ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
38th Chess Olympiad Dresden 2008The Olympiad took place from November 12th to 25th, 2008, in the Congress Hall in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. 156 teams from 152 nations participated, with most of the top players present. Impressions from the final dayBy Natalie and Carsten StraubTuesday, the final day of the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden, started early. The games were scheduled for a brutal (ask any chess player) 10:00 a.m. start. Not everybody was at the board at the prescribed time – there were at least six lateness forfeits and ten other forfeits that morning! During the Olympiad about 20 players were forfeited for being late, including Ermenkov, who, we are told, left the board for 20 seconds to get a new pen from the arbiters' table when the gong was sounded. |
Ten a.m. and freezing cold outside – but the team of South Africa, with IM Watu Kobese (2369), IM Kenny Solomon (2337), CM Henry Robert Steel (2280) and IM Johanne Mayedi Mabusela (2273) were there on time and beat IPCA 3:1.
GM Sergei Zhigalko (2592), GM Aleksej Aleksandrov (2617), GM Alexei Fedorov (2584) and GM Andrey Zhigalko (2568) of the Belarus side, which lost to Hungary in Round 11 by 2½:1½
Vigorous media attention for the game Armenia vs China
Bo. | 3 | China (CHN) | Rtg | 1½:2½ |
9 | Armenia (ARM) | Rtg |
1.1 | GM | Wang Yue | 2736 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Aronian Levon | 2757 |
1.2 | GM | Bu Xiangzhi | 2714 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Akopian Vladimir | 2679 |
1.3 | GM | Ni Hua | 2710 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Sargissian Gabriel | 2642 |
1.4 | GM | Li Chao B | 2622 | 0 - 1 |
GM | Petrosian Tigran L | 2629 |
The start of a very important match, with Aronian, Akopian, Bu and Wang
Aron and Akop, top boards and top GMs for Armenia
Gabriel Sargissian and Tigran Petrosian, architects of Armenia's four-player
victory
Armenian team captain Arshak Petrosian (all three are unrelated) used an unusual four-player strategy at the Olympiad: the fifth player, Artashes Minasian, was only allowed to play in once single round. The Arminian players lost only two games in the entire Olympiad, both in the critical round nine match they lost to Israel.
Together playing for Hungary: Judit Polgar and Peter Leko
The start of a fateful match: Ukraine vs USA, Ivanchuk vs Kamsky
Bo. | 10 | United States (USA) | Rtg | 3½: ½ |
2 | Ukraine (UKR) | Rtg |
3.1 | GM | Kamsky Gata | 2729 | 1 - 0 |
GM | Ivanchuk Vassily | 2786 |
3.2 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | 2704 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Karjakin Sergey | 2730 |
3.3 | GM | Onischuk Alexander | 2644 | 1 - 0 |
GM | Eljanov Pavel | 2720 |
3.4 | GM | Shulman Yuri | 2616 | 1 - 0 |
GM | Efimenko Zahar | 2680 |
Vassily Ivanchuk and Sergey Karjakin
The unexpected ½:3½ loss to the USA – it could easily have been a 0-4 blowout – was quite traumatic for the Ukraine, which lost a clearly attainable medal in the process. Vassily Ivanchuk, who can suffer like no other contemporary chess player from an unnecessary loss, emerged from the hall and started kicking a pillar ("A wonder," said a spectator, "that he did not fracture a number of toes."). Unfortunately the Ukrainian team had been selected for a FIDE doping control, and an arbiter tried to lead Ivanchuk to the checking area for a urine sample. But the distraught Ukrainian star broke free and disappeared for the rest of the evening. This put FIDE into a quandary: to cancel all results of the Ukrainian team at the Olympiad, as clearly prescribed by the IOC rules, and give the medals to different teams; or to make an exception and risk chess not becoming an Olympic discipline for ignoring the doping rules. After some passionate canvassing by former World Champion Boris Spassky FIDE went for the second option – but not because of the canvassing, we have been informed. The decision takers had in fact not heard Spassky's views.
Different attitudes and different demeanor: Israel vs Holland, top boards
Bo. | 8 | Israel (ISR) | Rtg | 2½:1½ |
20 | Netherlands (NED) | Rtg |
4.1 | GM | Gelfand Boris | 2719 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Van Wely Loek | 2618 |
4.2 | GM | Roiz Michael | 2677 | 1 - 0 |
GM | Smeets Jan | 2604 |
4.3 | GM | Avrukh Boris | 2657 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Stellwagen Daniel | 2605 |
4.4 | GM | Rodshtein Maxim | 2609 | ½ - ½ |
GM | L'Ami Erwin | 2610 |
The Dutch squad with Lisa, Arlette, Marlies and Peng, lost to Russia in
round eleven
Bo. | 17 | Netherlands (NED) | Rtg | 1½:2½ |
1 | Russia (RUS) | Rtg |
5.1 | GM | Peng Zhaoqin | 2455 | ½ - ½ |
IM | Kosintseva Tatiana | 2513 |
5.2 | WIM | Bensdorp Marlies | 2303 | 0 - 1 |
IM | Kosintseva Nadezhda | 2468 |
5.3 | WIM | Van Weersel Arlette | 2209 | 1 - 0 |
IM | Korbut Ekaterina | 2459 |
5.4 | Schut Lisa | 2153 | 0 - 1 |
WGM | Pogonina Natalija | 2474 |
Top boards of the medal winning US team: Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush
Bo. | 7 | USA (USA) | Rtg | 2½:1½ |
5 | France (FRA) | Rtg |
4.1 | IM | Krush Irina | 2452 | 0 - 1 |
GM | Sebag Marie | 2533 |
4.2 | IM | Zatonskih Anna | 2440 | ½ - ½ |
IM | Skripchenko Almira | 2455 |
4.3 | WGM | Goletiani Rusudan | 2359 | 1 - 0 |
IM | Collas Silvia | 2352 |
4.4 | WGM | Rohonyan Katerina | 2334 | 1 - 0 |
WGM | Milliet Sophie | 2366 |
Behind those hands and below all that hair: Marie Sebag and Almira Skripchenko
What a contrast: the Iranian ladies Atousa, Shadi and Shayesteh with their
mandatory hijabs
Bo. | 30 | Croatia (CRO) | Rtg | 2½:1½ | 39 | Iran (IRI) | Rtg |
15.1 | WGM | Golubenko Valentina | 2273 | 0 - 1 | WIM | Pourkashiyan Atousa | 2241 |
15.2 | WGM | Medic Mirjana | 2281 | 1 - 0 | WGM | Paridar Shadi | 2248 |
15.3 | WIM | Franciskovic Borka | 2275 | ½ - ½ | WIM | Ghader Pour Shayesteh | 2149 |
15.4 | WIM | Jelica Mara | 2205 | 1 - 0 | WFM | Salman Mahini Mona | 2113 |
...and at work during the games
Our favourites: Ghate Swathi, Sachdev Tania, Harika Dronavalli of the Indian
team
Bo. | 11 | India (IND) | Rtg | 1½:2½ |
6 | Armenia (ARM) | Rtg |
7.1 | IM | Harika Dronavalli | 2462 | 0 - 1 |
IM | Danielian Elina | 2513 |
7.2 | IM | Tania Sachdev | 2425 | ½ - ½ |
IM | Mkrtchian Lilit | 2443 |
7.3 | WGM | Swathi Ghate | 2320 | ½ - ½ |
WGM | Aginian Nelly | 2325 |
7.4 | WGM | Gomes Mary Ann | 2298 | ½ - ½ |
WIM | Galojan Lilit | 2305 |
The Armenian team (standing) with Galojan, Aginian, Mkrtchian, Danielian and
trainer
The glare: Ukraine vs Poland in a critical match for the medals
Bo. | 9 | Poland (POL) | Rtg | 1½:2½ |
2 | Ukraine (UKR) | Rtg |
1.1 | IM | Socko Monika | 2434 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Lahno Kateryna | 2488 |
1.2 | IM | Rajlich Iweta | 2404 | 0 - 1 |
WGM | Zhukova Natalia | 2488 |
1.3 | WGM | Zawadzka Jolanta | 2378 | 0 - 1 |
IM | Ushenina Anna | 2496 |
1.4 | WIM | Majdan Joanna | 2284 | 1 - 0 |
IM | Gaponenko Inna | 2473 |
GM Kateryna Lahno and WGM Natalia winning Silver for Ukraine
Azerbaijan vs France, with Radjabov and Bacrot on board one
Bo. | 7 | France (FRA) | Rtg | 1½:2½ |
4 | Azerbaijan (AZE) | Rtg |
6.1 | GM | Bacrot Etienne | 2705 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Radjabov Teimour | 2752 |
6.2 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2716 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2731 |
6.3 | GM | Fressinet Laurent | 2676 | ½ - ½ |
GM | Gashimov Vugar | 2703 |
6.4 | GM | Tkachiev Vladislav | 2664 | 0 - 1 |
GM | Huseynov Gadir | 2650 |
Serbia vs Georgia, a critical match-up for the medals
Bo. | 4 | Georgia (GEO) | Rtg | 3 : 1 |
10 | Serbia (SRB) | Rtg |
3.1 | GM | Chiburdanidze Maia | 2489 | 1 - 0 |
IM | Maric Alisa | 2405 |
3.2 | IM | Dzagnidze Nana | 2503 | ½ - ½ |
IM | Bojkovic Natasa | 2420 |
3.3 | IM | Javakhishvili Lela | 2473 | ½ - ½ |
WGM | Stojanovic Andjelija | 2357 |
3.4 | IM | Khukhashvili Sopiko | 2409 | 1 - 0 |
WGM | Chelushkina Irina | 2360 |
The amazing Maia Chiburdanidze in TV ChessBase with Frederic Friedel and
Natalia Straub
Alexei Shirov (Spain) receives final instructions before the start of round
eleven
In the audience: the Presidents of Armenia, Serge Sarkisian, and of FIDE, Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov
A view of the stage with the top teams during round eleven
Pictures of the closing ceremony will follow soon
Photos by Natalia and Carsten Straub, Frederic Friedel