
The host country Lithuania secured gold with 17 out of 18 match points and 29½ game points in this first-ever World 50+ Chess Team Championship – a four person team event of nine rounds. Two points were awarded for each match win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss. England achieved silver with 15 match points and 25 game points. Russia Women got bronze with 12 match points and 22½ game points. No Russian Open Team competed.

Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas and Georgian grandmaster Azmaiparashvili cut the ribbon
and the Championship was off to a flying start
World 50+ Chess Team Championship final ranking after nine rounds

It should be noted that the women's teams competed in the same event as the men's. There
was no 'Open' event and Women's event, there was only the World Senior Team Championship.

[Event "WSTCC"] [Site "?"] [Date "2014.07.17"] [Round "?"] [White "Rozlapa, Vija"] [Black "Puroila, Sippo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [Annotator "GM Sarunas Sulskis"] [PlyCount "33"] 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. d4 c5 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Bf4 a6 9. O-O b5 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Bxh7+ $1 {A fearless hit by four-time Latvian Women Champion! Black's king is now on the run and Rozlapa is on the chase.} Kxh7 12. Ng5+ Kg6 {There‘s no way back} (12... Kg8 {leads to mate after} 13. Qh5 Re8 14. Qxf7+ Kh8 15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Qh7+ Kf8 17. Qh8+ Ke7 18. Qxg7#) 13. Qg4 Ndxe5 14. Qg3 {Rozlapa takes a step back but gives her opponent‘s king no respite.} Kf6 15. Nge4+ {Generously offering a second piece to her male opponent} Ke7 (15... dxe4 16. Qg5#) 16. Nxc5 {Getting back the piece.} Ng6 $2 { A typical mistake under heavy pressure.} 17. Bc7 {and Black resigned.} (17. Bc7 Qe8 {[#] and here White has a mate in two with} 18. Nxd5+ $1 ({On the immediate } 18. Qd6+ {Black's king slips through the net with} Kf6) 18... exd5 19. Qd6#) 1-0
Stewart Reuben, who had come to Lithuania as a player of team England at 65+ age group, wrote about the 50+ group: "England 1, captained by Terry Chapman, came unstuck against Lithuania in Round Four, losing 2½-1½. Had they drawn that match matters might have been very different. They would have been leading the event then, Lithuania having already previously drawn. England then somewhat lost heart and cruised through to a comfortable second place. Keith played very solidly, winning four and drawing four games. As you can see from the table, Terry Chapman was the other star."

Englishmen (right) lost one match point to Rositsan ir Maccabi LTU
Board |
Name |
Title |
Rating |
Score
|
Games
|
1 |
Keith Arkell |
GM |
2443 |
6
|
8
|
2 |
James Plaskett |
GM |
2477 |
6½
|
9
|
3 |
John Cox |
IM |
2394 |
3½
|
7
|
4 |
Malcolm Pein |
IM |
2357 |
3½
|
6
|
5 |
Terry Chapman |
FM |
2291 |
5½
|
6
|

Nona Gaprindashvili (left) headed the Georgian women's team

She was the first female recognized as a full grandmaster, and Mikhail Tal commented in
his autobiography that she was the first woman he had met who impressed him as such
World 65+ Chess Team Championship ranking crosstable
Rk. |
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Pts
|
1 |
St Petersburg |
* |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3½ |
3½ |
3 |
4 |
3½ |
17
|
2 |
Russia |
2 |
* |
3½ |
2 |
3½ |
3½ |
4 |
3½ |
4 |
3 |
16
|
3 |
Latvia |
1 |
½ |
* |
2½ |
2 |
2½ |
2 |
2½ |
2½ |
3 |
12
|
4 |
Austria |
1 |
2 |
1½ |
* |
2½ |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2½ |
11
|
5 |
Switzerland |
1 |
½ |
2 |
1½ |
* |
1½ |
3 |
3½ |
2 |
3½ |
8
|
6 |
Denmark |
½ |
½ |
1½ |
1 |
2½ |
* |
2½ |
1 |
2½ |
2½ |
8
|
7 |
Milsa-Lithuania |
½ |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1½ |
* |
2½ |
2½ |
2½ |
8
|
8 |
England II |
1 |
½ |
1½ |
1 |
½ |
3 |
1½ |
* |
2½ |
2 |
5
|
9 |
Oranje-Netherlands |
0 |
0 |
1½ |
2 |
2 |
1½ |
1½ |
1½ |
* |
2½ |
4
|
10 |
England I |
½ |
1 |
1 |
1½ |
½ |
1½ |
1½ |
2 |
1½ |
* |
1
|
Stewart Reuben wrote: "The England I team would have benefitted from a reserve. All four players are very experienced but Keith Richardson could not handle his clock and John Wheeler was somewhat rusty. Julian won three of his nine games. A Russian GM Nikolai Pushkov managed to draw with me from a somewhat inferior position. Keith also managed a draw against GM Evgeni Vasiukov the well-known Russian GM. Our sole point came from the fiercely contested first round match against the other English team."

The organizers and arbiters