The penultimate round is upon us. With two rounds left, a winning team is imminent. Let’s take a look at what the Chessable team was up to this round, as well as the most memorable games of the day.
Be sure to check out our prior coverage of the event:
Also, be sure to check out our Olympiad course, featuring tactics and a breakdown of each day’s most important happenings, exclusive for Chessable Pro members.
The penultimate round of the 2022 Chennai Olympiad has begun!
Before the day’s play started, Chessable author Miodrag Perunovic (better known as The Butcher!) stopped by for a quick interview, before heading into the playing hall to support his team. He’s the captain of the high-flying Serbian team, who faces the Netherlands today. Keep an eye on our Youtube channel for the full interview.
Although we’re at the business end of the tournament, the players are in good spirits – hopefully they still will be after round 11!
Whilst much of the attention in the open section as focused on local prodigy Gukesh…
…WIM Oliwia Kiolbasa is dominating the women’s section with an incredible 9/9!
Tomorrow is the final round and we’ll be at the Chessable booth for the last time, so it’s your last chance to come say hello!
What went on in the games
Gukesh had been the star of the tournament up until Round 10, having won all games except his last game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, which ended in a draw.
In Round 10, Gukesh was about to beat Uzbekistan’s teenage star Nodirbek Abdusattorov which would have given India 2 a share of the lead with Armenia.
However, he lost the game, and now the Uzbeks share the lead with Armenia.
In the Women’s section, things were more clear. With India the clear leader after the tenth round.
Here are the standings in the Open section after Round 10:
And the standings of the Women’s section:
Gukesh’s fatal blunder
Gukesh’s last move, 72.Nf3?? was the move that lost him the game.
After 72…Qb7+, Black is able to win the knight.
A brilliant move by Pragg
31.Re1! was an amazing move in another India 2 and Uzbek matchup of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa vs Javokhir Sindarov.
The move threatens Bc4 or Bg4 and e5-rook is pinned by the queen. In fact, this was the only move, as 31.Rc1 would have been met by 31…Bc4!
Pragg went on to win a very tricky endgame.
Koneru’s piece sacrifice
Humpy Koneru of the Indian Women’s team helped her team achieve a 3.5-0.5 victory over Kazakhstan.
In her game, she played an early and successful piece sacrifice:
14.Bxe6!
Carlsen draws
Magnus Carlsen, the top-rated player of all time and no.1 board for Norway drew his match against Ivan Schitco of Moldova.
The game cost him four rating points, which is quite a big deal at this level. Carlsen was rated 2864 while Schitco was rated 2509.
This is the position in which the game was drawn.
