UNFORTUNATE OUTCOME

The 42^nd Chess Olympiad held in Baku will be remembered by magnificent level of organization and a record number of participants.

Unfortunately, none of the six national teams of Azerbaijan could not be winners of the tournament. The winners of the Olympiad were the men's and women’s teams of US and China, respectively.

But firstly, I would like to utter a couple of words regarding the organization of the most prestigious chess tournament in the world. President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov noted the excellent organization of the tournament.

“This is the 11^th Olympiad under my chairmanship of FIDE. The tournament in Baku was the best of them. First of all, I would like to thank President Aliyev. Thanks to joint efforts of FIDE officials and the Azerbaijan Chess Federation, the Ministry of Youth and Sport, the Olympiad was organized by government leaders at the highest level”, said Ilyumzhinov.

He later added: “The FIDE officials were happy to see the Azerbaijani President at the opening ceremony and, especially, his first move in the tournament. The participation of the first persons of the state in the Olympiad is an invaluable contribution to the promotion of chess not only in Azerbaijan but all over the world”.

The Baku Olympiad has set a record number of participants. “We had representatives from 176 countries. Their level of professionalism was also very high. In total, we had 371 grand masters (273 men and 88 women), and 300 international masters. Among them were two reigning world champions: Magnus Carlsen and Hou Yifan. There also were many ex-world champions”, says FIDE Chairman.

Speaking about the development of chess in Azerbaijan, Ilyumzhinov has recognized a significant role of the state program in this area: “A few years ago, the President of Azerbaijan signed the State Program on chess development. Today we witnessed the results of this important document. Currently, six teams represent the host country. The young players dominate the second and third teams. I have to mention the high level of competition I can see in the Azerbaijani chess. There is a number of chess schools operating in the country, which play a crucial role in the promotion and development of chess”.

As for the tournament, the victory of the United States was an eventual result of the reforms. Over the past three years, the US nationalized three strong players and formed a fighting team. Italian Fabiano Caruana, Japanese Hikaru Nakamura and Filipino Wesley So became the backbone of the team. As a result, the international team has demonstrated high-level game during all 11 rounds and managed to win the tournament. Ukraine became the second, and Russia - the third.

In women's teams the winner of Olympiad was the Chinese team, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the teams of Poland and Ukraine with the same number of points scored. The Chinese team, led by five-time world champion Hou Yifan, has demonstrated new openings and the highest technology, and scored 20 points in 11 rounds, which was unreachable for competitors.

As mentioned above, all three male and female teams from Azerbaijan have failed the tournament.

We expected at least bronze medals from our first men's team, which was ranked the fifth at the Olympiad held in Norway two years ago but they left the tournament at the 12^th place. The second and third teams were formed mostly of young players so that they could gain experience in such a major tournament. They have not been tasked with any specific tasks, as opposed to the first team.

The first team began the game with four wins, but in the fifth round, the Indian team defeated it scoring 1: 3. This was the first signal of expected trouble. Especially when the opponent won both games on the first and the third boards, playing with black pieces, which was a tip to think about the future games. The next day of the tournament was a rest day, but even this did not help the team led by Alexei Dreyev and the coaches to reinforce the spirit of the team.

In the sixth round, the Azerbaijani players made a draw with the Greek team, which initially was not considered a contender for a medal. Eltaj Safarli won the game and improved the situation after the defeat of Arkadij Naiditsch.

But England’s victory in the 10^th round put an end to all hopes for medals.

Men's national team, performing below its potential, has demonstrated the need for reforms.

Shahriyar Mammadyarov playing on the first board was not able to show leadership qualities. Having 6.5 points in 10 games, he took an unnecessary risk in most of the parties. Teymur Rajabov with his 5.5 points in 10 games was not in the best shape. In most of the games, Rajabov could not finish them with obvious advantage in openings running out of time. It was obvious that he lacks necessary practice - very few people remember when he took part in major tournaments last time.

Rauf Mammadov scored 6 points in eight games and ranked the fifth place in the standings playing on the third board. This was far better result compared to results of the team leaders. Eltaj Safarli has twice saved the team in difficult situations.

Arkadij Naiditsch playing on the fourth board had probably the worst tournament in his career. After losing four games, he could not save the team.

In previous years, the unsuccessful performance of the team was due to insufficient level of training and lack of training conditions. But this time the team had three tournaments in Gabala and Shamakhi. The Federation invited the coach Etienne Bacrot and the captain Alexei Dreyev, but the results were unsatisfactory.

Meanwhile, the women's team of Azerbaijan was able to surprise everyone. They played the first seven rounds without defeat, winning teams of India and Poland, as well as having a draw with the strongest team of Georgia.

In the 8^th round our women chess players lost to champions of the tournament, the Chinese team, but could beat the national teams of Malaysia and Colombia, ranking the eighth by the end of the Olympiad.

Gulnar Mammadova had 7 points after nine games and won the gold medal as the best chess player on the third board.

Analyzing the performance of the first men's team, our captain Alexei Dreyev has noted that our team became a victim of psychological pressure. “Before the tournament, we had hoped for better results. Unfortunately, this did not happen, even though we were in the best shape. Mentally, we were ready to fight. Playing at home is always difficult because of added responsibility. We started well. I think that the turning point was the victory of Russia. After that, we almost lost chances for medals and it was difficult to wait for a successful outcome”, said Dreyev.

Prior to the game with India, he was happy with the team, the players did their best. “We almost won the game with Greece but had a draw. Naiditsch lost his game and Eltaj saved the team from defeat. In general, he twice failed to get the desired result for the team - once drew and once won. I would not like to evaluate the players individually since I do not want to blame my team members. I was hoping that Teymur would play well, as he was well prepared, but the lack of practice had an impact on his overall performance”, says the team’s captain.

Dreyev also noted that the National Chess Federation has all conditions required for training: “Every effort has been made to get ready for the tournament. That is the reason our women's team has shown such a great game and surprised all of us. As for our results, the Federation has done everything possible. Basically, we must prepare for the next Olympiad starting now. We must do everything to do a better job next time”.

The National Chess Federation should assess the performance of Alexei Dreyev, especially when the term of his contract ends soon.