Translated material
Solid advantages
Our teams won both titles at the European Championships
The Russian team won the European Team Chess Championship, held in Crete. We entered the last round with the Bulgarian team already in the rank of champions, three points ahead of our closest competitors. But we also won this prestige match 2.5:1.5. “Silver” went to the Armenian team, which turned out to be stronger in the play-off with Israel - 2.5:1.5. The team from the promised land eventually slipped from second place to fourth. Azerbaijani chess players came third.The fifth round turned out to be key for our team, in which the number three rating favorite, the ambitious team of Azerbaijan, which at that time had an equal number of points with us, was crushed. The result of the duel between the leaders turned out to be sensational - the Russian team defeated its rivals with a score of 3.5:0.5 and, leaving a two-point lead over its closest competitors, thereby demonstrated who calls the tune. This time, experience prevailed over youth: Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich confidently, as they say technically, outplayed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teymur Radzhabov, and the national champion Evgeniy Alekseev was clearly superior in class to his opponent on the fourth board. And only Alexander Grischuk, who played another short draw, saved the Baku players from a dry score.
In subsequent matches, our team gradually increased their lead, defeating the teams of Israel (3:1) and France (2.5:1.5). And only in the eighth round they failed to defeat the Spanish team, limiting themselves to a 2:2 draw. But in this match the team showed team spirit. The misfire of Morozevich, who lost to Alexey Shirov on the first board, was compensated by Dmitry Yakovenko, who won his game. After a confident victory at the European Championship, our team can only be compared to a phoenix rising from the ashes. This time it was a close-knit team (and we have a lot of class!), confidently moving from victory to victory. Team leaders Petr Svidler and Alexander Morozevich deserve special praise, as they each scored “+4” on the first two boards. New recruits Evgeniy Alekseev (+2) and Dmitry Yakovenko (+3) also matched them. As for Alexander Grischuk, who played all his games in a draw and finally lost to the Bulgarian Kirill Georgiev, his fatigue was felt after the World Championship in Mexico.
As for the likely favorites, their paths diverged. Only the Armenian team did not allow our grandmasters to relax. Consistently, although with a modest score of 2.5:1.5, the Armenians beat the teams of Turkey, Hungary and Slovenia, and in the eighth round they were content with a draw with the Azerbaijani team. As for the latter, the echo of the crushing defeat from Russia haunted the Azerbaijanis in the next round, where they lost to the Slovenian team 1.5:2.5. Alexander Belyavsky distinguished himself, inflicting a second defeat on Mamedyarov in a row. To Shakhtiyar’s credit, it should be noted that he managed to rise from the ashes, beating Vasily Ivanchuk himself the next day, which brought his team victory over Ukraine - 2.5: 1.5.
For the first time in recent years, the men's teams of Russia and Ukraine did not have the opportunity to meet at the chess tables. The Ukrainian team had a modest victory over the Czech Republic (2.5:1.5) and draws (2:2) with the teams of France (Ivanchuk lost to Etienne Bacrot) and Poland. But before the last round, the Israeli team joined the group of leaders, which managed to win against Norway (3:1) and Slovenia (2.5:1.5), but failed to stay in the top three.
In the women's tournament, our girls competed with the Polish team until the seventh round. The match with the Georgian team was especially important for them. His fate was decided on the fourth board, where Maya Lomineishvili, in a game with Ekaterina Korbut, unexpectedly blundered a simple tactical blow and laid down her arms.
The remaining games ended in a draw after a bitter struggle. In the eighth round, the leaders went their separate ways. While the Russian team easily beat the Dutch team with a score of 3.5:0.5, the Polish team lost to Armenia 1.5:2.5. Before the last round, the Russian team was two points ahead of Poland and Armenia. To stay at the top, a draw was needed in the match with Ukraine, which was in fifth place. Despite the quick defeat of Alexandra Kosteniuk on the first board, our girls completed the task. Tatyana Kosintseva won on the second board against Tatyana Zhukova and got the coveted draw.