ARMENIA AND UKRAINE ARE THE BEST
Hindu, India
June 29 2006
The chess Olympiad, the biggest congregation of talent in the game
with well over 1000 players from around 150 nations, provides the
platform for the super powers to test their strengths once every two
years, writes Rakesh Rao.
There is surely a change of guard in world chess. Russia may continue
to have the services of the most trusted masters of the game, but
when it comes to performing as a team, some of the other nations are
proving better. The Chess Olympiad, the biggest congregation of talent
in the game with well over 1000 players from around 150 nations,
provides the platform for the super powers to test their strengths
once every two years.
If in 2004, Ukraine snatched the gold from Russia, this time the
performances of the eventual champion Armenia, China and USA knocked
the top-seed out of the medal bracket in the men’s section. In fact,
Russia slipped to the sixth spot behind the fourth-placed Israel and
Hungary. Even in the women’s section, Russia and defending champion
China had to make way for Ukraine at the top of the podium.
The only bright spot for Russia was the performance of Vladimir
Kramnik, who returned to competitive chess after over six months and
walked away with the best performer’s trophy among the male players.
Not that chess in Russia is on the wane, but it is clear that some
of the other leading countries are quietly growing confident of their
own abilities.
However, the second-seeded Indian men did not inspire much confidence
with their spiritless and somewhat spineless campaign. After a
path-breaking performance in 2004, when the team finish sixth, the
Indian men fared poorly to take the 30th place.
Seeded to win a medal for the first time, this was India’s most
disappointing performance in the Olympiad considering that much was
expected of the country’s strongest ever combination.
The ladies, too, could not improve upon their ninth-place finish
in 2004 and occupied the 12th spot. Considering the composition of
the team, not as strong as it was last time, it was a reasonably
good result.
China proves a super power
Today, India is considered a super power of chess in Asia but at the
Olympiad in Turin, it was China, which took that honour by winning
medals in both sections. The Chinese men finished second best to
Armenia, collecting their first ever medal in the Open section.
Wang Yue, on the third and fourth boards, scored 10 points from 12
games, to help his team make the medals bracket. On the top board
Bu Xiangzhi, who came close to beating Anand in the fifth round,
was unbeaten with eight points while Ni Hua, the first reserve,
scored 5.5 points from nine undefeated games.
Aronian shows the way
The talking point of the event was the worthy performances of the
Armenian men. Led by World Cup winner Levon Aronian on the top board,
Armenia was the only unbeaten team in the competition and looked like
a champion side even before it formally won the trophy. Aronian may
have scored only seven points from 11 rounds but he was a source of
confidence on the top board for his teammates. Vladimir Akopian,
unbeaten on the second board with nine points from 12 rounds, was
another key performer. But the man who made the difference was Gabriel
Sargissian, the first reserve who ended up playing all 13 rounds and
contributed 10 points to Armenia’s winning tally of 36 points.
Sargissian, too, was unbeaten and won seven of the first nine rounds
to keep his nation in front. When it comes to a team event like the
Olympiad, it is often said that medals are won and lost on the fourth
board. If last time Sergey Karjakin was the star turn for Ukraine on
the fourth board, it was Sargissian this time for Armenia.
On the other hand, a team like Russia had to sweat it out on the
fourth board with the experienced Evgeny Bareev struggling to cope
with the pressure and his lack of energy cost Russia a medal.
Kramnik’s consistency at the top did not prove good enough for Russia
to win a medal.
USA, headed by Gata Kamsky who finished a creditable second behind
Veselin Topalov in Sofia before rushing to Turin, enjoyed its best
moment in the history of the Olympiad. On its way to the bronze
medal, USA even defeated Russia 2.5-1.5 in the 11th round with Hikaru
Nakamura, the only non-Russian involved in the match, winning against
Alexander Grischuk on the third board. USA’s lone loss came against
Israel in the 12th round.
Maiden title for Ukraine
Like the Armenian men, the ladies from Ukraine remained undefeated
for their maiden triumph in the Olympiad.
Ukraine won the first 12 matches to emerge as the most successful
team in the 13-round contest. Ukraine agreed to draw the final round
against Armenia only after it became clear that a win was not required
for the gold. So dominating were the performances of Natalia Zhukova
(7.5/10), Katerina Lahno (8/10), Inna Yanovska-Gaponenko (7/9) and Anna
Usshenina (7/10). Significantly, Ukraine defeated Russia and China by
identical 2-1 margins to underline its rightful claim over the title.
Former champion Russia’s trio of Alexendra Konteniuk, Tatiana
Kosinsteva, Nadezhda Kosintseva played most of the matches, with
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya stepping in as a reserve. The top seed was held
by USA and China in successive rounds before France did the same in
the penultimate round. Overall, a consistent performance saw Russia
take the silver.
China may have failed to defend the title but took the bronze after
former World junior champion Zhao Xue and Hou Yifan emerged as the
first and third-best individual performers in the event.
China could have finished second if India had managed to take a game
off Russia on the final day. But China had reasons to be pleased
with its performance considering the fact that Wang Yu and Shen Yang,
on boards two and three, were woefully out of form.
Zhao Xue’s score of 10 points from 13 games and Hou Yifan’s tally of
11 points after playing all the games ensured China’s presence among
the medal winners.
FINAL STANDINGS
Men: 1. Armenia 36.0 points, 2. China 34.0, 3. USA 33.0, 4. Israel
33.0, 5. Hungary 32.5, 6. Russia 32.0, 7. France 32.0, 8. Ukraine 32.0,
9. Bulgaria 32.0, 10. Spain 32.0, 30. India 29.5.
Women: 1. Ukraine 29.5 points, 2. Russia 28.0, 3. China 27.5, 4. USA
24.5, 5. Hungary 24.5, 6. Georgia 24.5, 7. The Netherlands 24.5, 8.
Armenia 24.0, 9. Slovenia 24.0, 10. Czech Republic 24.0, 12. India
23.0.