Russia Grab Lead As Armenia Falter In Ningbo
Russia scored their second consecutive 3-1 match victory to take the lead in the World Team Chess Championships in Ningbo, China.
Ian Nepomniachtchi (pictured) beat Judit Polgar to record his second win, and Alexander Grischuk beat Zoltan Almasi.
Armenia were held to a draw by the US, thanks to Gata Kamsky upsetting an over-adventurous Lev Aronian on top board.
Azerbaijan scored a 3-1 win against India courtesy of wins from Teimour Radjabov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to take third spot.
Elsewhere, Israel beat Egypt as expected, winning 3-1, but hosts China upset Ukraine thanks to a win from Ding Liren on the bottom board.
The full results in round two:
| Russia | 3-1 | Hungary | ||
| Karjakin Sergey | 2788 | ½ - ½ | Leko Peter | 2717 |
| Grischuk Alexander | 2746 | 1 - 0 | Almasi Zoltan | 2726 |
| Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2711 | 1 - 0 | Polgar Judit | 2699 |
| Vitiugov Nikita | 2733 | ½ - ½ | Balogh Csaba | 2643 |
| Azerbaijan | 3-1 | India | ||
| Radjabov Teimur | 2744 | 1 - 0 | Harikrishna Pentala | 2669 |
| Gashimov Vugar | 2760 | ½ - ½ | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2681 |
| Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2765 | 1 - 0 | Ganguly Surya Shekhar | 2627 |
| Guseinov Gadir | 2625 | ½ - ½ | Negi Parimarjan | 2642 |
| Ukraine | 1½-2½ | China | ||
| Ivanchuk Vassily | 2768 | ½ - ½ | Wang Hao | 2718 |
| Eljanov Pavel | 2697 | ½ - ½ | Wang Yue | 2709 |
| Efimenko Zahar | 2706 | ½ - ½ | Li Chao B | 2669 |
| Areshchenko Alexander | 2682 | 0 - 1 | Ding Liren | 2654 |
| Israel | 3-1 | Egypt | ||
| Sutovsky Emil | 2700 | 1 - 0 | Adly Ahmed | 2631 |
| Smirin Ilya | 2676 | ½ - ½ | Amin Bassem | 2609 |
| Postny Evgeny | 2618 | ½ - ½ | Shoker Samy | 2475 |
| Nabaty Tamir | 2584 | 1 - 0 | Ezat Mohamed | 2430 |
| USA | 2-2 | Armenia | ||
| Kamsky Gata | 2741 | 1 - 0 | Aronian Levon | 2805 |
| Onischuk Alexander | 2675 | 0 - 1 | Movsesian Sergei | 2700 |
| Shulman Yuri | 2617 | ½ - ½ | Akopian Vladimir | 2667 |
| Seirawan Yasser | 2635 | ½ - ½ | Sargissian Gabriel | 2663 |
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. The games remain available for replay at the live link until the start of the next round.
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 two rounds:
| Team | M-Pts | B-Pts | |
| 1 | Russia | 4 | 6.0 |
| 2 | Armenia | 3 | 5.5 |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 3 | 5.0 |
| 4 | China | 3 | 4.5 |
| 5 | Ukraine | 2 | 4.0 |
| 6 | Israel | 2 | 3.5 |
| 7 |
India | 1 | 3.0 |
| 8 | Hungary | 1 | 3.0 |
| 9 | USA | 1 | 3.0 |
| 10 | Egypt | 0 | 2.5 |
