Dresden Olympiad - Rounds 7 and 8
The 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden is hotting up as the end of the 11-round competition gets closer and closer, and the crunch matches are played. Lots of games at the end of this report!
Open Round 7
Armenia beat Russia 2.5-1.5 thanks to Sargassian defeating Grischuk on board 3.
The hosts, Germany continued their impresssive form by beating Romania 2.5-1.5
The impressive Chinese team held Ukraine to a 2-2 draw
France beat India 2.5-1.5 due to Maxime-Lagrave beating Harikrishna
The USA beat Hungary 2.5-1.5 thanks to Onischuk overcoming Balough on board 3
England drew Azerbaijan with Short winning on board 2, but Howell losing on board 3
Open Round 8
Armenia thrashed France 3.5-0.5 to maintain their lead in the competition
Germany faltered losing 2.5-1.5 to Israel
China also faltered, only drawing with lower ranked Vietnam
Russia edged out the USA 2.5-1.5 in a thriller despite Kamsky beating Svidler on board 1. Grischuk redeemed his loss from the previous round by beating Nakamura and Jakovenko beat Varuzhan Akobian
Ukraine thrashed New Zealand 4-0
England squeezed a win out of their match with Georgia thanks to Nigel Short's continuing run of good form
Open Standings after Round 8
| Rank | Seed | Team | W | D | L | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
| 1 | 9 | Armenia | 7 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 224 | 80 | 24 |
| 2 | 8 | Israel | 6 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 206 | 74 | 21.5 |
| 3 | 1 | Russia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 206 | 84 | 20 |
| 4 | 2 | Ukraine | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 206 | 84 | 20 |
| 5 | 4 | Azerbaijan | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 211 | 82 | 21 |
| 6 | 11 | Germany 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 190 | 81 | 20.5 |
| 7 | 3 | China | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 187 | 76 | 20 |
| 8 | 37 | Vietnam | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 170 | 69 | 22 |
| 9 | 7 | France | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 168 | 79 | 19.5 |
| 10 | 25 | Slovakia | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 168 | 64 | 23 |
| 11 | 15 | England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 162 | 75 | 19.5 |
| 12 | 21 | Poland | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 162 | 66 | 22 |
| 13 | 22 | Serbia | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 157 | 68 | 20 |
| 14 | 20 | Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 182 | 75 | 20.5 |
| 15 | 5 | Hungary | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 177 | 71 | 20 |
| 16 | 6 | Bulgaria | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 173 | 65 | 23 |
| 17 | 13 | India | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 170 | 76 | 19.5 |
| 18 | 19 | Norway | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 168 | 73 | 18.5 |
| 19 | 12 | Spain | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 165 | 74 | 19.5 |
| 20 | 23 | Belarus | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 160 | 72 | 20 |
| 21 | 30 | Sweden | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 159 | 69 | 19.5 |
| 22 | 28 | Slovenia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 158 | 70 | 20 |
| 23 | 10 | USA | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 155 | 73 | 19.5 |
| 24 | 16 | Cuba | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 151 | 72 | 19.5 |
| 25 | 34 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 144 | 62 | 21 |
Women's Round 7
The US women held the much fancied China to a 2-2 draw. Despite Krush losing to Hou Yifan on board 1, Rohonyan won her game on board 4.
Germany and Italy also drew 2-2
Russia slipped up against Poland, only making a 2-2- draw
Women's Round 8
China were held to another draw, this time by Ukraine
The USA pulled off a shock result - beating Russia 3-1 thanks to Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih beating world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk and Tatiana Kosintseva respectively!
Women's rankings after round 8
| Rank | Seed | Team | W | D | L | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
| 1 | 3 | China | 6 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 232 | 82 | 22.5 |
| 2 | 7 | USA | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 215.5 | 74 | 23.5 |
| 3 | 2 | Ukraine | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 206 | 77 | 22.5 |
| 4 | 9 | Poland | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 187.5 | 82 | 20.5 |
| 5 | 10 | Serbia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 178 | 74 | 21 |
| 6 | 4 | Georgia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 200.5 | 76 | 21.5 |
| 7 | 6 | Armenia | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 182 | 77 | 20.5 |
| 8 | 14 | Slovenia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 170.5 | 66 | 22.5 |
| 9 | 16 | Romania | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 168 | 74 | 21 |
| 10 | 1 | Russia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 191 | 81 | 21 |
