46th Olympiad: Now The Fun Starts

Both USA teams enter Tuesday’s rest day after a tough couple of rounds, with the Open team tied for fourth at 10/12 and the Women’s team tied for 14^th at 9/12. But, with five rounds remaining, there’s still a lot of time to gain ground. Today’s report features detailed and entertaining analysis from IM Jason Liang, who is coming off a share of first place in the 126^th U.S. Open.

Open

In Round 5, Germany defeated USA 2½–1½ on Sunday thanks to three draws and GM Frederik Svane’s win against GM Hans Niemann on Board 3. After an unforced knight trade on move 13, Niemann’s remaining pieces became cramped as his clock ticked away. Rather than play patiently, Niemann went on the offensive, but Svane was prepared and emerged with a winning position.

Two of the other games ended peacefully and quickly. GM Fabiano Caruana had the black pieces against GM Vincent Keymer on the top board, and neither player took risks en route to a 23-move draw.

Germany's Vincent Keymer (L) held Fabiano Caruana to a tame draw, paving the way for Frederik Svane to clinch the match for Germany. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza)

GM Levon Aronian tried surprising GM Alexander Donchenko on Board 4 with an Exchange Ruy Lopez, but Donchenko came prepared and Aronian had zero winning chances when a draw was agreed on move 26.

Board 3 was a different story. GM Wesley So had a queen against two minor pieces and a 30-minute clock advantage with 20 moves until the time control, and yet it still wasn’t enough to defeat stalwart defender and 2026 Candidates sweetheart GM Matthias Bluebaum. The engine remained convinced that Bluebaum could hold, and he did not disappoint.

Wesley So became the latest victim of the never-ending Great Bluebaum Half-Sweep. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza)

USA hoped to rebound in Round 6 against a Carlsen-less Norway team, but the resulting 2½–1½ nail-biter illustrated just how competitive this tournament will be from here on out.

Again with draws on the three remaining boards, Niemann played the round’s only decisive game. This time, he was the hero, capitalizing on a blunder just when it looked like his last winning chances had evaporated.

At first, Caruana looked to be in good shape on Board 1 against GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen. But after a slightly greedy capture, he suddenly had losing chances before escaping with a fine bit of calculation.

Wednesday, it’s Armenia – USA. Armenia is tied for second with China at 11/12, a point behind the still-perfect Uzbek team. Armenia held China to a four-draw tie in Round 5, proving it will be a tough nut to crack.

Will anybody stop Uzbekistan? The host nation improved to 12/12 after dismantling Hungary 4–0 before sliding past the defending champions 2½–1½ when India’s GM Nihal Sarin blundered his queen to GM Nodirbek Yakubboev on Board 3.

Nodirbek Yakubboev was the hero for Uzbekistan on Monday thanks to his tactical win over India's Nihal Sarin. (Photos courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza)

Uzbekistan’s other Nodirbek, GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, won his third game on the top board against Hungary’s GM Richard Rapport. Watching Abdusattorov outclass a player who has flirted with the global top ten for most of the past decade illustrates just how fearsome this Uzbek squad will be for years to come:

Don’t forget about China! After yielding the 2–2 draw to Armenia, China downed Germany 3–1 with wins on the top and bottom boards by GM Ding Liren and GM Xu Xiangyu, respectively.

Is Ding Liren back? Vincent Keymer would say yes. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza)

The former world champion scored his best classical victory in some time by taking down Keymer in a technical endgame.

Uzbekistan has the white pieces on the top board in tomorrow’s showdown against China, and the winner will be in pole position entering the final four rounds.

Women's

USA faced its first serious tests in this year’s Olympiad, escaping with a tie against Uzbekistan in Round 5 before going down 3–1 to defending champions India on Monday.

USA — Carissa Yip and Alice Lee catch up with their former teammate, Begim Tokhirjonova, before the start of Round 5. (Photos courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza and FIDE/Rafal Oleksiewicz)

Carissa Yip and Alice Lee catch up with their former teammate, Begim Tokhirjonova, before the start of Round 5. (Photos courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza and FIDE/Rafal Oleksiewicz)

For most of Sunday’s round, IM Carissa Yip and IM Rose Atwell were in trouble against WGM Afruza Khamdamova and WFM Nilufarkhon Imomkuzieva, respectively. After a mistake just out of the opening, Yip eventually escaped to a rook and endgame that never had realistic drawing chances. Atwell, in contrast, dared her opponent to beat her tactically, and the gamble paid off.

Atwell’s escape, along with IM Tatev Abrahamyan’s steady draw on Board 3, meant that IM Alice Lee could save the match with a win against her former Olympiad teammate:

Alice Lee improved to a perfect 5/5 score with a victory over her former teammates. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza)

In Round 6, USA had to face India after the 2024 gold medalists suffered a 2½–1½ upset against Poland thanks to IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya’s win against GM Vaishali Rameshbabu.

Rose Atwell (L) and Irina Krush faced tough opposition in the final rounds before the rest day and look to come out strong on Wednesday. (Photos courtesy FIDE/Rafal Oleksiewicz)

Against Poland, India’s apparent strategy of playing solidly on the top boards and hoping for decisive results on the bottom two boards backfired. But India stuck to its guns, as GMs Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh never gave our Yip–Lee duo any chances on either top board.

The strategic choice paid off for India, as IM Vantika Agrawal defeated GM Irina Krush on Board 3 while IM Savitha Shri defeated Atwell on Board 4. The Agrawal – Krush game shows just how challenging defense can be at this level.

It’s USA – Switzerland on Wednesday, where the top U.S. player (presumably Yip) is White against former women’s world champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (presuming she does not sit out).

China and Kazakhstan enter Wednesday’s head-to-head showdown both boasting 12/12 scores. China has won all six matches by a score of 3–1 or better, beating Poland by that margin in Round 5 and Bulgaria 3½–½ yesterday.

The Chinese teams pose for a photo before Round 5. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Rafal Oleksiewicz)

Kazakhstan enters tomorrow’s match more test, having won 2½–1½ against both Germany and Azerbaijan over the last two rounds.

Kazakhstan is next up to challenge China, with Alua Nurman (center) and Bibisara Assaubayeva (right) leading the charge. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Rafal Oleksiewicz)

This critical position from GM Alua Nurman’s decisive game could end up being the most impactful result of the tournament: