2010 Chess Olympiad: Ivanchuk 5/5, Adams beats Carlsen

by Albert Silver
9/28/2010 – The world number one, who comments on his loss against Jobava, has been having a tough tournament, and lost again, this time against Adams after a very odd opening choice. On the other hand, Ivanchuk and Georgian GM Pantsulaia have had a perfect five in five start. Georgia, Armenia, and Ukraine lead the men, while the Russian women are in sole lead. Round six report with stats and analysis.

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

The 2010 Chess Olympiad takes place from September 21st to October 3rd in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. It is an 11-round Swiss System team event, in which each team has four players with one reserve.

Time control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 30 seconds/move as of move one.

Game start: rounds 1-10 at 9 AM UTC (5 AM New York / 2 AM Pacific daylight), and round 11 at 5 AM UTC (1 AM New York / 10 PM Pacific daylight)

Rest day: September 26th (after round 5) and October 2nd (after round 10).

2010 Chess Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk

Round 6

The men’s section saw three teams on top with 100%, and two of them facing each other. Heavy-scoring Georgia, and certainly the surprise of the event so far, faced two-time gold-winners Armenia, with no predictions possible despite the comfortable Elo  advantage for the title-holders. The reason lies very much in the very impressive showings by the Georgian team members, with top-board Jobava and his now famous win against Carlsen, not to mention his third board teammate, GM Pantsulaia, who is on a sterling 5.0/5, including a key victory today.


Georgia's top-board Baadur Jobava against Armenian GM Levon Aronian.

Regarding the loss to Baadur Jobava, Magnus Carlsen had this to say in his blog:


"In the 4th round we were to face Georgia on board 6, our first serious test. And how miserably we failed... I was black against GM Baadur Jobava (2710), a very dangerous and creative opponent, who I've played many interesting games with before. Initally things went very well, and after an unorthodox opening I was facing a promising queenless middlegame. However, I quickly went wrong, missing a key tactical point on move 20. As a result, it all turned around, and I was forced to find a way to stay in the game rather than fight for the initiative. Jobava continued to play very energetically, and I made a further couple of errors in serious time-trouble, and by the time control on move 40 my position was quite hopeless. I decided to continue for i bit, and got an unexpected chance for a draw on move 50, which he had completely missed. Alas, it was not my day, and it turned out that with a few accurate moves the win was still his for the taking. 1-0 after 64 moves."

(Click here to read the rest of the blog entry)


The second top lineup was between undefeated Hungary against second-seed Ukraine, who trailed by a half match point. If Peter Leko  and Judit Polgar had both swapped moments to keep their team victorious, today was not their day, and both lost their games, against Ivanchuk and Eljanov respectively. This was Ivanchuk’s fifth win in five games, and he tops the leaderboard of top performers until now. Russia 2 beat the Netherlands quite handily by 3-1, with wins by Nepomniachtchi over Van Wely, and Timofeev over Stellwagen. Right after were Russia 1, who also bounced back from their loss from the previous round, edging out the Czech Republic by 2.5-1.5, with Karjakin clinching the match.


Vladimir Kramnik drew against Czech David Navara

The news of the round, aside from the team results, was Carlsen’s second loss in the tournament, this time against English GM Michael Adams. In his loss against Georgian GM Jobava, his opponent had surprised him with an extremely offbeat opening choice. In the sixth round, it was he who chose an extremely odd line as of move two!


Michael Adams concentrating before the start of his game against Magnus Carlsen.

Adams,Michael (2728) - Carlsen,Magnus (2826) [B06]
39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (6.18), 27.09.2010

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.e5 Nh5








Avoiding question marks, or any other form of punctuation to evaluate this opening position, suffice it to say that the only games of grandmasters on record, of which there are four, were played by notorious opening mavericks: Morozevich, Miles, Hodgson, and Hillarp Persson. 4.Be2 d6 Both Morozevich and Miles preferred to fianchetto their knight with 4...Ng7 here. 5.Nf3 Nc6 Other than the oddly placed knight on h5, the structure and pieces are identical to an Alekhine defense. 6.exd6 exd6 7.d5 Ne7 8.c4 Bg7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Re1 Re8 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 Nf6 14.Bf4 Nd7 15.Rc1 Ne5 16.b3 a6 17.g3 Nf5 18.Bg2 g5 19.Bxe5 Bxe5 20.Ne4 Ng7 21.Qd2 h6.








Black is still struggling to find a good plan and while his bishop looks strong on e5, it won't be able to stay there for long, while the knight on g7 is still seeking a suitable home. 22.f4 gxf4 23.gxf4 Bf6 24.Kh2 Nh5. 24...Bh4 25.Rg1 f5 26.Ng3 Bxg3+ 27.Kxg3 Nh5+ 28.Kh2 Kf7 25.Rg1 Kh7?! This imprecision could lead to serious trouble due to the myriad of threats that can be combined on the b1-h7 diagonal. 26.Rcf1 Rg8 27.Qe2 Ng7 28.Qd3?! Not the most precise. 28.Nxf6+! was white's strongest continuation. 28...Qxf6 29.Be4+ Kh8 30.Bb1 Qd4 31.Qg4 Threatening Qh4. 31...Qf6 (31...Qb2+ 32.Kh1 Qf6 33.Qf3 Qd4 (33...h5 With the idea of protecting h7 with Qh6. 34.Rg5 Qh6 35.Rfg1 and black is lost.) 34.Rd1 Qb2 35.Rg2 Qf6 36.Qe4) 32.Qf3 Ne8 33.Qd3+- 28...Kh8 29.Bf3








29...b5. The engines initially suggest 29...Bh4 as an improvement, but deeper analysis shows that it still loses after 30.Qd4 Qe7 (30...Kh7 31.Ng5+! hxg5 32.fxg5 Bxg5 33.Be4+ f5 34.Bxf5+ Nxf5 35.Rxf5 Rg6 36.Qg4)








Analysis after 29...Bh4 30.Qd4 Qe7

31.Rg4! f5 32.Rg6! Kh7 33.Rfg1 Rae8 (33...fxe4 34.Bxe4) 34.c5! The knight cannot be touched, and as a result, black is now overwhelmed. 34...dxc5 (34...fxe4 35.Bxe4 leads to mate. 35...Qxe4 36.Rxg7+) 35.Qb2 Ref8 36.d6! cxd6 37.Qg2 Qf7 38.Nxd6 This is the point of the double pawn push. Without it, black could still defend against the Qb2-Qg2 maneuver, which threatens Rxh6+ followed by mate. Now the queen can no longer help and the fort collapses. 30.Bd1 bxc4 31.bxc4 Bh4 32.Bc2 f5 33.Rg6 Kh7 34.Rfg1 Qe7.








35.Ng3? 35.c5! was more expeditious. 35...Rad8 (35...fxe4 36.Qxe4 Qxe4 37.Bxe4) 36.Qe2 Qf8 37.cxd6 cxd6 38.Nc5! dxc5 39.Qxa6+- 35...Bxg3+?! 35...Raf8 would resist longer but still looks grim after 36.Qd4 Bxg3+ 37.R1xg3 Qf7 38.Qg1 Nh5 39.Rxg8 Rxg8 40.Rxg8 Qxg8 41.Bxf5+ Kh8 42.Bg4 Nf6 (42...Nxf4 43.Qd4+) 36.Qxg3 Qf7. 36...Nh5 loses after 37.Qf3 Rxg6 38.Bxf5 Rag8 39.Rxg6 Rxg6 40.Qxh5 37.Bd1 Rae8 38.Rxh6+ 1-0 [Click to replay]


The women’s section saw the giants Ukraine and Russia 1 meet, determining whether either would be able to still claim a 100% run going into the seventh round. Ukraine’s top board, Kateryna Lahno, beat Tatiana Kosintseva in an important game, while Nadezhda Kosintseva, Tatiana´s sister, managed to save a very difficult game against Zukhova.  The turning point, however, were the key victories by both world champion Kosteniuk, and IM Galliamova on boards three and four, squeezing out a 2.5-1.5 victory for the Russian women.


Alexandra Kosteniuk was one of the key winners in Russia 1's victory over Ukraine.

The seventh round will see Ukraine take on Georgia in what promises to be a an exciting match, followed by Armenia against Azerbaijan, and Russia 2 against Russia 1. The women’s section’s top match is Russia 1 against Hungary, who trail by only a half match point.

Men's team pairings for round 7
Women's team pairings for round 7


After six rounds, a few statistics are certainly worth looking at, such as the top performers. The top men with at least five games played are Vassily Ivanchuk and Georgian GM Levan Pantsulaia, both of whom are 5.0/5. Among those with slightly less than absolute scores, are American GM Hikaru Nakamura, with 4.5/5 and a 2964 performance, followed by Russian GM Sergey Karjakin, also on 4.5/5 and a 2939 performance. Of those with six games played, Sweden’s GM Nils Grandelius (2500) is deserving of special mention with 5.5/6 and a remarkable 2822 performance.

Top men's performers (minimum five games)

No.
 
Name
Rtg
Team
Perf.
Pts.
Gms
%
Bd
1
GM
Ivanchuk Vassily
2754
Ukraine
3357
5,0
5
100,0
1
2
GM
Pantsulaia Levan
2599
Georgia
3307
5,0
5
100,0
4
4
GM
Nakamura Hikaru
2733
United States
2964
4,5
5
90,0
1
5
GM
Karjakin Sergey
2747
Russia 1
2939
4,5
5
90,0
4
6
GM
Aronian Levon
2783
Armenia
2893
4,0
5
80,0
1
7
GM
Navara David
2722
Czech Republic
2884
4,0
5
80,0
1
8
GM
Nepomniachtchi Ian
2706
Russia 2
2880
4,0
5
80,0
1
9
GM
Grandelius Nils
2500
Sweden
2822
5,5
6
91,7
5
10
GM
Sokolov Ivan
2641
Bosnia & Herzegovina
2815
4,5
6
75,0
1
13
GM
Jobava Baadur
2710
Georgia
2801
4,5
6
75,0
1
15
GM
Efimenko Zahar
2683
Ukraine
2790
5,0
6
83,3
4
16
GM
Giri Anish
2677
Netherlands
2787
5,0
6
83,3
4

Top women's performers (minimum five games)

In the Women’s section, the top performing players with at least five games played, are German WIM Judith Fuchs, who despite not exactly facing stellar opposition is nonetheless on  5.0/5, followed by Georgian GM Nana Dzagnidze, who has score 4.5/5 and is on a 2701 performance. Armenian IM Elina Danielian and Georgian IM Salome Melia are both on 5.5/6 and have 2682 and 2638 performances respectively.

No.
 
Name
Rtg
Team
Perf.
Pts.
Gms
%
Bd
4
WIM
Fuchs Judith
2237
Germany
2777
5,0
5
100,0
5
5
GM
Dzagnidze Nana
2534
Georgia
2701
4,5
5
90,0
1
7
IM
Danielian Elina
2466
Armenia
2682
5,5
6
91,7
1
9
IM
Melia Salome
2439
Georgia
2638
5,5
6
91,7
3
10
IM
Paehtz Elisabeth
2467
Germany
2620
4,0
5
80,0
1
11
GM
Hou Yifan
2578
China
2611
5,0
6
83,3
1
12
IM
Madl Ildiko
2397
Hungary
2580
5,0
6
83,3
2
13
WIM
Seps Monika
2184
Switzerland
2571
4,5
5
90,0
2

Photographs by FIDE and CNC.

Watching the games

It goes without saying that the options to watch the games live are wide and varied. You can watch them at no cost on Playchess, enjoying the software's new options to display multiple boards at the same time, and if you are a Premium member, live grandmaster commentary will be provided on Playchess for every round by GM Daniel King, author of the best-selling Power Play series, and GM Yasser Seirawan. If you miss the live games, you can always watch the commentary after the fact, or get an abridged tale via the Daily Roundup show also hosted on Playchess at 6 PM UTC (2 PM New York). Again, if you miss the show, it remains available on the server at your disposal.

Video reports

We received video reports by both Elmira Mirzoeva and Europe Echecs which we are sharing with their kind permission.

 
The sixth round report includes an interview of Topalov who is asked about the Bulgarian team's
result, as well as his individual one.

 
The sixth round report includes a post-game interview by Karjakin and impressions by Chu Bo, the
president of the Chinese Chess Federation.

Top men's results

Bd
20
 Georgia (GEO)
Rtg
-
6
 Armenia (ARM)
Rtg
2 : 2
1.1
GM
Jobava Baadur
2710
-
GM
Aronian Levon
2783
½ - ½
1.2
GM
Gagunashvili Merab
2598
-
GM
Akopian Vladimir
2691
½ - ½
1.3
GM
Pantsulaia Levan
2599
-
GM
Sargissian Gabriel
2677
1 - 0
1.4
GM
Gelashvili Tamaz
2611
-
GM
Pashikian Arman
2639
0 - 1
Bd
2
 Ukraine (UKR)
Rtg
-
5
 Hungary (HUN)
Rtg
3 : 1
2.1
GM
Ivanchuk Vassily
2754
-
GM
Leko Peter
2724
1 - 0
2.2
GM
Ponomariov Ruslan
2749
-
GM
Almasi Zoltan
2707
½ - ½
2.3
GM
Eljanov Pavel
2761
-
GM
Polgar Judit
2682
1 - 0
2.4
GM
Efimenko Zahar
2683
-
GM
Berkes Ferenc
2678
½ - ½
Bd
4
 Russia 2 (RUS2)
Rtg
-
13
 Netherlands (NED)
Rtg
3 : 1
3.1
GM
Nepomniachtchi Ian
2706
-
GM
Van Wely Loek
2679
1 - 0
3.2
GM
Vitiugov Nikita
2709
-
GM
L'Ami Erwin
2624
½ - ½
3.3
GM
Tomashevsky Evgeny
2701
-
GM
Giri Anish
2677
½ - ½
3.4
GM
Timofeev Artyom
2690
-
GM
Stellwagen Daniel
2635
1 - 0
Bd
1
 Russia 1 (RUS1)
Rtg
-
17
 Czech Republic (CZE)
Rtg
2½:1½
4.1
GM
Kramnik Vladimir
2780
-
GM
Navara David
2722
½ - ½
4.2
GM
Svidler Peter
2731
-
GM
Laznicka Viktor
2690
½ - ½
4.3
GM
Karjakin Sergey
2747
-
GM
Hracek Zbynek
2633
1 - 0
4.4
GM
Malakhov Vladimir
2725
-
GM
Votava Jan
2579
½ - ½
Bd
7
 Azerbaijan (AZE)
Rtg
-
19
 India (IND)
Rtg
3 : 1
5.1
GM
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar
2756
-
GM
Sasikiran Krishnan
2681
1 - 0
5.2
GM
Radjabov Teimour
2748
-
GM
Harikrishna Pentala
2645
½ - ½
5.3
GM
Mamedov Rauf
2660
-
GM
Ganguly Surya Shekhar
2650
1 - 0
5.4
GM
Guseinov Gadir
2611
-
IM
Adhiban Baskaran
2516
½ - ½
Bd
27
 Vietnam (VIE)
Rtg
-
9
 United States (USA)
Rtg
1½:2½
6.1
GM
Le Quang Liem
2694
-
GM
Nakamura Hikaru
2733
0 - 1
6.2
GM
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son
2633
-
GM
Onischuk Alexander
2688
½ - ½
6.3
GM
Dao Thien Hai
2520
-
GM
Shulman Yuri
2636
½ - ½
6.4
FM
Nguyen Duc Hoa
2385
-
GM
Hess Robert Lee
2596
½ - ½
Bd
15
 Poland (POL)
Rtg
-
48
 Estonia (EST)
Rtg
3 : 1
7.1
GM
Wojtaszek Radoslaw
2711
-
GM
Kulaots Kaido
2592
½ - ½
7.2
GM
Macieja Bartlomiej
2651
-
GM
Kanep Meelis
2532
1 - 0
7.3
GM
Miton Kamil
2629
-
IM
Sepp Olav
2485
½ - ½
7.4
GM
Bartel Mateusz
2599
-
IM
Volodin Aleksandr
2433
1 - 0
Bd
14
 Russia 3 (RUS3)
Rtg
-
25
 Greece (GRE)
Rtg
2 : 2
8.1
GM
Jakovenko Dmitry
2726
-
GM
Papaioannou Ioannis
2622
1 - 0
8.2
GM
Motylev Alexandr
2694
-
GM
Banikas Hristos
2590
0 - 1
8.3
GM
Rublevsky Sergei
2683
-
GM
Halkias Stelios
2577
½ - ½
8.4
IM
Pridorozhni Aleksei
2556
-
GM
Mastrovasilis Athanasios
2556
½ - ½
Bd
56
 Montenegro (MNE)
Rtg
-
3
 China (CHN)
Rtg
1½:2½
9.1
GM
Djukic Nikola
2475
-
GM
Wang Yue
2732
1 - 0
9.2
GM
Kosic Dragan
2481
-
GM
Wang Hao
2724
0 - 1
9.3
GM
Blagojevic Dragisa
2481
-
GM
Zhou Jianchao
2660
½ - ½
9.4
IM
Kalezic Blazo
2449
-
GM
Li Chao B
2633
0 - 1
Bd
18
 Cuba (CUB)
Rtg
-
32
 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Rtg
3 : 1
10.1
GM
Dominguez Perez Leinier
2716
-
GM
Sokolov Ivan
2641
½ - ½
10.2
GM
Bruzon Batista Lazaro
2679
-
GM
Predojevic Borki
2624
1 - 0
10.3
GM
Quesada Perez Yuniesky
2614
-
GM
Dizdarevic Emir
2475
½ - ½
10.4
GM
Corrales Jimenez Fidel
2599
-
IM
Stojanovic Dalibor
2496
1 - 0

Click here for complete men's results

Current men's standings (after six rounds)

Rk.
St.
Team Team
Gms
  + 
  = 
  - 
 Pts 
1 2 Ukraine UKR
6
5
1
0
11
2 6 Armenia ARM
6
5
1
0
11
3 20 Georgia GEO
6
5
1
0
11
4 1 Russia 1 RUS1
6
5
0
1
10
5 4 Russia 2 RUS2
6
5
0
1
10
6 15 Poland POL
6
4
2
0
10
7 9 United States USA
6
5
0
1
10
8 7 Azerbaijan AZE
6
5
0
1
10
9 5 Hungary HUN
6
5
0
1
10
10 24 Brazil BRA
6
4
1
1
9
11 14 Russia 3 RUS3
6
4
1
1
9
12 3 China CHN
6
4
1
1
9

Click here for complete men's standings


Top women's results

Bd
1
 Russia 1 (RUS1)
Rtg
-
3
 Ukraine (UKR)
Rtg
2½:1½
1.1
GM
Kosintseva Tatiana
2573
-
GM
Lahno Kateryna
2539
0 - 1
1.2
IM
Kosintseva Nadezhda
2565
-
GM
Zhukova Natalia
2499
½ - ½
1.3
GM
Kosteniuk Alexandra
2524
-
IM
Ushenina Anna
2466
1 - 0
1.4
IM
Galliamova Alisa
2482
-
IM
Muzychuk Mariya
2464
1 - 0
Bd
4
 Georgia (GEO)
Rtg
-
6
 United States (USA)
Rtg
2½:1½
2.1
GM
Dzagnidze Nana
2534
-
IM
Krush Irina
2490
1 - 0
2.2
IM
Javakhishvili Lela
2451
-
IM
Zatonskih Anna
2480
0 - 1
2.3
IM
Melia Salome
2439
-
WFM
Abrahamyan Tatev
2352
1 - 0
2.4
IM
Khotenashvili Bela
2464
-
WGM
Foisor Sabina-Francesca
2293
½ - ½
Bd
9
 Hungary (HUN)
Rtg
-
10
 Poland (POL)
Rtg
4 : 0
3.1
GM
Hoang Thanh Trang
2482
-
GM
Socko Monika
2486
1 - 0
3.2
IM
Madl Ildiko
2397
-
WGM
Zawadzka Jolanta
2410
1 - 0
3.3
IM
Vajda Szidonia
2342
-
WGM
Majdan-Gajewska Joanna
2333
1 - 0
3.4
WGM
Gara Ticia
2348
-
IM
Dworakowska Joanna
2315
1 - 0
Bd
36
 Russia 3 (RUS3)
Rtg
-
2
 China (CHN)
Rtg
1 : 3
4.1
WGM
Kovanova Baira
2370
-
GM
Hou Yifan
2578
0 - 1
4.2
WFM
Bezgodova Mariya
2170
-
WGM
Ju Wenjun
2516
0 - 1
4.3
 
Bezgodova Svetlana
2120
-
GM
Zhao Xue
2469
1 - 0
4.4
 
Kabanova Yekaterina
2177
-
IM
Wang Yu
2394
0 - 1
Bd
8
 India (IND)
Rtg
-
30
 Italy (ITA)
Rtg
3 : 1
5.1
IM
Harika Dronavalli
2515
-
IM
Sedina Elena
2342
1 - 0
5.2
IM
Tania Sachdev
2382
-
IM
Zimina Olga
2334
1 - 0
5.3
IM
Karavade Eesha
2365
-
WIM
Brunello Marina
2212
½ - ½
5.4
WGM
Meenakshi Subbaraman
2336
-
WFM
De Rosa Mariagrazia
2073
½ - ½

Click here for complete women's results

Current women's standings (after six rounds)

Rk.
St. Team Team
Gms
 Pts 
1
1 Russia 1 RUS1
6
6
0
0
12
2
9 Hungary HUN
6
5
1
0
11
3
4 Georgia GEO
6
5
0
1
10
4
3 Ukraine UKR
6
5
0
1
10
5
2 China CHN
6
5
0
1
10
6
8 India IND
6
5
0
1
10
7
14 Romania ROU
6
4
1
1
9
8
6 United States USA
6
4
1
1
9
9
7 Armenia ARM
6
4
1
1
9
10
17 Serbia SRB
6
4
1
1
9

Click here for complete women's standings


Sponsors


Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!


Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register