The return of China, Russia still out
Once again, a participation record has been broken at the Chess Olympiad. While the 2022 edition in Chennai featured 188 teams in the open, a total of 197 teams are registered to play the open section in Budapest. Both events had big absentees, though, as the Chess Federations of Russia and Belarus remain banned from participating in FIDE events. Unlike in the previous edition, however, China did send teams to Budapest, with the open squad featuring world champion Ding Liren on the top board.
Not all teams managed to make it in time (or maybe at all) for the first round of the massive tournament. A total of 20 squads in the open section, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, were not paired on opening day, 15 of which also appear as not paired for round 2.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Still, Wednesday saw 89 matches being played in the open and 81 matches taking place in the women's section. All but one encounter favoured the rating favourites - in the open section, Vanuatu (197th seeds) defeated the Democratic Republic of the Congo (182nd) by the smallest of margins. Curiously, this was one of only two cases in which the rating underdogs scored 1½ points or more in either section. The one other exception was Liberia (133rd seeds) losing to Brazil (43rd) by a 2½-1½ score in the women's tournament.

Lu Miaoyi, aged 14, is playing for the Chinese women's team | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Aronian, Mamedyarov, Yakubboev escape
Though none of the top teams were in danger of losing their round-1 matches, a few strong GMs were inches away from suffering upset losses on Wednesday.
Levon Aronian, playing on board 3 for the United States, opted for an overly optimistic line with the black pieces - including 4...g6, 8...h6 and 11...g5 out of a Sicilian Defence. However, his opponent, André Méndez from Panama (rated 2122), failed to react correctly when Aronian began to create complications on the queenside.
Méndez erred with 26.Na5, when 26.Qa5 was the way to go. It is somewhat understandable for the Panamanian to have faltered here, though, as after the correct 26.Qa5 there is 26...Bb4 27.Qxb4 c5, attacking the queen and threatening checkmate on g2. In that line, White is still better after 28.Rxh3 cxb4, but it surely looks complicated.
In the game, the queens were traded and the ensuing position was balanced. The ever-tricky Aronian, however, not only swindled his way out of trouble but also went on to outplay his opponent in a double-rook endgame.

André Méndez (Panama) playing white against Levon Aronian (United States) | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, on his part, is playing on board 4 for Azerbaijan despite being the highest-rated player in the lineup - surprisingly, Teimour Radjabov, the country's number 2, is the team's captain and is not playing.
Marshalling the black pieces against Khwaira Anas from Jordan (rated 1994), the Azerbaijani star found himself in deep trouble after his untitled opponent played a great positional manoeuvre.
After 24.Nd5, Black cannot play 25...Nxd5 due to the queen being overloaded defending both the knight on c4 and the rook on e8. Mamedyarov went for 24...Nh5 and lost an exchange after 25.Rc2 Rc8 26.Ne7+
Looking for a realistic way to play for a win with Black against 1.e4 without taking unnecessary risks? The Taimanov Sicilian is a reliable system, and hence one of the best options out there!
White had a clear advantage with his extra exchange, but Anas nonetheless agreed to a draw on move 49, perhaps finding it difficult to convert his advantage into a win against such a famed and tricky opponent. Mamedyarov lost 4.2 rating points in this game.

Azerbaijan's Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Rauf Mamedov | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
Similarly, Nodirbek Yakubboev, playing on board 2 for the defending champions from Uzbekistan, saw his opponent agreeing to split the point by entering a threefold repetition while having a clearly advantageous position.
Quinn Cabralis from Trinidad & Tobago (rated 2169) repeated the position with Qf6-g5-f6 here, when his queen, rook and two extra pawns are clearly stronger than Black's rook and three minor pieces - especially given White's attacking chances on the kingside.
These were not the only encounters that saw super-GMs struggling. For example, Arjun Erigaisi went for a speculative piece sacrifice against Jacques Elbilia from Morocco (rated 2343), but much like Aronian, ended up getting a full point after his opponent faltered in the ensuing complications.

Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Yakubboev escaped with a draw | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
All games mentioned in this section
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3 g6 5.e5 Nh5 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.0-0 Ng7 8.d3 h6 9.Ne4 b6 10.Re1 Nf5 11.c3 g5 12.Qa4 Qc7? 12...Bb7± 13.g4+- Qb7 14.gxf5 Bxf5 15.d4 Bg4 16.Nfd2 16.d5 Bxf3 17.dxc6 16...cxd4 17.Nb3 0-0-0 18.cxd4 Kb8 19.Bd2 Bd7? 19...Be6 20.Rac1 Rc8 20.Qa3 20.Nbc5 bxc5 21.Ba5 21.Nxc5 Qb5+- 21.dxc5 Be6= 20...Bf5 21.Rac1 e6 22.Qa4 Rc8 23.Rc3 Ka8 24.Ng3 Bh3 25.Nf1? 25.Rce3+- 25...b5± 26.Na5! bxa4= 27.Nxb7 Bxf1 28.Kxf1 28.Nd6?! Bxd6 29.exd6 Ba6 28...Kxb7 29.Rc4 Be7 30.Rxa4 Rhd8 31.Be3 c5 32.dxc5 Bxc5 33.Re4 Bb6 34.Bxb6 axb6 35.R1e2 Rd1+ 36.Kg2 h5 37.f4 g4 38.Kg3 Rg8 39.R4e3 Rf1 40.Rf2 40.Rd2= 40...h4+! 41.Kg2 Rd1 41...Rxf2+ 42.Kxf2 Ra8 42.Ree2? 42.f5 42...h3+ 43.Kg3 Rg1+ 44.Kh4 g3 45.hxg3 R1xg3 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Mendez Machado,A | 2122 | Aronian,L | 2729 | 0–1 | 2024 | | 45th FIDE Olympiad 2024 | 1.3 |
Anas,K | 1994 | Mamedyarov,S | 2733 | ½–½ | 2024 | | 45th FIDE Olympiad 2024 | 1.48 |
Cabralis,Q | 2169 | Yakubboev,N | 2666 | ½–½ | 2024 | | 45th FIDE Olympiad 2024 | 1.18 |
Elbilia,J | 2343 | Erigaisi,A | 2778 | 0–1 | 2024 | | 45th FIDE Olympiad 2024 | 1.10 |
Please, wait...
We are likely to see many more surprises in Thursday's round 2, as the top teams in both sections are paired up against stronger opposition.
In the open section, the United States, Hungary and India are paired up against Singapore, Peru and Iceland respectively, while in the women's category, India, Hungary and Georgia are paired up against the Czech Republic, Ecuador and Montenegro (the local teams from Hungary will play on board 2 in all rounds of the event). The fun is just beginning in Budapest!
Round 2 pairings - Open
In this first part, the emphasis is on themes and ideas whereas Part 2 and 3 focus on theoretical knowledge!
1 |
1 |
|
USA |
United States |
3½ |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
Singapore |
SGP |
|
45 |
2 |
9 |
|
HUN |
Hungary *) |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Peru |
PER |
|
53 |
3 |
46 |
|
ISL |
Iceland |
3 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
India |
IND |
|
2 |
4 |
3 |
|
CHN |
China |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Chile |
CHI |
|
47 |
5 |
48 |
|
EGY |
Egypt |
3½ |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
Uzbekistan |
UZB |
|
4 |
6 |
5 |
|
NED |
Netherlands |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
Belgium |
BEL |
|
49 |
7 |
50 |
|
CAN |
Canada |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
Norway |
NOR |
|
6 |
8 |
7 |
|
GER |
Germany |
3½ |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Philippines |
PHI |
|
51 |
9 |
52 |
|
MEX |
Mexico |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
England |
ENG |
|
8 |
10 |
54 |
|
POR |
Portugal |
3½ |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
Iran |
IRI |
|
10 |
11 |
11 |
|
POL |
Poland |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Hungary C |
HUN |
|
55 |
12 |
56 |
|
FIN |
Finland |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
Azerbaijan |
AZE |
|
12 |
13 |
13 |
|
ESP |
Spain |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
BIH |
|
57 |
14 |
58 |
|
PAR |
Paraguay |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
3½ |
France |
FRA |
|
14 |
15 |
15 |
|
UKR |
Ukraine |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Uruguay |
URU |
|
59 |
...91 boards
Round 2 pairings - Women
1 |
1 |
|
IND |
India |
3½ |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Czech Republic |
CZE |
|
41 |
2 |
54 |
|
ECU |
Ecuador |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Hungary *) |
HUN |
|
14 |
3 |
42 |
|
MNE |
Montenegro |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Georgia |
GEO |
|
2 |
4 |
3 |
|
POL |
Poland |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
2½ |
Brazil |
BRA |
|
43 |
5 |
44 |
|
COL |
Colombia |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
China |
CHN |
|
4 |
6 |
5 |
|
UKR |
Ukraine |
3½ |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Lithuania |
LTU |
|
45 |
7 |
46 |
|
AUS |
Australia |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Azerbaijan |
AZE |
|
6 |
8 |
7 |
|
USA |
United States |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Philippines |
PHI |
|
47 |
9 |
48 |
|
BEL |
Belgium |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Germany |
GER |
|
8 |
10 |
9 |
|
ESP |
Spain |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
3 |
Hungary C |
HUN |
|
49 |
11 |
50 |
|
FIN |
Finland |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Kazakhstan |
KAZ |
|
10 |
12 |
11 |
|
ARM |
Armenia |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Mexico |
MEX |
|
51 |
13 |
52 |
|
EGY |
Egypt |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Bulgaria |
BUL |
|
12 |
14 |
13 |
|
FRA |
France |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Luxembourg |
LUX |
|
53 |
15 |
15 |
|
ENG |
England |
4 |
2 |
: |
2 |
4 |
Denmark |
DEN |
|
55 |
...83 boards
- Full pairings and standings on Chess-Results: Open | Women
- All games on Live.ChessBase.com: Open | Women
All games - Round 1 (Open)
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All games - Round 1 (Women)
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
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