2012 Chess Olympiad - Round 2
Vassily Ivanchuk blundered today on top board for Ukraine in round two of the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul. Ukraine still won their match with Qatar 3-1, but every game point dropped can be crucial!
Elsewhere, Hikaru Nakamura entered the fray on top board for the US team, winning his game in a 3½-½ match victory against Lithuania.
Other big names opening their account today were Lev Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik. Aronian led Armenia to a 4-0 clean sweep of Bangladesh, but Kramnik could only draw his game as Russia dropped board points in their 3-1 win over Greece.
Meanwhile, Poland kept their foot to the floor, recording their second consecutive 4-0 shut-out, this time against Costa Rica.
Azerbaijan, France and Cuba also continued their good starts to the event by winning matches 3½-½ against Ireland, Peru and ICSC (International Committee of Silent Chess) respectively.
The strong Chinese team impressively beat Italy 3½-½, with Fabiano Caruana unable to make his ratings advantage count on top board, losing to Wang Hao.
Sadly, the official coverage is still prone to errors and slow to release PGN game scores. The Olympiad is a massive event, and certainly not easy to organise, but for such an important competition it should be possible to do better. [UPDATE: Some games now added]
Full results can be found at the official website results page here and games can be replayed at the live games page.
Look out for live coverage on www.chess.com/tv (scroll down on that page to check the schedule for times).
Vladimir Kramnik (left) took over the top board duties from Alexander Grischuk, but could only draw.
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Lev Aronian led Armenia to a 4-0 victory
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Lazaro Bruzon won his game as Cuba beat Israel 3½-½
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In the women's competition, China and Georgia kept up their 100% board records, but Russia dropped a single half point when Valentina Gunina could only draw on top board.
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Women's European Champ Valentina Gunina was held to a draw
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Flags of many nations in the playing arena!
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Photos from the official website's photo page. Games via TWIC.
