GM Garry Kasparov triumphantly hoisting the Winner's Cup as the Russian squad looks on.

The Russian Bears

Another Olympiad has ended and it was a smashing success. GM Garry Kasparov has told anyone within earshot, "This was the best Olympiad I've ever played in." Of course, the Olympiad was made that much better since Russia won the tournament. Fielding a highly-touted "super-GM" lineup, the Russians felt the heat of many nations, but was able to kick in high gear behind a blistering 2933 performance by the man himself. GM Alexander Khalifman also had a good tournament, winning a silver medal and registering a 2797 performance.

Besides the usual attention of European success in this tournament, other nations are beginning to emerge in the top ten with more regularity. China had been within striking distance in the latter part of the tournament, but were crushed by Hungary in the last round. The Asian Dragons placed a respectable 5th, an improvement over their 9th place finish in 2000. Veteran GM Ye Jiangchuan and 23-year old GM Zhang Zhong played magnificently. Both Cuba and India had good runs in the first half of the tournament only to suffer from inconsistency later. They'll only get stronger as both teams have a strong cadre of youth for the future.

The USA had another dismal Olympiad finishing a disappointing 41^st place… down 15 places from the 2000 Olympiad. Actually the American players had solid performances from GM Yasser Seirawan (silver medal on board #2 with 6½ points) and reserves, GMs Larry Christiansen (6 points) and Alexander Ivanov (6½ points)… the team finished with 30½ points. The Americans may require a shake-up for the 2004 Olympiad to stop the downward spiral. The American women seem to be headed in the right direction after challenging for the lead for most of the tournament and finishing 9th overall.

Africa is Rising!

Perhaps one change of pace is the rise of African players and the impressive displays they put on individually. Of course, in many nations where chess isn't provided with abundant resources, you will have one or two very strong players at the top. The main buzz from the tournament was the 9-0 performance of Zimbabwe's IM Robert Gwaze. His 2690 performance was earned with bold and uncompromising play. For his efforts, he won the gold medal for board #1 and is only 20 years old.

Although Zambia's IM Amon Simutowe told The Chess Drum that he was not in top form, he played solid chess and was supported by the strong play from NM Stanley Chumfwa.  Chumfwa played four GMs and scored 2-2 (+1 -1 =2). Ethiopia improved three points from their 2000 performance and was bolstered by the performance of  NM Wossenyelew Hailu, winner of a bronze medal on board #6. He is the second Ethiopian to medal in consecutive years… NM Dawit Wondimu won a silver medal as a reserve in the 2000 tourney.

Egypt, the continent's strongest nation, led Africa with 29½ points; Zambia had 27; Angola and Ethiopia had 26½ followed by Nigeria and Algeria with 26. IM Pedro Aderito tallied 8 points for Angola. Both Ethiopia and Nigeria won medals for team rating performance. Rwanda, missing the first four rounds,  scored 15½ points, an improvement of eight points from the 2000 tournament.

Youth Movement in the Caribbean!

Cuba started strong with three wins in a row including a win over a strong Bulgaria team. The team was bolstered by strong play in the middle with GMs Lenier Domínguez (7½ points) and Reynaldo Vera (7 points). Cuba suffered a crushing 3½-½ lost to Armenia and 3-1 losses to Poland, Israel, Sweden, and Switzerland. Each of these losses prevented the Cubans from challenging for the lead…  they settled in 37^th place with 30½ points.

Trinidad and Tobago saw a 2½-point improvement from the 2000 contest. While FM Ryan Harper had a tough time on board #1, T&T was boosted by the play of reserve Ravishen Singh. Singh won a silver medal for his 7-1 performance on 5^th board.  John Raphael scored a nice win over Lebanon's Nassim Sakr and the "Trinis" later played strongly in the second half.

Barbados duplicated their 25-point performance and was encouraged by the stellar play of Askari Elson, the team's "most valuable player" of the Olympiad. The young "Bajan" scored 5-3 with only one loss and demonstrated that a bright future is ahead for Bajan chess. In addition, women's player Rashaana Blenman qualified for her FIDE rating by scoring 7½-5½. The top four boards on Barbados side had nice balance with FM Ricardo Szmetan and FM Delisle Warner both scoring 6½ points and FM Philip Corbin scoring 5½.

Jamaica came to Bled after an exciting National Championship and also fielded a Women's team for the first time in years. The "Reggae Boyz" were led by Shane Matthews and Jomo Pitterson with 5½; Warren Elliott with 4½;  Duane Rowe with 4. The Jamaicans were hurt by a slow start and finished with 23½ points… down a point from Olympiad 2000. Jomo Pitterson uncorked a nice combination in his game against Fred Hamperl of Guernsey.

Netherlands Antilles finished with 24½; Aruba had 22½; British Virgin Islands had 22; Bermuda had 17½; U.S. Virgin Islands had 11½.

Barbados' Rashaana Blenman (seated left) faces Angola's Flora Alfonso. She qualified for her FIDE rating and scored 7½-5½.

Copyright © 2002, The Chess Drum. All rights reserved. These photographs are property of Barbados Chess Federation and those interested in the use of any of them should contact Mr. Allan Herbert for use privileges.