Armenia Beat China, Keep Lead In Ningbo
Armenia narrowly defeated hosts China 2½-1½ on day five of the World Team Chess Championships in Ningbo.
A lone win by Gabriel Sargissian (pictured) on board four was enough to keep the Armenian team in gold medal position.
Russia achieved the expected win against underdogs Egypt, but conceded two draws for a 3-1 score which still moves them up to second in the standings.
Hungary continued their strong showing so far, thumping Israel 3½-½ to move into third place.
Azerbaijan slipped down the table after losing 2½-1½ to Ukraine. Alexander Moiseenko continued his fine form with a win for Ukraine on board four.
There was also brighter news for the US team, who recovered from yesterday's drubbing at the hands of China to win 3-1 against India.
The full results in round five:
| Egypt | 1-3 | Russia | ||
| Adly Ahmed | 2631 | 0 - 1 | Grischuk Alexander | 2746 |
| Amin Bassem | 2609 | 0 - 1 | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2711 |
| Shoker Samy | 2475 | ½ - ½ | Svidler Peter | 2739 |
| Ezat Mohamed | 2430 | ½ - ½ | Vitiugov Nikita | 2733 |
| China | 1½-2½ | Armenia | ||
| Wang Hao | 2718 | ½ - ½ | Aronian Levon | 2805 |
| Wang Yue | 2709 | ½ - ½ | Movsesian Sergei | 2700 |
| Li Chao B | 2669 | ½ - ½ | Akopian Vladimir | 2667 |
| Yu Yangyi | 2672 | 0 - 1 | Sargissian Gabriel | 2663 |
| India | 1-3 | USA | ||
| Harikrishna Pentala | 2669 | ½ - ½ | Kamsky Gata | 2741 |
| Sasikiran Krishnan | 2681 | 0 - 1 | Onischuk Alexander | 2675 |
| Ganguly Surya Shekhar | 2627 | ½ - ½ | Shulman Yuri | 2617 |
| Negi Parimarjan | 2642 | 0 - 1 | Hess Robert | 2609 |
| Hungary | 3½- ½ | Israel | ||
| Leko Peter | 2717 | 1 - 0 | Roiz Michael | 2669 |
| Almasi Zoltan | 2726 | ½ - ½ | Smirin Ilya | 2676 |
| Polgar Judit | 2699 | 1 - 0 | Postny Evgeny | 2618 |
| Balogh Csaba | 2643 | 1 - 0 | Nabaty Tamir | 2584 |
| Azerbaijan | 1½-2½ | Ukraine | ||
| Radjabov Teimur | 2744 | ½ - ½ |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2768 |
| Gashimov Vugar | 2760 | ½ - ½ | Eljanov Pavel | 2697 |
| Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2765 | ½ - ½ | Efimenko Zahar | 2706 |
| Guseinov Gadir | 2625 | 0 - 1 | Moiseenko Alexander | 2715 |
FIDE are covering the championships here, and a live relay of the games (starting at 15:00 local time in Ningbo) can be found at the official Chinese site here. Games remain available for replay at the live link until the start of the next round. Tomorrow (Friday) is a rest day.
The teams score 2 points for a match win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. The first tie-break is board points scored.
The standings after five rounds:
| Team | M-Pts | B-Pts | |
| 1 | Armenia | 8 | 13.5 |
| 2 | Russia | 7 | 12.0 |
| 3 | Hungary | 7 | 11.5 |
| 4 | Ukraine | 6 | 10.5 |
| 5 | China | 5 | 11.0 |
| 6 | Azerbaijan | 5 | 11.0 |
| 7 | USA | 5 | 10.0 |
| 8 | Israel | 4 | 8.0 |
| 9 | India | 3 | 8.0 |
| 10 | Egypt | 0 | 4.5 |
China and Armenia faced off in round five
Alexander Grischuk won with the black pieces to help Russia to defeat Egypt
Judit Polgar won again for the Hungarian team as they crushed Israel
Azerbaijan edged past Ukraine thanks to a win from Alexander Moiseenko
Pictures from the FIDE website. More here.
