World Senior Team Championships: Favourites start confidently

by André Schulz
7/3/2024 – The grandmaster teams from the USA, England, Iceland and Italy, the favourites for the World Senior Team Championships according to the ratings, had no trouble in the first round of the event. England and Iceland both won 4-0, the USA and Italy both won 3.5-0.5. | Photos: Mark Livshitz/ Organiser

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 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.

More...

Krakow, the former capital of the Kingdom of Poland, is hosting the 2024 Senior Team World Championships. Over 30 teams have registered in each of the two age groups, 50+ and 65+, including a total of nine women's teams, six in the 50+ tournament and three in the 65+ tournament.

Nine rounds Swiss are played. In the first round of this format, the best teams in the top half of the starting list meet the best teams in the bottom half. As a result, the early rounds are often lopsided, with stronger teams playing weaker ones.

There are several grandmaster teams of roughly equal strength in the 50+ tournament, and they all won easily. The four English grandmasters defeated four of the five Jhunjhnuwala brothers of the US team "Five Brothers" 4-0. Iceland also beat the Hungarian women's team 4-0, but the USA dropped half a point against Brazil and Italy "only" won 3.5-0.5 against Poland Caissa.

Standings 50+

Rk. Snr Team Group Matches   +    =    -   Tb1   Tb2   Tb3   Tb4   Tb5 
1 2
England 1 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
3
Iceland 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
6
Slovakia 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
11
USA Women W 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
5 1
USA 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
4
Italy 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
7
England 2 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
10
Canada 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
13
Norway Oslo Schakselskap 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
14
Germany Graal 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
11 5
USA Too 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
12
Germany Lubeck Chess Club 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
16
England 3 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
14 9
Israel Rishon Lezion 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 0 0 0
15
England Women W 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 0 0 0
24
Wales Silures 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 0 0 0
17 8
Germany 1 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 0 0 2
25
Polish Amateurs 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 0 0 2
31
England 4 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 0 0 2
20 21
Estonia Women W 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
28
South Africa 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
32
Poland Malopolska Team 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
23 17
Brazil 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
20
Poland Caissa 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
23
Germany Women W 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
26
Lithuania Women W 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
29
Guernsey 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
30
Luxemburg TASM Scheffleng 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
29 18
USA 5 Brothers 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
19
Hungary Women W 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
22
Ireland 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
27
Scotland 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2

Games

65+ tournament

In the 65+ tournament, England is the clear favourite - the team has the best Elo average and it has John Nunn on board one. 

England indeed won 4-0 against Denmark SK 2012, with John Nunn taking on Mogens Thuesens with the white pieces on the top board. Thuesens' speciality is the French McCutcheon Variation, but Nunn was well prepared and won a fine game.

Denmark SK 2024 also lost 4-0 to the favoured team from Israel. The team from Strasbourg, which is largely made up of members of the Roos chess family, also celebrated a 4-0 victory over the Welsh Silures. The name of the Welsh refers to the tribe of the Silures, who lived in the south of Wales and put up fierce resistance to the Roman invasion after 50 AD. However, this time, the Silures lost clearly against the French.

Standings 65+

Rk. Snr Team Group Matches   +    =    -   Tb1   Tb2   Tb3   Tb4   Tb5 
1 1
England 1 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
2
Israel 1 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
3
France Cercle d'Echecs de Strasbourg 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
9
Germany Schachfreunde Mitteldeutschland 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
15
Ireland 1 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0
6 6
Germany Zaehringen Reloaded 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
10
Germany Eppingen 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
11
Belgium 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
12
Sweden 1 1 0 0 2 3,5 0 0 0
10 5
Italy 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
8
Finland 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
14
Poland Zaglebie 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
16
Poland Lower Silesia 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
14 4
Slovakia 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 0 0 0
7
England 2 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 0 0 0
29
England 3 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 0 0 0
17 33
USA Women W 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
18 13
Germany Rochade Bielefeld 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 0 0 2
20
Poland Malopolska VIP 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 0 0 2
23
Brazil 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 0 0 2
21 21
Ukraine Kiev 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
24
Latvia Women W 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
30
Ireland 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
32
New Zealand 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
25 22
Scotland 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
26
Ireland 2 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
27
Germany Northern Germany 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
28
Israel 2 1 0 0 1 0 0,5 0 0 2
29 17
Denmark SK 2012 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
18
Denmark SK 2024 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
19
Wales Silures 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
25
England 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
31
Poland Women W 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2

Games

Links


André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.