Fabiano Caruana Returns to Team USA

Fabiano Caruana (Photo: Best of Chess)

Current World #3 Fabiano Caruana announced today that he will switch federations to represent the United States in international competitions.  Born in Miami and raised in New York City, the 22 year old and his family moved to Europe to further his career as a budding chess professional.  Since he holds dual citizenship, he switched to Italian federation with little difficulty.  In the past two years, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and main sponsor Rex Sinquefield made little secret of their desire to bring Fabiano back home.  The paperwork should be completed by fall, and we can expect to see Caruana at both the 2016 US Championship and the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

Starring three of the Top 10 players on the planet, Team USA can expect to be seeded second at next summer's Olympiad, right behind the Russians.  The national team continues to become both younger and stronger.  Check out the following possible lineup.

1. Fabiano Caruana 2803, age 22
2. Hikaru Nakamura 2799, age 27
3. Wesley So 2778, age 21
4. Ray Robson 2680, age 20
5. Sam Shankland 2656, age 23

 Average = 2743 FIDE, age 23!

N.B.: Gata Kamsky retired from international team competition, and Alexander Onischuk may step aside too.  Three more young Grandmasters could compete for the final two roster spots, including Alex Lenderman, Daniel Naroditsky, and another newcomer Yaroslav Zherebukh.

Youth Movement for Team USA

Shankland draws with Armenia's top board Levon Aronian at World Team.

The USA National Team for chess is undergoing an extreme makeover, with youngsters replacing the old guard of the past decade.  Just look at the USA Top 10 list.  Start with two players near the pinnacle of the world rankings.  Then ask Who's on Third?  Add to the mix a talented new kid from Ukraine who officially changed federations in the past week.  Now observe that 6 of the 10 are 25 years old or younger.

Indeed, the 2015 US champion Hikaru Nakamura can suddenly himself a veteran at the tender age of 27.  Since former champion Gata Kamsky already announced his retirement from international play, and Alexander Onischuk cannot be far behind, it appears likely that the American squad at next year's Chess Olympiad will average under 25 years! 


USA Top 10 - May FIDE Rating

Naroditsky in deep thought at World Team.

1. #4 Hikaru Nakamura 2799, age 27
2. #7 Wesley So 2778, age 21
3. #64 Ray Robson 2674, age 20
4. #65 Gata Kamsky 2673, age 40
5. #71 Alexander Onischuk 2662, age 39
6. #91 Sam Shankland 2656, age 23
7. #128 Yaroslav Zherebukh 2639, age 21
8. #131 Alex Lenderman 2636, age 25
9. #141 Varuzhan Akobian 2632, age 31
10. #165 Daniel Naroditsky 2622, age 19

New Kid on the Block: GM Parimarjan Negi

The Bay Area has landed a new chess prodigy!  Indeed, this kid earned the Grandmaster title at the tender age of 13 years, 4 months and 22 days. He stands today as the second youngest GM in history, beating Magnus Carlsen by less than a week and the Chinese phenom Wei Yi by four months.  (Only Sergey Karjakin was younger.)  Last month, the grown-up prodigy led his native India to a surprising bronze medal at the Chess Olympiad in Norway.  Playing board 1, he scored 6.5 out of 10 against some of the best players in the world, drawing with Levon Aronian and losing just once to Fabiano Caruana.  This week, he resumes his studies away from the chess board, as a freshman at Stanford University.

Who is it?  Meet GM Parimarjan Negi, rated 2750 USCF and 2669 FIDE (#79 in the world).  Click here for his personal website.  New In Chess magazine interviewed Negi for the latest issue, and Chessbase website reprinted the single page article here (with permission).  Check out the latest chess player at the Farm!

GM Negi is registered as the top seed at the National G/60 and G/30 Championships this weekend in Santa Clara.  Can anyone stop him?  

The game below, a crushing win against the Berlin defense at the recent Olympiad, was cited by Negi as his "best game."  In the final position, White threatens to sacrifice his Queen on h7 for a simple checkmate with two rooks.

Interview with GM Shankland at Olympiad

GM Sam Shankland has been the hero of Team USA and one of the biggest stories of the Tromsø Olympiad as a whole.  Not only did he achieve the best result on Board 5 (alternate) to date, his FIDE performance rating after the penultimate round places him third in the entire competition, behind only elite Grandmasters Veselin Topalov and Yu Yangyi!

One surprising factoid from this interview is that "Shanky" participated in his first chess tournament shortly before his 12th birthday.  Indeed, I remember him sporting a 1600 rating at his first National Open ten summers ago.  These days, the average 8 or 9 year old chess player seems to sport a 1600 rating.  Sam worked hard at chess (5000 standard games on ICC within 15 months) and reached master in less than 2.5 years!  Unfortunately, 2200 would not impress Vishy Anand, who famously said "nowadays, when you're not a Grandmaster at 14, you can forget about it!"

In the interview, Shankland speaks highly of both the Berkeley Chess School and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Good luck to Sam and the rest of Team USA at the final round of the Olympiad on Thursday at 2AM Pacific time.  Note that Wednesday is a rest day.

Team USA Clawing Into Contention

Harbor of Tromsø with hills in background. Credit: Truong

As the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway begins its second week, the tension mounts both on and off the boards.  Teams from roughly 170 nations traveled to this remote locale north of the Arctic Circle despite sporadic flight delays, visa hassles and even threats of terrorism.  The host city has drawn positive reviews, especially for the beautiful scenery amidst water and mountains.  A few complaints included the FIDE zero-tolerance rule at the start of rounds and the use of portable toilets instead of more permanent facilities  For fans back home, the live coverage seems quite thorough.

• OFFICIAL WEBSITE
• LIVE GAMES (starting at 5 AM Pacific)
• CHESSBASE REPORTS 
• RESULTS and PAIRINGS
• ON-SITE REPORT (from IM John Donaldson)


• TEAM USA (Final)
• OPEN in 14th place with 15 MP
• WOMEN in 8th place with 16 MP

World #2 Aronian plays white vs #1 Carlsen. Credit: Truong

After 7 rounds, a clear leader has emerged in both sections.  In the Open division, Azerbaijan (13 MP) defeated Cuba (11 MP) and moved 1 match point ahead of China (12 MP) and three other teams.  One big surprise is the Czech Republic (12 MP), which stunned top rated Russia (10 MP).  In the Women division, defending champion Russia (14 MP) knocked off top rated China (12 MP) to establish a 2 match point advantage over three teams.

Open Leaders (after Round 7)

• 1st with 13 MP = Azerbaijan
• 2nd-5th with 12 MP = China, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania
• 6th-14th with 11 MP = France, Cuba, Armenia, India, Ukraine, Hungary Poland, Germany and USA
• 15th-27th with 10 MP = Netherlands, Russia, Israel and others

Women Leaders (after Round 7)

• 1st with 14 MP = Russia
• 2nd-4th with 12 MP = China, Hungary and Poland
• 5th-11th with 11 MP = France, Georgia, USA, Indonesia, Ukraine, Armenia and Colombia
• 12th-22nd with 10 MP = Germany, India, Iran, Romania and others

The American delegation has seen ups and downs during the first seven rounds.  Both the men and women have won five matches.  However, each squad lost in third round (the men to Holland, the women to top rated China) and have since drawn an additional match, for a total of 11 match points out of a possible 14.  The men find themselves in 14th place, ahead of top ranked Russia, but the women stand in 7th place thanks to superior tiebreaks.  With four rounds to go, Team USA remains in contention for the medals, but must finish very strong.  No doubt 17 or 18 match points will be necessary for a spot on the podium, leaving almost zero room for error. 

Trivia from Tromsø

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

1. Open division stats: 172 teams from 167 countries.
2. Women division stats: 134 teams from 129 countries.  
3. Americans GM Sam Shankland and WGM Sabina Foisor are two out of only four players (from more than 1500) remaining with a 100% score after 7 rounds!
4. Shortest win: 1.d4 g5 2.e4 f6 3.Qh5#  Seriously! (Zimbabwe vs Togo women, Round 4)
5. Longest game: 139 moves (Vachier-Lagrave vs Jobava, 1-0, Round 7)
6. Reigning World Champs (Magnus Carlsen and Hou Yifan) both lost in Round 7!

   

   13th World Champion Garry Kasparov

7. The greatest social gathering at each Olympiad is the Bermuda party.  Chess photographer David Llada tweeted: “This was, with little doubt, the worst Bermuda party ever. Still, it was better than the average party.”
8. The election of FIDE President occurs on Monday 8/11.  Western European countries and USA support ex-champion Garry Kasparov, but incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov remains entrenched after nearly 20 years in power.  Who will win?  Stay tuned!
9. Weather: Sunny with low 46 / high 64.  Sunset 10:17pm.  Sunrise 3:24am.

One week until Tromsø Olympiad

Aside from the World Championship, the most important international chess tournament is the Olympiad, organized every other year.  The 2014 Chess Olympiad takes place during the first two weeks of August in Tromsø, a Norwegian city located north of the Arctic Circle.  The statistics are staggering: 310 teams (Open and Women) with more than 1500 players, including roughly 275 Grandmasters.  A half dozen squads field a top-4 average rating above 2700 FIDE.  However, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) actives promotes participation by weaker nations, and no fewer than 40 teams rated under 2000 FIDE will compete in the Open section.

Tromsø lies amid water and mountains.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

RESULTS and PAIRINGS

PREVIEW by IM John Donaldson

The two American teams have serious aspirations to bringing home a medal.  The men are seeded 6th and the women 7th. Team USA last reached the podium in Dresden, Germany in 2008, when both squads earned the bronze medal.  Fortunately, the strongest American masters will all represent the red, white and blue, including current World #5 Hikaru Nakamura plus reigning US Champions Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush.  The team brings plenty of experience to Norway, with the top four men and top three women returning from 2012. Watch the newcomer for the men--the Bay Area's own Sam Shankland!

Team USA - Open (2701 average)

• Board 1 GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) -- World #5
• Board 2 GM Gata Kamsky (2706) -- World #44
• Board 3 GM Alex Onischuk (2659) -- World #92
• Board 4 GM Varuzhan Akobian (2653) 
• Alternate GM Sam Shankland (2624)
• Captain IM John Donaldson
• Coach GM Wesley So 

Team USA - Women (2406 average)

• Board 1 GM Irina Krush (2474) -- World #29
• Board 2 IM Anna Zatonskih (2468) -- World #36
• Board 3 WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (2366) -- World #93
• Board 4 WGM Katerina Nemcova (2315)
• Alternate WGM Sabina Foisor (2252)
• Captain GM Melik Khachiyan
• Coach GM Yuri Shulman

No doubt, the Americans will face stiff competition from around the globe, especially from the countries of the former USSR.  Indeed, USSR, Russia, Ukraine and Armenia won gold in the Open section at every Olympiad since the 1970s!  In recent years, Armenia (2012, 2008, 2006) and Ukraine (2010, 2004) have taken the top honors, while perennial top seed Mother Russia has failed every year since Garry Kasparov retired.  Four countries dominated the Women's category for the past eleven Olympiads: Russia (the last 2), China (4 golds out of 11), Georgia (also 4) and Ukraine (just gold in 2006).  China and Russia once again field the highest rated ladies squads.

Top Teams - Men (New Ratings from August 1)

World Champion Magnus Carlsen

1. Russia 2773 -- Kramnik + Grischuk + Karjakin + Svidler
2. Ukraine 2723 -- Ivanchuk + Ponomariov + Eljanov
3. France 2719 -- Vachier-Lagrave + Bacrot + Fressinet
4. Armenia 2705 -- Aronian + Sargissian
5. Hungary 2703 -- Leko + Rapport
6. USA 2701 -- Nakamura + Kamsky
7. China 2699 -- Liren Ding + Wang Yue
8. Azerbaijan 2694 -- Mamedyarov + Radjabov
9. Israel 2683 -- Gelfand
10. England 2681 -- Adams 
11. Netherlands 2677 -- Giri
12. Germany 2671 -- Naiditsch
13. Cuba 2669 -- Dominguez
14. Norway 2666 -- Carlsen
15. Poland 2662 -- Wojtaszek

Most of the world's top players will participate.   Caruana (Italy) and Topalov (Bulgaria) have signed up, but their countries are not contenders.  The most glaring absence is #7 Anand, who has not represented India since 2010.  (In an interesting parallel, the top rated Indian woman, #2 Humpy Koneru, also will skip Norway.)  The next highest rated GM to sit out is Wesley So, who remains embroiled in a contentious battle to switch federations from the Philippines to USA.  Unable to play for the red, white and blue this year, So will assist the team as coach.

Top Teams - Women (New Ratings from August 1)

Women's Champion Hou Yifan

1. China 2549 -- Hou Yifan + Zhao Xue
2. Russia 2520 -- Lagno + Kosteniuk
3. Ukraine 2510 -- A.Muzychuk + M.Muzychuk
4. Georgia 2499 -- Dzagnidze
5. India 2421 -- Harika
6. Romania 2407 
7. USA 2406
8. Poland 2402
9. France 2390
10. Armenia 2383

Miscellaneous:  1. World Champion Magnus Carlsen will lead the home team.  How will he continue to handle the glare of the media?  2. Aside from the chess competition, the Olympiad allows chess delegates from around the globe to meet and set the direction for FIDE.  3. The most important pairing features Kirsan Ilyumzhinov against Garry Kasparov in the election for FIDE President.  The USA and Western Europe support the 13th World Champion, but the electoral landscape (one vote per country, no matter how small) favors the incumbent.  Will the chess community be able to resist a smiling leader who grows money on trees, socializes with aliens, and allegedly ordered the murder of a suspicious journalist?  4. Aside from chess and politics, the most exciting event at every Olympiad is the Bermuda party.  Definitely the place to go see a tipsy GM or fifty.  5. Given the northerly latitude of Tromsø, this may be the first Bermuda party held in daylight!  Hopefully the participants will be able to sleep longer than the 3-4 hours of twilight each evening. 

USA 6th at World U16 Olympiad

Team USA-2 from left to right: Arthur, Chris, Yian, Michael, Kevin and Mr. Shen.

After ten rounds over eight days, the World Youth Chess Olympiad in Chongqing, China ended with a Closing Ceremony on Monday.  As expected, the race for gold came down to the top two seeds.  Russia and India, both featuring lineups rated over 2400, scored eight wins each.  The difference came in round 6, when the scholastic chess superpowers squared off in a match that saw three tense draws and only one victory, by India's third board.  The #2 rated Indians faced 8 of the top 10 teams, impressively beating 6 and splitting with #3 Hungary and #7 Turkey.  The higher rated Russians still could have shared top honors; alas, they halved a match with the upstart China-2 team right after the rest day.

Final Team Standings

1. #2 India (18 MP, 30.5 GP)
2. #1 Russia (17 MP, 30.0 GP)
3. #7 Turkey (15 MP, 26.0 GP)
4. #3 Hungary (15 MP, 25.0 GP)
5. #4 China-1 (14 MP, 29.0 GP)
6. #6 USA-2 (14 MP, 26.0 GP)
7. #16 SCWY School (14 MP, 24.5 GP)
8. #8 Iran (14 MP, 23.0 GP)

No doubt the host Chinese are disappointed not to have earned a team medal.  Indeed, three Chinese squads were among the top 5 going into round 9, after China-1 crushed #5 Australia by 4-0 and China-2 nicked the Russians 2-2.  And as a pleasant surprise, SCWY School checkmated the Czech Republic.  However, all three local teams lost in round 9, shattering their medal dreams.  Nonetheless, the future appears bright for the talented students at the elite Chinese chess academies.

SM Kevin Wang

SM Chris Gu

The American teams also hoped for better results.  To their credit, the official team USA-2 managed to claw back to respectability with a share of 5th place.  They faced only two higher rated squads, halving the match against #3 Hungary and subsequently losing a showdown with #1 Russia by the narrowest margin.  The low point came following the rest day, when the Americans lost to #10 Kazakhstan and, a few hours later, tied with the overachieving students of SDQD School.  Each member of USA-2 tasted defeat at least once, some due to an embarrassing blunder or with a match hanging in balance.  Board 3 Kevin Wang (78% record) and alternate Chris Gu (81% record) posted the best results, both scoring six wins.  Kudos to Chris for earning 3rd board prize among eligible alternates!

The extra team USA-1 struggled throughout the event, especially against the underrated local schools.  They finished above 50% with 11 MP, good for 25th place out of 72 teams.

Website Links

• Final Team Standings
• Individual Board Prizes
• Team USA-2 Results
• Team USA-1 Results 
• Mid-tournament Report by GM Ian Rogers
• Video of the Closing Ceremony - 4 1/2 minutes long and worth watching
• Official Photo Albums

Final Rounds of Chongqing Olympiad

Team USA-2 prepares before round.  From left to right:
Arthur, Michael (standing), Yian, Kevin and Chris.

Well ... that did not go as planned.  After back-to-back disappointments today, the official team USA-2 finds itself eliminated from medal contention at the World Youth Chess Olympiad.  In the morning, the Americans lost 1.5-2.5 to Kazakhstan, despite an upset win by Kevin Wang against their previously undefeated board 2.  Unfortunately, the afternoon round proved not much better.  Only Yian Liou scored the full point as the team halved the match against another talented Chinese school.  With two rounds remaining, USA-2 fell to 14th place and 3 Match Points out of the medals.

Let's ask Yian what those characters mean.

USA-2 (Official Team)
(click for full results)

14th place with 10 MP, 20.5 GP

6. Defeated Indonesia by 2.5-1.5
7. Lost to Kazakhstan 1.5-2.5
8. Split with BJHD School (China) 2:2
9. Paired against SDQD School (China) 

Check out the great photos of USA-2 players in the round 8 album at the official website.

The tournament has gone even worse for the lower rated USA-1 team.   After sweeping the weak Taiwan delegation, they conceded a third match to the local schools by the frustratingly tight score of 1.5-2.5.  No doubt that some Chinese chess academies have developed strong and underrated players, but the masters from Texas are no slouches themselves with an average USCF rating of 2300!  USA-1 gets another chance against a local school on Sunday.

USA-1 (Extra Team)
(click for full results)

43rd place with 7 MP, 16.5 GP

6. Lost to CQFLHY School (China) 1.5-2.5
7. Defeated Taiwan by 4-0
8. Lost to CQLBNS School (China) 1.5-2.5
9. Paired against CQFLPE School (China)

Photo Essay: USA vs Russia

Board 1: IM Artemiev 1-0 FM Michael Bodek

Board 2: FM Yian Liou 1/2 IM Oparin

Board 4: FM Arthur Shen 1/2 IM Zenzera

Board 3: FM Alekseenko 1-0 SM Kevin Wang

Photos courtesy of Chiiwen Liou.

Halftime Report for Youth Olympiad

USA-2 on left versus Hungary. From front to back:
Chris, Arthur, Yian and Michael (not visible).

Teams from 26 countries arrived in Chongqing, China to compete in the World Youth Chess Olympiad.  Ten American juniors came to represent the nation on two separate teams.  The official team USA-2 scored 11 out of 12 points in the first three rounds, vanquishing opponents from Singapore and two Chinese schools. USA-2 split round 4 against #3 seed Hungary on the strength of a win by Chris Gu on board 4.

This result set up a showdown versus top rated Russia on Thursday morning. Although Arthur Shen won and Yian Liou drew, the Russians proved simply too strong with the White pieces on boards 1 and 3. After this setback, the team regrouped quickly to pull out an important match victory in the afternoon round against Indonesia.

Board 2 FM Yian Liou

Board 1 FM Michael Bodek

Heading into Friday's rest day, USA-2 stands in 7th place with 9 Match Points (2 per win) and 17 Game Points, only one MP out of 2nd. India defeated Russia in round 6 to take the lead at 11 MP. Four rounds remain, including another double round on Saturday. The tournament concludes on Monday (Sunday evening in California).

Team Standings (after Round 6)

• 11 MP - India
• 10 MP - Russia, China-2, Hungary and Iran
• 9 MP - China-1, USA-2, Australia-1, Turkey and Kazakhstan

Unfortunately, the lower rated USA-1 team has fallen on tough times, losing first to #2 seed India and subsequently to two of the Chinese schools.  These scholastic programs represent the future of Chinese chess, which developed many talented young Grandmasters over the years--including 7 of the current Top 100 in the World, all under age 30!

Websites

• Pairings and Results 
• Schedule (subtract 15 hours for PDT)
• Live games  
• Chess Life Online (report by GM Rogers)
  

Photos courtesy of Chiiwen Liou.

Youth Olympiad Kicks Off

USA-2 on left versus Singapore.  From front to back:
Chris Gu, Arthur Shen, Kevin Wang and Yian Liou.

The World Youth Chess Olympiad kicked off this week in Chongqing, China.  A total of 72 teams have entered the championship, representing mainland China and 25 other countries.  Ten American juniors made the trip, competing as two separate teams.

To date, three rounds are in the books.  The top teams will begin to clash in round 4 tonight, including the showdown between the #1 seed Russia and the home team and #4 seed China-1.  And our boys, #6 seed USA-2, face #3 seed Hungary.

Update on Wednesday morning: USA-2 drew Hungary 2:2 on the strength of a board 4 win by Christopher Gu.  The Americans are paired versus top rated Russia for round 5.  Watch it LIVE at 6pm PDT tonight! 

Update late on Wednesday evening: USA-2 lost a close fight to Russia by 1.5-2.5.  Next up is Indonesia at 12:30am PDT on Thursday early morning!  Then, after playing six rounds in four days, the players earned a rest day on Friday.

USA-2 at Opening Ceremony

USA-2 (Official Team)
(click for full results)

7th place with 9 MP, 17 GP

1. Defeated CQFLHY School (China) by 4-0
2. Defeated Singapore by 3.5-0.5
3. Defeated BJJM Club (China) by 3.5-0.5
4. Split with #3 seed Hungary 2:2
5. Lost to #1 seed Russia 1.5-2.5 
6. Defeated Indonesia by 2.5-1.5
7. Paired against Kazakhstan on Saturday
   

USA-1 (Extra Team)
(click for full results)

49th place with 5 MP, 11 GP

1. Defeated Hong Kong by 3-1
2. Defeated SouthAfrica-3 by 3-1
3. Lost to #2 seed India by 0-4
4. Lost to CDSD School (China) by 1.5-2.5
5. Split with QD School (China) 2:2
6. Lost to CQFLHY School (China) 1.5-2.5
7. Paired against Taiwan on Saturday

Photos courtesy of Chiiwen Liou.

Opening Ceremony

Young Dancers

Team USA at World Youth Olympiad in China

Yangtze River gorge

Chongqing lies in south-central China.

Two teams will represent the USA next week at the World Youth Chess Olympiad (under 16) in Chongqing, China. The host city lies on the mighty Yangtze River, more than 900 miles distant from eastern metropolises Beijing and Shanghai.  The players will quickly become accustomed used to hot & humid weather (made worse by pollution) and traditional Szechuan cuisine (spicy).

For full results of each round, go to Chess-Results.

The stronger American squad (paradoxically called USA-2) comprises of four masters from the Northeast and one from the Bay Area.  All five players are rated above 2400 USCF and they have combined for eight IM norms.  Indeed, the three lower rated members each scored a norm at World Open earlier this month! 

USA-2 (Official Team)

• FM Michael Bodek (2386 FIDE rating, age 15, state NY)
• FM Yian Liou (2381, 16, CA-N)
• SM Kevin Wang (2297, 15, MD)
• FM Arthur Shen (2286, 16, NJ)
• SM Chris Gu (2264, 14, RI)
• Averages: 2323 FIDE, 2455 USCF, age 15

The other American team is mostly younger and dominated by players from the state of Texas. 

USA-1 (Extra Team)

• FM Jeffery Xiong (2369, 12, TX)
• NM Jarod Pamatmat (2172, 16, TX)
• FM Tommy He (2128, 13, TX)
• Joshua Sheng (1995, 12, CA-S)
• Bovey Liu (2000, 11, TX)
• Averages: 2133 FIDE, 2303 USCF, age 13

Just like the Chess Olympiad for Grandmasters, country teams consist of four boards plus an alternate.  All participants have birthdays in 1997 or later.  Some countries, including the USA, entered multiple teams.  There are 72 teams from 27 different countries have registered.  About 40 teams represent different schools or clubs from China.  Eight countries feature competitive master level lineups.

Top 10 Teams (by average rating of top 4 players)

1. Russia (2480) - 3 IMs including Young Stars champ Vladislav Artemiev (2554)
2. India (2426) - 3 IMs
3. Hungary (2370) - 5 FMs
4. China-1 (2345) - led by current youngest Grandmaster in World Wei Yi (2557)
5. Australia (2340) - 2 IMs including Australian Open champ Bobby Cheng (2438)
6. USA-2 (2338)
7. Turkey (2305) - 2 IMs
8. Iran (2271) - 3 FMs and a WIM
9. USA-1 (2167)  
10. China-2 (2133)

The Youth Olympiad commences on Monday, July 22, and continues through Monday, July 29.  The schedule shows 10 rounds over 7 days, with a free day planned on Friday the 26th.  Games will be played at 9:00am and 3:30pm China time, which translates to 6:00pm (on the previous day!) and 12:30am Pacific time.  That means round 2 on Tuesday morning is actually on Monday evening in California time zone.

Watch the official website for pairings, results and perhaps even live games.  I hope to provide daily updates on my chess blog and Twitter account.