Armenia takes possession of 1st at Chess Olympiad

By ROBERT HUNTINGTON – 3 hours ago

DRESDEN, Germany (AP) — The Russian team — touted as the strongest ever assembled for a Chess Olympiad — was derailed in Thursday open division play in round seven of the tournament by the defending gold medal Armenian team 2.5-1.5, which took sole possession of first place.

In the only decisive game of the match, Gabriel Sargissian defeated Alexander Grischuk on board three.

The other three games were all draws, with Armenian Levon Aronian versus Vladimir Kramnik on board one, Vladimir Akopian versus Peter Svidler on board two, and Tigran L. Petrosian versus Dmitry Jakovenko on board four.

The win gave Armenia 6.5 match points out of seven. France, Germany and Israel are tied for second with 6 points. Russia remains at 5.5 points.

The 38th Chess Olympiad, a biennial event that started Nov. 13, includes 146 teams in the open division — often referred to as the men’s division although it includes a few women. The separate women’s division includes 111 teams.

It was a good day for both United States teams.

In the open section, the American men defeated a strong Hungarian team 2.5-1.5 to move up to 5.5 points. China, Vietnam and Ukraine also have 5.5 points.

On board one for the American open team, Gata Kamsky got into some hot water against Peter Leko but was able to escape with a draw.

Zoltan Almasi, playing board two for Hungary, pressed Hikaru Nakamura for 84 moves, much of it with an extra pawn, before conceding the draw.

The American’s only win came from Alexander Onischuk on board three, converting an extra pawn in a rook-and-pawn endgame against Csaba Balogh. American Yuri Shulman and Ferenc Berkes drew on board four.

In the women’s section, the U.S. held China to a 2-2 tie. China had won all six of its earlier matches.

This result leaves China in first place with 6.5 points. Ukraine is in second place with six points. Hungary, India, Russia, Serbia and the United States all have 5.5 points.

On board one for the Chinese women, 14 year-old Hou Yifan, who earlier this year become the youngest woman ever to become a grandmaster, defeated Irina Krush when Krush frittered away a promising position. The veteran of the Chinese team, Zhao Xue, 23, drew Anna Zatonskih on board two.

Nineteen-year-old Shen Yang of China drew Rusudan Goletiani on board three. The American win came from Katerina Rohonyan on board four against 17 year-old Tan Zhongyi and was the first game the Chinese women have lost in this year’s event.

In other results in the open section: Germany beat Romania 2.5-1.5; England and Azerbaijan tied 2-2; France defeated India 2.5-1.5; Bulgaria crushed Australia 4-0; New Zealand overcame Bosnia-Herzegovina 2.5-1.5; and Canada annihilated Macau 4-0.

On the women’s side: Russia and Poland tied 2-2; Ecuador beat England 2.5-1.5; Slovenia demolished Canada 3.5-0.5; and Venezuela steamrolled Australia 4-0.

In other news, representatives for Kamsky and Bulgarian Veselin Topalov confirmed that the two players have signed a contract to play match for the right to play a title match against world champion Viswanathan Anand of India. The match will take place in Sofia in February.

Round eight takes place on Friday where leading Armenia will take on seventh-seed France in the open division.

In both events, the United States faces top seed Russia.
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