39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (the chess)

[Jonathan Rogers]

Russia 2-1 up against Ukraine, thanks to Kariakin (!) but Ukraine have good chances for 2-2.

Ivanchuk dropped a draw then. At last. (Black v Kramnik)

[Ian Kingston]

England's women have chalked up another win.

[David Brock]

England's women have chalked up another win.

Well done the ladies another good result!

[Jonathan Rogers]

yes, three wins in a row now.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Damn, I was hoping McShane's opponent would take the draw, White's looking better all the time. Adams has finally won a pawn after seems like weeks of maneuvering. Hasn't his opponent miscalculated (after 39. ... Rc5)? Yes! Easy win for Adams now.

[Jonathan Rogers]

USA v China looking a bit comical now. USA utterly lost on 1, China utterly lost on 4. Can't they agree both to resign?

[David Brock]

Now a win for Adams another good result

[Jonathan Rogers]

(USA v China) To be fair, many would carry on in the position on board 4. As for Naka, he is no doubt awaiting a mouse slip or something.

[Ola Winfridsson]

Collins-watch: he's winning as usual, but I don't think the team will do more than draw, so all up in the air whether he will get that much needed third GM ....

Others will know more about this than I do. Can a player say "look, I only played two GMs, but if you like, take away my best win against a non-GM and substitute it with a loss against a fictional 2400 GM - I would still have made the requisite performance"?

I have a feeling that on that particular point, they're still quite strict - although norm rules have been relaxed in other ways.

[Eoin Devane]

Sam Collins drew - a clever perpetual tactic from his opponent. Mark Heidenfeld has lost and Colm Daly looks like he's going to lose, so although Alex Lopez might be able to pull out a win, it looks like the Irish team will lose.

Edit: A draw is probably most likely for Lopez, though.

[Jonathan Rogers]

oh dear, Sam drew and - even more seriously for his norm chances - the Irish now look like losing, which very much endangers the quest for the third GM.

Credit to Sam's opponent though - perhaps he had not been losing after all, but to show it he had to find a nice combo involving a queen sac. Worth a look:

http://ugra-chess.com/livegames?gameid=100108022&tmnt=1

(postscript - Eoin beat me to it. oh well)

[Jonathan Rogers]

Carlsen won with Black, from a proper opening this time

[Eoin Devane]

oh dear, Sam drew and - even more seriously for his norm chances - the Irish now look like losing, which very much endangers the quest for the third GM.

Credit to Sam's opponent though - perhaps he had not been losing after all, but to show it he had to find a nice combo involving a queen sac. Worth a look:

http://ugra-chess.com/livegames?gameid=100108022&tmnt=1

(postscript - Eoin beat me to it. oh well)

It is certainly worth a look. The queen sac combo forcing the draw is pretty clever. Unfortunately, the game on the live site seems to have some nonsense moves in it. The version on playchess.com is correct, though. Is it the same for others, or is it just me who gets these nonsense moves like pieces appearing from nowhere, disappearing etc.?

[Sebastian Stone]

Carlsen won with Black, from a proper opening this time

He managed to get his Knight to g7 again.

[John Philpott]

Meanwhile in the remaining game in the Women's match, does Sarah's opponent really not know that wrong coloured bishop and rook pawn is a draw?