Highly Ranked Philippines-1 Shuts Out USA

Filipino board 1 FM Sander Severino

After a successful debut against Russia, Team USA crashed back to Earth, losing four fighting games to one of the Olympiad favorites: Philippines-1. FM Sander Severino, the reigning IPCA (International Physically Challenged Association) World Rapid Champion, dominated this writer from the black side of the Caro Kann. Unfortunately, our other three boards suffered a similar fate.

Round 2: #39 USA vs #3 Philippines-1 == 0-4

1. Michael vs FM Sander Severino (2364) == 0-1
2. Henry Lopez (2107) vs Griffin == 1-0
3. Pranav vs Darry Bernardo (2114) == 0-1
4. Cheyzer Crystal J. Mendoza (1639) vs Jessica == 1-0

Michael Aigner vs Sander Severino (0-1)

After two rounds, 14 teams remain perfect with four match points, including 6 of the original top 10 seeds. Two noteworthy upsets saw Hungary defeat Cuba while North Macedonia fell to Turkey-1. However, the biggest surprise must be Vietnam, who scalped a pair of stronger squads from Kazakhstan and Romania-2.  

Standings after Round 2:

• 4 MP = three Polish teams, Israel, two Russian teams, two Ukrainian teams, Germany, Turkey-1, Vietnam, Hungary, India-1 and Croatia
• 3 MP = Philippines-1 and Russia-2
• 2 MP = 26 teams
• 1 MP = Canada, USA, Romania-2 and Mali 
• 0 MP = 14 teams

The pairing for the third round pits Team USA against Romania-2, rated roughly 200 points higher in average FIDE rating. Interestingly, our previous opponents, Philippines-1 and Russia-2, meet in a heavyweight showdown. This is a brutal competition! The round time is Monday at 6:00 AM PST. Although not a live broadcast, Chess24 uploads all games upon conclusion.   

USA Ties Russia-2 in Round 1

Team USA meeting on Zoom.

What a roller coaster! The first round of the Online Olympiad saw a bit of everything for Team USA: aggressive openings, inexplicable blunders, strong endgame technique and even a flag fall. No doubt Russia-2 expected both International Masters to score a point. While Yuri Meshkov took care of business on board 1, his colleague Alexey Pakhomov got lost in cyberspace and flagged after just 7 moves. The lower boards split too and the teams shared the match points. 

Round 1: #9 Russia-2 vs #39 USA == 2-2

1. IM Yuri Meshkov (2351) vs Michael == 1-0
2. Griffin vs IM Alexey Pakhomov (2315) == 1-0 (time)
3. Polina Taranenko (1445) vs Pranav == 0-1
4. Jessica vs Maksim Ermakov (1611) == 0-1

Board 3 Pranav Shankar had opportunities throughout his game, but technique brought home the point in the endgame. Well done!

Polina Taranenko vs Pranav Shankar (0-1)

Aside from the USA match, the first round followed form with the higher rated country winning 25 of the 30 matches. Lower rated India-4 and Vietnam scored impressive upsets against Venezuela and Romania-2, respectively, while three matches were drawn. In addition to #9 Russia-2, one other top 10 squad drew; #3 seed Philippines-1 could not defeat our neighbors from Canada.

Standings after Round 1:

• 2 MP = 27 teams including 11 of the top 13 rated
• 1 MP = Philippines-1, Russia-2, Canada, USA and two others
• 0 MP = the remaining 27 teams

As reward for splitting the match with the #9 seed, Team USA was paired against the #3 seed Philippines-1 in round 2. Indeed, Canada and USA swapped their opponents. Game time is Sunday at 6:00 AM PST. Follow the action on Chess24.

Opening Ceremony

The first FIDE Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities kicked off this morning with a brief Opening Ceremony streamed live on YouTube. Highlights included the obligatory rendition of the FIDE anthem and speeches by Chief Arbiter Jirina Prokopova of the Czech Republic and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich of Russia. Replay the video above.

The organizers scheduled a test round after the ceremony to work out any kinks in accessing the Tornelo website or screen sharing on Zoom. Technical difficulties meant a delay of more than an hour. Finally, each participant faced a random opponent from another country. While officially meaningless, Team USA gained momentum with a perfect 5-0 result, including several upsets! 

Alas, the first round pairings offer a stark reminder of challenge that lies ahead. The Russians are coming! Ranked in the bottom half, the Americans drew Russia-2, powered by a veteran pair of International Masters. Wish us luck!

IM Yuri Meshkov plays board 1.
He's a former IBCA (Braille Chess)
World Champion and a regular at
the Chess Olympiad. Credit: IBCA

Round 1: #9 Russia-2 vs #39 USA

1. IM Yuri Meshkov (2351) vs Michael
2. Griffin vs IM Alexey Pakhomov (2315)
3. Polina Taranenko (1445) vs Pranav
4. Jessica vs Maksim Ermakov (1611)

Game time is Saturday at 6:00 AM PST. Follow the action live on Chess24 and YouTube.

Meet Team USA

Pranav and Griffin battle at the 2018
World Junior for Players with Disabilities.
Credit: Dora L. Martinez

This article does not introduce the usual suspects named Fabiano, Wesley and Hikaru. While those gentlemen play a mean game of chess, they are not special enough to qualify for this team. The six members of Team USA competing at the FIDE Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities drive wheelchairs, wear limb supports, endure surgeries and therapies, perceive the world from one eye, struggle with social interactions and still thrive amidst a laundry list of unique circumstances.

Without further ado, please meet Team USA:

1. NM Michael Aigner from California, 2207 USCF, 2006 FIDE
2. Griffin McConnell (age 16) from Colorado, 2051 USCF, 1823 FIDE 
3. Pranav Shankar (age 13) from New Jersey, 1914 USCF, 1499 FIDE
4. Jessica Lauser from Missouri, 1804 USCF, unrated FIDE
5. Oskar Zoffer (age 11) from Massachusetts, 1680 USCF, unrated FIDE
6. Nguyen Tran (age 8) from Louisiana, 1132 USCF, unrated FIDE

Team captain is NM Lior Lapid from Colorado, 2302 USCF, 2124 FIDE.

Jessica Lauser won the US Blind
Championship the last three years!
Credit: Mike Dudley of Maine Chess

While the top four boards have an average USCF rating of 1994, the tournament uses an average FIDE rating of 1582 by assigning unrated players as 1000. This leaves the Americans seeded 39th out of 61 teams. Winning a medal seems unlikely given the fierce competition, but this young team aspires to surprise opponents and improve on its initial ranking. 

Stay tuned for updates. The first round begins on Saturday at 6:00 AM Pacific time. All games should be broadcast on Chess24. Go U-S-A!