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Azerbaijan and Russia win European Team Chess Championships 2017
Teams of Azerbaijan and Russia became the European Team Chess Champions for 2017 in Open and Women's section respectively.
The rush for gold in Open section was very intense until the end of the last game of the Championship. Azerbaijanis needed a victory in the last round to secure the title, but no decisive result happened in their match against Ukraine, and the clash ended in a tie 2-2.
At the same time, Russian team defeated Germany with 3-1 to reach shared first place.
Azerbaijan won the 3rd gold at the European Team Chess Championship as they had better tie-breaks than Russia.
The European Team Champions for 2015, Russia, finished the race with silver in their hands.
Third place of this prestigious European event went to Ukraine since they had better additional criteria than Croatia who had the same match points, but finished fourth.
In the Women's section the Winner wasn't questioned in the last round. Russian ladies secured the first place already after the 8th round with a round to spare. Nevertheless, Russia affirmed the domination by taking a victory in the last round against Armenia and triumphed the Championship with three match points ahead of the runner-ups.
Georgia finished the Championship as sole second with 14 match points.
Bronze went to Ukraine who took 12 match points.
The Organizer rewarded the individual prizes to the three best players on each board. The gold medalists are listed below:
Open Section
Board 1: Aronian Levon (ARM, 2801) Rtg Performance: 2810
Board 2: Bosiocic Marin (CRO, 2619) Rtg Performance: 2824
Board 3: Vitiugov Nikita (RUS, 2728) Rtg Performance: 2817
Board 4: Mamedov Rauf (AZE, 2678) Rtg Performance: 2920
Board 5: Svane Rasmus (GER, 2595) Rtg Performance: 2762
Women's Section
Board 1: Kosteniuk Alexandra (RUS, 2552) Rtg Performance: 2632
Board 2: Lagno Kateryna (RUS, 2541) Rtg Performance: 2605
Board 3: Khotenashvili Bela (GEO, 2459) Rtg Performance: 2608
Board 4: Gaponenko Inna (UKR, 2433) Rtg Performance: 2552
Board 5: Melia Salome (GEO, 2412) Rtg Performance: 2622
The Closing Ceremony of the Championship took place yesterday in Creta Maris Conference center with attendance of the President of European Chess Union - Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Secretary General of European Chess Union - Mr. Theodoros Tzorbatsoglou, Deputy President of FIDE - Mr. Georgios Makropoulos, Continental President of Americas - Mr. Jorge Vega, FIDE Vice President Mr. Boris Kutin, Tournament Director - Mr. Nikos Kalesis, Region Governor of Crete Mr. Arnaoutakis Stavros, Vice region Governor of Crete Mr. Koukiadakis Evripidis, Mayor of Hersonissos - Mr. Mastorakis Giannis, Consulant advisor of athletic department Mr. Sirigonakis, Mrs. Plevraki Despina.
The President of the ECU Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili has been awarded with ECU plaque and the book "The Thinkers". He also granted the ECU plaques to dignitaries of Crete region and Hersonissos municipality.
The Closing Ceremony was enriched with short video presentations of Cretan culture and with organization video as review of the Championship.
Closing Ceremony photo gallery
Official website
Round 8: Russia secured gold in Women's section, Azerbaijan leading in Open
Russia won another team gold medal in the Women's section with a round to spare after crushing Turkey 4-0. At the same time the nearest follower Georgia stumbled in the match against Poland. Wins by Jolanta Zawadzka and Karina Szczepkowska secured overall 3-1 for Polish ladies.
Italy and Romania exchanged a pair of victories to finally draw the match. Same scenario was seen in the match Serbia - Netherlands.
Ukraine scored an all-important win 2,5-1,5 versus Spain. Zhukova and Gaponenko won for Ukraine, while Matnadze earned a point for Spain, all three with black pieces.
In similar fashion Armenia won against Czech Republic, same score and points with black pieces by Danielian and Galojan. Azerbaijan surged ahead with a sound 3-1 victory over France.
It will be an exciting fight for silver and bronze medals as Georgia and Poland share the second place with 12 points each, while Ukraine and Armenia are half a point behind.
Top round 9 pairings are Armenia - Russia, Georgia - Italy, Romania - Poland and Turkey - Ukraine.
In the Open section Azerbaijan signed a huge 3-1 victory against Russia to jump ahead of the opponent and grab the top position: Grischuk-Mamedyarov 0-1, Nepomniachtchi-Radjabov 0-1, Matlakov-Naiditsch 1-0, Dubov-Mamedov 0-1.
Ukraine caught up with Russia on the shared second place after winning against Hungary 2,5-1,5. The decisive point was delivered by Martyn Kravtsiv.
Germany beat Israel 3-1 thanks to the wins of Meier and Svane with white pieces. Turkey edged Netherlands with Emre Can's effort on the third board.
On the next three tables Croatia, Romania and England narrowly defeated France, Serbia and Greece 1, respectively.
Armenia and Poland split the points, while Spain crushed Georgia 3,5-0,5. The same victory was scored by Belarus in the clash with Austria.
Top round 9 matches are Azerbaijan - Ukraine, Germany - Russia, Turkey - Croatia and England - Hungary.
Photo gallery
Official website
Round 7: Russia leading in both sections
Russia restored the top position in the Open section after defeating the earlier leader Croatia. Nikita Vitiugov and Daniil Dubov were successful with white pieces.
Azerbaijan helped the Russia's cause by beating Hungary 3-1, with full points from Arkadij Naiditsch and Rauf Mamedov. After the shaky start Azerbaijan surged ahead to reach a clear second place.
The next four matches finished with narrow 2,5-1,5 scores. Pavel Eljanov brought the match points for Ukraine against Romania, Rasmus Svane won for Germany against Armenia, while Vahap Sanal was the hero of Turkey in the clash against neighbors from Georgia.
Israel signed the same score versus Poland, with wins from Sutovsky and Nabaty (Israel) and Duda (Poland).
Netherlands made a comeback with a swift 3-1 victory against Belarus, while England and Spain split the points.
Top round 8 matches are Russia - Azerbaijan, Hungary - Ukraine, Israel - Germany and Netherlands - Turkey.
In the Women's section the teams from Russia and Georgia have clearly distinguished themselves from the rest of the field.
Russia had no trouble to defeat Italy by 3-1, while Georgia crashed Spain 4-0. Russia is first with 13 match points, Georgia is second with 12 points, while the chasing group is full two points behind.
Ukraine and Poland shared the points when Anna Muzychuk beat Monika Socko and Klaudia Kulon levelled against Iulija Osmak.
Same result in the match Romania - Armenia. Irina Bulmaga won for Romania and Maria Gevorgyan evened for Armenia.
Turkey made a significant progress by beating France 3-1. Czech Republic recorded the same win against Greece 1.
Serbia edged Belarus 2,5-1,5 and Netherlands demolished higher rated Hungary by 3,5-0,5.
Top round 8 pairings are Turkey - Russia, Poland - Georgia, Italy - Romania and Ukraine - Spain.
More information in the relevant sections of the official website.
Round 6
After the short leisure time, teams continued the struggles for the title of European Team Chess Champion. Hungary excelled in 6th round and by defeating Croatia, with a result 3.5-0.5, overtook the leadership.
Defending Champion and top seeded Russia came back to the top of the list with same match points but lower tie-breaks than Hungary, by beating Poland thanks to the victory of Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS, 2733), while the other games ended in a peaceful manner.
In another top match, Azerbaijan scored narrow win against Armenia thanks to the victories of Radjabov Teimour (AZE, 2741) and Mamedov Rauf (AZE, 2678), while Mamedyarov Shakhriyar (AZE, 2791) suffered defeat against Aronian Levon (ARM, 2801).
In even five matches teams traded a pair of victories to finish in a tie result 2-2, among them: Romania-Israel, Germany-Turkey, Belarus-England and Spain-Slovenia, while Ukraine beat France thanks to the triumph on the top board of Eljanov Pavel (UKR, 2720) against Edouard Romain (FRA, 2607).
Only three rounds left to be played, and the top pairings of the 7th round are: Azerbaijan-Hungary, Croatia-Russia, Ukraine-Romania.
In Women’s section, Russia maintained sole leadership after very intense match played against Poland, which ended in a tie without a single decisive game.
One of the derby matches of the 6th round, played between second and third seeded Georgia and Ukraine, finished with a victory of Georgian ladies thanks to the Batsiashvili Nino (GEO, 2472) who scored against Zhukova Natalia (UKR, 2426).
Italy and Spain overwhelmed Turkey and Belarus respectively with score 3-1 and leaped on the top to be tied for the third place together with Poland.
Meanwhile, Romania conquered against Azerbaijan with a minimum result 2.5-1.5, while Hungary admited defeat by the lower rated Armenia.
Top pairings of the 7th round in Women’s section are: Russia-Italy, Spain-Georgia and Ukraine-Poland. All the pairings, results and standings can be found here.
Seventh, one of the last and decisive rounds, will be played today, as usual at 15:00 (local time) and live broadcast of all the games can be followed through the Official Website or through the ECU website, section LIVE.
Round 5: Russian women perfect, Croatia leading in Open
Croatia excelled once again, defeating Germany 2,5-1,5 to move into the sole lead in the Open section. The hero, for the second day in a row, was Marin Bosiocic winning against Matthias Bluebaum.
On the top board Hungary and Armenia played a peaceful tie 2-2 with four draws, thus falling one point behind the leader.
Russia bounced back after yesterday's setback with a convincing 3,5-0,5 victory against Turkey. Poland and Azerbaijan signed the confident 3-1 against Belarus and Czech Republic, respectively.
In an exciting match France edged Serbia 2,5-1,5, and Israel scored the same narrow win against Georgia thanks to Maxim Rodshtein.
Romania won both games with white pieces to shock the higher rated Netherlands, while Italy's luck ran out as they went down 0,5-3,5 to Ukraine.
Thursday is a rest day and the action continues on 3rd November. Top round 6 pairings are Hungary - Croatia, Poland - Russia, Armenia - Azerbaijan and Romania - Israel.
Russia maintained the perfect score in the Women's section after walking past Spain by 3-1. Lagno and Goryachkina delivered full points with black pieces.
On the second table Italy and Poland produced four draws, but on the third Georgia demolished the neighbors from Armenia with a telling 4-0 score.
Ukraine defeated France with an effort of the lower boards, while Turkey edged Slovenia by 2,5-1,5. Germany lost to Romania by the same score, despite Paehtz's victory against Bulmaga.
Azerbaijan leader Zeinab Mamedjarova scored the sole win in the match against Israel to bring two valuable points to her team.
Belarus appropriated three of four decisive games to claim an overall win against Netherlands.
Top round 6 pairings are Poland - Russia, Georgia - Ukraine, Italy - Turkey and Spain - Belarus.
More information in the relevant sections of the official website.
Round 4: Hungary stuns Russia, leads with Armenia and Croatia
Hungary shocked the overnight leader and defending champion Russia thanks to the Viktor Erdos' creation against Ian Nepomniachtchi. The other three games were drawn.
In the same pattern Croatia won against Israel, the decisive blow being delivered by Marin Bosiocic.
Germany and Poland exchanged a pair of victories to tie the match 2-2. In the tight contest Armenia came out on the top 2,5-1,5 versus Netherlands.
Turkey overcame the multiple Olympic champion Ukraine as Vahap Sanal beat Yuriy Kuzubov on the 4th board.
The matches Czech Republic - Serbia, England - Italy and Romania - Georgia were all even after pairs of wins were traded between the respective teams.
Top round 5 pairings are Hungary - Armenia, Croatia - Germany, Poland - Belarus and Russia - Turkey.
The derby match of the 4th round of the European Team Championship – Women Section was played between Russia and Georgia, the two top seeded teams.
Russia emerged victorious to maintain the perfect score and move into the sole lead. Kateryna Lagno and Valentina Gunina won for Russia, while Lela Javakhishvili scored for Georgia.
On the top table Spain and Poland played out four decisive games, all won by white, to eventually tie the match.
Armenia and France scored narrow wins against Greece 1 and Israel, respectively. Maria Gevorgyan won for Armenia, and Almira Skripchenko was the hero for France.
Ukraine bounced back with a solid 3-1 victory against Hungary, while Italy beat Netherlands by the same score.
Top round 5 pairings are Russia - Spain, Italy - Poland, Armenia - Georgia and Ukraine - France.
More information in the relevant sections of the official website.
Round 3: Russia emerged leader in Open section, four teams tied in Women's
A swift victory by Ian Nepomniachtchi was sufficient for Russia to defeat Czech Republic and assume the leading position in the Open section.
The other top matches, Hungary-Netherlands and Croatia-Armenia, were tied without a single decisive game.
Germany ended Italy's run by beating them 3,5-0,5 and Israel cruised past France 3-1.
Poland's top board Radoslaw Wojtaszek delivered the crucial point in the match with England by defeating Michael Adams. The remaining games were drawn.
Spain is also celebrating the team leader, the young David Anton, as he evened the result in the clash against heavy favourites from Azerbaijan.
Top round 4 pairings are Russia - Hungary, Germany - Poland, Israel - Croatia and Armenia - Netherlands.
In the Women's section the defending champion Russia took an early lead against Ukraine thanks to Valentina Gunina's win on the third board. The other three games were drawn and Russia celebrated overall victory.
Spain crushed Turkey 3,5-0,5, and Georgia beat Hungary 3-1 by taking full points on the lower boards. Poland also signed 3-1 against Israel, the wins coming from the players directing black pieces.
France outplayed Slovenia 2,5-1,5, while Czech Republic and Belarus held the higher rated Germany and Azerbaijan, respectively.
Netherlands took the advantage of the white pieces to defeat Slovakia by 3-1.
Top round 4 pairings are Spain - Poland, Georgia - Russia, Netherlands - Italy and Greece 1 - Armenia.
More information in the relevant sections of the official website.
Round 2
The second round of the European Team Chess Championship was played today in Creta Maris resort in Greece. All the top players who sat out from the opening round have entered the arena.
Among the top tables in the Open section the most effective was Hungary defeating the neighboring Romania by 3,5-0,5.
Other decisive matches were concluded by narrow margin 2,5-1,5. Defending champion Russia defeated Belarus thanks to reigning European individual champion Maxim Matlakov. Netherlands beat the higher rated Ukraine thanks to Anish Giri's effort on the top board. Ivan Saric brought the match points to Croatia in the clash against Serbia.
Armenia, with Levon Aronian taking the top board, defeated the hosts Greece, while Czech Republic won against Georgia. Sabino Brunello was the architect of another success for Italy, this time in the encounter with Turkey.
Top round 3 pairings are Hungary - Netherlands, Czech Republic - Russia, Croatia - Armenia and Italy - Germany.
Several crushing victories were recorded in the Women's section. Israel beat Italy 3,5-0,5, Georgia defeated France by the same score, as well as Spain celebrating against the higher rated Romania.
Ukraine and Poland walked past by Armenia and Germany, respectively, scoring 3-1 each.
Russia got 2,5-1,5 against Czech Republic, as well as Hungary versus Azerbaijan and Turkey against Netherlands.
Top round 3 pairings are Poland - Israel, Georgia - Hungary, Turkey - Spain and Russia - Ukraine.
More information in the relevant sections of the official website.
Round 1
The long anticipated European Team Chess Championship began today at the beautiful conference hall of Creta Maris resort in Hersonissos, Crete, Greece.
A record breaking 72 teams compete in the event, with 40 nations being represented in the Open Section, and 32 teams participating in the Women's Section.
ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili made the honorary first move in the game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Luka Lenic.
As usual in the events run by Swiss pairing system, the top seeded teams faced the lower rated opposition.
Nevertheless, it was a bumpy ride for some of the favourites, most notably Azerbaijan losing to the inspired youngsters from Italy. Brunello and Moroni defeated Naiditsch and Guseinov, respectively, while Mamedov scored for Azerbaijan.
In four other matches the underdogs achieved tied scores. Moldova drew England thanks to the victory of Victor Bologan against Nigel Short.
Norway, playing without the world champion Magnus Carlsen, held Israel to a tie after Johan-Sebastian Christiansen beat Emil Sutovsky.
Neighbors Slovakia and Poland, as well as Germany and Greece 2, drew their respective matches.
The perfect 4-0 scores were achieved by Greece 1 and Romania against Greece - Crete and Scotland, respectively.
In the Women's section there were no surprises in team results. The maximum 4-0 scores were recorded by Italy and Czech Republic against Montenegro and Finland, respectively.
Of the notable individual results Stavroula Tsolakidou defeated Valentina Gunina, Nastassia Ziaziulkina defeated Nana Dzagnidze, Teodora Injac beat Iulija Osmak and Sheila Barth Sahl defeated Sabrina Vega Gutierrez.
Top round 2 results are Israel - Italy, Czech Republic - Russia, France - Georgia, Ukraine - Armenia and Poland - Germany.
More information in the relevant sections of the official website.
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