The U.S. Team won the 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship 50+ in Struga, N. Macedonia on the heels of a 4–0 sweep of Poland in the last round on Thursday, September 28. Full results are available here.
Team USA was in the driver's seat when we last checked in on Struga, but suffered a 3–1 setback at the hands of Italy in round seven.
With GMs Jaan Ehlvest and Alex Yermolinsky being held to draws with the white pieces on boards two and four, GMs Alexander Shabalov and Igor Novikov both got into early trouble as Black out of the opening. There's a joke about playing the Sicilian against Italians here somewhere.
Round eight saw a reversal of fortunes, with the U.S. out-rating their opponents from Uruguay by at least 500 points on each board. The team took care of business with a 4–0 sweep, and got a bonus gift from Iceland, who held Italy to a tie thanks to a nice miniature from their fourth board.
With draws on boards one and three, Italy was able to tie the match thanks to GM Michele Godena setting some serious problems for his opponent in an objectively equal endgame.
The draw was enough to bring the U.S. back into a tie for first headed into the final round. To make things even better, Italy had to face a tough Macdeonian team that held the U.S. to a draw earlier in the tournament. Indeed, Italy suffered the same fate, drawing the match 2–2.
Before any game finished, Team USA already clinched their match, with GM Gregory Kaidanov winning emphatically:
And Yermolinsky and Shabalov shortly following suit:
Novikov added a fourth win for good measure, and the U.S. are the champions!
According to the unofficial standings, all five members of the U.S. team earned individual medals as well. Kaidanov, Ehlvest, and Novikov earned gold medals on boards two, three, and four respectively, with Yermolinsky earning a silver on board five and Shabalov a bronze on top board.
Categories
Archives
- October 2024 (10)
- September 2024 (23)
- August 2024 (27)
- July 2024 (44)
- June 2024 (27)
- May 2024 (32)
- April 2024 (51)
- March 2024 (34)
- February 2024 (25)
- January 2024 (26)
- December 2023 (29)
- November 2023 (26)
- October 2023 (37)
- September 2023 (27)
- August 2023 (37)
- July 2023 (47)
- June 2023 (33)
- May 2023 (37)
- April 2023 (45)
- March 2023 (37)
- February 2023 (28)
- January 2023 (31)
- December 2022 (23)
- November 2022 (32)
- October 2022 (31)
- September 2022 (19)
- August 2022 (39)
- July 2022 (32)
- June 2022 (35)
- May 2022 (21)
- April 2022 (31)
- March 2022 (33)
- February 2022 (21)
- January 2022 (27)
- December 2021 (36)
- November 2021 (34)
- October 2021 (25)
- September 2021 (25)
- August 2021 (41)
- July 2021 (36)
- June 2021 (29)
- May 2021 (29)
- April 2021 (31)
- March 2021 (33)
- February 2021 (28)
- January 2021 (29)
- December 2020 (38)
- November 2020 (40)
- October 2020 (41)
- September 2020 (35)
- August 2020 (38)
- July 2020 (36)
- June 2020 (46)
- May 2020 (42)
- April 2020 (37)
- March 2020 (60)
- February 2020 (38)
- January 2020 (45)
- December 2019 (35)
- November 2019 (35)
- October 2019 (42)
- September 2019 (45)
- August 2019 (56)
- July 2019 (44)
- June 2019 (35)
- May 2019 (40)
- April 2019 (48)
- March 2019 (61)
- February 2019 (39)
- January 2019 (30)
- December 2018 (29)
- November 2018 (51)
- October 2018 (45)
- September 2018 (29)
- August 2018 (49)
- July 2018 (35)
- June 2018 (31)
- May 2018 (39)
- April 2018 (31)
- March 2018 (26)
- February 2018 (33)
- January 2018 (30)
- December 2017 (26)
- November 2017 (24)
- October 2017 (30)
- September 2017 (30)
- August 2017 (32)
- July 2017 (27)
- June 2017 (32)
- May 2017 (26)
- April 2017 (37)
- March 2017 (28)
- February 2017 (30)
- January 2017 (27)
- December 2016 (29)
- November 2016 (24)
- October 2016 (32)
- September 2016 (31)
- August 2016 (27)
- July 2016 (24)
- June 2016 (26)
- May 2016 (19)
- April 2016 (30)
- March 2016 (37)
- February 2016 (27)
- January 2016 (33)
- December 2015 (25)
- November 2015 (23)
- October 2015 (16)
- September 2015 (28)
- August 2015 (28)
- July 2015 (6)
- June 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (2)
- April 2015 (1)
- February 2015 (3)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (1)
- July 2010 (1)
- October 1991 (1)
- August 1989 (1)
- January 1988 (1)
- December 1983 (1)