Translated material
Problems with choice
Many teams were missing their leaders
Chess players cannot complain about the volume of the modern chess calendar. Despite some decline in interest in wise play, the number of tournaments is not decreasing, and as for the top echelon of grandmasters, they sometimes have problems with their choice. At the beginning of November, the next Mikhail Tal Memorial is held in Moscow, which brings together a record-breaking lineup - the 21st FIDE category among ten participants (organizers of such tournaments usually manage to reach this level only with the participation of six super-grandmasters). Almost all the strongest chess players in the world agreed to play in Moscow: Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Magnus Carlsen, Peter Leko, Vasily Ivanchuk, Boris Gelfand and others. Chess leaders are so serious about this event that they refused to play for their teams at the European Team Championship, which is taking place these days in Novi Sad (Serbia). The championship is played simultaneously among 38 men's and 28 women's teams, each consisting of four main players plus one reserve. Tournaments are held according to the Swiss system in nine rounds with points counting according to the system for team sports (win - two points, draw - one point).Our team holds the rank of European champion, won in 2007 (continental championships are held every two years). The core of the team remained unchanged. With the refusal of Vladimir Kramnik, the main four are represented by the national champion Peter Svidler, Alexander Morozevich, Dmitry Yakovenko and Evgeniy Alekseev, and the reserve Evgeniy Tomashevsky. Alexander Grischuk was also planned to join the team, but when he refused to participate in the training camp, the question of his inclusion disappeared.
Five rounds have already been played. Here are the results of the matches with the participation of our team: Croatia - Russia - 2:2, Russia - Macedonia - 3.5:0.5, Italy - Russia - 1:3, Russia - Holland - 2: 2, Israel - Russia - 1:3. With a small number of boards, the cost of each result increases sharply. It was worth losing to Morozevich twice (in matches with Croatia and Holland), and his punctures were only compensated by Yakovenko and Tomashevsky. Note that the newcomer is the team’s main scorer: he has three wins and two draws. In the team competition, the Russian team has eight points, which allows it to share second and third places with the Georgians. And the youth team of Azerbaijan is in the lead, winning all five matches: against Austria, England, Germany, Israel and Georgia. At the same time, the main favorite, the Armenian team, winner of the last two Olympics, lost to the first team of Serbia and played a draw with France, after which it settled in the group of teams sharing 4th-10th places. Despite the seemingly impressive lead of the Azerbaijanis, all the intrigue is still ahead, since the leader will have meetings with all his main competitors.
Our women's team has the strongest lineup: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tatyana Kosintseva, Nadezhda Kosintseva, Valentina Gunina and reserve Romanko. The team won four matches: against Spain and Finland with a score of 3.5:0.5, Hungary and Poland - 2.5:1.5, but suffered a defeat in the second round from its main competitors - the Georgian team - 1.5 :2.5. Our offenders are leading the tournament race.
Position after the 5th round . Men . 1. Azerbaijan - 10 points; 2--3. Russia, Georgia - 8 each; 4--10. Hungary, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Armenia, Serbia-1 - 7 each; 11--16. Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Czech Republic - 6 points each.
Women. 1. Georgia - 9 points; 2--4. Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine - 8 each; 5--7. Romania, France, Armenia - 7 each; 8--13. Poland, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Israel, Spain - 6 points each.