Istanbul Chess Olympiad Round 8: Indian Men Draw with Serbia, Women Beat Vietnam

Russia beat Ukraine in Round 8

The eighth round at the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul saw India draw with Serbia. The board results included GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707) losing to GM Ivanisevic, Ivan (2645), GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685) drawing with GM Perunovic, Milos (2614), GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664) drawing with GM Sedlak, Nikola (2549) and GM Gopal, Geetha Narayanan (2550) beat GM Popovic, Dusan (2579).

In the women's section, the Indian team beat Vietnam nicely with the board results being WGM Le Thao Nguyen, Pham (2393) drawing with GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503), WIM Thi Mai Hung, Nguyen (2212) beating IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay (2371), WIM Kieu Thien Kim, Le (2226) losing to IM Sachdev, Tania (2379) and WIM Bich Ngoc, Pham (2172) losing to WGM Gomes, Mary Ann (2396).

The Philippines beat England

Three more rounds are to be played. Indian men play Georgia and women take on Russia on Thursday.
Georgia (GEO)-India (IND)
9.1 GM Mchedlishvili, Mikheil 2659 - GM Sasikiran, Krishnan 2707
9.2 GM Gagunashvili, Merab 2578 - GM Harikrishna, Pentala 2685
9.3 GM Sanikidze, Tornike 2585 - GM Gupta, Abhijeet 2637
9.4 GM Pantsulaia, Levan 2575 - GM Gopal, Geetha Narayanan 2550
India (IND)-Russia (RUS)

2.1 GM Dronavalli, Harika 2503 - GM Kosintseva, Tatiana 2530

2.2 IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay 2371 - IM Gunina, Valentina 2507

2.3 IM Sachdev, Tania 2379 - GM Kosintseva, Nadezhda 2524

2.4 WGM Soumya, Swaminathan 2271 - GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2489

Rank after eight rounds in Open section @ Istanbul Chess Olympiad
Russia has a cool 15 points. China, Armenia, USA, Germany and the Philippines are right behind with 13 points each. Azerbaijan, Ukraine, the Netherlands, France, Israel, Argentina and Poland are in third place with 12 points each. In joint fourth place are (hold your breath) Hungary, India, Georgia, England, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Serbia, Belarus, FYROM, Vietnam, Italy, Slovenia, Denmark, Brazil and Austria! (in that order of tiebreaks.) That puts India in a current standing of 15th place.

Rank after eight rounds in Women's section @ Istanbul Chess Olympiad
Among the women, China is leading with 14 points. In joint second place are Russia, France, India and Uzbekistan. According to tiebreak points, India is right there in for a medal contention at fourth place! In joint third place are Ukraine, USA, Poland, Kazakhstan and Armenia.

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad Round 7: Russians on the Rampage; Indian Men Draw with Argentina; Women Beat Estonia

Parimarjan Negi

This is going to be surely the best India has ever done at the Chess Olympiads. In the seventh round, at the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, India held Argentina to a creditable draw. There were fighting games on all boards despite what the scoresheet reads.

Round 7 Results

Argentina-India

1 GM Peralta, Fernando (2606) ½-½ GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707)

2 GM Flores, Diego (2589) ½-½ GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685)
3 GM Felgaer, Ruben (2570) 1-0 GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664)
4 GM Mareco, Sandro (2589) 0-1 GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637)

In the women's section, India had a fantastic result.

Round 7 Results

Estonia-India

1 WIM Tsiganova, Monika (2164) 0-1 GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)

2 WIM Fomina, Tatjana (2189) 0-1 IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)

3 WCM Narva, Triin (2028) 0-1 WGM Gomes, Mary Ann (2396)

4 WFM Narva, Regina (2042) 1-0 WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271)

Meanwhile, the seventh round brought another win for Russia as they beat Azerbaijan with three draws and a win by Alexander Grischuk on the second board in the open section. Grischuk continued to fight and corner Eltaj Safarli eventually breaking the latter's defense.

 

Abhijeet Gupta

Top standings after Round 7

Russia has 13 match points. China and Ukraine have 12 points each. Armenia, USA, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Germany, Uzbekistan and Philippines have 11 points each.

Armenia had another tough match this time against China on table two. Sergei Movsesian, who yesterday saved his team in the clash with Russia, fell victim to Wang Yue's counterattack. With the other three games being drawn, China celebrated an important victory that leaves them on the shared second place, right behind Russia. (Photos: David Llada)

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad Round 6: Indian Men Draw with Israel; Women Beat Germany

 Star of Round 6: Vladimir Kramnik of Russia who beat Levon Aronian of Armenia with a nice sac. Photo: David Llada

The Indians teams are playing tenacious chess at the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul without giving an inch. In the sixth round, after the rest day, India drew with Israel and the Indian women beat Germany convincingly!

Round 6 Results
India-Israel1 GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707) ½-½ GM Gelfand, Boris (2738)
2 GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685) ½-½ GM Sutovsky, Emil (2687)
3 GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664) 1-0 GM Rodshtein, Maxim (2642)
4 GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637) 0-1 GM Avrukh, Boris (2605)

India-Germany
1 GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503) ½-½ WGM Paehtz, Elisabeth (2483)
2 IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay (2371) ½-½ WGM Melamed, Tetyana (2356)
3 IM Sachdev, Tania (2379) 1-0 WGM Ohme, Melanie (2337)
4 WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271) 1-0 WGM Michna, Marta (2380)


India's pairing for Round 7 on Tuesday are as follows:
Argentina-India
1. GM Peralta, Fernando (2606)-GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707)
2. GM Flores, Diego (2589)-GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685)
3. GM Felgaer, Ruben (2570)-GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664)
4. GM Mareco, Sandro (2589)-GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637)
 
Estonia-India
1. WIM Tsiganova, Monika (2164)-GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)
2. WIM Fomina, Tatjana (2189)-IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)
3. WCM Narva, Triin (2028)-WGM Gomes, Mary Ann (2396)
4. WFM Narva, Regina (2042)-WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271)

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad Round 5: India Draw with England; Women Lose to China

Levon Aronian before the start of his game that would see Vassily Ivanchuk demolished in Round 5 at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad. Photo: Arman Karakhanyan

Round 5 at thee Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 saw India draw with England even as Parimarjan Negi let his former teacher, none other than GM Nigel Short, escape! All the other games were drawn as well. In the women's section, India lost to China with losses on all the lower three boards. However, Dronavalli Harika did a fantastic job in drawing with Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan of China. 

Round 5 Open Section
India-England
1 GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707) ½-½ GM Adams, Michael (2722)
2 GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685) ½-½ GM Jones, Gawain (2653)
3 GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664) ½-½ GM Short, Nigel (2698)
4 GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637) ½-½ GM Pert, Nicholas (2555)

Round 5 Women's Section

China-India

1 GM Hou, Yifan (2599) ½-½ GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)

2 GM Zhao, Xue (2549) 1-0 IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay (2371)

3 WGM Ju, Wenjun (2528) 1-0 IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)

4 WGM Huang, Qian (2449) 1-0 WGM Gomes, Mary Ann (2396)

Meanwhile, on the first match table, two-time Chess Olympiad Champion Armenia beat defending champions Ukraine. World #2 Levon Aronian beat Vassily Ivanchuk with a nice exchange-up and follow-up tactics which were enough to win the match for Armenia as the other games were drawn 2,5-1,5. 

Russia comfortably beat Hungary on the second board on the basis of Alexander Grischuk's attacking win over Zoltan Almasi with a score of 2,5-1,5. Meanwhile, the Azeri and Chinese teams beat Canada and Iran 3,5-0,5 even as France lost to Croatia 2,5-1,5. USA drew with the Czech Republic. Sunday was a rest day and all the live action resumed on Monday with live games via the official website at 5.30 pm India time. (Left Photo: David Llada)

Monday's match-up for India are as follows:

India-Israel

1. GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707) - GM Gelfand, Boris (2738)

2. GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685) - GM Sutovsky, Emil (2687)

3. GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664) - GM Rodshtein, Maxim (2642)

4. GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637) - GM Avrukh, Boris (2605)

India-Germany

1. GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)-WGM Paehtz, Elisabeth (2483)

2. IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay (2371)-WGM Melamed, Tetyana (2356)

3. IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)-WGM Ohme, Melanie (2337)

4. WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271)-WGM Michna, Marta (2380)

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R4: Indian men Draw with USA; Women Draw with Serbia

Yes, she's a chess player in Istanbul...
(Photo: Arman Karakhanyan)

The Indian team had an excellent draw on the top board against the USA in the fourth round of the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 considering that they were rated below the American team. It is another matter that Indian could have won on the first board as well and created an upset!

Round 4 on 2012/08/31
United States Of America - India 2 : 2
1.1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 2778 - GM Sasikiran, Krishnan 2707 1 - 0
1.2 GM Kamsky, Gata 2746 - GM Harikrishna, Pentala 2685 0 - 1
1.3 GM Onishuk, Alexander 2666 - GM Negi, Parimarjan 2664 ½ - ½
1.4 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2617 - GM Gupta, Abhijeet 2637 ½ - ½

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R3 - Both Indian Teams Continue Winning Spree

GM P Harikrishana
flying the Indian flag high

Indian teams at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 continued with a steady performance winning the third round in both the open and women's section. GMs P Harikrihsna and Abhijeet Gupta beat former world chess championship candidate Alexander Beliavsky and Malej Sebenik for a 3-1 victory. The other two games were draw. Tania Sachdev scored an important win for India over Lilit Galojan even as other three boards were draw. Both the teams play the fourth round on the top board. Eight more rounds have to be played and the tough part begins now.

Indian pairings for Round 4 are as follows:

United States Of America - India 
1.1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 2778 - GM Sasikiran, Krishnan 2707
1.2 GM Kamsky, Gata 2746 - GM Harikrishna, Pentala 2685
1.3 GM Onishuk, Alexander 2666 - GM Negi, Parimarjan 2664
1.4 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2617 - GM Gupta, Abhijeet 2637

India - Serbia 
1.1 GM Dronavalli, Harika 2503 - IM Bojkovic, Natasa 2392
1.2 IM Karavade, Eesha S 2371 - WGM Manakova, Maria 2304
1.3 IM Sachdev, Tania 2379 - WIM Rakic, Marija 2300
1.4 WGM Gomes, Mary Ann 2396 - WGM Benderac, Ana 2266

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R2: India Men Beat Turkey 3-1; Indian Women Beat Australia 3.5-0.5

Indian star leader
GM Krishnan Sasikiran

Indian chess teams chalked up their second straight wins in the second round at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad on Wednesday in both the open and women's sections. 

On Board 13, India beat Turkey 3-1. GM Krishnan Sasikiran beat IM Burak Firat and GM Abhijeet Gupta beat CM Vahap Sanal. GM Parimarjan Negi picked up a draw against FM Ali Marandi and GM Gopal, Geetha Narayanan drew with CM Dastan Muhammed Batuhan. 

None other than one of
Asia's greatest women
chess players -
WIM Rani Hamid
playing for Bangladesh

On Board 6, in the women's section, India beat Australia 3.5 to 0.5. IM Eesha Sanjay Karawade, IM Tania Sachdev and WGM Mary Ann Gomes picked up wins over WIM Arianne Caoili, Sally Yu and Giang Nguyen. WGM Soumya Swaminathan drew with WIM Bijana Novakovic-Dekic. 

Meanwhile, on the top boards, Ukraine, the defending champion defeated Qatar with a 3-1 score despite the loss by first board GM Vassily Ivanchuk to GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki. Ivanchuk was slightly better with black but he carelessly allowed the enemy queen to sneak into the back rank. Ivanchuk immediately resigned, declining attempts to seek compensation for the piece. The United States beat Lithuania 3.5-0.5 after Hikaru Nakamura finally broke down the stubborn resistance of Grecian GM Vidmantas Malisauskas in a marathon 107-moves long game. Azerbaijan had no difficulty dispatching their Irish opponents, however the young talent FM Ryan Rhys Griffiths managed to steal the only draw for his team in the game against the seasoned Azeri GM Rauf Mamedov.

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R1: Indian Teams Begins with 4-0 Wins in Both Open, Women's Sections

 Opening ceremony dance at Istanbul Chess Olympiad

 

Indian men and women chess teams have begun the Istanbul Olympiad Chess Olympiad with 4-0 victory over Wales and FYROM, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. P Harikrishna, Parimarjan Negi, Abhijeet Gupta and G N Gopal beat Wales' Richard Joneslost, Tim Kett, Richard Dineley and Lolo Jones respectively. 

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad: First Round Today Watch Live from 5.30 PM

A record-breaking 158 countries will start off with the first round at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad in Turkey today at 15:00 local time (India time 5.30 pm). You can watch live at the official website. The live video feed is at this link. The drawing of colours took place during the opening ceremony at the WOW Convention center in Istanbul. The ceremony began with the national anthem of Turkey, followed by a tribute to chess players in history, traditional dances and programmes. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the Minister of Youth and Sports Suat Kilic, and the Turkish Chess Federation President Ali Nihat Yazici greeted the participants. 

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Indian Chess Teams Set for FIDE Chess Olympiad 2012 in Istanbul Aug 27-Sept 10

The 40th FIDE World Chess Olympiad will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, 27 August - 10 September. A record-breaking 162 nations have registered for the competition with more than 1700 players and captains. The arrival of delegations is underway and the opening ceremony will take place August 27th at 21:30 local time (20:30 CET) in the WOW Convention Center. The ceremony will be broadcasted live in 4 languages simultaneously. The first round begins August 28th at 15:00.

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Leiden Chess: Negi Wins Second Place With Cool Games

The reigning Asian chess champion and former national chess champion, India's Parimarjan Negi, has come second at the Leiden Open Chess in The Netherlands. Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi beat Benjamin Bok of the Netherlands in the ninth round to finish sole second. Negi had lost to British GM David Howell in the previous round, but he bounced back to get back into the top slots. Negi finished the event with seven points. Negi's last-round game is a must-watch for all fans of the young Grandmaster for it's neat Queen manoeuvre at our Chess King page.
 
Howell (7.5) won the title with a last-round draw with Predrag Nikolic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Indian Grandmasters S Arun Prasad and M R Lalith Babu finished in a six-way tie for the third place. Bartosz Socko of Poland, Evgeny Vorobiov of Russia, Csaba Horvath of Hungary and Nikolic were the other four players who scored 6.5 points. In the tiebreaker, Arun Prasad finished sixth while Babu was declared eighth. The other Indian GM S Kidambi finished 17th with 5.5 points.

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