Nepomniachtchi back in the race
With his win on tie-breaks in the Russian Championship, Ian Nepomniachtchi, born in the same year as Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin and now 2732.8 on the live rating list, confirmed he’s back in contention for the highest honours in chess.
GM Peter Svidler answers your questions: Part I
Peter Svidler didn’t disappoint! The first instalment of his answers to reader questions bears all the hallmarks of his wit and self-deprecating humour. The Russian super-grandmaster talks about his career, chess colleagues, Carlsen’s withdrawal, chess literature… and much much more.
Your questions for GM Peter Svidler
Ever had anything you wanted to ask a super-grandmaster? Well, now’s your chance, as Peter Svidler, one of the most likeable and colourful members of the chess elite, is ready to answer reader questions as part of the Crestbook KC-Conference project.
“Chess punished the whole team” – Russian views on the Chess Olympiad
While the Russian women’s first team took gold with an almost flawless performance, their male counterparts found things a whole lot tougher. Vladimir Kramnik, Evgeny Bareev and Sergey Shipov were among those who assessed the silver-medal performance at the World Chess Olympiad.
Svidler on Rd 9: “As I don’t know the Grünfeld Defence…”
Peter Svidler’s win with black in round 9 kept Russian hopes alive, and he gave an entertaining account of the day’s play to Vladimir Barsky for the Russian Chess Federation website. Meanwhile, some remarkable turnarounds in the women’s event inspired Sergey Shipov to formulate a law of women’s chess.
“Fortune beckoned… then melted into thin air”
Russian Captain Evgeny Bareev comments on the first team failing to beat Ukraine and move into the lead at the World Chess Olympiad. The only (but perhaps sufficient) success story continues to be Sergey Karjakin, who revealed how a little female assistance gave him an easy victory against Pavel Eljanov.
Russia beats Russia
The key encounter in round 7 of the Olympiad was between the top two Russian men’s teams, with the “veterans” prevailing thanks, once again, to Sergey Karjakin. Meanwhile, the emotional roller-coaster of Radek Wojtaszek’s win against Hikaru Nakamura was captured in live commentary by Mateusz Bartel, the fifth member of the Polish team.
Bareev: “Today Ian played like a genius!”
The Russian men’s teams got back on track in round 6, with Evgeny Bareev again on hand to comment on the victories over the Czech Republic (2.5-1.5) and the Netherlands (3-1). Meanwhile, the women’s first team almost ensured themselves gold with a “hair-raising” victory against Ukraine.
Bareev takes the blame for defeat (updated)
Evgeny Bareev’s much-anticipated assessment of Russia’s defeat against Hungary again pulled no punches, though the punching bag this time was himself. He admitted it was a mistake not to include Vladimir Kramnik for the match against one of this year’s dark horses for the World Chess Olympiad.
Russia-USA in the Russian press
Russia’s 3:1 victory over the USA in round 4 saw some of the best Olympiad coverage yet. Bareev’s traditional commentary (read on for what Malakhov could learn from a cleaning lady!) was joined by Karjakin’s overview of the round, two photo reports and live and post-game insight on Kramnik-Nakamura.
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