ETCC R8: Germany upturns tables with win over Azerbaijan

3rd – 11th November in Halkidiki, Greece

The ETCC is a nine-round Swiss, with one open section and one section for the women’s teams. The time control is 90 min for 40 moves + 30 min for the rest of the game + 30 sec increment for every move played starting from the first move. The member countries of the European Chess Union (ECU) have the right to enter one team of four players plus one reserve in the open competition, and one team of four female players and one reserve in the women’s competition. There are 38 teams in the former and 28 in the latter. The games are being played in the Olympic Hall Congress Center (1500 sq.m.), within the five-star Porto Carras Grand Resort, which is located in an enchantingly verdant landscape in Halkidiki, Greece.

Round eight report

Round eight had plenty of action with the race for the top spot heating up. Leaders Azerbaijan were stopped by Germany thanks to Arkadij Naiditsch’s win against Teimour Radjabov with black. Radjabov tried some early queenside pawn advances in the Reti Opening, which never quite paid off and left Black with a readymade target on the a-file. Naiditsch built up his forces and executed the finish in 50 moves.

The fateful game Radjabov vs Naiditch (with Georg Meier on the next board)

The other three games in the match between Meier-Gashimov, Mamedyarov-Fridman and Gustafsson-Safarli were all drawn. Mamedyarov had a dangerous looking initiative towards the end with two pieces and two pawns for a rook, but Black’s tricks saved him.

Any idea what we have in store for you? Aronian, Movsessian, Akopian, Safarli, van Wely, Giri

Meanwhile Armenia handed Netherlands a 3-1 defeat with Aronian and Akopian beating Giri and Sokolov respectively. Van Wely-Movsesian and Stellwagen-Sargissian split the point. Akopian-Sokolov was a staid Ruy Lopez in which White exploited his space advantage to get into a favourable endgame with a protected passed pawn on d5. Aronian-Anish Giri was more dynamic and it was the Armenian’s precise middlegame play that earned him the point.

In round eight Alexander Grischuk played on board one for Russia

Top seeds Russia bounced back with a win over France. Grischuk and Karjakin both had their opponents Bacrot and Vachier-Lagrave resign in the face of imminent checkmate, but France struck back with Christian Bauer defeating Nepomniachtchi. Bauer is leading the board five list with 6/7.

Bulgaria-Italy ended 3-1, with Veselin Topalov beating Michele Godena on board one,
and Ivan Cheparinov beating IM Dvirnyy Daniyyl on board two

Top results (Open)

• Full results here

Armenia and Germany are now leading the pack with 13 match points each and will face each other in the ninth and final round. They are followed by Bulgaria and Azerbaijan on 12 match points each.

Top standings after eight rounds (open)

• Full standings here

Women's section

There were no surprises in the women’s section as the Russian ladies cruised past France and extended their lead to two match points over nearest rival Poland. Nadezhda Kosintseva playing white on board one crushed Sophie Millet’s Schliemann/Jaenisch Defence without much ado and led her team to a 3-1 victory.

IM Sophie Millet of France (right) in her game against Nadezhda Kosintseva

IM Anna Muzychuk playing for Slovenia. Despite her team’s loss to Romania
Anna is leading the board one list with 7.5/8 and a rating performance of 2775

Team Ukraine in 3-4 place: Kateryna Lahno, Anna Ushenina and Inna Gaponenko

Turkish talent WIM Kübra Öztürk, rated 2239, who has scored 5.5/8 with a 2433 performance

Top results (Women)

• Full results here

Top standings after eight rounds (women)

• Full standings here

With only one round left and 15 match points in the kitty, the Russian women’s third title in this event is nearly assured. Poland, who have 13 points, are followed by Georgia and Ukraine with 12 match points each.

Pictures on the official ETCC website are provided by
Anastasiya Karlovich, Tzveta Karavelova and Goran Urosevic.

Links Official tournament site All available games in zipped PGN: Open – Women The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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