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.
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.
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 | Photo: FIDE / Mark Livshitz
Italy v. Netherlands
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1.e4
1,184,215
54%
2421
---
1.d4
958,932
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
286,327
56%
2441
---
1.c4
184,722
56%
2443
---
1.g3
19,884
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,598
54%
2428
---
1.f4
5,953
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,906
50%
2384
---
1.b4
1,790
48%
2378
---
1.a3
1,250
54%
2406
---
1.e3
1,081
49%
2409
---
1.d3
969
50%
2378
---
1.g4
670
46%
2361
---
1.h4
466
54%
2382
---
1.c3
439
51%
2425
---
1.h3
289
56%
2420
---
1.a4
118
60%
2461
---
1.f3
100
47%
2427
---
1.Nh3
92
67%
2511
---
1.Na3
47
62%
2476
---
Please, wait...
1.d43Nf6222.c411e643.Nc34Bb41:414.e37b61:425.Bd39:47Bb71:206.Nge25Bxg220:387.Rg110Bf368.Rg34Bxc3+1:059.bxc34Be44 Black is slightly better.10.Qc26Bxd35:3411.Qxd35Nh52512.Rh35g67:2813.e47d63314.Ng35Nxg33515.Qxg33f69:29Better is15...h516.Bg5f616.Bh6=21:31Rg813:21 Repels Bg716...Qe7=17.e5!4:25 White is much more active.Nd7918.0-0-07:0118.exd6?!cxd619.Qxd6Qe718...Qe73:10
18...dxe5?19.dxe5Qe719...fxe5?20.Bg5+-20.exf6Nxf621.Qe5+-18...fxe5?19.Bg5Nf620.Qh420.dxe5Ne4±20.Qf3e4+-20...exd421.Bxf6+-19.exf64:37Nxf67:2720.Bg56:46 Hoping for Qf3.Ne4?8 This move loses the game for Black.21.Bxe7+-1:12Nxg3422.fxg36:47Resist22.Rxh7?!Nf523.Bg5Kf8+-22.hxg3Kxe723.Rxh7+Kf6±22...Kxe7423.Rxh7+5 Endgame. KRR-KRRKd8724.Rf11:55Kc8625.Rff72:01Kb7426.Rxc7+4Ka6127.Rhe74:08Rgf85128.Kb219But not28.Rxe6Rf229.h429.Rxd6Re8=29...g5+-28...d55:1129.Rxe61:14 White is winning.dxc4530.Rxc425Rf2+231.Kb36 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
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.d43Nf652.c49e643.Nf37h61:454.g32:17Bb4+1:505.Bd21:58Be71:156.Bg21:23d51:447.Qc21:190-02:158.0-010 The position is equal.c61:019.Rd146Nbd71:1610.Bf432a54:0611.Nc338b68:3212.Ne51:33Nxe52813.dxe54Nd7414.cxd525cxd5614...exd5?15.e4d416.Rxd4±15.e4!9 White is more active.d4516.Rxd46g5!5:2517.Be347Bc52:56
18.Qe2!28Qe89:2318...Qe719.Rd219.Rd216:47 aiming for Bxc5.Ba67:5720.Qd113:10Nxe55:5521.Bxc54:50bxc5222.f426Nc42:0523.Rf21:02 Threatens to win with Qe1.Ne310:5624.Qf316:0724.Qc1feels hotter.Nxg225.fxg5Qd826.gxh6Nh427.gxh4Qxh428.Qe324...Nxg23:2325.fxg5725.Qxg2simplifiesQe726.Re1Rad827.fxg5Qxg528.e525...hxg52:1626.e511:30Rb821:2727.Ne412:46 And now Nf6+ would win.27.Rxg2Bb728.Qh5Bxg228...f629.Qxe8Rfxe830.Rd2=29.Qxg5+Kh730.Qh5+Kg731.Qg4+Kh632.Qh4+Kg633.Qg4+Kh634.Qh4+Kg735.Qg4+Kh836.Qh4+Kg737.Qg4+=27...f5!228.exf616 Strongly threatening Nxg5!28.Nxc5Bc429.Qxg2Qb528...Bb7!1229.Rxg25:2229.Kxg2Qg630.Re1Bd5=29...Qg629 Black is weak on the dark squares30.Re220c46:5830...Bd5=31.Rf1±4:38 Black must now prevent Qg4.Bxe41:2431...e5±was necessary.32.Qc3Bxe433.Qxc4+33.Qxa5?c3-+33...Kh734.Qxe434.Rxe4Rb4=34...Qxe435.Rxe4Rxb232.Rxe4+-1:52Less strong is32.Qxe4Qxe433.Rxe4Rxb232...Rxb2?632...c333.Rxe637 Threatening mate with f7+!Not33.Rxc4Rb133...Qh753
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.
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
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 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 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
In this video course, kings will play a role of strong and active pieces. We will explore how Kings can be helpful in defence and prophylaxis, or even in attack!
And 29.h3# is game over.
Hungary facing Austria with Peter Leko on board 1 | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos 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.
Throughout the video course, Sasikran shows various examples from his career to explain sacrifices for initiative, an attack, a better pawn structure and much more.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
Powerbook based on more than 618 000 games in which White already sidesteps the main variations of the Sicilian on move 2.
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