Some training positions

Before we move to the actual news of what happened in the tournament, there are two things to share with you. First, are some training positions for you to flex your mind and improve your game. All of these have been taken from the 2nd round of the Olympiad. Not many hints have been given as we want your task to be as close to a game of chess that you are playing. 

An Indian and Colombian Engagement!

This is the second thing to share with all of you. Niklesh Jain of India proposed to Angela Franco of Colombia minutes before the start of 2nd round of the Batumi Olympiad 2018! Niklesh is the editor-in-chief of ChessBase India Hindi and he is present at the Olympiad as a journalist. Angela is a member of the Colombian national team. It was a surprise for Angela, while Niklesh had planned it all! It was an amazing moment not just for Niklesh and Angela but the chess community in general. A Colombian got engaged to an Indian at the biggest possible event in chess where people from 189 countries are taking part! Gens Una Sumus! PS: Don't miss the expressions of the Chinese players in the background who couldn't believe that they were seeing this!

Niklesh Jain proposes to Angela Franco. Exclusive video!

Women's section

The real big news of the second round was Russia losing to Uzbekistan in round two. The first three boards ended in draws and the decisive win was scored by Nodira Nadirjanova on the fourth board.

Nodira Nadirjanova proved to be the hero for the Uzbek team as she scored the critical win to help her team win by a score of 2½-1½ over the mighty Russians | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Ukraine very nearly survived from the jaws of defeat against Turkmenistan | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Zhukova scored the important win on board three and rest of the games ended in a draw. But Anna Muzychuk and Anna Ushenina were lost in their games!

There was one game in the women's section which is important to be mentioned here. It was Shen Yang with the white pieces against Colombian Melissa Gomez.

White has just played the king to e2. What should be the result of the game? Mind you, think deep!

The solution is just unbelievable! Have a look at how you can weave a mating net even with much less material on the board.

Results of round two (women)

Attacking with the Benko Gambit

Don't give 1.d4 players an easy ride — sacrifice a pawn with 3.b5 for a lasting initiative. GM Ramirez shows you clear ideas for play in every variation.

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Results of round two (open)

Solutions to the problems

Solution 1 and 2

The first two training positions at the start of the article are from the game between Andrew Greet and Anish Giri. This game has been analyzed in depth by GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly. We will let you enjoy the annotations below, but first the solutions.

Aryan Tari played the move Nd4 and Mchedlishvili had no option but to resign. I was very surprised that Baadur Jobava didn't play on board one for the team of Georgia. This resulted in a 2:2 draw against Norway.

The idea to trap the queen with Bf4 and Be2 reminds us of a battlefield where a warrior goes too deep into enemy territory finding no way to go back!

If Nikoloz Petriashvili would have found the best move, it could have been possible for the young Georgians to hold or beat USA. The young Georgians played in a very spirited manner with Noe Tutisani holding Fabiano Caruana on board one and Nikolozi Kacharava having a better position against Ray Robson.

The English Opening Vol. 1

Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.

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Alexandr Fier is going to find his name in many tactics books in the years to come because of this position.

Once Black takes back on e6, do you see the finishing tactic?

The English Opening Vol. 2

Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.

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It was Wesley So who provided the much-needed win for the Americans | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Anand's first Olympiad victory at the after 12 years

Vishy Anand's last Olympiad was in Turin in 2006. He played his first Olympiad game after twelve years against GM Markus Ragger and won it in excellent style. Check out this brilliant game with the help of Ganguly's analysis and then enjoy Anand's interview after the game.

The Bishop's Opening and The Italian Game

Studying the content of this DVD and adding these openings to your repertoire will provide players with a very strong tool to fight 1...e5 - as the practice of the author clearly demonstrates.

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Vishy Anand on his win over Markus Ragger

Round 3 team pairings for open (all teams on 4 match points)

Complete list

The most interesting match is surely the Netherlands versus the USA. Anish Giri will take on Fabiano Caruana on board one. When we interviewed Anish Giri after round two, he gave his opinion about the US team. Here is what he said:

Anish Giri speaks about his round two game, his approach towards the Olympiad, the strength of Netherlands team. He speaks about the US team at 11 minutes 30 seconds.

Other interesting matches are between the young Iranian team that will take on a strong Belarus team. Also, Brazil against England would be an interesting fight.

Round 3 team pairings for women (all teams on 4 match points)

Complete list

Spain versus Georgia 2 is going to be a close fight. Other matches of interest are England against Azerbaijan and India takes on Serbia.

Two of the games in this report have been annotated by GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly and he has helped us tremendously in finding the training positions. He is six-time National Champion for India, Asian Champion and has been Anand's second in numerous World Championship matches.

Links

• Official website
• Round 1: Li Chao is the biggest casualty
• The best ever chess opening ceremony!
• ChessBase India Youtube Channel