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Azerbaijan achieved a relatively quick 2 : 2 tie with Ukraine in the final Round 9, safe in the knowledge that even a shutout by Russia over Germany would not be enough to catch up on the board points tiebreak. In the end, Russia did win by a score of 3 : 1 — good enough for the silver medal — as both teams finished with 14 match points (out of a total possible 18).
Ukraine took the bronze with 13 match points, and an edge on board points over the Croatian team which finished fourth.
| No. | Team | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Team |
| 1 | Azerbaijan | 13 | 2 | : | 2 | 12 | Ukraine |
| 2 | Germany | 11 | 1 | : | 3 | 12 | Russia |
| 3 | Turkey | 11 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 11 | Croatia |
| 4 | England | 10 | ½ | : | 3½ | 10 | Hungary |
| 5 | Spain | 10 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 10 | Romania |
| 6 | Belarus | 9 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 10 | Israel |
| 7 | Slovenia | 9 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 9 | Netherlands |
| 8 | Poland | 9 | 3 | : | 1 | 9 | France |
| 9 | Serbia | 8 | 2 | : | 2 | 9 | Armenia |
| 10 | Slovakia | 8 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | Greece 1 |
| Rk. | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 |
| 1 | Azerbaijan | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 230,0 |
| 2 | Russia | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 217,5 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 210,0 |
| 4 | Croatia | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 170,0 |
| 5 | Hungary | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 233,0 |
| 6 | Israel | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 172,0 |
| 7 | Romania | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 166,5 |
| 8 | Germany | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 208,5 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 180,5 |
| 10 | Poland | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 180,0 |
Ukraine in the foreground, Russia right behind them | Photo: EuroTeams2017.com
The Azerbaijan team just needed to remain solid against Ukraine, as a drawn match would be enough to secure gold given their superior tiebreak score. All games ended in draws around move 40, but Naiditsch vs. Pomomariev, despite ending peacefully, was a tactical slugfest.
The Modern Pirc is actually a mixture of the Caro-Kann and the Pirc. In many lines Black combines the ideas of the classical Pirc in which the fianchettoed bishop is important with the Caro-Kann idea to fight for the center with c6-d5.
Russia, planing on the adjacent table had a much longer day at the office, but secured the silver medal by beating Germany. Ian Nepomniachtchi ground down Georg Meier in a long rook and pawn ending that went to move 86. Next to him Nikitia Vitiugov outplayed his young opponent Matthias Bluebaum in a rook and knight endng before liquidating into his own winning rook and pawn ending which quickly prompted resignation. The win left Russia with one match point more than Ukraine. The latter tied with Croatia, whose fourth place finish should leave them satisfied. The 14th seeds at the outset were leading at the half-way point, and won their last round match against Turkey.
In fifth through seventh spots, Hungary, Israel and Romania. The Romanian team came in a number 20, so they significantly outperformed, and capped off a strong tournament with a small upset against Spain. Gergely-Andras-Gyula Szabo and Mircea-Emilian Parligras posted wins — the latter's being one of the standout games of the day.
A waiting Game in the Queen's Indian 7...Na6
Let FIDE Senior Trainer and IM Andrew Martin introduce you to the Tiviakov method, where he covers all of 8.b3, 8.Re1, 8.Bf4, 8.Bg5, 8.a3, 8.Qa4 and 8.d5 and all in around an hour!
The Polish team was all smiles at the closing ceremony | Photo: EuroTeams2017.com
Rounding out the top ten teams, with 11 match points, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland, teams which ended almost where they started.
Russia finished in as dominating style ast they played the entire tournament, winning 3½ : ½ over Armenia. Georgia and Ukraine both won handily as well to secure the silver and bronze medals respectively.
| No. | Team | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Team |
| 1 | Armenia | 11 | ½ | : | 3½ | 15 | Russia |
| 2 | Georgia | 12 | 3½ | : | ½ | 10 | Italy |
| 3 | Romania | 10 | 3 | : | 1 | 12 | Poland |
| 4 | Turkey | 10 | 0 | : | 4 | 11 | Ukraine |
| 5 | Netherlands | 9 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 9 | Israel |
| 6 | Azerbaijan | 9 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 9 | Serbia |
| 7 | Spain | 9 | 4 | : | 0 | 9 | Austria |
| 8 | Hungary | 8 | 3 | : | 1 | 8 | Czech Republic |
| 9 | Greece 1 | 8 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | Belarus |
| 10 | Germany | 7 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | France |
| Rk. | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 |
| 1 | Russia | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 258,0 |
| 2 | Georgia | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 251,0 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 223,5 |
| 4 | Poland | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 216,0 |
| 5 | Romania | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 175,5 |
| 6 | Spain | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 197,5 |
| 7 | Israel | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 169,0 |
| 8 | Azerbaijan | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 163,5 |
| 9 | Armenia | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 147,5 |
| 10 | Italy | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 162,5 |
IM Irene Sukandar has selected a few highlights from the ninth round, a potpourri from both tournaments, including the "blunder of the day".
