Path to the Podium: USA Women 50+ Team

Editor’s note: We continue our coverage of the 2025 FIDE World Senior Team Championship with a report from USA Women’s fourth board, WIM Alexey Root. Yesterday’s recap charts USA’s path to gold in the 50+ section.

Our focus in these reports is on the 50+ section because both US Chess-sponsored teams competed in the 50+ section. But because this report mentions the standings in the 65+ category’s women’s race, I also wanted to congratulate England 1 for its win in the 65+ section. Led by GM John Nunn, the reigning champions yielded only two draws on the way to their championship, finishing ahead of two German teams (Lasker Schachstiftung GK and Saxonia).

The FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championship ran from February 16–27 in Prague, Czech Republic. There were 54 teams in the 50+ category and 54 teams in the 65+ category. Within each category, teams composed of women players were eligible for medals reserved for women’s teams.

65+ Category: Winning Women’s Teams

In the 65+ category, three teams competed for first, second, and third places among women’s teams. Latvia Women took gold, Czech Republic Women took silver, and Poland Women took bronze.

At the start of the event, Latvia Women ranked 37th (of 54 teams), Czech Republic Women ranked 43rd, and Poland Women ranked 52nd. Latvia Women finished with the same match points and game points as Czech Republic Women. A fourth tiebreak method decided which team got first and which team got second.

50+ Category: Winning Women’s Teams

In the 50+ category, five women’s teams vied for three medals. The China Women began the event ranked 12th (of 54 teams) in the 50+ category. Initially, Czech Republic Women ranked 25th, USA Women were 26th, England Women were 30th, and Kazakhstan Women ranked 32nd.

At the end of the event, Czech Republic Women and China Women tied with 10 match points each. But Czech Republic Women had 18½ game points, topping China Women’s 18 game points. Therefore, Czech Republic Women took the gold medal. China Women took silver, and USA Women earned bronze.

Photo by Connor Belakovsky

Although how teams finished mostly corresponded to their initial rankings, each round had its twists and turns. Even pre-tournament decisions had repercussions.

Round-by-Round Recap

"I never defeated a healthy opponent."

The statement "I never defeated a healthy opponent” is sometimes attributed to Tartakower. It means that many players don’t admit that they lost because they made errors. Or because their opponents outplayed them. Instead, they blame their losses on being ill.

I visited my granddaughter on Wednesday, February 12. I had been warned that she was experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. But I felt fine after spending three hours with her. Then on Thursday night, February 13, those symptoms began for me. On the 14th, I flew to Europe arriving in Prague on the evening of the 15th.

Round 1

In round 1, our team played at the Hotel Olympik Congress, where all of the 65+ matches happened. Only the lowest four matches of the 50+ category were assigned to the Congress, which was a short walk from our Hotel Olympik.

Because of my stomach bug, I could not play round 1 as our team captain Olga Sagalchik had planned. Sagalchik had hoped to take that round off, as she was the last member of our team to arrive in Europe.

Sagalchik arrived at Hotel Olympik midday on the 16th, and her luggage arrived around nine hours later. Still, Sagalchik played, drawing her game. Our other three players won, securing our 3½–½ victory against Jawa 2025.

Round 2

In round 2 we played China Women. Sagalchik sat out. I felt well enough to play on board 3, though was relieved when my higher-rated opponent offered a draw after just 12 moves. I had also had an opportunity to prepare based on one of her previous games in the database.

My opponent’s offer was strategic: Our alternate, Ivona Jezierska, was losing on board 4. Our first and second boards received, and accepted, draw offers too. We lost the match 1½–2½.

USA Women versus China Women: Belakovskaia, Tsodikova, Sagalchik (standing), Root, and Jezierska versus Wang, Ning, Guo, and Liu, with Liang standing (Photo courtesy of Ave Chess)

I had been eating a bland diet, to recover from my stomach bug. This diet was easy to implement, as each buffet-style meal at the Hotel Olympik included bread. Lunch and dinner always included dishes made out of potatoes, such as French fries or mashed potatoes. Plain pasta or white rice was usually offered too.

Since Anjelina Belakovskaia (our board 1) and I finished our games early, we walked, along with Anjelina’s 18-year-old son Connor, to Cafe Imperial for dinner. At Cafe Imperial, I ate dill soup and goat cheese salad. Though I loved socializing with my teammate and her son, straying from my bland diet was a mistake. I had a rough night.

Round 3

At the start of round 3, an arbiter announced that the Finnish team captain Ari Issakainen, age 63, died in his sleep the night before. After the arbiter read a statement about Issakainen, composed by his teammates, players observed a moment of silence.

I lost on board 3, and Jezierska won on board 4. Belakovskia had taken the round off. Filling in for her on board 1 was Natalia Tsodikova, who drew. Sagalchik drew on board 2. Thus, USA Women tied our match, 2–2, with ŠK Bohemia Pardubice.

Round 4

USA Women won 2½–1½ over Sachsenwölfe. Playing her first game as White, Tsodikova won in nine moves on board 2. Both she and her opponent thought her winning a queen for two pieces was decisive. But Stockfish 17 thinks Black is slightly better at the point where he resigned.

After her win, Tsodikova was taken to a separate room for a fair play screening. The arbiters had warned that, post-game, any player could randomly be selected for this procedure. Tsodikova told us that she had to remove her shoes during the screening.

On board 4, Jezierska’s opponent offered her a draw when Jezierska felt she was better. So, she refused and later sacrificed on h7 (unsoundly). She got her piece back and, in retrospect, should have offered a draw at that point. Instead, she played on and lost. Stockfish 17 evaluated Belakovskaia’s position as +5 for her opponent. Her opponent overlooked the best plan of attack and Belakovskaia, as Black, held a draw. On board 3, Sagalchik won.

Round 5

I was completely healthy by round 5. Yet I lost, again. Sagalchik’s draw on board 3 seemed solid. Board 1 Belakovskaia and board 2 Tsodikova were in trouble, but their opponents offered them draws. Scotland 2 was content to win against USA Women with 2½–1½.

Rest Day

Sagalchik, Tsodikova, and I toured Prague Castle, the largest coherent castle complex in the world. It has an area of almost 70,000 square meters. Then we visited Old Town Prague, with the Prague Astronomical Clock as one highlight. We walked over 15,000 steps.

Sagalchik, Tsodikova, and Root at St. Vitus Cathedral (Photo courtesy of Sagalchik)

In the evening, the three of us, plus Belakovskaia and Jezierska, socialized at the Hotel Olympik bar with two members of the United States team in the 65+ category, board 3 Lawrence Cohen and board 2 Kenny Thomas.

From left: Cohen, Thomas, Sagalchik, Tsodikova, and Root on the rest day (Photo by Anjelina Belakovskaia)

US Chess sponsored both the USA Women 50+ team and the USA 50+ team. The United States team in the 65+ category, which also had board 1 and captain Bob Holliman and fourth board William Montross, was self-funded. Also self-funded was the U.S.A. 5 Brothers team, all with the last name of Jhunjhnuwala, which competed in the 50+ category. Both of those teams gave our team gifts of custom-made pins, for which we were thankful.

Round 6

In my last game for USA Women, I lost on board 3. I missed a chance to equalize on move 35.

The USA Women tied 2–2 against SC Roter Turm Altstadt. On board 1, Belakovskaia drew. On board 2, Sagalchik drew. Tsodikova took this round off. On board 4, Jezierska won.

Jezierska was searched immediately after her win, our team’s second encounter with post-game fair play screening. Before each round, every player was “wanded” and all bags were searched. No pens, phones, smart watches (etc.) could come into the playing hall.

Round 7

In round 7, Belakovskaia suffered her first loss. While in Prague, Belakovskaia kept up with her duties as an Associate Teaching Professor in Global Finance at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University. She held office hours and taught most weeknights. With the time difference, her office hours usually began around 9:30 p.m. and her teaching began at either 11 p.m. or 2:00 a.m.

Boards 2, 3, and 4, played respectively by Tsodikova, Sagalchik, and Jezierska, won. USA Women 50+ scored 3–1 against Equipe Quebec.

Round 8

After she played an unusual opening (1. … g5), Belakovskaia equalized as Black against Denmark’s first board, GM Jacob Aagaard. When board 2 (Tsodikova) and board 4 (Jezierska) drew, and board 3 (Sagalchik) lost, Belakovskaia felt she had to try for lines with winning chances. A win by her would tie the match. In time trouble, Belakovskaia erred and lost. Denmark won 3–1 against USA Women.

Round 9

Going into Round 9, USA Women trailed behind Czech Republic Women and China Women in match points. Both of those teams had 10 match points. USA Women had eight match points, as did England Women and Kazakhstan Women.

The scoring is two points for winning a match, one point for tying a match, and zero points for losing a match. Match points are paramount, though if two teams tie in match points, game points are a tiebreaker.

Going into round 9, Czech Republic Women had 17½ game points, China Women had 17, USA Women had 17, England Women had 15, and Kazakhstan Women had 14½. If USA Women won its match against the Philidor Brothers, we would move to 10 match points. Then, if Czech Republic Women and China Women lost their ninth-round matches, USA Women would come out ahead of them on the game points tiebreaker.

But the Philidor Brothers, a team from France, tied USA Women 2–2. On board 1 Belakovskaia drew. After Sagalchik drew on board 3, arbiters examined Sagalchik in another random fair play post-game screening.

On board 2, Tsodikova won. The last game to finish was board 4; Jezierska lost. The USA Women moved from 8 to 9 match points. The other women’s teams lost their round 9 matches, leaving USA Women in clear third.

From left: Łukasz Turlej (FIDE Secretary General), Root, Jezierska, Sagalchik, Tsodikova, Belakovskaia, Martin Petr (Czech Chess Federation President) (Photo by Alan Minnican)

Board Prize and Blitz

Tsodikova was the top woman performer on board 2. She also was the 15th best performer overall on board 2, with a 2217 FIDE performance. Tsodikova’s husband and coach, IM Rost Tsodikov, finished in 12th place in the Blitz, the second-highest USA performer in that side event held on the rest day. The USA’s GM Jaan Ehlvest won the Blitz.

Tsodikova (R) and her husband and coach, Rost Tsodikov (Photo by Alexey Root)

Going for the Gold

Thank you to team captain Sagalchik, who kept USA Women organized and motivated with team breakfasts, evening meetings, and a lively WhatsApp group. Sagalchik also stayed until the end of each of our matches. Thank you to my three other teammates — Belakovskaia, Tsodikova, and Jezierska — who were kind, funny, and encouraging. It was an honor for me to be your teammate.

Thank you to US Chess for sponsoring the USA Women 50+ team. In 2024, USA Women 50+ won silver and in 2025 we won bronze. There are two ways to look at this year’s result. One is that USA Women are trending downward. But that’s not true, as the competition in 2025 was tougher than in 2024. The correct way to look at the result is that we now need only one medal color — gold — to complete our podium collection.