Ukraine Lead Olympiad
The powerful Ukraine team lead the 39th Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk after eight rounds, helped in no small part by six wins from Vassily Ivanchuk.
Ivanchuk's win against another in-form player, Baadur Jobava (conqueror of Carlsen earlier in the event) was a remarkable game. Jobava threw just about everything at Chucky, but the Ukrainian survived to claim the full point and win the match.
A curious clash in round seven was Russia 1 playing Russia 2 and err... Russia 1 won thanks to Sergey Karjakin, who is having a great Olympiad so far.
The draw also threw together Armenia and Azerbaijan, two countries who are not exactly the best of friends. A tense match saw Azerbaijan emerge victorious when Guseinov beat Pashikian on board four after the latter went on a fatal walkabout with his King.
Ivanchuk's 100% record was finally ended by Kramnik in round eight, when he could "only" score a draw against the former world champion with black. The match, between Russia 1 and Ukraine, also ended all square.
In the women's competition, Russia 1 cemented their lead with crushing 4-0 and 3.5-0.5 wins over Hungary and India respectively.
The top ranked teams after eight rounds:
| Seed | Team | W | D | L | TB1 | TB2 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 6 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 202,0 |
| 1 | Russia 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 202,0 |
| 20 | Georgia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 197,0 |
| 7 | Azerbaijan | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 189,0 |
| 5 | Hungary | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 185,5 |
| 6 | Armenia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 185,0 |
| 10 | France | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 183,5 |
| 3 |
China | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 197,5 |
| 9 | USA | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 172,5 |
| 18 | Cuba | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 171,5 |
| 11 | Israel | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 168,5 |
| 15 | Poland | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 198,5 |
| 17 | Czech Republic | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 190,0 |
| 16 | Spain | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 174,5 |
| 35 | Belarus | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 170,0 |
| 14 | Russia 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 166,5 |
| 21 | Serbia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 160,5 |
| 19 | India | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 160,5 |
| 28 | Croatia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 160,5 |
| 30 | Italy | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 158,5 |
| 23 | Norway | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 158,0 |
| 57 | Colombia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 157,0 |
| 8 | Bulgaria | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 156,5 |
| 12 | England | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 156,0 |
| 22 | Slovakia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 155,5 |
| 24 | Brazil | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 155,0 |
| 53 | Canada | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 139,0 |
| 48 | Estonia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 139,0 |
The top women's teams after eight rounds:
| Seed | Team | W | D | L | TB1 | TB2 |
| 1 | Russia 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 241,0 |
| 17 | Serbia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 185,0 |
| 5 | Russia 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 182,5 |
| 2 | China | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 204,5 |
| 4 | Georgia | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 202,5 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 199,5 |
| 18 | Cuba | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 196,5 |
| 9 | Hungary | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 178,5 |
| 8 | India | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 173,5 |
| 12 | Bulgaria | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 171,0 |
| 27 | Croatia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 155,5 |
| 7 | Armenia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 180,0 |
| 14 | Romania | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 174,0 |
| 33 | Uzbekistan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 168,5 |
| 6 | USA | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 163,5 |
| 21 | Greece | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 159,0 |
| 15 | Slovakia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 157,5 |
| 10 | Poland | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 157,5 |
| 22 | Latvia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 151,0 |
