Gwaze continues onslaught!!

A story that is perhaps not getting the attention it deserves is the 7-0 start of Zimbabwe's immensely talented International Master, Robert Gwaze. Perhaps little is made of the efforts of players at the Olympiad's third tier because the one can argue that the competition isn't as strong. However, everything is relative and you play the hand you are dealt.

Thus, IM Gwaze is on a torrid pace to shatter an Olympiad record (if there is such a thing) for consecutive wins.  In round #7, Gwaze faced off against Suriname's Dewperkash Gajadin. If one believes that the 7-0 start is a fluke, take a close look at this game… pure devastation.

Perhaps Gwaze has been inspired by the employment of the Petroff by World-Class GMs. The increasing use of this ancient system was apparent in 2001-2002 FIDE Knockout. This game only lasted a mere 18 moves as Black pounced on his prey with powerful strikes and opened routes to the centralized White King.

In round #7, Russia appears to be padding their lead and duly ruined any chances that Poland had of challenging them for the lead. Kasparov beat Krasenkow in convincing fashion while Khalifman surgically dissected GM Kamil Miton's position.  In the Ukraine-Georgia match  Ponomariov rested and GM Vassily Ivanchuk  held board #1. Besides, Ivanchuk at board #2 is stronger than all but a few board #1 players. Surprisingly Ukraine lost!!

England also got an old-fashion "whuppin" and fell 3-1 to the Netherlands. GM Ivan Sokolov gave a textbook example of a Boa Constrictor attack… squeeze the opponent until it cannot move and then land the knockout strike. France had a relatively easy time with Yugoslavia (winning 3-1) as GM Christian Bauer sacked his Queen for a rook and bishop. His pieces danced about the board and supported a strong queenside position. Kovacevic tried frantically to defend but his queen became snared in a trap. In USA-Lithuania, Sulskis went on a tactical binge only to see his attack sputter and then evaporate. Seirawan defended perfectly and netted the point, but GM Joel Benjamin would lose his match resulting in a 2-2 deadlock. The USA is now in 20th position with 4-2-1 (win-loss-draw).

Caribbean nations broke out of a slump as both Trinidad and Barbados rebounded from poor outings to win their matches. Jamaica stumbled against Paraguay despite a nice win by NM Shane Matthews over FM Eduardo Peralta. The African nations had a very good round as Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Botswana, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Libya, Uganda, Namibia, Ethiopia, and Rwanda won.  Zambia's Simutowe drew his game in the Iraq match and appears to be conserving his energy for the second half. If his is to earn his last and final GM norm, Zambia will have to score heavily to keep a steady stream of titled players on board #1. The main story as far as The Chess Drum is concerned remains the blazing performance by Zimbabwe's Gwaze.