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Armenian Men hoist national colors after winning gold medal at 37th Chess Olympiad. Seated are: Vladimir Akopian, Karen Asrian, Gabriel Sargissian, Levon Aronian. Photo by ChessBase.
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2006 Olympiad: Shift in Balance of Power
A couple of weeks have elapsed since the 37th Chess Olympiad ended. It was an interesting tournament which brought about a number of surprises… on and off the board. While Russia was the pre-tournament favorite by an overwhelming consensus, team tournaments are determined by more than mere ratings of teams… which is apparently what most looked at. Team spirit, leadership and consistency are key in scoring well and Armenia had more of it than anyone. This was shown visibly as they were always walking together in their team jackets and appeared to be confident and relaxed. Russia, on the other hand, appeared to be under intense pressure.
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"Unfortunately I don't see much talent coming from our country, and this is scaring for me, as we shall not get any younger. Some of the players in this team already played in 1994, so you need some new blood at some point and at the moment I can't see who can bring some new resources to the team." ~ GM Vladimir Kramnik ~
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Now that Armenia has won, Russia's sixth place finish means that the balance of power has changed. There are no longer guaranteed wins for Russia in any team event… regardless of whether they have their strongest active players. Fissures in the Russian foundation had been showing after Russia disappointing Olympiad in 2004 where they suffered four losses. In an recent interview, Vladimir Kramnik made some sobering remarks on the future of Russian chess.
"Unfortunately I don't see much talent coming from our country, and this is scaring for me, as we shall not get any younger. Some of the players in this team already played in 1994, so you need some new blood at some point and at the moment I can't see who can bring some new resources to the team."
China won the silver medal on the strength of rising talent Wang Yue who scored a sizzling 10/13. Bu Xianghzi silenced those who felt that he may have stagnated. Also the Chinese women took a bronze medal (after four straight gold medals) with a "development" team showing how strong the nation has become. Zhao Xue remains undefeated in Olympiad tournaments and scored 10/13 (7+ 6=); 12-year old Hou Yifan made a stunning debut and tallied 11/13 (10+ 2=). The USA men played as well as expected and were bolstered by Hikaru Nakamura's key wins in the latter stages. India had perhaps the most disappointing tournament and never got on track after losing to Morocco in round #1.
Drum Predictions for the 37th Olympiad
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Regional Drum Predictions
Top African Teams - (1) Egypt (2) Tunisia (3) Nigeria, Angola (tie)
Top Asian Teams - (1) India (2) China (3) Vietnam
Top Caribbean Teams - (1) Cuba (2) Dominican Republic (3) Barbados
Top European Teams - (1) Armenia (2) Russia (3) Ukraine
Top North American Teams - (1) U.S.A. (2) Canada (3) Mexico
Top Latin American Teams - (1) Brazil (2) Argentina (3) Peru
Top Middle Eastern Teams - (1) Israel (2) Turkey (3) Iran
Actual Positions
Top African Teams - (1) Egypt (2) Morocco (3) Algeria
Top Asian Teams - (1) China (2) India (3) Vietnam
Top Caribbean Teams - (1) Cuba (2) Dominican Republic (3) Puerto Rico
Top European Teams - (1) Armenia (2) Hungary (3) Russia
Top North American Teams - (1) U.S.A. (2) Canada (3) Mexico
Top Latin American Teams - (1) Brazil (2) Argentina (3) Venezuela
Top Middle Eastern Teams - (1) Israel (2) Turkey (3) Iran
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