Americans Remain In Striking Distance Halfway Through 2024 FIDE Olympiad

Editor's note: This report covers rounds four through six of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad. The first three rounds are covered here. At the time of writing, round seven is almost concluded, with both American teams having finished their matches. USA defeated Greece 3 – 1 in the Open and tied Armenia 2 – 2 in the Women's event. This puts each team on 5½/7 and in a tie for fifth in the Open and sixth for in the Women's. Play resumes tomorrow, Thursday, September 19, at 8:00 a.m. CDT. 

USA Women Loses Close Contest to Mongolia, Bounces Back Against Switzerland

Entering the rest day, Team USA sat on a strong 5/6 score in the Women's tournament. The unbeaten streak continued in round four with a 3½ – ½ victory over a star-studded team from the Netherlands. Then, a loss on the top board was the only decisive result in a 2½ – 1½ loss to Mongolia. Monday's 2½ – 1½ win over a Switzerland team led by a former world champion put the team back in the thick of the hunt. All games can be replayed on Chess.com and Lichess, and results can be reviewed here. Read on for details and games!

Team USA defeated the Netherlands 3½–½ to move to a 4/4 score in the Women's #ChessOlympiad, with wins from @irinakrush @carissayipchess and IM Alice Lee and a great defensive effort from @Gulruhbegim to hold a draw against IM Eline Roebers. Photo c Mark Livzshitz/@FIDE_chess pic.twitter.com/1f0T84JHpI

— US Chess (@USChess) September 14, 2024

Team USA continued its winning ways in round four against a high-profile team from the Netherlands. The Dutch boasted an up-and-coming young IM in 18-year-old Eline Roebers on the top board, with FM/WIM Machteld Van Foreest (only 17 years old, and yes of that Van Foreest family) on board two. Popular streamer FM Anna-Maja Kazarian also rounded out the highly recognizable list of names.

🇺🇸♟️#chessolympiad #usa #chess pic.twitter.com/1cDcnM6A1M

— Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (@Gulruhbegim) September 15, 2024

On the top board, WGM Begim Tokhirjonova resisted tremendous energy from Roebers to preserve a draw to be proud of:

From there, it was all America, with Yip, Krush, and Lee each producing nice wins:

Against Mongolia, the lower boards petered out to draws relatively quickly. Tokhirjonova seemed to be on the way to holding another resilient draw on the top board, while Yip was in trouble on board two practically out of the opening.

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Mongolia proved to be too much for USA in their fifth-round match-up (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

Yip's defensive effort was particularly impressive, highlighting both her resiliency and stamina. She managed to withstand kingside pressure, a passed center pawn, and a passed outside pawn in turn before liquidating to a draw at long last.

As is often the case in these events, the difference between a draw and a loss can be miniscule. While Yip was holding on in her game, increasing pressure on the board and clock eventually saw Tokhirjonova stumble in a particularly complex rook endgame:

The lone decisive result was enough to tip the match to Mongolia. The only good news after a loss is the promise of an "easier" pairing the next day, but that was not the case particularly for Tokhirjonova! The final match before the rest day would be against Switzerland, whose top board is none other than former world champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk!

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The Swiss top board: GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

With her teammates favored on the other boards, Tokhirjonova used the white pieces to keep things safe. The two players moved quickly through a Four Knights Scotch and shook hands peacefully just before the time control.

On the second and fourth boards, IM Yip won her game from an unusual Sicilian (5. ... h6!?) while IM Anna Zatonskih was never able to equalize against her opponent's Carlsbad. 

This put the fate of the match in the hands of Lee, who had to calculate her way out of a defensive jam before finally liquidating to an roughly equal endgame. The pressure got to WIM Sofiia Hryzlova, however, who immediately found a way to "force" a draw that simply wasn't there:

Tomorrow's match-up is an interesting one for the Americans, as they'll play Uzbekistan. After a tight loss to a strong Georgian team, Uzbekistan was held to a draw by the same Dutch side that USA defeated in round four. Another angle of note, of course, is that this will see Tokhirjonova square off against her country of birth!

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Tokhirjonova's defense has been impressive throughout this event (Photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/FIDE)

After six rounds, India was in sole first with a 6/6 score ahead of Georgia and Poland by a half-point. After a head-to-head win against Georgia earlier today, India is still unblemished, and Poland is still in a tie for second after being held to a draw by Ukraine. Still, it's India – Poland tomorrow.  

USA Loses Heartbreaker to Ukraine, Faces Resistance From Stubborn Romania

Coming off a hot 3/3 start, Team USA faced an experienced and talented Ukrainian team that promised to be a tough match-up. The disappointing 2½ – 1½ loss certainly could have been a 2 – 2 tie or even possibly a win. But a resilient 3 – 1 win over Argentina was good for moral. Then, Romania managed to hold all four games to a draw, leaving Team USA on a 4½/6 score headed into the rest day. All games can be replayed on Chess.com and Lichess, and results can be reviewed here. Read on for details and games!

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Photo courtesy Mark Livshitz/FIDE

USA – Ukraine promised to be a match for the ages, and it lived up to the hype. All four boards of Ukraine's team had been ranked in the top 20 of the world at the peak of their respective careers, including one player who briefly hit the top spot of the live rankings in 2007. 

On the top board, GM Fabiano Caruana showed excellent preparation and technique to defeat GM Andrei Volokitin's Najdorf. Caruana followed a recent game of Volokitin's for a while, uncorking a positional improvement that turned out to be a novelty. 

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Caruana won a fascinating Najdorf against GM Volokitin in round four (Photo courtesy Mark Livshitz/FIDE)

Caruana may have slightly overestimated his position, however, and suddenly Volokitin was right back in the game. But questionable time management put Black on the hot seat, eventually walking into a trap from a dialed-in Caruana.

On board three, GM Leinier Dominguez had attacking chances against former FIDE world champion GM Ruslan Ponomariov after the latter's overly ambitious play in the center squares of a complex Italian Game. But all it took was one inaccurate move for Ponomariov to essentially force a draw. 

At the time the above game was drawn, Caruana looked to be in the clear, while GM Wesley So was pressing a consistent advantage against GM Vasyl Ivanchuk on board two. Perhaps this (alone with a dwindling clock) influenced Dominguez's decision-making, which would be unfortunate as Ivanchuk sprung to life to mount a furious comeback:

This just left the last game of the match to finish, with GM Ray Robson scrambling to hold on against GM Anton Korobov.

Robson managed to claw his way back several times from a disadvantageous middle game, but each time the complications swung back in Korobov's direction. Korobov's win, coupled with Ivanchuk, were enough to clinch the match.

The next day, it was back to the grind against Argentina. On the top boards, Caruana and So out-rated their opponents significantly, but the games remained level until the last moments. Caruana was in quite a brawl, but another devilish trap brought the game to a swift end. So ground out a nice endgame win, showing impressive stamina the day after a tough loss. 

On board three, USA suffered a tough loss from Dominguez against GM Diego Flores. Flores played fantastically, seizing an advantage out of the opening and delivering on the tactical complications from there. Dominguez was never able to fully untangle, putting the match back into contention. 

But on board four, Aronian was able to convert an edge out of the early queenless middlegame into a fine positional victory. Never one to make life easier for himself, he managed to "simplify" into a bishops of opposite colors endgame, which he still managed to convert with ease. With Aronian's victory, the 3 – 1 score in USA's favor was in the books.

In the last round before the rest day, Romania seemed determined to play solid chess. Their top boards – GMs Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Kirill Shevchenko – were out-rated by around 100 points apiece against Caruana and and So. The gaps on boards three and four were even larger, so the relatively quick draws on boards two-through-four had to feel like a win for Romania. 

But Caruana – who, up until this point, had won all four of his games – was not going to give up without a fight. Indeed, his 125-move draw against Deac was one of the last games of the entire round to finish. Deac sacrificed a piece in the endgame as soon as he sensed danger, and defended excellently. Caruana had no real chances for a win even with an extra knight! See for yourself:

After round six, India was the last-remaining team with an unblemished record. China had a chance to match India's record, but a late loss on the top board from the current world champion against GM Le Quang Liem boosted the Webster University coach's team to a 2/2 tie.

Round eight will take place tomorrow morning, with both USA teams in striking distance of the top of the standings. USA will face France on board four. 

After its head-to-head win against China (during which GM Ding Liren chose to sit out rather than face GM Gukesh D.), India is still a perfect 7/7. Next up for the leaders: Iran!