Worst Russian/Soviet team result ever?
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OK, Matlakov made it look a bit better in the end, but when was the last time something like that happened to a Russian/Soviet team in a big team event? Three losses in four games...
To a Soviet team, that would mean gulag.
I found one similar result in the past, maybe even worse. In the 2011 ETC Bulgaria also won three of the four games, and that with a team that was comparatively weaker than that of Azerbaijan. Russia then had all their five players in the top 20 while Bulgaria had their second strongest player ranked #79. Then the results were
Topalov-Svidler 1-0
Karjakin-Cheparinov 0-1
Delchev-Morozevich 1-0
Nepomniachtchi-Georgiev 1-0
England beat the USSR 6-4 in a 10-board match in Iceland in 1990, although the Soviet team were missing a few of their top players.
http://chess-results.com/tnr29382.aspx?lan=19&art=3&rd=2&wi=821
Greece was the organizer's wildcard in that event.
madhacker wrote:
England was at that time still second best in the world.
England beat the USSR 6-4 in a 10-board match in Iceland in 1990, although the Soviet team were missing a few of their top players.
ciarli wrote:
...their champs are not russians at all! I mean not mongol russians but they are czarist russians! tal is a mongol russian while kasparov is czarist or represents another chess that is not nervous chess or attacking chess, isnt he?!
Russia had great team once, because they would not allow most people to do business or pursue a law career, so they were taking up chess instead.
In the US, apart from Fischer, no one is mad enough to be involved with chess, when they can do
law or business.
That is the secret behind the great success of the Soviet machine.
They are going to do well for some time more, but nothing special.
pfren wrote:
http://chess-results.com/tnr29382.aspx?lan=19&art=3&rd=2&wi=821
Greece was the organizer's wildcard in that event.
Ouch! That's a serious upset.
Canichess Alumni beat Team Russia 24 - 10 this year.
https://www.chess.com/groups/team_match?id=791988
The 1-3 loss against West Germany in the Chess Olympiad in 1964 was rather remarkable as well, given the level of the Soviet team. Their lowest rated player at Chessmetrics during the match was #8 Stein, and then they could rest the two participants of the title match from the year before... The by far highest ranked German was #46 Unzicker.
That Soviet 1964 team was something, by the way (as most of their team around then). Even with six players in the team they could afford not to include Korchnoi and Tal even as reserves, and still crush a strong US team (with Reshevsky and Benko on the top boards) 4-0. I have no idea how the West Germans managed to score 3-1 in that match with untitled players like Bialas and Pfleger in the team...
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