Armenia is World Chess Olympiad Champions 2012
Photos: David Llada, Arman Karakhanyan
The last round at the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul was as exciting as it could get with the results being decided with tiebreaks after all the final games were played! Indian men finished with the 35th place below their seeding of ninth. Indian women finished with the fourth place above their seeding of sixth. National Champion Abhijeet Gupta picked up an individual Silver Medal as board prize for the fourth board. Tania Sachdev picked up an individual bronze medal as board prize for the third board.
Indian women on their way to beating France in the last round and finishing fourth at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad.
The Final round saw India lose to Azerbaijan with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov beating Pentala Harikrishna. All other boards were draw. Indian women beat France in an exciting match.
| Bo. | 7 | Rtg | - | 13 | Rtg | 2½:1½ | ||
| 9.1 | GM | Safarli, Eltaj | 2620 | - | GM | Sasikiran, Krishnan | 2707 | ½ - ½ |
| 9.2 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 2729 | - | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | 2685 | 1 - 0 |
| 9.3 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | 2634 | - | GM | Negi, Parimarjan | 2664 | ½ - ½ |
| 9.4 | GM | Guseinov, Gadir | 2613 | - | GM | Gopal, Geetha Narayanan | 2550 | ½ - ½ |
| Bo. | 14 | Rtg | - | 6 | Rtg | 1½:2½ | ||
| 4.1 | IM | Skripchenko, Almira | 2442 | - | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | 2503 | 0 - 1 |
| 4.2 | IM | Milliet, Sophie | 2411 | - | IM | Sachdev, Tania | 2379 | ½ - ½ |
| 4.3 | WGM | Maisuradze, Nino | 2284 | - | WGM | Gomes, Mary Ann | 2396 | 1 - 0 |
| 4.4 | WIM | Bollengier, Andreea | 2253 | - | WGM | Soumya, Swaminathan | 2271 | 0 - 1 |
In the last round of the 40th World Chess Olympiad Armenia was matched against Hungary. Levon Aronian secured a perpetual against Peter Leko, and the other games continued. After the time control Gabriel Sargissian drew the rook endgame against Ferenc Berkes, and Sergei Movsesian scored a crucial victory against Zoltan Almasi. Eventually Vladimir Akopian held Judit Polgar to a draw to mark the start of huge celebration for Armenian gold medal. Congratulations!
Russia employed their trademark strategy and signed two quick draws with Germany - both with black pieces. This worked perfectly as Vladimir Kramnik and Sergey Karjakin won with white to secure the overall 3-1 victory for Russia. Russia finished equal first on match points but with weaker tie-breaks and thus is awarded with the silver medal.
Defending champions Russia retain their gold in the women's section at the 40th Chess Olympiad.
China was in good position to fight for the gold medal but a defeat in the match with Ukraine pushed them down in the standings to the 4th place. Vassily Ivanchuk won a nice attacking game against Wang Hao, while Pavel Eljanov outplayed Bu Xiangzhi. the other two games were drawn. With this victory Ukraine climbs up and grabs the bronze medal!
In the Women's Section Russia easily crushed the young team of Kazakhstan with 4-0. At the same time China was struggling to keep the pace as Bulgaria proved to be a respectable opponent. Hou Yifan and Antoaneta Stefanova drew, while Margarita Voiska beat Ju Wenjun. However, Zhao Xue and Huang Qian defeated their opponents to turn the tables and win the match. Both Russia and China finished with 19 match points, but the tie-break awarded the gold medal to Russia, while China team had to console themselves with silver. Ukraine demolished Germany 3,5-0,5 to secure the third place and the bronze medal.
In the Women's Section Russia easily crushed the young team of Kazakhstan with 4-0. At the same time China was struggling to keep the pace as Bulgaria proved to be a respectable opponent. Hou Yifan and Antoaneta Stefanova drew, while Margarita Voiska beat Ju Wenjun. However, Zhao Xue and Huang Qian defeated their opponents to turn the tables and win the match. Both Russia and China finished with 19 match points, but the tie-break awarded the gold medal to Russia, while China team had to console themselves with silver. Ukraine demolished Germany 3,5-0,5 to secure the third place and the bronze medal.
Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - Open
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | 3 | Armenia | ARM | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 397.0 | 29.0 | 155.00 | |
| 2 | 1 | Russia | RUS | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 388.5 | 28.5 | 157.00 | |
| 3 | 2 | Ukraine | UKR | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 363.0 | 29.5 | 147.00 | |
| 4 | 6 | China | CHN | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 390.5 | 29.5 | 157.00 | |
| 5 | 5 | United States Of America | USA | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 361.0 | 30.0 | 142.00 | |
| 6 | 9 | Netherlands | NED | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 329.0 | 29.0 | 133.00 | |
| 7 | 27 | Vietnam | VIE | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 313.5 | 29.0 | 126.00 | |
| 8 | 25 | Romania | ROU | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 310.0 | 29.0 | 128.00 | |
| 9 | 4 | Hungary | HUN | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 368.0 | 28.0 | 151.00 | |
| 10 | 7 | Azerbaijan | AZE | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 344.0 | 29.0 | 144.00 | |
| 11 | 15 | Cuba | CUB | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 338.5 | 30.5 | 130.00 | |
| 12 | 14 | Germany | GER | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 334.5 | 26.0 | 148.00 | |
| 13 | 16 | Poland | POL | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 313.5 | 27.5 | 138.00 | |
| 14 | 20 | Serbia | SRB | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 307.0 | 28.5 | 126.00 | |
| 15 | 22 | Italy | ITA | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 306.0 | 28.0 | 134.00 | |
| 16 | 34 | Sweden | SWE | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 303.5 | 28.0 | 125.00 | |
| 17 | 11 | England | ENG | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 300.5 | 26.0 | 137.00 | |
| 18 | 39 | Denmark | DEN | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 270.5 | 27.0 | 121.00 | |
| 19 | 23 | Moldova | MDA | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 348.5 | 29.5 | 129.00 | |
| 20 | 10 | Bulgaria | BUL | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 321.5 | 28.0 | 134.00 | |
| 21 | 35 | Philippines | PHI | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 321.0 | 26.0 | 152.00 | |
| 22 | 29 | Argentina | ARG | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 316.0 | 25.0 | 146.00 | |
| 23 | 8 | France | FRA | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 305.0 | 26.5 | 141.00 | |
| 24 | 33 | Uzbekistan | UZB | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 303.0 | 27.0 | 138.00 | |
| 25 | 28 | Slovenia | SLO | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 297.0 | 24.0 | 138.00 | |
| 26 | 12 | Israel | ISR | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 296.0 | 25.0 | 136.00 | |
| 27 | 19 | Croatia | CRO | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 295.5 | 25.0 | 137.00 | |
| 28 | 30 | Latvia | LAT | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 295.0 | 26.0 | 136.00 | |
| 29 | 32 | Belarus | BLR | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 289.5 | 27.0 | 127.00 | |
| 30 | 42 | Slovakia | SVK | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 264.5 | 27.0 | 122.00 | |
| 31 | 57 | Turkmenistan | TKM | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 255.0 | 24.5 | 121.00 | |
| 32 | 61 | Australia | AUS | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 252.5 | 24.5 | 119.00 | |
| 33 | 48 | Bangladesh | BAN | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 227.5 | 26.0 | 120.00 | |
| 34 | 17 | Czech Republic | CZE | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 315.0 | 26.5 | 139.00 | |
| 35 | 13 | India | IND | 11 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 309.5 | 25.5 | 145.00 | |
| 36 | 26 | Georgia | GEO | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 306.0 | 26.5 | 140.00 | |
| 37 | 18 | Spain | ESP | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 286.5 | 25.0 | 141.00 | |
| 38 | 49 | FYROM | MKD | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 275.5 | 25.0 | 137.00 | |
| 39 | 24 | Brazil | BRA | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 274.0 | 24.0 | 132.00 | |
| 40 | 21 | Greece | GRE | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 269.0 | 28.0 | 124.00 |
Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - Women
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | 2 | Russia | RUS | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 450.0 | 33.0 | 155.00 | |
| 2 | 1 | China | CHN | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 416.0 | 31.5 | 154.00 | |
| 3 | 4 | Ukraine | UKR | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 408.5 | 30.5 | 154.00 | |
| 4 | 6 | India | IND | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 336.0 | 28.0 | 148.00 | |
| 5 | 10 | Romania | ROU | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 313.5 | 28.5 | 129.00 | |
| 6 | 8 | Armenia | ARM | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 313.0 | 26.5 | 140.00 | |
| 7 | 14 | France | FRA | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 347.5 | 29.0 | 147.00 | |
| 8 | 3 | Georgia | GEO | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 344.0 | 28.5 | 144.00 | |
| 9 | 26 | Iran | IRI | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 339.0 | 31.0 | 132.00 | |
| 10 | 5 | United States of America | USA | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 326.0 | 29.5 | 133.00 | |
| 11 | 9 | Germany | GER | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 316.0 | 27.0 | 144.00 | |
| 12 | 22 | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 309.0 | 27.0 | 138.00 | |
| 13 | 21 | Mongolia | MGL | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 308.0 | 28.0 | 134.00 | |
| 14 | 36 | Belarus | BLR | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 292.0 | 28.5 | 121.00 | |
| 15 | 7 | Poland | POL | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 336.5 | 27.5 | 151.00 | |
| 16 | 13 | Bulgaria | BUL | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 316.5 | 27.5 | 136.00 | |
| 17 | 12 | Hungary | HUN | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 303.0 | 27.5 | 129.00 | |
| 18 | 24 | Latvia | LAT | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 296.5 | 28.0 | 126.00 | |
| 19 | 15 | Cuba | CUB | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 286.0 | 25.5 | 129.00 | |
| 20 | 17 | Netherlands | NED | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 285.5 | 27.0 | 133.00 |
Posted in: istanbul chess olympiad 2012
