8/22/2022 – Robocop. This was what GM Yermolinksy dubbed IM Conor Murphy as he followed his superlative result. While the 2022 Olympiad was dominated by the performance of the youthful and brilliant Gukesh, and other stars on the rise, it is also much more than a collection of super grandmasters, so let us sing the praises of the unlikely heroes who rose to the occasion.
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It is impossible to do credit to every heroic performance by a player, so any omissions made are by no means meant to diminish them. That said, what follows are a few of the amazing results by players who are not beneficiaries of the grandmaster title.
'Robocop'
Such was the title given tongue-in-cheek by GM Alex Yermolinsky to the brilliant run by Irish IM Conor Murphy. The sobriquet was in reference to the classic science fiction film from 1987 in which the cyborg discovers he was once a police officer named Murphy.
GM Yermolinsky's comment after IM Murphy's 7.0/7 start
For many years now, the Irish team has enjoyed the stature and strength of one grandmaster, Alexander Baburin, the editor of the excellent, but defunct, daily Chess Today.
IM Conor Murphy in deep thought (photo: Madelene Belinki/Olympiad)
It seems quite clear now that he will be rejoined soon by Ireland's first homegrown grandmaster, whose performance in Chennai deserves nothing but praise. The 23-year-old International Master not only scored a GM norm he did so with generous excess. Indeed his ratings performance of 2704 Elo was a 'mere' 300 Elo above his actual 2404 FIDE rating. An absolutely stellar performance which Leonard Barden called "the finest Olympiad performance by an Irishman".
IM C. Murphy vs GM L. Lodici
White played 37. Nb5 and the win of material is unstoppable as the d-pawn is the only protection the rook has.
9 in 9
Such was her run, that after Gukesh finally gave up a draw in round nine, WIM Oliwia Kiolbasa from Poland became the only player to stretch that perfect score to a full nine rounds. Her performance was beyond stellar and not only did she earn an IM norm, but her tournament ratings performance of 2565 Elo was the highest in the Women's competition.
This is what perfection looks like (photo: Stev Bonhage/Olympiad)
One of her most spectacular results was precisely in round nine when Poland faced the top rated Team India.
Here is the deep analysis provided by Wolfram Schön and published in Karsten Mueller's wonderful roundups of the brilliant endgames in Chennai.
A rook ending with an extra outside
passed pawn and the rook in front of its a7-pawn. So the mobility of both
rooks is largely restricted and there is no shelter for the white king on the
queenside. White can only succeed by winning a second pawn, while keeping the
f-pawn. As Black has no weakness in the pawn structure, the position is a
theoretical draw. However, in practise the black player has to be careful not
to fall into a tactical trick based on the a7 and she has to decide where to
park her king longterm. Because it is now on f5, White has one winning idea:
Bring the white king into the back of Black's pawns to f7, via Kf1-b1-b4-e7.55...Kg6!The right direction. At the moment Black has plenty of time to choose
a safe set-up, so many moves don't lose. It is more about having the right
ideas.For a demonstration let's see a line where the black king remains on
f5 for too long.55...Ra1+56.Ke2Ra2+57.Kd3Ra3+58.Kc4Ra4+?!58...Kg659.Kb5Ra260.f3Rb2+61.Kc6Ra262.Kd7Ra663.Ke7Ra3?63...g4‼64.hxg4+Kg6!=Last chance for salvation, but this is already very
artificial. White's doubled pawns are unconvertable.64.Kf7!g665.Kg7Ra666.Kh6Ra367.Re8!Rxa768.Re4!+-Winning by mate. This is all
very similar to Unzicker-Lundin.56.Ke1Kf7?!The wrong direction, as the
black king is unstable on f7. Without the pawn on g7 White could use the
skewer trick on the 7th rank by Ra8-h8-h7+. In fact, this motif will come to
the fore much sooner than Black would like.The safest set-up is:56...Kh7!57.Kd1g6!58.Kc1Kg7!No skewers on the 7th, no white king to f7
and all black pawns protected. In a word: a wonderful defence!59.Kb1Ra660.Kb2Ra561.Kb3Ra162.Kb4Rb1+=The white king has no prospects. White
can try to exchange some pawns on the kingside, but it is just a harmless test
for Black.57.h4?!The clever idea is to push this pawn to h6, trying to
deflect the black g7. However, objectively the game-move makes life easier for
the defender, allowing an active use of the black king. On the other hand it
forces Black to decide on her king's set-up quickly, so it might have been the
best practical try.57.Kd1I think, I would prefer to improve the king
first and only later try h3-h4.Kg658.Kc1Kf7Let's assume, Black just
waits.58...Kh7Of course Black could use White's slowplay to go for the
safe set-up. But usually players don't switch their system of defence when
playing on increment, if no obvious reason is apparent.59.Kb1Ra660.Kb2g6=59.Kb1Ra660.Kb2Kg661.Kb3Kf762.Kb4Kg663.Kb5Ra264.f3
So far everything is ok for Black, but this is a critical moment.Kf7?64...Kh7!Not the only way, but the most easy again.65.h4gxh466.gxh4g6!67.Kb6Rb2+68.Kc6Ra269.Kd6Kg7!70.Ke7Re2+=65.h4!
Now this is a winner. The difference to the game-move is the activity of
White's king, important in the following critical line.gxh466.gxh4Kg667.h5+!Kf568.Kb6Rb2+69.Kc6Ra270.Kd7As the white king started from b5
(instead of e1), it can go for the black g7-pawn now and Black's couterplay
comes too late.Kf471.Ke6Kxf372.Kf7f573.Kxg7f474.h6+-57...Kg6?A mistake, that will cost Black dearly. The evidence that Black is already
theoretically lost after this is everything but obvious. However, from a
practical point of view Black missed a better alternative, based just on
general arguments.57...g4?!This black pawn set-up is possible and has
been from the start. But I think, Black should avoid it if possible. The
g4-pawn is separated from the other black forces. The plus side is, the white
f-pawn is now fixed on f2.58.h5Ra1+59.Kd2Ra360.Kc260.h6Kg6!
Important counter-trick, please remember.60...Ra2+61.Kd3So the white
king tries to approach the weak g4.Ra3+62.Kd4Ra563.Ke4Ra2!Black's
basic defensive idea. If the white king moves to f4 or f5, the f2 can be taken
with check.63...Ra4+?!64.Kf5g6+!65.hxg6+Kg7Black holds because
of mutual zugzwang.66.Rb8Rxa767.Kxg4Kxg668.Rb6=However, White
could try two vs one for some time.64.h6At some point White has to try
this.64.Ke3Ra464...Kg6!65.Kd565.Rg8Ra4+!66.Kd5Ra5+67.Kc6Rxa7=65...Kh7!Forcing the nasty white h-pawn off the board.66.hxg7Kxg767.Ke6Re2+!Checking the white king away from good squares is the
most easy.68.Kd5Rd2+69.Ke4Re2+70.Kd3Ra271.Ke3Ra4=57...gxh4!Following one of the endgame guidelines established by Reuben Fine many
decades ago: "The defender should try to exchange pawns". In this case Black's
king can massively profit from the reduced pawn mass.58.gxh4Kg6!59.h5+Kf5!The black king is back, where it started. However, after the
disappearence of the pair of g-pawns, all the squares in front of its f6-pawn
are save now.59...Kg5?!Although not losing, this is way weaker.60.h6Kg6!Another nice version of trick and counter-trick, also very worth
knowing.61.Kd1Kh7!62.hxg7Kxg7=White can't win against a black
pawn on f6. However, Black's king has to stay passive on g7/h7 and it is
mandatory to keep the white king away from e7, as we will see later in another
line.60.Kf1Kf461.Kg2f5=Black's king puts pressure onto the white
f2-pawn. So the position is really balanced and White will have to liquidate
to a draw quickly.58.h5+!The point that makes this a winner is:
Wherever the black king goes, it will be fixed there and White can improve her
position to the extreme.Kf758...Kf559.f3!Because of the presence of
the white g3-pawn, the black king is stuck now on the undesired square f5.
Thus White can force a win with the plan shown in the beginning. The white
king goes for a long march to f7.Ra1+60.Kd2Ra361.Kc2g4At least Black
can avoid the mating net.62.f4Ra163.Kb3Ra664.Kb4Ra165.Kb5Ra366.Kc6Ra167.Kd7Ra368.Ke7Ke4Only after the white king covers the e-file,
the black king can become active and go for the g3. However, Black will lose
the race of the passed pawns.69.Kf7Kf370.Kxg7Kxg371.h6+-58...Kh7!In the CB article from 08.08. this has been correclty pointed out as the
best defence. White can win, but it is a long run. The first steps are not so
difficult, the critical moment comes later. First White pushes her f-pawn to
f5 and then moves the king over towards f7.59.f4!59.Kd1?g4!=59...gxf460.gxf4Ra1+61.Kd2Ra362.f5Ra163.Kc3Ra464.Kb3Ra165.Kb4Rb1+66.Kc5Ra167.Kd6Ra268.Ke7The white king has come into contact
with Black's f6, so now things are getting interesting again, as h5-h6 is in
the air once more.Ra568...Ra6?!This runs into a zugzwang.69.Kf7Ra470.h6!gxh671.Kxf6h572.Ke7h473.f6+-White's passed pawn is
faster.69.h6!White would like to play this pawn thrust with the king
on f7, but it is impossible. However, there is still a deep win.69.Kf7Ra6!Now White is in zugzwang and has to revert to the previous position.70.Ke7Ra569...Ra6!Because of the threat g7xh6 this gives White no time
for the desired Ke7-f7.69...Ra1?!70.Kf7!gxh671.Kxf6+-70.hxg7Kxg7A theoretical position, but not so well-known. Before tablebases, Sergey
Dolmatov found the fine solution.71.Kd8!Ra171...Rd6+72.Kc7Ra673.Kb7+-The vertical checking distance of the black rook is too short. A
drama for Black, but for the protection of the f6-pawn it had to be moved to
the 6th rank before, as seen.72.Rc8!The final trick: A transition to a
winning pawn ending.Rxa773.Rc7+Rxc774.Kxc7+-59.f4!White is
well aware of what she is doing. The skewer trick is the way to go, but it has
to be prepared.Not59.h6?Kg6!60.f4gxf461.gxf4Ra462.f5+Kh7!63.hxg7Kxg7=Also not59.Kd1?g4!=Black can hold with
this pawn structure as seen before.59...gxf460.gxf4f5A sad necessity,
but now this black f5-pawn is without the protection of the king or g-pawn.
This new weakness will cause Black's downfall.Otherwise White will play
f4-f5 herself, taking the crucial g6-square away from the black king.60...Ra1+61.Kd2Ra3?!62.f5!Ra563.h6!Sufficiently prepared.gxh664.Rh8+-61.Kd1Ra1+62.Ke2White steers her king towards g5 in preparation
of h5-h6. A clear concept and a clean win, as there is nothing Black can do
with her immobile Kf7.62.Kc2Alternatively the white king can also come
from the left side.Ra363.Kb2Ra664.Kb3Ra165.Kb4Ra266.Kb5Ra167.Kb6Rb1+68.Kc6Ra169.h6!Just exchanging the pawns, but it enables the
white king to approach the f5.Kg670.hxg7Kxg7Now this is a theoretical
position, given in many books. White wins because of zugzwang.71.Kd6Ra272.Ke5!Ra5+73.Ke6Kh774.Kf6+-62...Ra2+63.Kf3Ra3+64.Kg2Ra2+65.Kg3Ra466.Kh3!Ra3+67.Kh4Ra468.Kg5Ra569.h6!Good things take
time.gxh6+70.Kxh6Ra6+71.Kg5Because of the skewer threat Ra8-h8,
Black's f5-pawn is doomed now. The rest is a demonstration, why a second extra
pawn on the f-file wins, while on the g- or h-file it would be useless.Kg772.Kxf5Ra173.Ke5Re1+74.Kd4Rd1+75.Ke3Re1+76.Kd2Ra177.f5Ra2+78.Kc3Ra3+79.Kb2Ra680.f6+!A very fine and instructive display by White.1–0
Chess Tactics are the art of combat command. When tactics dominate concrete action is required immediately in order to put a plan into practice or to grab an opportunity. However in complicated positions and with determined resistance basic tactics are often insufficient and intuition, imagination and precision are necessary.
Board no.1 and untitled
One of the surprises of the Olympiad was unquestionably the top board of the women's Dutch team, Eline Roebers. The 16-year-old rated 2344 FIDE has been on the fast track to rise and showed her chops once again.
Again? In 2020 she became the first female Dutch player to win a category in a World Youth even taking gold in the Under-14 section, but what has really made her stand out is her fighting ability and nerves.
Eline Roebers (photo: Lennart Ootes/Olympiad)
Consider this: in August 2021, rated just 2173, she took clear first in the overall Bruges Open ahead of several IMS and a GM, thanks to a clutch win in the last round against IM Niels Ondersteijn. Then in November she scored 7.0/9 for the Dutch team in the European Women's Team Championship for her first IM norm with a 2504 performance. In January she won the West German Open, again ahead of several IMs and a GM thanks to a crucial last round win. Now at the Olympiad, the young female warrior once again brought that spirit and scored 7.5/10 for a 2532 performance (another IM norm) and a silver medal for board one, losing gold to the legendary GM Pia Cramling on tiebreak.
An overview of her games shows that same spunk that has brought her so far, with dramatic swings but somehow always managing to avert capsizing the ship.
Zhemba from Zimbabwe
In the list of norms achieved at the Olympiad, one stands out in the Open section: Jemusse Zhemba, board four of the team from Zimbabwe. The 26-year-old is not only untitled, but with a rating of 2162 FIDE, one would be forgiven for expecting nothing to write home about. However this untitled hero for his team will be able to do just that, because he not only notched up 7.5/10 points but even scored an IM norm for his trouble with a 2421 FIDE performance.
Jemusse Zhemba went above and beyond his duty with a stellar result (photo: Mark Livshitz/Olympiad)
Albert SilverBorn in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.
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