Photo report. Close-upsThe Olympiad is a huge event that doesn’t fit into the traditional logic of chess tournaments. In order to grasp the ungraspable we chop it up into separate parts: the women’s tournament, the men’s tournament, the matches between the leaders and the encounters between the outsiders, the competition on the first boards and so on and so forth. It’s easier that way, more comprehensible… Dmitry JAKOVENKO: “We’ll fight as long as we can!”Jakovenko’s invitation onto the Russia team was, let’s say, debatable. Yes, Dmitry is the reigning European Champion and one of the country’s strongest players, but he was extremely unconvincing in the Russian Championship Higher League, and then he didn’t play at his best in the Superfinal in August… But team captain Yuri Dokhoian put his trust in him and, it seems, he wasn’t mistaken: Jakovenko has begun the “Tournament of Nations” with four wins in a row, shouldering the burden of his misfiring team! Olympiad. Round 4. The real battle begins…So it’s begun! Casually and without warning the leaders have begun to clash with each other… Now it’ll no longer be necessary to rush around the hall in search of a story, as all the most interesting events until the very end will be focussed on roughly the 1st to the 6th tables. Photo report: Round 3
The Olympiad is rapidly gaining momentum. Every day there’s more and more going on, although it’s still only the 3rd round. For now direct encounters between the favourites are no more than a coincidence. What’s going to happen when they occur every day? Olympiad, Round 3. Last gulp of airAh, how we long for sensations… Big ones, small ones, any at all! In the 3rd round we had a chance, and in both tournaments at once. Ukraine were the main newsmakers. Their men were on the verge of defeat against Israel, but that passed and they even won; their women almost overwhelmed China, but… alas, only a draw. Peter LEKO: “It’ll be a real battle!”The leader of the Hungarian team was indignant: “How can everyone talk about who’s going to win the Olympiad without even mentioning Hungary!” And indeed: whatever preview you look at, the Olympiad’s fourth seeds are usually absent. Why such neglect? We tried to get to the bottom of it together…
Vladimir KRAMNIK: “Luck is a very important factor”Among the players leading their teams into the Olympiad Kramnik, at 37, is one of the most experienced. This is already his seventh occasion, and if he hadn’t missed out on some Istanbul would be his 11th – Vladimir has been in the Russian team since 1992…
Olympiad, Round 2: Raw nerves and common senseThe main shock of the second round was, of course, Ivanchuk losing on time in his game against Al-Modiahki… When in a close to hopeless position the “flag” on the Ukrainian’s clock fell and the arbiter recorded the final score in the Qatar – Ukraine match as 1:3, Vassily Mikhailovich’s hands continued to shake, and his lips whispered variations… Photo report: Relax and enjoy…Walking around the hall of the Olympiad during the opening rounds resembles fishing: you never know what you’re going to catch. Studying the plan before the round can drive you to distraction, and a chance meeting is always pleasant. It’s particularly pleasant when, wherever you look, the camera lens captures the great and the good of this chess world… Photo report: Teething troublesTurmoil and chaos… What else, you ask, could you expect from the first day of the Olympiad? It seems as though everything’s been prepared and rehearsed. Then when the day arrives it turns out that something inevitably fails to work, something hadn’t been thought of, something hadn’t been provided for… |
