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Seventh Round: Azerbaijan Stops Russia and Lets Iran Pass! |
 It was as if the Azerbaijani players had read the report of the previous round and wanted to show that they knew the answer! By helding Russia to a 2-2 draw in a heroic effort Azerbaijan added much more excitement to the last rounds. Moreover Iran delivered a huge blow to the hopes of Serbia and in a dramatic turn of events climbed to the first place! Now it is Russia who has to catch up with the leader and everything will depend on the points both teams will gather in the remaining three rounds and every half a point is a matter of life!
Despite Akhmetov’s nice win against Narayanan Kazakhstan had to concede 2,5 points to their strong opponents, India who follow Azerbaijan from a one point distance together with Lithuania who overcame Georgia 3-1. Laurusas’ win against Beradze on the first board was especially noteworthy, a game in which bishop and passed pawns proved to be stronger than a rook and a knight and despite Beradze’s efforts to cast doubt upon his opponent’s sacrifice in the final position it was clear that every piece ended up in right place. Peru tied Australia-A in a match where the female players proved the worth since they saved Peru from a defeat with two wins whereas boys had to accept their fate and succumbed to their Australian chessaroos. The finish of the game on the second board was picturesque, one which would make Philidor proud.
In other matches there were also interesting results. Armenia bounced back with completely demolishing South Africa-A with 4-0 and Turkmenistan for the third time managed to achieve the same result, this time against United Arab Emirates. Slovakia beat Turkey-Istanbul 3,5-0,5 whereas Turkey-Turkuaz proved themselves to be in beter shape than their countrymen by reversing the result in their favor against England. In the clash of B’s it was the Slovakian team who gained victory, though by a half point, against the Australian B team. The last board saw Iraq beating Libya with 3,5-0,5 which put Libya in the last place but enjoying the game and working hard is much more important than the result in a tournament, keep on fighting youngsters!
Who’ll get the first prize? And the second or the third? Everything is still very much open. Let’s all watch the final rounds to see the answer. The eight round is being played on the same day in the evening. |
