The city of Nakchivan in Azerbaijan is playing host to a very strong international tournament with two Indians participating – GM B. Adhiban (2636) and GM Abhijeet Gupta (2603).
At the end of two rounds of play, five player lead the table with 2.0/2. GM Adhiban is having a tough time with only 0.5/2 meanwhile, GM Gupta stands at 1.5/2.
You may check the pairings for round 3 here:
http://chess-results.com/tnr168125.aspx?lan=11&art=2&rd=3&wi=821
With a massive lead of 3 match-points over its nearest competitor Ukraine, Team China clinched the Gold medal in a dominant fashion at the World Team Chess Championship 2015. The last round saw the Chinese GMs record a comfortable 3-1 victory over India, with GM Yu Yangyi and GM Wei Yi winning their respective games. The Ukrainians had to settle for the Silver while the Armenians took Bronze.
The surprise package of the tournament proved to be Team USA as they secured a creditable 5th place with a total of 10 match-points. A comprehensive 3-1 victory over Cuba in the last round saw the Americans finish far ahead of their starting rank of 9. India, however, could only manage 7 match-points and finished 9th in the final standings.
Round 9 Results:
|
Team |
Team | Res. | : |
Res. |
|
China |
India | 3 | : |
1 |
|
USA |
Cuba | 3 | : | 1 |
|
Hungary |
Ukraine | 2 | : | 2 |
|
Russia |
Israel | 2½ | : | 1½ |
|
Armenia |
Egypt | 2½ | : | 1½ |
The final rankings can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170346.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984
With a close victory over China in the final round, the Georgian women clinched Gold at the World Team Chess Championship 2015 with a comprehensive margin of 2 match-points over the second placed Russia. IM Meri Arabidze, again, scored a crucial victory for Georgia, this time over IM Shen Yang. Meanwhile, the Russian women came up with a fantastic 3.5-0.5 victory over U.S.A. to clinch the Silver while Team China secured the Bronze.
The Indian women, despite being out of contention for any medal, did not show any signs of complacency as they scored a resounding 3-1 victory over Armenia to finish fourth in the final rankings. Although GM Koneru Humpy (IND) suffered a shock defeat at the hands of IM Mkrtchian Lilit (ARM), the rest of the Indian women won their respective games and ensured a nice finishing victory for their team.
Round 9 Results:
|
Team |
Result |
Team |
|
Armenia |
1-3 |
India |
|
China |
1.5-2.5 |
Georgia |
|
Russia |
3.5-1.5 |
U.S.A. |
|
Egypt |
0.5-3.5 |
Ukraine |
|
Poland |
2-2 |
Kazakhstan |
Final Standings:
|
Rank |
Team | Match Points |
Board Points |
|
1 |
GEORGIA | 17 |
25 |
|
2 |
RUSSIA | 15 | 25 |
|
3 |
CHINA | 11 |
22 |
|
4 |
INDIA | 10 |
22 |
|
5 |
UKRAINE | 10 |
20 |
|
6 |
KAZAKHSTAN | 9 |
17½ |
|
7 |
ARMENIA | 7 |
16 |
|
8 |
POLAND | 6 |
15½ |
|
9 |
U.S.A. | 5 |
13 |
|
10 |
EGYPT | 0 |
4 |
Board Prizes:
Board 1:
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts | Games |
| 1 | Khotenashvili Bela | 2513 | GEORGIA | 83.3 | 7.5 | 9 |
| 2 | Gunina Valentina | 2532 | RUSSIA | 62.5 | 5.0 | 8 |
| 3 | Koneru Humpy | 2581 | INDIA | 61.1 | 5.5 | 9 |
Board 2:
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts | Games |
| 1 | Mkrtchian Lilit | 2442 | ARMENIA | 72.2 | 6.5 | 9 |
| 2 | Harika Dronavalli | 2492 | INDIA | 68.8 | 5.5 | 8 |
| 3 | Muzychuk Mariya | 2526 | UKRAINE | 68.8 | 5.5 | 8 |
Board 3:
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts. | Games |
| 1 | Arabidze Meri | 2374 | GEORGIA | 85.7 | 6.0 | 7 |
| 2 | Lei Tingjie | 2444 | CHINA | 72.2 | 6.5 | 9 |
| 3 | Goryachkina A. | 2473 | RUSSIA | 71.4 | 5.0 | 7 |
Board 4:
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts | Games |
| 1 | Girya Olga | 2464 | RUSSIA | 92.9 | 6.5 | 7 |
| 2 | Ding Yixin | 2434 | CHINA | 75.0 | 4.5 | 6 |
| 3 | Batsiashvili Nino | 2473 | GEORGIA | 64.3 | 4.5 | 7 |
The 8th round of the World Team Chess Championship 2015 turned out to be quite eventful with U.S.A. surprising overnight joint-leaders Ukraine 2.5-1.5, thanks to GM Lenderman’s crucial win over GM Ivanchuk. The other overnight leader – China – took full advantage of this unexpected result as a 3-1 victory over the Cubans propelled the Chinese into sole lead ahead of the final round.
Meanwhile, the Indians had a tough day as they went down to Armenia 1.5-2.5, with yesterday’s hero GM Vidit (IND) losing to GM Melkumyan (ARM) in the decisive encounter. With this loss, India’s Bronze hopes have vanished.
Going into the last round, only China and Ukraine have a chance at Gold, while as many as 5 (!) teams are in a race for the Bronze. The Final round starts at 11 am local time (i.e. 12:30 pm IST or 7 am GMT).
Round 8 Results:
|
Team |
Team | Res. | : |
Res. |
|
India |
Armenia | 1½ | : |
2½ |
|
Egypt |
Russia | ½ | : |
3½ |
|
Israel |
Hungary | 2 | : |
2 |
|
Ukraine |
USA | 1½ | : | 2½ |
|
Cuba |
China |
1 | : | 3 |
The full pairings and results can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170346.aspx?lan=1&art=2&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984
The World Women’s Team Championship 2015 continued to be a fairy-tale for the Georgian women as they beat Armenia 3-1 in the 8th round of this 9-round event. The Georgians still lead with a margin of 2 match-points over the second-placed Russians, who overcame arch-rivals Ukraine with a close 2.5-1.5 scoreline. GM Anna Muzychuk’s (UKR) victory against GM Gunina (RUS) went in vain with WGMs Pogonina and Girya Olga scoring two crucial points for the Russians and GM Kosteniuk (RUS) holding the newly crowned women’s world champion IM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) to a draw.
The Indian women, although out of contention for a medal, showcased immense determination as they routed 6th-seeds Poland 3.5-0.5. GM Koneru, WGM Soumya and WGM Mary Ann Gomes won their respective games while GM Harika held WGM Zawadzka with the black pieces.
With the 3rd-placed Chinese team taking on Georgia and the Russians facing a struggling American team in the final round, the fight for the top spot promises to be an exciting one as either Georgia or Russia have a chance at fame. The 9th round commences at 11:30 am Local Time and 10 am IST.
Round 8 Results:
|
Team |
Team | Res. | : |
Res. |
|
INDIA |
POLAND | 3½ | : |
½ |
|
KAZAKHSTAN |
EGYPT | 3½ | : |
½ |
|
UKRAINE |
RUSSIA | 1½ | : |
2½ |
|
U.S.A. |
CHINA | ½ | : |
3½ |
|
GEORGIA |
ARMENIA | 3 | : |
1 |
The full pairings and results can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170190.aspx?lan=1&art=2&wi=821
The seventh round of the World Team Chess Championship 2015 proved to be the most exciting round of the tournament so far, with as many as four matches resulting in 2.5-1.5 while the clash of the leaders – China vs Ukraine – finishing in a 2-2 draw.
In the match of the leaders, GM Ivanchuk (UKR) scored a win over GM Yu Yangyi (CHN) but GM Bu Xiangzhi (CHN) struck back with a victory over GM Eljanov (UKR). With the other two games ending in draws, the match was drawn 2-2.
The battle of the heavyweights – Russia vs Armenia – ended in a narrow victory for the 3rd-seeded Armenians, thanks to GM Sargissian’s crucial win against GM Sergey Karjakin. This loss has pushed the Russians to the 8th spot in the ranking crosstable.
Indians, meanwhile, overcame a strong challenge as they beat the in-form Cubans 2.5-1.5, courtesy of GM Vidit’s important victory over GM Ortiz Suarez. The Americans also achieved quite a similar feat with a narrow 2.5-1.5 win over Israel. On the other hand, Hungary finally reversed its fortunes with a rather close victory against the inspired Egyptian team.
After 7 rounds, Ukraine and China lead jointly with 11 points while 5 teams (!) are tied for the second spot with 7 points each.
The full pairings and results can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170346.aspx?lan=1&art=2&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984
Top seed and World Chess champion Magnus Carlsen won the Shamkir Chess 2015 (in memory of Vugar Gashimov) with 7 out of 9 points! The world champion defeated Rauf Mamedov in the last round.
India’s Vishy Anand held Fabiano Caruana to a draw and finished clear 2nd with 6/9 points. Anand had a very good tournament and was the only other player to remain undefeated! (apart from Carlsen)
Points after final round 9:
Carlsen 7
Anand 6
Wesley, Caruana 5
Mamedyarov, Kramnik 4
Adams, Mamedov, Giri, Vachier-Lagrave 3.5
The sixth round of the World Team Chess Championship 2015 saw the overnight leaders Ukraine and China maintain their lead as they narrowly overcame Cuba and Israel respectively. Both – Cuba and Israel – were pretty much on the heels of the two overnight leaders and as such, today’s victories by Ukraine and China over the former teams have pushed the leading duo further ahead of the pack.
Meanwhile, the Russians continued their upsurgence with a 2.5-1.5 victory over India. Super GM Sergey Karjakin scored the decisive win for Russia as he beat GM Sethuraman in a 56-move Ruy Lopez battle.
In other matches, Hungary and Armenia split points whereas U.S.A. registered it’s first win of the tournament with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Egypt.
The 7th round will feature the hugely crucial match-up Ukraine vs China while Armenia will take on Russia in the battle of the heavyweights.
Round 6 Results:
|
Team |
Team | Res. | : |
Res. |
|
India |
Russia | 1½ | : | 2½ |
|
Armenia |
Hungary | 2 | : |
2 |
|
Egypt |
USA | 1 | : |
3 |
|
Israel |
China | 1½ | : |
2½ |
|
Ukraine |
Cuba | 2½ | : |
1½ |
The full pairings and results can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170346.aspx?lan=1&art=2&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984
Overnight leaders Georgia continued their splendid show at the on-going World Women’s Team Chess Championship as they comfortably overcame the Americans 3-1 to maintain their spot at the top of the table. However, it was the 8th-seeded Kazakhstan’s ‘upset draw’ against China that hogged the limelight in the sixth round. The Kazakh women managed to hold their esteemed 3rd-seeded opponents on each of the four boards, thus making it a 2-2 draw.
The Indian women, meanwhile, registered their second consecutive match victory with an overwhelming 4-0 win over the Egyptians.
Round 6 Results:
|
Team |
Team | Res. | : |
Res. |
|
INDIA |
EGYPT | 4 | : |
0 |
|
POLAND |
RUSSIA | ½ | : |
3½ |
|
KAZAKHSTAN |
CHINA | 2 | : |
2 |
|
UKRAINE |
ARMENIA | 2½ | : |
1½ |
|
U.S.A. |
GEORGIA | 1 | : |
3 |
Rankings after Round 6:
1) Georgia: 11 points
2) Russia: 10 points
3) China: 8 points… (10 Teams)
The full pairings and results can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170190.aspx?lan=1&art=2&wi=821
Yet another dramatic day in Shamkir Chess saw 3 decisive games with Anand Kramnik Adams winning their respective games.
Anand played another great game and sacrificed an Exchange to beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) with the White pieces. Thanks to this win, Anand climbed to #2 spot in the world rankings and crossed the 2800 rating barrier again (2803 in live rating list)
Kramnik and Adams scored a morale boosting victory (after yesterday’s losses) over Vachier-Lagrave and Anish Giri respectively.
After round 7, Carlsen continues to lead with 6 points and Anand follows half a point behind. In the last round tomorrow, Carlsen has the advantage of White pieces against lowest seed Mamedov, while Anand faces Caruana with the Black pieces.
Points after round 7
Carlsen 6
Anand 5.5
So, Caruana 5…
Pairings round 8 (final)
| Mamedyarov | 2754 | – | Adams | 2746 |
| Caruana | 2802 | – | Anand | 2791 |
| Carlsen | 2863 | – | Mamedov | 2651 |
| Vachier-Lagrave | 2762 | – | So | 2788 |
| Giri | 2790 | – | Kramnik | 2783 |