Round #11 Report - Ian Wilkinson (Jamaica)
"JAH RASTAFARI !!!!"
ROUND ELEVEN REPORT
JAMAICA AT THE 2002 CHESS OLYMPIAD IN BLED, SLOVENIA
Both Jamaican teams tasted defeat today in round eleven encounters against teams from two different continents. The women lost to Italy from Europe, boards two and three surrendering meekly, and the men were sent packing by a very quiet and focussed set of Ethiopians from Africa.
WOMEN
JAMAICA
The Jamaican women's
team flattered to deceive in its match against European stalwarts
Italy. The reggae chess goddesses
played the opening relatively well on all three boards but then
faltered when it mattered. On board one, the returning
Maria Palmer played a very solid game against the very strong
Eleonora Ambrosi who chose the Sicilian defence against
Palmer's King's pawn opening. A very tense and tactical game ensued with an
unclear position on the board when the Jamaican team captain intervened
and told his charge to offer a draw to her worthy adversary. After consulting
with her team captain the young Italian accepted. Palmer, therefore,
ensured that the Jamaicans did not come away from the match empty-handed.
The result on board one was academic, however, as Jamaica was already 0-2 down and the match lost as earlier on board two, Hui Zhu, playing with the Black pieces, faced Maria Teresa Arnetta's Bishop's opening and obtained a satisfactory position out of the opening. With almost an hour on her clock compared to her opponent's twenty minutes, Zhu, in wanting to exchange queens, blundered by hurriedly playing 18...Qg4 ?? and resigned after her willing opponent gleefully accepted the hanging steed on f6 with 19.Qxf6.
On board three, Vanessa thomas, fresh from her lovely win with the Black pieces in the previous round, had the white pieces and faced Sonia Sirletti's French defence. Thomas, like Zhu only a few minutes before her, blundered painfully when she played 23.Re7 ?? and was mated on the back rank with her opponent's 24th move.
The azzuri won the match 2.5-0.5.
The Jamaican women now have 13 points and will face another European nation, Albania (also on 13 points) in round twelve tomorrow in match 38.
Barbados
Barbados lost 0.5 - 2.5 to Luxembourg (whom Jamaica beat in the previous round) in match 40. With Nathali Greenidge not feeling well, Rashida Corbin was moved up to board one but she was not strong enough for WFM Bakalarz Grazyna. On board two Rashaana Blenman earned a half point for the Bajans by drawing with Fiona Steil-Antoni. On board three Margaret Prince lost to Clementine Conrardy-Janssen. The girls from Bridgetown are now on 11.5 points and will face Angola in match 43 in round twelve.
Cuba continued its impressive showing by beating Switzerland 2-1 in match 13 and is now in 10th position with 19 points. The girls from Havana will face the Czech Republic (19 points) in match 10 in round twelve.
GEORGIA BEATEN !!!
The women from Warsaw produced a shock result today by toppling the leaders Georgia 2.5-0.5. GM Maia Chiburdanidze returned to the top board but could only draw with WGM Iweta Radziewicz. Polish WGM Joanna Dworakowska beat WGM Nana Ioseliani on board two, and her counterpart WGM Monika Socko defeated WGM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant on board three.
With this fine victory Poland is now in clear 4th position on 21.5 points and will face Yugoslavia, on 19.5 points, in round twelve.
China had a good 2.5-0.5 win over a strong Romanian team with GM Zhu Chen's board one game against WGM Corina Peptan being the only one drawn.
BATTLE OF THE PIN-UP GIRLS
Russia kept in touch with the front runners by beating a strong German team 2-1, although in the battle of the pin-up girls on board two the young fraulein WGM Elisabeth Paehtz beat losing Fide world championship finalist WGM Alexandra Kosteniuk on board two. Russia is in clear third on 22.5 points and will have to contend with Hungary (20.5 points) in round twelve.
The USA (on 21 points) lost ground after being beaten 0.5-2.5 by Armenia in match 4.
China is in second position with 24 points, a mere half point behind Georgia who is just barely clinging to a lead which looked so massive just a couple of rounds ago. The Chinese will face Armenia (21 points) in round twelve, while the Georgians will do battle with a very determined Vietnam team which is on 21 points.
MEN
JAMAICA
"DIVINE INSPIRATION" ?
The Ethiopians played excellent chess to stun a hopeful Jamaican men's team 2-1 in match 56. Rastafarians would probably say that it was inspiration (divine ???) from His Imperial Majesty (dare I say "the late" ??) Emperor Haile Selassie (a.k.a Ras Tafari) which guided the men from Addis Ababa to the winner's enclosure.
On board one FM Warren Elliott was rested but NM Shane Matthews did Jamaica proud with his very fighting, and exciting, King Indian Defence win over an obstinate Dawit Wondimu.
On board two, NM Duane Rowe faced Alemu's Sicilian defence but lost the plot and the game. Is it of any significance that Alemu's first name is Fikreselassie ???
On board three tragedy struck for the caribbean team as Yiman Abera, playing with the White pieces, manhandled veteran NM Robert Wheeler's Alekhine defence to put his team 1.5-0.5 up after Mark Smith, failing to put the white pieces to good effect, had meekly drawn with Mekitew Molla on board four.
The Jamaicans are now on 17.5 points and will face Aruba (also on 17.5 points) on board 57 in round twelve tomorrow.
CARIBBEAN STYLE
Barbados had a good 3-1 result over Libya in match 55 with good wins by FM Philip Corbin and FM Delisle Warner, on boards two and three respectively. FM Ricardo Szmetan and the promising junior Askari Elson had draws on boards one and four, repectively. The Barbadians (on 19.5 points) have moved up to board 50 where they will face Uganda (also on 19.5 points) in the next round.
Trinidad and Tobago, playing in match 52, had a tough fight with Bahrain and drew 2-2. Ibrahim Dafi Almannai beat FM Ryan Harper on board one and Ali Al-Ghasra beat Yogendranath Ramsingh on board two. The men from the West Indies saved the tie by winning on boards three and four with good wins by christo Cave and Ravishen Singh, respectively.
CUBA DEFEATED
Armenia defeated Cuba 3.5-0.5 with GMs Vladimir Akopian, Smbat Lputian and Karen Asrian defeating GMs Lazaro Bruzon, Lenier Dominguez and Neuris Delgado on boards 1-3, respectively. GM Jesus Nogueiras had the Cubans' sole reprieve by drawing with GM Artashes Minasian on board four.
THE "SICILIAN KASPAROV"
In the top board clash of the round, Russia had an excellent 3.5-0.5 win over a stubborn German team. On board one, Garry Kasparov played a powerful Sicilian defence and defeated the very strong GM Christopher Lutz in yet another game which had the fans, players, journalists and just about everyone palpitating. Lutz, allegedly world champion super GM Vladimir Kramnik's second in the Russian's recent match against the computer program DeepFritz, took the fight to Kasparov but could not stay the course.
Kasparov is proving that apart from staking a claim to being the best player in the world, with either the white or blackpieces he is undoubtedly the best living exponent of the Sicilian defence.
On board two GM Alexander Grischuk's advance variation successfully countered GM Alexander Graf's French defence in another slashing game as the young Russian took full honours.
On board three GM Alexander Morozevich pulled off a Harry Houdini in drawing what looked like a lost endgame against GM Rustem Dautov.
On board four GM Peter Svidler returned to winning ways by beating GM Klaus Bischoff.
The Russians, looking very solid on 32 points, will face Croatia (27.5 points) on the top board tomorrow.
Hungary obtained a hard-earned win over England in match 2 with GM Peter Acs winning the only game of the tie with his victory over GM Stuart Conquest on board four. GM Peter Leko drew with GM Michael Adams on board one and "superwoman" GM Judit Polgar drew with GM Nigel Short on board two.GM Zoltan Almasi drew with GM Luke McShane on board three.
Hungary (on 30 points) will meet Georgia (28) in round twelve.
THE GREAT WALL STANDS FIRM
China and the Ukraine drew all four games as Ukrainian giants defending Fide world champion GM Ruslan Ponomariov and losing Fide world champion finalist GM Vassily Ivanchuk could not find a way over, under or through the "great wall". TheChinese (on 27 points) will match wits against England (27.5) in the next round,while the Ukraine (27 points)will face Armenia (27 points).
SLOVENIAN TIDBIT: Slovenia was formerly apart of Yugoslavia but declared its independence in 1991.
Ian Wilkinson
Jamaican team captain
Press centre
Festivalna Dvorana
Bled, Slovenia
and the azzuri won 2.5-0.5.
The result