Armenia Take Early Lead In Ningbo
Armenia, the wildcard entry into the 2011 World Team Chess Championships, took an early lead by thrashing a Gelfand-less Israel 3½-½ in the first round.
Lev Aronian (pictured) won on top board against Emil Sutovsky, and Vladimir Akopian and Gabriel Sargissian also emerged victorious to seal an excellent result.
Russia also had a good first round, beating the USA by a score of 3-1, with Ian Nepomniachtchi beating Alexander Onischuk, and Nikita Vitiugov beating Robert Hess.
Ukraine lie in third place after the first day, but they only managed a 2½-1½ win against the lowest seeds, Egypt, after a bottom board upset from Samy Shoker.
The results of the first round in full:
| USA | 1-3 | Russia | ||
| Kamsky Gata | 2741 | ½ - ½ | Karjakin Sergey | 2788 |
| Onischuk Alexander | 2675 | 0 - 1 | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2711 |
| Shulman Yuri | 2617 | ½ - ½ | Svidler Peter | 2739 |
| Hess Robert | 2609 | 0 - 1 | Vitiugov Nikita | 2733 |
| Armenia | 3½- ½ | Israel | ||
| Aronian Levon | 2805 | 1 - 0 | Sutovsky Emil | 2700 |
| Movsesian Sergei | 2700 | ½ - ½ |
Roiz Michael | 2669 |
| Akopian Vladimir | 2667 | 1 - 0 | Postny Evgeny | 2618 |
| Sargissian Gabriel | 2663 | 1 - 0 | Nabaty Tamir | 2584 |
| Egypt | 1½-2½ | Ukraine | ||
| Adly Ahmed | 2631 | 0 - 1 | Ivanchuk Vassily | 2768 |
| Amin Bassem | 2609 | ½ - ½ | Efimenko Zahar | 2706 |
| El Gindy Essam | 2510 | 0 - 1 | Moiseenko Alexander | 2715 |
| Shoker Samy | 2475 | 1 - 0 | Areshchenko Alexander | 2682 |
| China | 2-2 | Azerbaijan | ||
| Wang Hao | 2718 | ½ - ½ | Radjabov Teimur | 2744 |
| Wang Yue | 2709 | 1 - 0 | Gashimov Vugar | 2760 |
| Li Chao B | 2669 | ½ - ½ | Mamedov Rauf | 2679 |
| Yu Yangyi | 2672 | 0 - 1 | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2765 |
| India | 2-2 | Hungary | ||
| Harikrishna Pentala | 2669 | ½ - ½ | Leko Peter | 2717 |
| Sasikiran Krishnan | 2681 | 1 - 0 | Almasi Zoltan | 2726 |
| Ganguly Surya Shekhar | 2627 | 0 - 1 | Polgar Judit | 2699 |
| Gopal G.N. | 2576 | ½ - ½ | Balogh Csaba | 2643 |
The official website (in Chinese) is here, and a live relay of the games (starting at 15:00 local time in Ningbo) can be found here. All the first round games are currently available at the live game link. Some highlights are below.
Lev Aronian leads from the front for Armenia
Ian Nepomniachtchi had a strong start
Pictures from the official website.
