Armenia Win The 40th Olympiad!
An exciting finish to the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul saw Armenia emerge as winners on tie-breaks after winning their final match with Hungary 2½-1½.
Sergei Movsesian got the single vital decisive game for Armenia to take a match victory and the Gold medal.
Top seeds Russia had to settle for a Silver medal despite a strong finish, beating Germany 3-1 in their final match.
Ukraine took the Bronze medal thanks to a final round 3-1 victory against China, who therefore finish just outside the medals in fourth.
The USA took fifth place by finishing with a 2½-1½ victory against Poland.
The top standings in the Open competition:
| # | Team | W | D | L | MP | S-B | BP |
| 1 | Armenia | 9 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 397.0 | 29.0 |
| 2 | Russia | 9 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 388.5 | 28.5 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 9 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 363.0 | 29.5 |
| 4 | China | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 390.5 | 29.5 |
| 5 | USA | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 361.0 | 30.0 |
| 6 | Netherlands | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 329.0 | 29.0 |
| 7 | Vietnam | 6 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 313.5 | 29.0 |
| 8 | Romania | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 310.0 | 29.0 |
| 9 | Hungary | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 368.0 | 28.0 |
| 10 | Azerbaijan | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 344.0 | 29.0 |
| 11 | Cuba | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 338.5 | 30.5 |
| 12 | Germany | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 334.5 | 26.0 |
| 13 | Poland | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 313.5 | 27.5 |
| 14 | Serbia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 307.0 | 28.5 |
| 15 | Italy | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 306.0 | 28.0 |
| 16 | Sweden | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 303.5 | 28.0 |
| 17 | England | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 300.5 | 26.0 |
| 18 | Denmark | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 270.5 | 27.0 |
| 19 | Moldova | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 348.5 | 29.5 |
| 20 | Bulgaria | 7 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 321.5 | 28.0 |
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Lev Aronian won the individual Gold medal for his board 1 performance
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Sergei Movsesian got the vital last-round win
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Vladimir Akopian won a Silver medal for his performance on board 3 for Armenia
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Gabriel Sargissian - board 4 for the winners Armenia
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Sergey Karjakin took an individual Bronze medal on board 3 for Russia
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Ukraine beat China 3-1 to earn Bronze and deny China a medal
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Hikaru Nakamura finished with his only loss of the Olympiad
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Gata Kamsky won a board 2 individual Bronze medal
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All the Open individual board medals:
| Board 1 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Aronian Levon | 2816 | Armenia | 70.0 | 2700 | 7.0 |
| 2 | Wojtaszek Radoslaw | 2717 | Poland | 75.0 | 2651 | 7.5 |
| 3 | Radjabov Teimour | 2788 | Azerbaijan | 72.2 | 2647 | 6.5 |
| Board 2 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Navara David | 2691 | Czech Republic | 86.4 | 2560 | 9.5 |
| 2 | Filippov Anton | 2617 | Uzbekistan | 81.3 | 2569 | 6.5 |
| 3 | Kamsky Gata | 2746 | USA | 77.3 | 2585 | 8.5 |
| Board 3 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | Azerbaijan | 85.0 | 2584 | 8.5 |
| 2 | Akopian Vladimir | 2687 | Armenia | 75.0 | 2610 | 7.5 |
| 3 | Karjakin Sergey | 2785 | Russia | 70.0 | 2635 | 7.0 |
| Board 4 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Tkachiev Vladislav | 2644 | France | 81.3 | 2499 | 6.5 |
| 2 | Gupta Abhijeet | 2637 | India | 77.8 | 2526 | 7.0 |
| 3 | Fridman Daniel | 2653 | Germany | 70.0 | 2573 | 7.0 |
| Board 5 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Jakovenko Dmitry | 2722 | Russia | 77.8 | 2563 | 7.0 |
| 2 | Macieja Bartlomiej | 2594 | Poland | 72.2 | 2546 | 6.5 |
| 3 | Shanava Konstantine | 2569 | Georgia | 75.0 | 2486 | 6.0 |
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There was a dramatic finish in the women's section with Russia thrashing Kazakhstan 4-0 to claim the Gold medal at the last gasp. China had to settle for silver despite winning their final match with Bulgaria 2½-1½. Ukraine took the Bronze.
The final standings in the women's competition:
| # | Team | W | D | L | MP | S-B | BP |
| 1 | Russia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 450.0 | 33.0 |
| 2 | China | 8 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 416.0 | 31.5 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 7 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 408.5 | 30.5 |
| 4 | India | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 336.0 | 28.0 |
| 5 | Romania | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 313.5 | 28.5 |
| 6 | Armenia | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 313.0 | 26.5 |
| 7 | France | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 347.5 | 29.0 |
| 8 | Georgia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 344.0 | 28.5 |
| 9 | Iran | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 339.0 | 31.0 |
| 10 | USA | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 326.0 | 29.5 |
| 11 | Germany | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 316.0 | 27.0 |
| 12 | Kazakhstan | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 309.0 | 27.0 |
| 13 | Mongolia | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 308.0 | 28.0 |
| 14 | Belarus | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 292.0 | 28.5 |
| 15 | Poland | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 336.5 | 27.5 |
| 16 | Bulgaria | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 316.5 | 27.5 |
| 17 | Hungary | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 303.0 | 27.5 |
| 18 | Latvia | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 296.5 | 28.0 |
| 19 | Cuba | 5 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 286.0 | 25.5 |
| 20 | Netherlands | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 285.5 | 27.0 |
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The Russian women caught and surpassed China by beating Kazakhstan 4-0
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China's 2½-1½ victory against Bulgaria was only good enough for a Silver medal
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The individual women's medals:
| Board 1 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Hou Yifan | 2599 | China | 72.2 | 2479 | 6.5 |
| 2 | Dzagnidze Nana | 2547 | Georgia | 75.0 | 2432 | 6.0 |
| 3 | Lahno Kateryna | 2542 | Ukraine | 70.0 | 2459 | 7.0 |
| Board 2 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Zhao Xue | 2549 | China | 80.0 | 2334 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Muzychuk Mariya | 2466 | Ukraine | 66.7 | 2401 | 6.0 |
| 3 | Yildiz Betul Cemre | 2341 | Turkey | 86.4 | 2193 | 9.5 |
| Board 3 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Kosintseva Nadezhda | 2524 | Russia | 88.9 | 2342 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Zawadzka Jolanta | 2377 | Poland | 81.8 | 2276 | 9.0 |
| 3 | Sachdev Tania | 2379 | India | 81.8 | 2260 | 9.0 |
| Board 4 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Huang Qian | 2449 | China | 80.0 | 2307 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Collas Silvia | 2261 | France | 83.3 | 2196 | 7.5 |
| 3 | Kosteniuk Alexandra | 2489 | Russia | 77.8 | 2248 | 7.0 |
| Board 5 | ||||||
| # | Name | Elo | Team | % | Av Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Pogonina Natalija | 2448 | Russia | 81.3 | 2236 | 6.5 |
| 2 | Castrillon Gomez Melissa | 2181 | Colombia | 87.5 | 2043 | 7.0 |
| 3 | Davletbayeva Madina | 2165 | Kazakhstan | 72.2 | 2191 | 6.5 |
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Russia also won the Gaprindashvili Cup, which is awarded for the best overall performance when the Open and Women's sections are combined.
| # | Team | MP | S-B | BP |
| 1 | Russia | 38 | 838.5 | 61.5 |
| 2 | China | 36 | 806.5 | 61.0 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 36 | 771.5 | 60.0 |
| 4 | Armenia | 35 | 710.0 | 55.5 |
| 5 | USA | 32 | 687.0 | 59.5 |
| 6 | Romania | 32 | 623.5 | 57.5 |
| 7 | Germany | 30 | 650.5 | 53.0 |
| 8 | India | 30 | 645.5 | 53.5 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 30 | 614.5 | 56.0 |
| 10 | Hungary | 29 | 671.0 | 55.5 |
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Olympiad Open team medallists since the break-up of the Soviet Union (via Wikipedia):
| Year | Venue | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1992 | Manila, Philippines | Russia | Uzbekistan | Armenia |
| 1994 | Moscow, Russia | Russia | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Russia II |
| 1996 | Yerevan, Armenia | Russia | Ukraine | United States |
| 1998 | Elista, Russia | Russia | United States | Ukraine |
| 2000 | Istanbul, Turkey | Russia | Germany | Ukraine |
| 2002 | Bled, Slovenia | Russia | Hungary | Armenia |
| 2004 | Calviá, Spain | Ukraine | Russia | Armenia |
| 2006 | Turin, Italy | Armenia | China | United States |
| 2008 | Dresden, Germany | Armenia | Israel | United States |
| 2010 | Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia | Ukraine | Russia | Israel |
| 2012 | Istanbul, Turkey | Armenia | Russia | Ukraine |
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Congratulations to all the medallists, and all the chess players from around the world who competed for their country at the 40th chess Olympiad in Istanbul. Next stop, Tromsø, Norway in 2014!
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The official website can be found here. The full results and standings are here. Photos and games are from the official website.
