Argentina No Match for Team USA

The late soccer great Diego Maradona also promoted the royal game.

One day after falling against Chile, the Americans crossed the Andes to defeat Argentina, a country mourning the passing of its soccer hero Diego Maradona. First, Pranav Shankar unleashed his inner f-pawn, advancing f5-f4-f3 to checkmate the white monarch on g1. Meanwhile on top board, Michael Aigner resisted playing his favorite pawn until move 43 and instead nursed a positional advantage into an endgame victory. Even the magician on board 2 came through, somehow escaping checkmate to seal a 3-1 result. 

Round 6: #25 Argentina vs #39 USA == 1-3

1. Leonel Amato (2100) vs Michael == 0-1
2. Griffin vs Luis Sanz (2186) == 1-0
3. Valeria Simone (1453) vs Pranav == 0-1
4. Jessica vs Raul Grosso (1746) == 1-0

Team USA improved to a tie for 16th place with 7 match points, clinching a minimum 50% final score despite difficult opposition rated more than 200 points higher in every round.

Valeria Simone vs Pranav Shankar (0-1) 

Leonel Amato vs Michael Aigner (0-1) 

Round 7 tomorrow concludes the swiss stage of this Online Olympiad and four top teams advance to a knockout semifinal. After a tie today, Russia-1 leads with 11 match points while four countries lurk one point behind (Poland-2, Germany, Philippines-1, Ukraine-3) and three more trail by another point (Poland-1, Russia-2, India-1). Since as many as six teams may reach the 11 point plateau, tiebreaks (most game points) become decisive. An interesting quirk is the pairing of the two Polish squads in essentially an elimination match. Stay tuned for some wild scrambling!

Round 7 Pairings:

1. Russia-1 (11) vs Philippines-1 (10)
2. Ukraine-3 (10) vs Germany (10)
3. Poland-1 (9) vs Poland-2 (10)
4. Russia-2 (9) vs India-1 (9)

Standings After Round 6:

• 11 MP = Russia-1
• 10 MP = Poland-2, Germany, Philippines-1, Ukraine-3
• 9 MP = Poland-1, Russia-2, India-1
• 8 MP = Israel, Poland-3, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Philippines-2, Ukraine-1, Croatia
• 7 MP = Romania-1, Canada, India-2, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Ukraine-2, USA, North Macedonia, Turkey-1
• Total of 58 teams remaining

Team USA concludes its tour of South America with a match against #25 seed Brazil on Friday at 6:00 AM PST. Once again the Americans enter as underdogs, but past success brings cautious optimism. Check out all of the games at Chess24 or FollowChess.

Chile Wins in Round 5

Michael Aigner (left) playing blitz against the late GM Walter Browne.

The two match winning streak by Team USA abruptly ended this morning as Chile dominated the lower boards. An admittedly lucky win against Romania-2 followed by a convincing result versus highly ranked North Macedonia left the Americans feeling optimistic, but Chile iced those aspirations with a 3-1 victory. This reporter, playing on top board, earned his first win of the Olympiad in full Capablanca style, confidently trading into an endgame up a pawn.

Michael Aigner vs Cristian Gonzalez Astete (1-0)

The defeat dropped the USA to an even record and a tie for 25th place, 32nd on tiebreaks.

Round 5: #39 USA vs #18 Chile == 1-3

1. Michael vs Cristian Gonzalez Astete (2130) == 1-0
2. Tomas Figueroa Morales (2093) vs Griffin == 1-0
3. Pranav vs Andres Saul Tapia Loncon (1890) == 0-1
4. Valeska Rozas Lazcano (1435) vs Jessica == 1-0

Russia-1 emerged from the showdown against Germany to move into sole first place with 10 match points. However, the results on tables 2 and 3 surprised many. Poland seized clear second place, but it was Poland-2 which upset India-1 with the lopsided margin of 3.5-0.5. The top rated Poland-1 team, led by 2018 World Champion for the Disabled GM Marcin Tazbir, lost to #3 seed Philippines-1. The Filipinos currently share third place with a quintet of squads, including Germany and two from Ukraine. After round 7, the top four teams (if necessary by tiebreaks) advance to the knockout phase of the championship.

Standings after Round 5: 

• 10 MP = Russia-1
• 9 MP = Poland-2
• 8 MP = Germany, Philippines-1, Israel, Ukraine-1, Ukraine-3, Croatia
• 7 MP = Poland-1, Russia-2, Ecuador, Romania-1, Chile, India-1
• 6 MP = Vietnam, Russia-3, Poland-2, Ukraine-2 and six others
• 5 MP = Canada, Argentina, USA, North Macedonia and six others
• Total of 58 teams remaining

The Americans seek to bounce back against Argentina, yet another higher rated opponent. Each of the first six opposing teams have been ranked in the top half of the field, while Team USA came in seeded 39th out of 60. Games begin on Thursday at 6:00 AM PST and will be broadcast on both Chess24 and FollowChess. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all readers! 

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.

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.