Five teams with chances to grab gold

Uzbekistan will enter the final round of the Chess Olympiad with a one-point lead after producing one of their most convincing performances of the tournament. The hosts defeated Armenia 3½–½ on Saturday, while India kept up the pressure with a victory by the same score against Uzbekistan 2.

With one round remaining, Uzbekistan lead on 18/20 match points, India follow on 17/20, while Germany, Ukraine and Hungary all stand on 16/20. Those are the five teams that still retain a chance of finishing first in Samarkand.

Master Class Vol.20 - Bent Larsen

In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career. 
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section

The final round will bring confrontations involving the contenders. Uzbekistan will face Ukraine, giving the latter a chance to catch the leaders on match points with a match victory. India will meet Hungary, while Germany take on the Netherlands. The Dutch belong to an eight-team group on 15/20 and are no longer in contention for first place.

The decisive round will begin four hours earlier than usual, at 8.00 CEST.

Round 11 pairings

Eastern Time

...103 boards

Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev were all part of the team that won the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

Uzbekistan make short work of unbeaten Armenia

Armenia had been one of the most resilient teams in the tournament before meeting the hosts. Through nine rounds, they had lost only two individual games, and both defeats had merely cost them a single match point in draws against higher-seeded United States and Netherlands.

Uzbekistan, however, broke through much more decisively.

Javokhir Sindarov and Mukhiddin Madaminov scored relatively quick victories after their Armenian opponents went wrong tactically in double-edged middlegames. Nodirbek Abdusattorov then added a third win, although his game against Haik Martirosyan required considerably more patience, as Abdusattorov eventually converted an endgame with rooks and opposite-coloured bishops.

The final 3½–½ score was particularly notable given how difficult Armenia had been to beat throughout the event.

A remarkable team leader, on and off the board - 22-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

Uzbekistan's success has been built on strength across all four boards. Abdusattorov, the only member of the team to have played all ten rounds, has scored 8/10 and leads all board-one players with a 2900 tournament performance rating.

Sindarov and Yakubboev are also near the top of the individual standings. Sindarov currently sits second among board-two players, behind Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands, while Yakubboev is second on board three behind Germany's Frederik Svane.

Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2

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After nine match victories in ten rounds, Uzbekistan now need one final strong result to complete their campaign on home soil.

Javokhir Sindarov and Mukhiddin Madaminov, who both won on Saturday, are also good friends and successful collaborators | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

India remain within one point

India were facing a very different type of challenge against Uzbekistan 2. On three of the four boards, the defending champions enjoyed rating advantages of more than 200 Elo points - itself an indication of how strongly Uzbekistan's second team had over-performed to reach the top tables in round ten.

The rating gap eventually showed in the result. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Nihal Sarin and Gukesh Dommaraju all won, while Arjun Erigaisi drew Abdimalik Abdisalimov to complete a 3½–½ victory.

Once again, Gukesh made an important contribution. The world champion has now scored 8½/10 and, like Abdusattorov, has played in every round. His 2797 tournament performance rating makes him the clear favourite for individual gold on board four.

His form has also been particularly valuable in the closing stages. In round nine, Gukesh had been the player who decided India's match against Germany, defeating Alexander Donchenko in the only decisive game of a 2½–1½ victory.

India will now finish against Hungary, knowing that anything less than a win would make it extremely difficult to overhaul Uzbekistan.

Gukesh Dommaraju is having a great run in Samarkand | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

Your Calculation Compass: Know When to Calculate

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.
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.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu remains undefeated on board one, with 6/9 points to his name | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

Ukraine earn their first major upset

Ukraine kept their title chances alive with their most important result of the event so far, beating fourth-seeded China 3–1. It was Ukraine's first upset match victory of the Olympiad, and it came at exactly the right moment.

Igor Kovalenko defeated Ding Liren on board one, while 18-year-old European champion Roman Dehtiarov beat Kong Xiangrui on board four. The other two games ended drawn, with Vasyl Ivanchuk holding Wei Yi and Ihor Samunenkov sharing the point with Xu Xiangyu.

Samunenkov has been Ukraine's most consistent individual performer. The 17-year-old has scored 7½/9 on board four and currently sits second in the individual rankings on that board, behind only Gukesh.

Igor Kovalenko defeated none other than former world champion Ding Liren on the top board | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings Vol.1 & 2

This video course includes GM Anish Giri's deep insights and IM Sagar Shah's pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered.

Roman Dehtiarov converting his advantage against Kong Xiangrui as captain Alexander Beliavsky follows the action closely | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

Svane brothers deliver once again

Germany also remained in the race by defeating France 3–1, and the pattern of the match was by now a familiar one.

Vincent Keymer and Matthias Bluebaum drew on the top two boards, while Frederik and Rasmus Svane supplied the wins on boards three and four. The same script had already worked for Germany against Türkiye and, more importantly, against Uzbekistan earlier in the tournament. The two brothers have repeatedly provided the decisive points when Germany have needed them.

Frederik Svane, in particular, has had an outstanding event. He leads the individual standings on board three with 8/10 and a 2819 tournament performance rating.

Germany's final opponents will be the Netherlands, who defeated Romania 2½–1½ in round ten thanks to Jorden van Foreest's victory on board two.

With the Svane brothers as team heroes, Germany beat France to remain in contention for overall victory | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

Hungary stay in contention

Hungary are the fifth team still mathematically capable of taking first place after defeating Spain 3–1. Their match was quite different from Germany's, as all four games ended decisively. Richard Rapport, Peter Leko and Gleb Dudin scored the Hungarian wins, while Jaime Santos Latasa defeated Benjamin Gledura for Spain.

Dudin, who entered the tournament as Hungary's reserve, has become one of the team's most reliable scorers. He now has 7/9 and enters the final round on a run of four consecutive victories. That form could be important against India, with both teams needing a win to maximise their chances at the top.

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

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.

Behind the five title contenders, eight teams stand on 15/20: the United States, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Croatia, Uzbekistan 2, the Netherlands, Armenia and Serbia.

Living legend Peter Leko scored a crucial win on Saturday | Photo: Michal Walusza

The duel of prodigies between 15-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and 12-year-old Faustino Oro favoured the Turkish rising star, who obtained a 28-move win to help Türkiye defeat Argentina by a 3-1 score | Photo: Michal Walusza /FIDE

The ChessBase team in Samarkand! | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

• Official website
• Read the full regulations
• Full teams' compositions and pairings on Chess-Results: Open | Women's

Standings after round 10

Master Class Vol.20 - Bent Larsen

In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career. 
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section

...205 teams

All games - Round 10

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• Official website
• Read the full regulations
• Full teams' compositions and pairings on Chess-Results: Open | Women's