44th Olympiad, Chennai 28 July to 10 August 2022

[MJMcCready]

It seems like in this Olympiad there are a few countries that we don't normally see. I don't recall seeing Laos at the Olympiad before.

[Keith Arkell]

To elaborate: all White's pieces are tied down to preventing ...e5,and meanwhile Black can toy with various breaks ( ...a4,...b4...h4).

In the event, Carlsen was unable to prove the engine wrong or induce a serious error by White.

In such positions the margins are tight, and to win normally only require the most miniscule of errors from White. He was certainly getting something when he played 29...a4. I think ke was disappointed with his 34th move though, which led to the Rook being 'trapped' on a8 after Ra3.

Nice work by our men so far - all still unbeaten and none of the teams seeded above them look that impressive.

[MJMcCready]

I was struggling to understand James Howell's game because his opponent kept playing odd moves but good spot by James on winning his knight like he did.

[MJMcCready]

One of the results of the day was Oman beating New Zealand even though they were massively out-rated.

[MJMcCready]

Congo also did extremely well to avoid losing to Lichtenstein, again huge rating differences in play.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Roger,

' I could imagine at the age of 70 plus, really sharp openings might best be avoided
for fear of miscalculation or failing to follow up any advantage.'

Being 70+ going for quick knock out is the best way. As the game goes on you tire.
In my last league season (I was 69) my wins came before move 26. The losses were all
after move 36 and there were some awful blunders. Really bad beginners stuff. I've given up.

You and your ilk should be OK at that age, you have a positional sense to fall back on.
Us mad hackers burn out by the time we are 65. (but we enjoyed ourselves more!)

I love the Olympiad, I can think of no other sport where a low rated lover of the game
can play in the same arena as all these GM's and also have a chance to play v one of their heroes.
It's like turning up at Wimbledon with a two bob racket and in jeans asking 'Where do I play?'
'On number one court v Federer.'

I don't have any regrets, I'd do it all again. But I would love to have played in an Olympiad.

And yes...I too am enjoying the games of Baadur Jobava.

[John Moore]

I was struggling to understand James Howell's game because his opponent kept playing odd moves but good spot by James on winning his knight like he did.

You have the wrong Howell. David Howell is the current England player.

[MJMcCready]

Apologies yes, there was a James Howell (very tall fellow) but that was back in the 80s. Sorry, I did mean David Howell.

[Matt Mackenzie]

It seems like in this Olympiad there are a few countries that we don't normally see. I don't recall seeing Laos at the Olympiad before.

There are a few teams near the bottom without a single FIDE rating in them.

[MJMcCready]

Hi Roger,

' I could imagine at the age of 70 plus, really sharp openings might best be avoided
for fear of miscalculation or failing to follow up any advantage.'

Being 70+ going for quick knock out is the best way. As the game goes on you tire.
In my last league season (I was 69) my wins came before move 26. The losses were all
after move 36 and there were some awful blunders. Really bad beginners stuff. I've given up.

You and your ilk should be OK at that age, you have a positional sense to fall back on.
Us mad hackers burn out by the time we are 65. (but we enjoyed ourselves more!)

I love the Olympiad, I can think of no other sport where a low rated lover of the game
can play in the same arena as all these GM's and also have a chance to play v one of their heroes.
It's like turning up at Wimbledon with a two bob racket and in jeans asking 'Where do I play?'
'On number one court v Federer.'

I don't have any regrets, I'd do it all again. But I would love to have played in an Olympiad.

And yes...I too am enjoying the games of Baadur Jobava.

You've got to respect Jobava today for coming out with a draw after playing the opening like that.

[Nick Ivell]

Geoff

Are you accusing Roger of having a positional sense?

Only joking, I'm sure it's true!

[Geoff Chandler]

Congo also did extremely well to avoid losing to Lichtenstein, again huge rating differences in play.

Hi MjM,

The Chess Drum gives a good reason for this;

"In Africa, there are few international tournaments, so ratings are often depressed.
There is no pool of strong players to get rating points from. At the Olympiad, you will
see players from small nations feasting on highly-fancied opponents. "

Your rating is based on the rated players you play against. If you are of GM strength but only
play people in your region where the average grade is say, 1600, then your grade will reflect this.

Some of these lads from the Congo will get a rating boost, they will go back home and the
other local players will feed of it so their ratings will be higher, but have they really got any better?

[Ian Thompson]

This will be a hard game for Akshaya to swallow.

It's an opportunity for England's performance coach to earn his money.

[MJMcCready]

Most likely, then, their opponents under-rated them and were caught out. This phenomena may also partially explain why Oman turned over New Zealand.

'Some of these lads from the Congo will get a rating boost, they will go back home and the
other local players will feed of it so their ratings will be higher, but have they really got any better?'

Another question is, upon their return can they make it along the road to tell anyone anyway? Confused? Click on the link and have a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coyaVoVkhVw

[MJMcCready]

Congo also did extremely well to avoid losing to Lichtenstein, again huge rating differences in play.

Hi MjM,

The Chess Drum gives a good reason for this;

"In Africa, there are few international tournaments, so ratings are often depressed.
There is no pool of strong players to get rating points from. At the Olympiad, you will
see players from small nations feasting on highly-fancied opponents. "

Your rating is based on the rated players you play against. If you are of GM strength but only
play people in your region where the average grade is say, 1600, then your grade will reflect this.

Some of these lads from the Congo will get a rating boost, they will go back home and the
other local players will feed of it so their ratings will be higher, but have they really got any better?

Please see above and btw, that's one fascinating documentary.