45th Chess Olympiad Begins in Budapest, Both Teams Improve to 3–0

Three rounds into the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, held from September 10 through 23 in Budapest, Hungary, Team USA is off to a 3–0 start in both the Open and Women's events. 

Read on for a full report, featuring analysis of games from each round of both teams. Highlights include: GM Levon Aronian's come-from-behind magic in round one, IM Carissa Yip's full-board control in round three, IM Alice Lee's Olympiad debut, and some serious endgame clinics from GMs Ray Robson and Leinier Dominguez as well as IM Golrukhbegim Tokhirjonova. 

Women's Tournament

Team USA entered the Women's Olympiad as the eighth seed by aggregate rating, and has avoided any early upsets with victories against Jordan (4–0), the Philippines (3½–½), and Canada (3½–½). 

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Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE

In the first round, wins from IM Carissa Yip, GM Irina Krush, and IM Anna Zatonskih all highlighted the players' superior chess understanding, with principled decision-making underpinning the tactics in each of the below victories:

As is often the case for the top board in these events, IM Gulrukhbegim (Beigm) Tokhirjonova faced the toughest test of the round. And, as is often the case in these events, she managed to use a slight advantage on the board and on the clock to put her lower-rated opponent under serious pressure in the endgame:

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Tokhirjonova in round two (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

Tokhirjonova found herself in a similar situation in round two, only this time she was not able to convert a particularly difficult endgame:

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Lee and coach Khachiyan before round two (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

Zatonskih and IM Alice Lee (making her Olympiad debut after resting in the first round) contributed fine attacking victories to clinch the match:

Finally, all three results felt possible in Yip's game, where her signature King's Indian Defense produced the kind of complications one would hope for:

With Tokhirjonova again holding a draw in the third round (this time against strong WGM Maili-Jade Ouellet), Yip set the tone for the match against Canada with a really impressive full-board press on board two:

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Krush living up to her name during her first-round win (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

Krush contributed a similar full-board triumph in a wildly complex game that saw both players use most of their time in the first 15 moves. 

Finally, it was Lee's turn to play for "three results," although in actuality she was the one hoping to salvage a draw for the majority of the game. At one point, her opponent even had a forced mate in seven!

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Yip (L) and Lee switched roles in rounds two and three, with Lee cruising in round two only to be lucky to escape in round three and Yip following the opposite trajectory (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

But, after being let off the hook for the worst of it, her opponent suffered a painful blunder, simply neglecting a hanging piece. From there, Lee stole the full point.

Open Tournament

The top-rated team in the Open currently boasts wins against Panama, Singapore and – as a few moments ago – Bulgaria. Of their three opponents, Bulgaria was the first to feature a lineup of four grandmasters. Nevertheless, USA won 3½–½, matching their score against Panama. Yesterday, they defeated Singapore 4–0. 

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Yip joins Aronian, Robson, and So before the first round (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

So far, at least a few games from each round have been more tense than the lopsided scores would suggest. Most notably, GM Levon Aronian was in hot water early in round one, having to part with a piece as early as move 13! 

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Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE

What unfolded next was an entertaining, instructive, and dramatic affair. Aronian managed to create complications while forcing his 16-year-old opponent to navigate the delicate balance between playing it safe and being too passive. After swindling back his piece, he won the endgame in style as well:

GM Leinier Dominguez's methodical victory (featuring an odd idea in the Petrov's Defense) and GM Ray Robson's handling of an enterprising Sicilian Dragon can be seen below, as well:

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Photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE

After resting in round one, it was business as usual for GM Fabiano Caruana in his second-round debut, dispatching his opponent with signature accuracy. 

Despite the results, the other three boards served as a reminder of how difficult this event will be. Both Dominguez and Robson had to essay lengthy grinds in equal endgames before finally breaking through:

And then, once again, there was Aronian. Armed with deep preparation against his opponent's Sicilian Taimanov, he quickly amassed a large advantage on the clock. But his opponent nevertheless found defensive resource after resource, almost hanging on to save the half-point:

In the third round, GM Wesley So earned his first win of the Olympiad (after being held to a draw with the black pieces in round one and resting in round two). And what a win it was! Against a top-tier opponent, So punished one inaccuracy with a crushing attack:

With Robson being held to a draw by his opponent's Classical Sicilian, Caruana and Aronian each won their games to round out the match. This time, Aronian was in control from the start, confidently capturing his opponent's gambited pawns and holding on from there.

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Thankfully, Caruana did not have to play both Cheparinov and GM Judit Polgar in round three, with the latter just joining for the ceremonial first move (Photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE)

Caruana had only a small initiative to speak of for most of the game, but it was also enough to grind down a well-known competitor.

Looking Ahead and Looking Around

Heading into round four, precisely 16 teams remain with perfect 3/3 scores in both the Open and Women's tournaments. It should be noted that both teams boast strong tiebreaks, too, with the Women's team atop the standings (along with Spain and England) while only India has better tiebreaks in the Open. 

A number of top teams and players can be seen all over the top of the standings, as well. One of the most visually imposing presences comes from the defending gold medalists in the Open. In fact, they seemed to have taken a page out of Team USA Women's playbook and hired their own "Coach K."

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The defending gold medalists, now with Coach Kramnik (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

While many of the world's top ten compete for teams that also boast top-ten aggregate ratings, there are also several others scattered throughout the standings. In the Open, Norway is currently 2½/3, with a certain former world champion playing as their top board. In the Women's event, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk is the top board of a Swiss team with 2/3. 

There's nothing quite like seeing the entire chess world come together in one place. As expected, we can see recent top stories like a rising brother-sister duo or a current world champion with his beloved second. But there are also grandmasters from earlier eras sitting alongside players as young as England's nine-year-old WFM Bodhana Sivanandan. Not to mention, it's nice seeing popular streamers and commentators take seats at the board as well. There are even a few Americans coaching other teams! Hover over the photos below for captions/credits.

South African WIM Jesse February is a noted chess streamer and journalist (Photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE)

Ukrainian GM Vasyl Ivanchuk has been rated as high as number two in the world, and is still an active competitor at age 55 (Photo courtesy Mark Livshitz/FIDE)

Swedish WFM Anna Cramling is a popular streamer and correspondent for Chess.com (Photo courtesy Mark Livshitz/FIDE)

Reigning world champion GM Ding Liren is competing for China ahead of his title defense in November (Photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE)

GM Richard Rapport is once again playing for his native Hungary (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

The young Gukesh D. had a breakout performance for India in his previous Olympiad, and will face Ding in November for the world championship (Photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE)

Former U.S. Women's Champion WGM Sabina Foisor is the coach of the British Virgin Island's Women's team (Photo courtesy Mark Livshitz FIDE)

Vailshali (L) and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu are both top players for India (Photo courtesy Michal Walusza)

Play continues with the fourth round on Saturday, September 14, with games beginning at 8:00 a.m. CDT. The Open team will face Ukraine, and it will be USA – Netherlands in the Women's event. 

Play continues with one round per day, with the exception of Tuesday, September 17, when there will be a rest day. Note that the final round starts four hours earlier than usual on Sunday, September 22. 

All results can be found here for the Women's event and here for the Open. Live games can be followed on Lichess.org and Chess.com.