Budapest R3 (open): Carlsen's last-minute arrival and two big upsets

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
9/14/2024 – Round 3 of the Chess Olympiad saw drama unfold both on and off the board, as Magnus Carlsen almost did not make it on time to the venue. As for surprising results, particularly shocking were the victories by Italy and Lithuania, who beat the Netherlands and Germany respectively. In both cases, the top representatives of the favourite teams - Anish Giri and Vincent Keymer - were defeated by much lower-rated opponents. A total of 16 teams are now sharing the lead with 6/6 match points. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

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Carlsen barely makes it to the venue

Find below videos from the venue by Arne Kaehler and expert video analysis by GM Daniel King

Former world champion Magnus Carlsen made an entrance like no other, arriving just 4 minutes before defaulting his game. Carlsen, who arrived at the venue by bike due to traffic issues that prevented his teammates from picking him up at his hotel, quickly settled in and showed his class. Playing with the black pieces against Colombia's Roberto García, Carlsen secured a comfortable victory. Norway, buoyed by Carlsen's win, went on to defeat Colombia with a dominant 3½-½ score, keeping them in the hunt for a top spot.

The round itself saw unexpected results on 7 out of the top 20 boards. These surprises left 16 teams tied for first place with 6/6 match points each. Some of the higher-seeded teams that suffered unexpected losses include the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Romania. Meanwhile, other top teams like England, Iran, and Türkiye were held to draws by lower-rated opponents, shaking up the standings and opening the door for other nations to make a strong push for the title.

The two most significant upsets came from Italy and Lithuania, who both took down formidable opponents in the Netherlands and Germany. The underdogs not only won their matches but did so with stunning victories on the top board. Italy's Lorenzo Lodici delivered a remarkable win by defeating the Dutch star Anish Giri. Similarly, Titas Stremavicius of Lithuania shocked Germany by overcoming their top player, Vincent Keymer.

Lorenzo Lodici

Lorenzo Lodici | Photo: FIDE / Mark Livshitz

Italy v. Netherlands

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1.d4 3 Nf6 22 2.c4 11 e6 4 3.Nc3 4 Bb4 1:41 4.e3 7 b6 1:42 5.Bd3 9:47 Bb7 1:20 6.Nge2 5 Bxg2 20:38 7.Rg1 10 Bf3 6 8.Rg3 4 Bxc3+ 1:05 9.bxc3 4 Be4 4 Black is slightly better. 10.Qc2 6 Bxd3 5:34 11.Qxd3 5 Nh5 25 12.Rh3 5 g6 7:28 13.e4 7       d6 33 14.Ng3 5 Nxg3 35 15.Qxg3 3 f6 9:29 Better is 15...h5 16.Bg5 f6 16.Bh6= 21:31 Rg8 13:21 Repels Bg7 16...Qe7= 17.e5! 4:25 White is much more active. Nd7 9 18.0-0-0 7:01 18.exd6?! cxd6 19.Qxd6 Qe7 18...Qe7 3:10
18...dxe5? 19.dxe5 Qe7 19...fxe5? 20.Bg5+- 20.exf6 Nxf6 21.Qe5+- 18...fxe5? 19.Bg5 Nf6 20.Qh4 20.dxe5 Ne4± 20.Qf3 e4+- 20...exd4 21.Bxf6+- 19.exf6 4:37 Nxf6 7:27 20.Bg5 6:46 Hoping for Qf3. Ne4? 8 This move loses the game for Black. 21.Bxe7+- 1:12 Nxg3 4 22.fxg3 6:47 Resist 22.Rxh7?! Nf5 23.Bg5 Kf8+- 22.hxg3 Kxe7 23.Rxh7+ Kf6± 22...Kxe7 4 23.Rxh7+ 5       Endgame. KRR-KRR Kd8 7 24.Rf1 1:55 Kc8 6 25.Rff7 2:01 Kb7 4 26.Rxc7+ 4 Ka6 1 27.Rhe7 4:08 Rgf8 51 28.Kb2 19 But not 28.Rxe6 Rf2 29.h4 29.Rxd6 Re8= 29...g5+- 28...d5 5:11 29.Rxe6 1:14 White is winning. dxc4 5 30.Rxc4 25 Rf2+ 2 31.Kb3 6 Weighted Error Value: White=0.02 (flawless) /Black=0.28 (precise) . Mistake: --- Black=3 Inaccurate: --- Black=1 OK: White=12 Black=11 Best: White=3 --- Strong: White=1 ---
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Lodici,L2556Giri,A27241–0202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.21
Van Foreest,J2696Moroni,L25581–0202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.22
Sonis,F2554Warmerdam,M26791–0202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.23
L'ami,E2628Brunello,S25110–1202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.24

Alexander Donchenko, Valery Kazakouski

Lithuania's Valery Kazakouski beat Germany's Alexander Donchenko with white on board 3 | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Lithuania v. Germany

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1.d4 3 Nf6 5 2.c4 9 e6 4 3.Nf3 7 h6 1:45 4.g3 2:17 Bb4+ 1:50 5.Bd2 1:58 Be7 1:15 6.Bg2 1:23 d5 1:44 7.Qc2 1:19 0-0 2:15 8.0-0 10 The position is equal. c6 1:01 9.Rd1 46 Nbd7 1:16 10.Bf4 32 a5 4:06 11.Nc3 38 b6 8:32 12.Ne5 1:33 Nxe5 28 13.dxe5 4 Nd7 4 14.cxd5 25 cxd5 6 14...exd5? 15.e4 d4 16.Rxd4± 15.e4! 9       White is more active. d4 5 16.Rxd4 6 g5! 5:25 17.Be3 47 Bc5 2:56
18.Qe2! 28 Qe8 9:23 18...Qe7 19.Rd2 19.Rd2 16:47 aiming for Bxc5. Ba6 7:57 20.Qd1 13:10 Nxe5 5:55       21.Bxc5 4:50 bxc5 2 22.f4 26 Nc4 2:05 23.Rf2 1:02 Threatens to win with Qe1. Ne3 10:56 24.Qf3 16:07 24.Qc1 feels hotter. Nxg2 25.fxg5 Qd8 26.gxh6 Nh4 27.gxh4 Qxh4 28.Qe3 24...Nxg2 3:23 25.fxg5 7 25.Qxg2 simplifies Qe7 26.Re1 Rad8 27.fxg5 Qxg5 28.e5 25...hxg5 2:16 26.e5 11:30 Rb8 21:27 27.Ne4 12:46 And now Nf6+ would win. 27.Rxg2 Bb7 28.Qh5 Bxg2 28...f6 29.Qxe8 Rfxe8 30.Rd2= 29.Qxg5+ Kh7 30.Qh5+ Kg7 31.Qg4+ Kh6 32.Qh4+ Kg6 33.Qg4+ Kh6 34.Qh4+ Kg7 35.Qg4+ Kh8 36.Qh4+ Kg7 37.Qg4+= 27...f5! 2 28.exf6 16 Strongly threatening Nxg5! 28.Nxc5 Bc4 29.Qxg2 Qb5 28...Bb7! 12 29.Rxg2 5:22 29.Kxg2 Qg6 30.Re1 Bd5= 29...Qg6 29 Black is weak on the dark squares 30.Re2 20 c4 6:58 30...Bd5= 31.Rf1± 4:38 Black must now prevent Qg4. Bxe4 1:24 31...e5± was necessary. 32.Qc3 Bxe4 33.Qxc4+ 33.Qxa5? c3-+ 33...Kh7 34.Qxe4 34.Rxe4 Rb4= 34...Qxe4 35.Rxe4 Rxb2 32.Rxe4+- 1:52 Less strong is 32.Qxe4 Qxe4 33.Rxe4 Rxb2 32...Rxb2? 6 32...c3 33.Rxe6 37 Threatening mate with f7+! Not 33.Rxc4 Rb1 33...Qh7 53
33...Kh8+- 34.Qa3 Rb4 34.f7+! 54       Kh8 22 34...Qxf7 35.Rg6+ 35.Qc3+ 4 Weighted Error Value: White=0.09 (flawless) /Black=0.36. Mistake: --- Black=4 Inaccurate: White=2 Black=2 OK: White=14 Black=9 Best: White=2 Black=2 Strong: White=1 Black=3 Brilliant: White=1 ---
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Stremavicius,T2527Keymer,V27301–0202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.25
Bluebaum,M2640Pultinevicius,P2587½–½202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.26
Kazakouski,V2577Donchenko,A26381–0202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.27
Svane,F2640Laurusas,T25691–0202445th FIDE Olympiad 20243.28

In addition to these major upsets, other surprising results came from Montenegro's win over France and Sweden's win over Romania. Both matches were close, with 2½-1½ scores, and only one decisive result dictating the fate of the matches. Nikita Petrov of Montenegro secured the crucial point against France's Marc'Andria Maurizzi, while Erik Blomqvist of Sweden grabbed the key win against Romania's Kirill Shevchenko.

Lower-rated teams that managed to hold stronger opponents to draws also deserve recognition. Denmark successfully split points with England, a higher-rated team, while Georgia managed the same against Iran. Slovakia also pulled off a commendable performance, earning a draw against Türkiye. These draws, while not as dramatic as outright victories, surely impacted the standings.

Filip Boe Olsen, Gawain Jones

Filip Boe Olsen signed one of four draws for the Danish team on Friday - he drew Gawain Jones on board 4 | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Despite these surprises, the 4 highest-rated teams remain at the top with perfect 6/6 match points. The United States, India, China and Uzbekistan have so far avoided any slip-ups. The Indian team has been particularly impressive, standing out as the only squad to have accumulated an incredible 11½/12 score on individual boards. Arjun Erigaisi has been in scintillating form, with a perfect 3/3 score so far, including a remarkable victory on Friday that continues to boost his team's momentum.

Looking ahead to Saturday, the competition is set to intensify as these top teams face challenging matchups. The United States will be tested by Ukraine, which features seasoned grandmasters Ruslan Ponomariov and Anton Korobov on boards 3 and 4. India will face Serbia, whose top boards include Russian-born grandmasters Alexandr Predke and Alexey Sarana. China is set to take on Armenia, a team including four solid 2600-players. Uzbekistan, the reigning Olympiad champion, will face Vietnam, led by the ever-dangerous Le Quang Liem.

With these matchups on the horizon, round 4 is shaping up to be another thrilling day of chess in Budapest.

Fabiano Caruana

Fabiano Caruana beat Bulgaria's Ivan Cheparinov and reclaimed the second spot in the live ratings list | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Tactical shots

Arjun, playing white on board 3 for the formidable Indian team, checkmated Peter Prohaszka of Hungary 2 in style.

Arjun v. Prohaszka

32.Qxh6+ gxh6 33.Rxh6+ (note that the black rook on f6 is pinned) Qh7 34.Rxh7#

Dommaraju Gukesh

Dommaraju Gukesh also scored a win for India in round 3 | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Facing Austria, the top Hungarian squad signed draws on the first three boards, but a win by Benjamin Gledura over Felix Blohberger granted the locals a third consecutive victory.

Gledura v. Blohberger

24.Nxh6+ was the start of a good-looking mating attack - there followed 24...Kg7 25.Rxf7+ Kxh6 26.Qh3+ Kg5 27.Qe3+ Kh5 28.Rh7+ Kg4

And 29.h3# is game over.

Peter Leko

Hungary facing Austria with Peter Leko on board 1 | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza


Expert analysis by GM Daniel King


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Standings after round 3 - Open

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 India 6
2 United States of America 6
3 Uzbekistan 6
4 China 6
Vietnam 6
6 Azerbaijan 6
7 Poland 6
Spain 6
Ukraine 6
Armenia 6
Lithuania 6
Sweden 6
13 Hungary 6
14 Italy 6
Montenegro 6
16 Serbia 6
17 Georgia 5
18 Norway 5
19 Iran 5
20 Turkiye 5

...183 teams

Round 4 pairings - Open

Team Pts. MP : MP Pts. Team
United States 11 6 : 6 10 Ukraine
Hungary *) 10 6 : 6 Italy
Serbia 9 6 : 6 11½ India
China 10½ 6 : 6 10 Armenia
Vietnam 10½ 6 : 6 10½ Uzbekistan
Poland 10 6 : 6 10 Lithuania
Montenegro 6 : 6 10 Azerbaijan
Sweden 10 6 : 6 10 Spain
Norway 9 5 : 5 Slovakia
Georgia 10 5 : 5 England
Denmark 5 : 5 Iran
Latvia 5 : 5 9 Turkiye
Canada 5 : 5 Greece
Netherlands 4 : 4 North Macedonia
Germany 8 4 : 4 8 Mongolia

...93 boards


  • Full pairings and standings on Chess-Results: Open | Women
  • All games on Live.ChessBase.com: Open | Women

All games - Round 3 (Open)

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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