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Russia continues to highstep toward the gold!
It may be a foregone conclusion that unless someone falls ill on the Russian side, the gold medal has already been decided. The games in the Russia-Germany match were of such brutal force that it was similar to watching a "slasher" horror movie. The first three boards were highly theoretical and any imprecise move could met a violent death. That is exactly what happen on boards #2 (GM Alexander Grischuk - GM Alexander Graf) and #4 (GM Peter Svidler - GM Klaus Bischoff). On board #1, GM Christopher Lutz was simply outplayed by the indomitable Kasparov who displayed sheer power in all phases of the game. Russia played impressively and coasted to a 3½-½ win.
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Hungary also beat the surging squad from England as they rode to a one-point victory on the back of World Junior Champion, GM Peter Acs. The China-Ukraine match yielded no special moments and all games were drawn… only the 70-move draw in the Zhang-Eingorn game had any semblance of a bitter fight.
Other interesting battles included a 2-2 France-Netherlands draw in which GM Etienne Bacrot hit the Dutch attacker GM Loek Van Wely with a beautiful tactical foray. The sequence started with 17… Qxf4!! (see diagram on right). A tactical melée ensued and when the smoke cleared, Bacrot pocketed a pawn and won an elementary ending.
Armenia flogged Cuba 3½-½; Yugoslavia, led by the legendary GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic, continued to impress with its 3-1 win over Azerbaijan; Canada crushed Moldova 3½-½; the USA continued to struggle losing to Turkmenistan as they appear to be wasting a spectacular tournament performance by GM Yasser Seirawan.
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Bacrot threw 17… Qxf4!! on the board and after 18.Rxg7+ Kh8 19.Rcg1 Rxd2+! 20.Kxd2 Qf2+ 21.Kc1 Qxe3+ 22.Qxe3 Bxe3+ 23.Kc2 Bxg1 24.Rxg1, and Black pockets a pawn.
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Gwaze Continues to Roll!
Zimbabwe's IM Robert Gwaze beat Edwin Borigas of Hong Kong and perhaps will be in the running for board #1's gold medal with some very distinguished company which will include GM Garry Kasparov. Unfortunately, Gwaze's team hasn't fared well on the remaining boards which means that any chance for a GM norm would be improbable. Nevertheless, this has been a wonderful tournament for the young star and we'll certainly will see more victories in the future.
Zambia's IM Amon Simutowe lost badly in his game against IM Ramon Mateo ending a steady run of undefeated chess. Despite the loss on board #1, NM Stanley Chumfwa slaughtered a sluggish IM on board #2 and Malupande Lungu (no relation to teammate Nase Lungu) triumphed for the match win. Nigeria's Bumni Olape beat IM Bernardo Roselli Mailhe when the Uruguay player failed to notice the plan to trap a rook with pawns and render it useless. Nigeria won the match 2½-1½ and have played solid chess throughout losing only two matches in the 10 they have played.
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A very interesting match occurred in Jamaica-Ethiopia. The Rastafarians of Jamaica view Ethiopia as a holy land and Emperor Haile Selassie as a divine figure… Lord of Lords and King of Kings! Well certainly the Ethiopians know a bit about kings as they shocked Jamaica 2½-1½. One beautiful attack occurred when Yimam Abera smashed Robert Wheeler with a devastating mating attack.
However, Ethiopia isn't the only country in that region that knows a few things about kings. Egypt wants to prove that it is the real "Valley of the Kings" and reaffirm their status as the strongest chess nation on the continent. Andorra, small country bordering Spain and France, got a lesson in the very sport the Moors made popular in the region. Egypt scored on two boards and were inspired by Labib's violent mating spree at the expense of FM Ruben Gallego (see diagram).
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Labib crashed through with 23.Rxg7+! Kxg7 and then 24.Rxf6! Qxg2 25.Qxh6+ Kg8 26.Rg6+! 1-0.
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