Pranav from Chennai earned his last GM norm just days ago. Now there are 75 Grandmasters in India with 27 being from the Tamil Nadu region. With Viswanathan Anand as an example, a culture was built in just over three decades. They also gave us a glimpse into the future of top-level chess. The city was decorated was all types of artistic expressions and every indication was that India wanted to ensure that this event was memorable. Throughout Chennai, there were signs of a city totally engaged in the Olympiad. Fortunately, they ended the tournament on a high note defeating Spain on the strength of Sargissian’s win over Alexei Shirov who got nothing for his sacrificed exchange. Photo by ChessBase.īefore the last round, Sargissian stated that the event was a team success no matter what happened. Seated are: Vladimir Akopian, Karen Asrian (deceased), Gabriel Sargissian, Levon Aronian. Even without Levon Aronian (playing for the U.S.) they have proven again that team chess is not math, but chemistry.Īrmenian Men hoist national colors after winning gold medal at 37th Chess Olympiad. As mentioned earlier having camaraderie is an important element in any team or group activity. In Chennai, he led the team on the top board, but when asked about his team’s success, he could not articulate a formula. Photo on right by Stev Bonhage Armenia’s Secret FormulaĪrmenia won gold medals in 2006, 2008, and 2012 and Gabriel Sargissian played a pivotal role in each medal. Uzbekistan GMs… champions then and champions now. Lifelong associations, shared experiences, and passion for one’s country are essential ingredients to Olympiad success. To be more specific, these players have trained together since they were in grade school.

It must’ve been the air of confidence that made the difference. So much so, that even the Uzbek won “best dressed” even though many other teams had the same jacket and federation patch. There is a reason that the outward appearance of these teams is so appealing. Now we are seeing it in the Indian and Uzbekistan teams. We saw this in the Armenian teams, Ukrainian teams, and Chinese teams. Playing for a successful team requires some type of shared experience and memories. At the Olympiad you see players wearing flags, national colors, and all types of cultural expressions. There is something to be said about the role camaraderie and nationalistic spirit plays in team competition. Captain Ivan Sokolov is in the background. Jakhongir Vakhidov, the senior member at age 27, is greeted by Nodirbek Yakubboev after clinching the medal for Uzbekistan. Vakhidov was embroiled in a tense battle with Max Warmerdam of Germany. Jakhongir Vakhidov seemed like the one the team looked to for leadership and for good reason. However, it was the veteran of the team who came through in the end. They were being carried on the strength of Nodirbek Abdusattarov who ultimately led the team with 8.5/11 and a silver medal for board one.

Uzbekistan had led for the past two rounds. They would try to salvage a medal if they could beat a highly-motivated Indian team. The highly-rated American team had been inconsistent despite outrating the field by almost 100 points. Host India had two teams in the medal races, both relatively young.

The young team from Uzbekistan was leading along with an inspired Armenian team.

The famous Uzbek talents we’ve heard about for so long have arrived!īefore round 11, there was a lot of tension in the hall as the finale of the 2022 Chess Olympiad unfolded. 2022 Chess Olympiad: Round #11 Tuesday, 9 August 2022

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