG Argentina (ARG) Rtg - 2 UKR Ukraine (UKR) Rtg 2 : 2
3.1 IM Lujan Carolina 2366 - GM Lahno Kateryna 2488 ½ - ½
3.2 WGM Amura Claudia 2344 - WGM Zhukova Natalia 2488 ½ - ½
3.3 WIM Zuriel Marisa 2189 - IM Ushenina Anna 2496 ½ - ½
3.4 WFM Plazaola Maria De Los Angeles 2126 - IM Gaponenko Inna 2473 ½ - ½
Bo. 3 CHN China (CHN) Rtg - 30 CRO Croatia (CRO) Rtg 3½: ½
4.1 WGM Hou Yifan 2578 - WGM Golubenko Valentina 2273 1 - 0
4.2 GM Zhao Xue 2518 - WGM Medic Mirjana 2281 1 - 0
4.3 WGM Shen Yang 2450 - WIM Franciskovic Borka 2275 1 - 0
4.4   Ju Wenjun 2397 - WIM Jelica Mara 2205 ½ - ½
Bo. 31 ENG England (ENG) Rtg - 4 GEO Georgia (GEO) Rtg 1½:2½
5.1 IM Houska Jovanka 2399 - IM Dzagnidze Nana 2503 ½ - ½
5.2 IM Ciuksyte Dagne 2339 - IM Javakhishvili Lela 2473 1 - 0
5.3 WIM Lauterbach Ingrid 2178 - IM Lomineishvili Maia 2437 0 - 1
5.4 WFM Grigoryan-Lyell Meri 2076 - IM Khukhashvili Sopiko 2409 0 - 1
Bo. 5 FRA France (FRA) Rtg - 32 MDA Moldova (MDA) Rtg 3 : 1
6.1 GM Sebag Marie 2533 - IM Petrenko Svetlana 2285 1 - 0
6.2 IM Collas Silvia 2352 - WGM Smokina Karolina 2235 ½ - ½
6.3 WGM Milliet Sophie 2366 - WGM Partac Elena 2168 1 - 0
6.4 WGM Leconte Maria 2349 - WIM Bulmaga Irina 2287 ½ - ½
Bo. 33 ITA Italy (ITA) Rtg - 6 ARM Armenia (ARM) Rtg ½ :3½
7.1 IM Sedina Elena 2365 - IM Danielian Elina 2513 ½ - ½
7.2 WGM Zimina Olga 2368 - IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2443 0 - 1
7.3 WFM Ambrosi Eleonora 2128 - WGM Aginian Nelly 2325 0 - 1
7.4 WFM Brunello Marina 2117 - WIM Galojan Lilit 2305 0 - 1
Bo. 7 USA United States of America (USA) Rtg - 34 MNE Montenegro (MNE) Rtg 3 : 1
8.1 IM Zatonskih Anna 2440 - WIM Vojinovic Jovana 2332 1 - 0
8.2 WGM Goletiani Rusudan 2359 - WIM Drljevic Ljilja 2259 1 - 0
8.3 WGM Rohonyan Katerina 2334 - WFM Stojanovic Marija R 2199 ½ - ½
8.4 WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2286 - WFM Mijovic Aleksandra 2176 ½ - ½
Bo. 35 KAZ Kazakhstan (KAZ) Rtg - 8 HUN Hungary (HUN) Rtg ½ :3½
9.1 WIM Dauletova Gulmira 2253 - GM Hoang Thanh Trang 2483 0 - 1
9.2 WGM Sergeeva Maria 2325 - IM Madl Ildiko 2376 0 - 1
9.3 WFM Nakhbayeva Guliskhan 2201 - WGM Rudolf Anna 2318 0 - 1
9.4 WFM Rysbayeva Aigerim 2180 - WIM Schneider Veronika 2315 ½ - ½
Bo. 9 POL Poland (POL) Rtg - 36 AUT Austria (AUT) Rtg 3 : 1
10.1 IM Socko Monika 2434 - WFM Kopinits Anna-Christina 2270 1 - 0
10.2 IM Rajlich Iweta 2404 - WFM Novkovic Julia 2161 0 - 1
10.3 WGM Zawadzka Jolanta 2378 - WIM Mira Helene 2115 1 - 0
10.4 WIM Majdan Joanna 2284 -   Newrkla Katharina 2071 1 - 0
Bo. 37 ECU Ecuador (ECU) Rtg - 10 SRB Serbia (SRB) Rtg 1½:2½
11.1 IM Fierro Baquero Martha L 2361 - IM Maric Alisa 2405 1 - 0
11.2 WIM Vasquez Ramirez Rocio 2284 - IM Bojkovic Natasa 2420 0 - 1
11.3 WIM Moncayo Romero Evelyn 2142 - WGM Stojanovic Andjelija 2357 ½ - ½
11.4   Heredia Serrano Carla 2105 - WGM Chelushkina Irina 2360 0 - 1
Bo. 11 IND India (IND) Rtg - 38 SUI Switzerland (SUI) Rtg 2½:1½
12.1 IM Harika Dronavalli 2462 - WIM Heinatz Gundula Dr. 2227 ½ - ½
12.2 IM Tania Sachdev 2425 - WIM Seps Monika 2203 ½ - ½
12.3 WGM Mohota Nisha 2311 - WGM Hund Barbara 2216 ½ - ½
12.4 WGM Swathi Ghate 2320 - WFM Gavrilova Anastasia 2078 1 - 0
Bo. 13 BUL Bulgaria (BUL) Rtg - 40 NOR Norway (NOR) Rtg 2½:1½
13.1 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2548 - WIM Hagesaether Ellen 2239 1 - 0
13.2 WGM Djingarova Emilia 2352 - WFM Bjerke Silje 2204 0 - 1
13.3 WGM Voiska Margarita 2318 - WFM Tjolsen Katrine 2110 1 - 0
13.4 WGM Velcheva Maria 2280 -   Jorgensen Line Jin 1946 ½ - ½
Bo. 41 LUX Luxembourg (LUX) Rtg - 14 SLO Slovenia (SLO) Rtg ½ :3½
14.1 WGM Berend Elvira 2328 - IM Muzychuk Anna 2508 ½ - ½
14.2 WGM Wagener Anna 2246 - WGM Krivec Jana 2345 0 - 1
14.3 WFM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2166 - WGM Srebrnic Ana 2290 0 - 1
14.4 WFM Bakalarz Grazyna 2001 - WIM Rozic Vesna 2293 0 - 1
Bo. 15 SVK Slovakia (SVK) Rtg - 42 TUR Turkey (TUR) Rtg 3 : 1
15.1 IM Hagarova Zuzana 2430 - WIM Topel Zehra 2214 ½ - ½
15.2 WGM Pokorna Regina 2376 - WIM Yildiz Betul Cemre 2219 1 - 0
15.3 WFM Machalova Maria 2187 - WFM Ozturk Kubra 2254 ½ - ½
15.4 WFM Gregorova Zuzana 2163 - WFM Bayrak Asli 2005 1 - 0
Bo. 43 UZB Uzbekistan (UZB) Rtg - 16 ROU Romania (ROU) Rtg 1 : 3
16.1   Muminova Nafisa 2240 - WGM Cosma Elena Luminita 2340 1 - 0
16.2 WIM Sabirova O 2185 - WGM Voicu Carmen 2239 0 - 1
16.3 WFM Gevorgyan Irina 2179 - WIM Paulet Iozefina 2307 0 - 1
16.4   Tokhirjanova Hulkar 2106 - WGM Motoc Alina 2313 0 - 1
Bo. 17 NED Netherlands (NED) Rtg - 44 COL Colombia (COL) Rtg 3 : 1
17.1 GM Peng Zhaoqin 2455 - WIM Ortiz Nadya Karolina 2230 1 - 0
17.2 FM Schuurman Petra 2324 - WIM Chirivi C Yenny Astrid 2175 1 - 0
17.3 WIM Bensdorp Marlies 2303 -   Mateus Martha 2138 1 - 0
17.4   Schut Lisa 2153 - WFM Herrera Milena 2070 0 - 1
Bo. 46 EST Estonia (EST) Rtg - 18 CZE Czech Republic (CZE) Rtg ½ :3½
18.1 WIM Tsiganova Monika 2208 - IM Jackova Jana 2360 0 - 1
18.2 WFM Gansvind Valeriya I 2212 - WGM Nemcova Katerina 2369 ½ - ½
18.3 WIM Bashkite Viktoria 2129 - WGM Kulovana Eva 2286 0 - 1
18.4 WIM Piarnpuu Leili 2145 - WGM Richtrova Eliska 2270 0 - 1
Bo. 19 GRE Greece (GRE) Rtg - 47 MGL Mongolia (MGL) Rtg 2 : 2
19.1 IM Dembo Yelena 2446 - WGM Munguntuul Batkhuyag 2410 0 - 1
19.2 WGM Botsari Anna-Maria 2308 - WIM Yanjindulam Dulamsuren 2286 0 - 1
19.3 WGM Makropoulou Marina 2265 -   Enxtuul Altanolzii 1977 1 - 0
19.4 WIM Fakhiridou Ekaterini 2248 -   Nyamtuya Onorjargal 1958 1 - 0
Bo. 48 GER Germany 2 (GER2) Rtg - 20 SWE Sweden (SWE) Rtg 2½:1½
20.1   Fuchs Judith 2238 - WIM Agrest Svetlana 2258 1 - 0
20.2   Schoene Maria 2198 - WIM Tetenkina Irina 2243 1 - 0
20.3 WFM Mader Manuela 2132 -   Agrest Inna 2215 ½ - ½
20.4   Endress Anna 2067 - WFM Pavlovskaia Evgenia 2197 0 - 1

At the moment of writing, Mark Crowther of The Week in Chess is still working very hard to create a PGN file of the first round (I know he is!). I’ve collected the games of the first twenty matches (men) for replay:

Susan Polgar is in charge of the English speaking media for the Olympiad; her husband Paul Truong is the official photographer. Here’s a first selection of much more available:

xxx

The opening ceremony on Wednesday night...

xxx

...was a spectacular show, with ice skating...

xxx

...rays of lazer lights...

xxx

...and of course the presentation of the nations...

xxx

...or, more accurately, federations.

xxx

Because of Ilyumzhinov's absensce due to a small car accident, Honorary President Florencio Campomanes opened the 38th Chess Olympiad...

xxx

...and the next day he also played the offical first move at the board of Peter Svidler and Viktor Kortchnoi, in the match Russia - Switzerland. Also in the picture are Alexander Grischuk (l.) and Yannick Pelletier playing on board two.

xxx

Surprise, surprise: Alexander Morozevich on board 3 (playing Florian Jenni) and Dmitry Jakovenko versus Joe Gallagher on board 4. The Swiss team have protested because of a last-minute board change by the Russians - wel'll try to keep you informed on this matter

xxx

The strong team from Azerbaijan, with Teimour Radjabov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Gadir Huseynov and Rauf Mammadov

xxx

Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) versus Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine), with Vassily Ivanchuk next to him

xxx

Judit Polgar playing board one for Hungary (Peter Leko is also in the team); Zoltan Almasi on her right

xxx

Jan Gustafsson, board three for the strong home team

xxx

Philippines lost to China but Wesley So managed to beat Ni Hua

xxx

Anna Ushenina (Ukraine)

xxx

Board one and two of Russia-Azerbaijan: Alexandra Kosteniuk - Zeinab Mamedyarova (1-0) and Tatiana Kosintseva - Turkan Mamedyarova (1-0)

xxx

India-Switzerland (2?Ǭ?-1?Ǭ?) with Harika Dronavalli vs. Dr. Heinatz Gundula on board one

xxx

The Dutch women team on the right, with the same mascotte (an orange lion) as two years ago in Turin

Links:


ShareThis Print Print

Comments

25 Responses to “Olympiad R1: Armenia & Azerbaijan start convincingly”

  1. Pedro on November 14th, 2008 10:23

    Espectacular el reportaje fotografico de la olimpiada. Debe ser una gozada el poder estar en directo en la sala de juego. Que envidia, san, para todos los aficionados.

  2. Michiel on November 14th, 2008 10:32

    Interesting picture. Korchnoi is not too happy with Campomes that close nearby!

  3. Popuscu (Bulgaria) on November 14th, 2008 13:49

    Pardon (wrong adress),

    Manager of GM Gata Kamsky

    Postal Address: Kovpaka str. 17, app. 131. Kiev, Ukraine, 03150.
    Private office: Phone: +380445694162; Fax: +380445694163.
    E-mail: multiinvest.holding@gmail.com
    International mobile phone: +37253687587; Mobile in Ukraine: +380504628674.
    Date: November 13, 2008.
    Re: Kamsky-Topalov match

    I was asked several times from several sides to give my point of view regarding the financing of the match Kamsky-Topalov from my side. It is especially topical after FIDE’s letters of November 06 and November 07 blaming me that I lied about availability of funds for the match Kamsky-Topalov in city Lviv in Ukraine.

    I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t want to blame anybody but I would like to explain why the announced amount of USD 935 thousand (including FIDE charges) was not transferred to the FIDE account. At first my sponsors and then I promised to do it, several times. I will explain now why it has not yet happened (the same situation will be with sponsors from the Bulgaria side). The money was and is available now.

    The main reason is that FIDE did not present the necessary contracts beforehand: for the match Kamsky-Topalov and for match Anand-Kramnik. We asked about it dozen times. The position of FIDE, money first, is not acceptable for us. We don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know what kind of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìtricks?¢‚Ǩ? can be contained in these contracts. As soon as the money will be on FIDE?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s account we could not change any issues, and FIDE will push on us to sign the proposed variant.

    I see only one way out: conditional transfer. As soon as the contracts will be looked through, and as soon as the contract will be acceptable for everybody (Topalov, Kamsky, FIDE) and will be signed, only after that the money will be lodged to FIDE account.

    I will be present at the FIDE Congress as the Manager of GM Gata Kamsky and as a sponsor also. I think we will find a solution to the main issue, and the match will definitely take place. I still hope that will happen in Ukraine (city Lviv). The time that is proposed by the Bulgarian Chess Federation is acceptable.

    In the mean time I wish good health to President FIDE Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov after yesterday?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s car incident. Also best regards to our counterpart: Mr. Danailov and Mr. Topalov.

    Sincerely,
    Oleksandr Chernenko

  4. Rini Luyks on November 14th, 2008 14:20

    Was Carlsen lost against Ragger after 38…h3! instead of 38…f3?
    And wasn’tit a draw after 56…Bxd5 instead of 56…Ba2?
    Good fight anyway!

  5. henk on November 14th, 2008 15:15

    What the ufck is Campomanes doing in all these recent pictures? That corrupt and incompetent man should be BANNED from all FIDE events, not welcomed like a long lost family member.

  6. Theo on November 14th, 2008 21:00

    @Michiel: Korchnoi is not a nice man. This picture shows a lot again too… He has no respect at all.

  7. Popuscu (Bulgaria) on November 14th, 2008 21:27

    @Theo and Miciel,

    This is video shows that Korchnoi is terrible when he loses :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9k5oBgaZGI

  8. vosuram on November 14th, 2008 21:32

    @: multiinvest.holding@gmail.com
    That’s something new for me, but… In a case if FIDE is requesting money before a contract it is not funny indeed. It means they are nor capable of organization of events of that scale, or they are looking for something hidden for us.

  9. James on November 14th, 2008 21:33

    http://au.youtube.com/watch?emb=0&aq=-1&v=M9k5oBgaZGI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com.au%2Fvideosearch%3Fq%3Dkorchnoi&oq= to see Korchnoi go ballistic…over a blitz game! LOL

  10. vosuram on November 14th, 2008 21:35

    @ multiinvest.holding@gmail.com
    BTW, why do you have such a spam-looking-like email address?

  11. James on November 14th, 2008 21:35

    Drat, Popuscu beat me to the punch, so I have to create a new post…

    Next time Korchnoi plays blitz, his opponent should have some n00b repellent. Teach the guy a lesson :)

  12. Coco Loco on November 14th, 2008 21:49

    @Theo
    Korchnoi is not a nice man, but Campones is? You must know both their biographies very well…

  13. Theo on November 15th, 2008 00:47

    Yes i knew about the Zsofi Polgar vs Korchnoi video. One of his worst ever performances!
    He’s not a nice man. ***blablabla – rest deleted**

  14. Manu on November 15th, 2008 02:46

    Anna Ushenina is getting more and more beautiful every time i see her.

  15. James on November 15th, 2008 06:17

    I’m glad you liked my joke :)

    Peter, fabulous report! It’s far more detailed and accurate than any of the other websites I have seen. The Germans should have hired you as their reporter :)

  16. Popuscu (Bulgaria) on November 15th, 2008 08:48

    to James,

    Nice Joke. I am OK.

  17. Peter Doggers on November 15th, 2008 11:43

    @ Popescu, theo

    Stop talking crap about one of the legends of chess. Mr Korchnoi is and has always been a fantastic fighter and his contributions to our game are enormous. We should respect him for that. The fact that he doesn’t like losing, and still can’t really handle it very well, is known, and doesn’t need to be repeated all the time. Certainly not here – please go and find some other forum to humilitate people.

  18. Peter Doggers on November 15th, 2008 11:44

    @ James
    Thanks, appreciate it!

  19. Peter Visser on November 15th, 2008 11:53

    Victor is terrible sometimes. I like him.

  20. Popuscu (Bulgaria) on November 15th, 2008 12:23

    To Peter Visser,
    I followed Konchnoi game against Svidler at the Olymiad.
    He plays an agressive line in the french defence, and defended perfectly an inferior endgame. His game was very instructive – for me at least -.

    No boddy humilates Korchnoi, we have just said that he is verry expressive when he loses.

    I am sorry if my behaviour annoys Korchnoi’s funs.

    Minor Remark. The deadline for the signature of the contracats of the match by Topalov and Kamsky is the 14th November 2008 (If I well remember), otherwise -according to FIDE- Shirov will be the chalenger of Anand in 2009. Any new about this ??? Neither the bulgarian chess federation nor FIDE web site tells somthing about this.

  21. Xtra on November 15th, 2008 12:41

    I wanna see some interviews :)

  22. Frans on November 15th, 2008 14:29

    Korchnoi is just what they call “a grumpy old man”.

  23. semipatz on November 15th, 2008 21:25

    “Anna Ushenina is getting more and more beautiful every time i see her.”

    Well, given your avatar, Manu, are you planning to tie her to the railroad track? :)

  24. Phil Bourke on November 15th, 2008 23:59

    Korchnoi ranks among the all time greats. In 50+ years of chess at the elite level. If one considers how hard he had to fight to even play at this level, then I am sure we can forgive him a few incidents where he hasn’t been the ‘perfect’ player that many seem to demand.

  25. Manu on November 16th, 2008 03:56

    Im afraid i would end with my mustache tied to the railroad track.

Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!





Bottom