Uzbekistan made short work of Armenia in Round 10, winning 3½–½ and moving to 18 match points at the top of the Open. India answered with the same score against Uzbekistan 2. They are one point behind going into the last round, with Germany and Ukraine on 16. Ukraine's 3–1 win over China also changed the chasing group.
The Women's race tightened. China and India drew 2–2, while Kazakhstan beat France 2½–1½ to move within one match point of China. India, Poland and Vietnam are on 16. There is one round left, and China face Vietnam while Kazakhstan meet Poland.
For the Home Nations, England Open edged Belarus, Wales and Ireland Open won, and Wales Women beat Honduras 3½–½. England Women, both Scottish teams and Ireland Women had more difficult afternoons. Alice Lampard supplied a 237 point upset for Scotland Women, despite the team's defeat.
England Open: Jones and McShane turn it around
England: England beat Belarus 2½–1½. Nikita Vitiugov lost to Denis Lazavik on board one, but Michael Adams drew, and Gawain Jones and Luke McShane both won. Two decisive results on the lower boards made all the difference.
Game of the Match: Mihail Nikitenko–Gawain Jones. Jones beat Mihail Nikitenko on board three. England had been a point down after the top board result; his win helped to turn a match that could easily have slipped away. McShane's win against Viachaslau Zarubitski completed the turnaround. England are 21st on 14 match points, four places higher than yesterday.
England Women: three draws, one defeat
England Women: England Women lost 2½–1½ to Georgia. Bodhana Sivanandan, Lan Yao and Jovanka Houska each drew, but Harriet Hunt lost to Lela Javakhishvili on board four.
Game of the Match: Harriet Hunt–Lela Javakhishvili. Hunt's game was the only decisive board. The three draws included Sivanandan holding Nana Dzagnidze, but without a win of their own England could not close the gap. England Women are 21st on 13 match points, eight places below their Round 9 position.
Scotland Open: Vijayakumar wins again
Scotland: Scotland lost 2½–1½ to Sweden. Frederick Waldhausen Gordon drew Nils Grandelius, and Rishi Vijayakumar beat Edvin Trost. Andrew Greet and Murad Abdulla lost their boards.
Game of the Match: Edvin Trost–Rishi Vijayakumar. Vijayakumar's 85 point rating upset provided Scotland's only full point. It was enough to keep them in the match, but Sweden's wins on boards two and four settled it. Scotland are 71st on 11 match points, down from 52nd.
Scotland Women: Lampard lands a major upset
Scotland Women: Scotland Women lost 2½–1½ to the Czech Republic. Suzie Cooke drew Natasa Richterova and Alice Lampard beat Anna Lhotska. Kanishka Bhatia and Eve Clark lost.
Game of the Match: Alice Lampard–Anna Lhotska. Lampard was rated 1912 against Lhotska's 2149. Her 237 point win is the fifth largest qualifying upset in the Women's section this round. It did not save the team match, because the Czech Republic won the first and fourth boards. Scotland Women are 72nd on 11 match points.
Wales Open: two wins against Costa Rica
Wales: Wales beat Costa Rica 3–1. Jose Camacho Collados and Jonathan Blackburn drew the top boards; Ifan Rathbone-Jones and Alex Bullen won the other two.
Game of the Match: David Alejandro Cabezas Solano–Ifan Rathbone-Jones. Rathbone-Jones beat David Alejandro Cabezas Solano, who was rated 154 points higher. With Bullen also winning, the two draws were enough for a comfortable match result. Wales are 67th on 12 match points, up from 82nd after Round 9.
Wales Women: three decisive points
Wales Women: Wales Women beat Honduras 3½–½. Olivia Smith, Susanna Fraser and Syringa Camp won their boards, while Imogen Camp drew. It was their second 3½–½ victory in a row.
Game of the Match: Diana Bobadilla–Syringa Camp. Syringa Camp beat Diana Bobadilla on board four, making sure the final score reflected the team's control of the match. Smith and Fraser had already added full points. Wales Women are 78th on 11 match points, up from 96th.
Ireland Open: a clear win against Yemen
Ireland: Ireland beat Yemen 3½–½. Tarun Kanyamarala, Tom O'Gorman and Alexander Baburin won; Adam Collins drew the last board.
Game of the Match: Basheer Al Qudaimi–Tarun Kanyamarala. Kanyamarala's win against Basheer Al Qudaimi led the way on board one. This was a team effort rather than a match decided by a single board: Ireland took three full points and gave nothing away. They are 54th on 12 match points, up from 69th.
Ireland Women: two wins, two losses
Ireland Women: Ireland Women drew 2–2 with Iceland. Trisha Kanyamarala and Alice O'Gorman won on the top boards, but Diana Mirza and Antonina Gora lost.
Game of the Match: Lenka Ptacnikova–Trisha Kanyamarala. Kanyamarala beat the higher rated Lenka Ptacnikova on board one, a strong start for Ireland. The two wins could not be converted into a match victory after Iceland replied on boards three and four. Ireland Women are 63rd on 11 match points, up from 69th.
Home Nations after Round 10
| Team | Round 10 result | Rank | MP | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England Open | Beat Belarus 2½–1½ | 21 | 14 | 25 |
| England Women | Lost to Georgia 1½–2½ | 21 | 13 | 28 |
| Scotland Open | Lost to Sweden 1½–2½ | 71 | 11 | 25 |
| Scotland Women | Lost to Czech Republic 1½–2½ | 72 | 11 | 21 |
| Wales Open | Beat Costa Rica 3–1 | 67 | 12 | 25 |
| Wales Women | Beat Honduras 3½–½ | 78 | 11 | 22½ |
| Ireland Open | Beat Yemen 3½–½ | 54 | 12 | 25½ |
| Ireland Women | Drew with Iceland 2–2 | 63 | 11 | 21 |
Home Nations hub and team pages
Wider Olympiad: one round to go
Uzbekistan beat Armenia 3½–½, while India beat Uzbekistan 2 by the same score. That leaves Uzbekistan a match point clear of India before they face Ukraine. Germany are third and Ukraine fourth on 16 match points. The Open is still alive: India face Hungary, who also have 16.
China and India split their Women's match 2–2. Lu Miaoyi beat Vantika Agrawal, but Savitha Shri beat Zhai Mo to restore equality. Kazakhstan's 2½–1½ win over France brings them to 17 match points, one behind China. Elnaz Kaliakhmet won the final board against Pauline Guichard after a long struggle, the decisive result in that match. China face Vietnam in Round 11; Kazakhstan face Poland. A lead is helpful, but the gold is not settled.
Open Top 10 after Round 10
| Rank | Team | MP | TB2 | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 18 | 378 | 30 |
| 2 | India | 17 | 343½ | 26½ |
| 3 | Germany | 16 | 320 | 26 |
| 4 | Ukraine | 16 | 292 | 26½ |
| 5 | Hungary | 16 | 250 | 22½ |
| 6 | United States of America | 15 | 328½ | 26 |
| 7 | Azerbaijan | 15 | 291 | 26 |
| 8 | Turkiye | 15 | 288½ | 26½ |
| 9 | Croatia | 15 | 285 | 28 |
| 10 | Uzbekistan 2 | 15 | 283 | 24½ |
Women’s Top 10 after Round 10
| Rank | Team | MP | TB2 | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 18 | 376 | 30 |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 17 | 326 | 27 |
| 3 | India | 16 | 363½ | 29 |
| 4 | Poland | 16 | 319 | 26½ |
| 5 | Vietnam | 16 | 298 | 27½ |
| 6 | United States of America | 15 | 334½ | 29½ |
| 7 | Uzbekistan | 15 | 319½ | 27½ |
| 8 | Georgia | 15 | 313 | 26½ |
| 9 | Armenia | 15 | 300 | 25½ |
| 10 | Romania | 15 | 293 | 28½ |
Upsets of the Olympiad: Round 10
An upset here means a completed decisive game in which a player with a published numeric rating beat a higher rated opponent. Draws, forfeits and games involving an unrated player are excluded.
The Open produced 70 qualifying upsets. The Women's section produced 71. These were the ten largest rating gaps in each section:
| # | Open winner | Rating gap | Women’s winner | Rating gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ragul Pillay over Ali Al-Ghasra | 388 | Tansi Tung Wu over Sarocha Chuemsakul | 388 |
| 2 | De V R Joao Car Bartilotti over Rodney Lim Teck Guan | 357 | Sina Tadesse Negi over Aina Mahasambatra Tsinjoviniavo | 330 |
| 3 | Omario Pope over Larry Thomas | 279 | K M Dahamdi Sanudula over Yerisbel Miranda Llanes | 284 |
| 4 | Andrade Pinto over Chiletso Chipanga | 265 | Ashwiniy Kumaran over Helja Lehtinen | 256 |
| 5 | Zhitian Chea over Andrew Gadeanang | 249 | Alice Lampard over Anna Lhotska | 237 |
| 6 | Aashish Phunyal over Joshua Johnson | 246 | Aliaksandra Tarasenka over Nurgyul Salimova | 211 |
| 7 | Sachin Dhilan Pitamber over Joshua Christie | 225 | Anousha Mahdian over Anastasiya Rakhmangulova | 207 |
| 8 | Shabkhez Zorez over James Dinham | 191 | Fan- Hsuan Kung over Purichaya Chinkulkitniwat | 194 |
| 9 | Mukhammadali Abdurakhmonov over Ilia Smirin | 188 | Lucrece Wefang over Elfiana dos Santos | 185 |
| 10 | Tong Kuan Mak over Md Omar Ak Hafizon Pg | 185 | Zala Urh over Govhar Beydullayeva | 184 |
Every Open Round 10 game · All Open upsets · Every Women’s Round 10 game · All Women’s upsets
Round 11: what comes next
Uzbekistan face Ukraine and India face Hungary in the Open. China face Vietnam, and Kazakhstan face Poland, in the Women's section. These are official team pairings; individual board selections may change.
| Home Nations Open | Home Nations Women |
|---|---|
| Italy v England | Philippines v England |
| Kyrgyzstan v Scotland | Scotland v United Arab Emirates |
| Canada v Ireland | Albania v Ireland |
| Chile v Wales | Wales v Egypt |
My take
Uzbekistan have responded to the Round 8 defeat with two big wins. I expected Armenia to make today's match closer, but 3½–½ sends a clear message. India answered just as emphatically against Uzbekistan 2. With one round left, I would still watch both matches before handing out the Open medals.
For our teams, Lampard's win stands out. A 237 point upset deserves attention even when Scotland lose the match. Wales won both again, and Ireland Open's three wins took them up to 54th. England Open did enough against Belarus after losing the first board; England Women were a single decisive game away from holding Georgia.
China's draw with India opened a door for Kazakhstan, whose narrow win over France cut the gap to one point. That last round is now worth watching just as closely as the Open. My eye will also be on how Wales and Ireland finish after moving up the table today.
Sources
- Official Open Round 10 results and standings
- Official Women’s Round 10 results and standings
- Official Open Round 11 team pairings and Women’s pairings
- Official Lichess broadcast games linked for all eight selected boards. Team study chapters can be linked when their Round 10 games are added.