USA Crushes North Macedonia

North Macedonia is the southern part of the former Yugoslavia.

After the dramatic conclusion of Monday's round, the American victory against the highly ranked lineup of North Macedonia was surprisingly anticlimactic. The combination of opening preparation and tactical opportunism resulted in a sweep boards 2-4. Three-time US Blind winner Jessica Lauser had lost her first three games at the Olympiad, but she knocked out her opponent this morning with a flurry of middlegame tactics. 

Jessica Lauser vs Marija Arsova (1-0)

Team USA advanced to 5 match points out of a possible 8 despite being paired up every round, including facing three top 10 countries, and are tied for 15th place.

Round 4: #10 North Macedonia vs #39 USA == 0.5-3.5

• Tode Zafirovsky (2138) vs Michael == 1/2-1/2
• Griffin vs Vladimir Trkaljanov (2096) == 1-0
• Zarko Selkovski (2007) vs Pranav == 0-1
• Jessica vs Marija Arsova (unrated) == 1-0

As the FIDE Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities passed the halfway point, Russia-1 and Germany shared the lead with a fourth straight match victory. Top rated Poland-1 rested the tournament's only Grandmaster and only mustered a 2-2 tie against India-1. In the first heavyweight matchup of the week, #4 Israel held #3 Philippines-1 to another 2-2 tie. The underrated team from Vietnam impressed with their third upset victory. 

Standings after Round 4:

• 8 MP = Russia-1 and Germany 
• 7 MP = Poland-1, Poland-2, India-1
• 6 MP = Israel, Philippines-1, Russia-3, Vietnam and five others
• 5 MP = India-3, Ecuador, Russia-2, Chile, USA and three others
• Total of 58 teams remaining

Tomorrow morning, Team USA squares off against #18 seed Chile in a rare pairing of two countries from the Americas. Look for a competitive match despite the rating gap of 350 points between the teams. The first pawn moves on Wednesday at 6:00 AM PST. Check out the games at FollowChess (live) and Chess24.

Miracle at the Chess Board

The magician himself! Please meet Griffin McConnell.
Credit: Turkish Chess Federation

Nobody knows exactly what happened. It was a miracle! After an opening crush by Pranav and a solid draw by Michael, the match was knotted at 1.5. Griffin McConnell carefully nursed an advantage on board 2 when everything went amiss. At first, a peaceful conclusion seemed likely, until black dropped his knight. Alas, white struggled to convert the win, and each spite check brought Griffin closer to a draw. Inexplicably, white returned the favor, abruptly blundering his knight - and the match point. The Americans stole the match! Indeed, a popular chess proverb says nobody ever won by resigning. 

Round 3: #39 USA vs #30 Romania-2 == 2.5-1.5

1. Michael vs Constantin Stroe (1917) == 1/2-1/2
2. Mihai Dima (1997) vs Griffin == 0-1
3. Pranav vs Eugen-Cezar Vieru (1798) == 1-0
4. Maria Lupascu (1480) vs Jessica == 1-0

It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win.
Mihai Dima vs Griffin McConnell (0-1)

The tournament field continues to thin out. After three rounds, only six teams remain perfect at 6 match points, all among the top dozen seeds. Poland-1 and Russia-1 annihilated their opponents, scoring an impressive 11.5 and 11.0 game points out of 12. Three additional countries have 5 match points. Other notable results include Philippines-1 beating Russia-2 by 3-1 and the upset by Kyrgyzstan over its northern neighbor Kazakhstan by 3.5-0.5.

Standings after Round 3:

• 6 MP = Poland-1, Russia-1, Germany, Ukraine-1, Croatia, India-1
• 5 MP = Israel, Philippines-1, Poland-2
• 4 MP = 15 teams
• 3 MP = Canada, Russia-2, North Macedonia, USA and seven others
• Total of 58 teams remaining

The new pairing pits Team USA against #10 seed North Macedonia, previously known as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The challenging matchups continue as the Americans face a third team rated in the top 10. Games begin on Tuesday at 6 AM PST. Find the games at Chess24 or FollowChess.