US Chess Federation (press release)
Jan 6 2010
Strong start for U.S. at World Team Championship
By Tony Rich
January 5, 2010
US Champion Hikaru Nakamura, off to a good start at the World Team
Championships, Photo Tony Rich of CCSCSL
BURSA, TURKEY — The U.S. made an impression in the first round of the
World Team Championship with a convincing victory over Turkey.
When discussing round one with GM Ben Finegold just hours before it
was to start, he predicted a 3-1 victory for the U.S. team; Finegold’s
statement proved to be clairvoyant as GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander
Onischuk and Varuzhan Akobian each scored fine victories. In the
Akobian game, Baris Esen walked into excellent team preparation from
the U.S. and never really recovered.
Unfortunately, Yuri Shulman missed an opportunity for an advantage in
time trouble (21… Nc6! instead of 21… f5) and succumbed to a
strong kingside attack.
In addition to the U.S. vs. Turkey match, another important match to
follow was Armenia vs. Azerbaijan. In a surprising defeat, Armenia
capitulated on board three and lost the match 2.5-1.5. Armenia, who
has won the last two Olympiads, typically does well in team events so
they will attempt to come back with a vengeance in round two.
Egypt was routed by Israel in a 3-1 defeat and will face a tough round
two opponent in Brazil. Both Ahmed Adly and Bassem Amin held their own
against their Israeli opponents, but Mohamed Ezat and Khaled Abdel
Razik were struggling from the beginning against the higher-rated Emil
Sutovsky and Evgeny Postny. All other matches ended as ratings would
predict: India 2.5 – 1.5 over Greece and Russia 2.5 – 1.5 atop Brazil.
The Americans are taking their win today in stride and are sure to
fight hard every round. The two key face-offs will occur in rounds
three and eight, where the U.S. will battle Russia and Armenia
respectively. Remember that you can always follow the games live at
the official site (starting at 8 AM EST) – and find Grandmaster
analysis, photos and reports at saintlouischessclub.org and
uschess.org.
The time control is 40/90 followed by G/30 with a 30-second increment
from move one. The event is scored based on match points; however, the
first tie-break is game points, so every victory counts. When asked
just how important individual game victories are, Nakamura said: "We
need to think first about winning each match. I’m confident in each
team member’s ability to win games."
Round two starts at 8 a.m. EST. The U.S. faces India in what is sure
to be a nail-biter. To their detriment, the Indian team is without a
number of their top players, including World Champion Vishy Anand as
he prepares for Corus.
What will the U.S. team have in store tomorrow? Who will play, and
what is their preparation? While I’m not clairvoyant, I predict that
all will become clear soon!
Check out the pairings for the entire event here. You can watch the
games live on the official website starting at 8 AM EST. Also be sure
to check out the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis
homepage for daily exclusive annotations by their new GM-in-residence,
Ben Finegold. Today’s annotated game is Nakamura’s Sicilian win.
71/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
