It is almost certain that Russia, under the leadership of the dynamic sisters N. and T. Kosintseva for the first time, who rank #1 and #2 in Russia among women, will capture the gold medal at the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk. There are still 4 rounds to go but it seems that no team can touch the #1 seed Russia A team.
It is surprising to me that even though the Soviet Union dominated the Women’s Olympiad for decades, winning gold in every event they entered until 1988 and 1990 when they finished 2nd behind the Polgar sisters and Madl, Russia has never won. They finished 2nd and 3rd three times each while missing out on the top 3 three times.
With the drastic improvement of the Kosintseva sisters, they may continue to win gold for many more years. Garry Kasparov told me back in 2004 that in his opinion, Tatiana Kosintseva is the most talented Russian female player. Not only Garry is tremendous on the board, he clearly knows how to spot talent.
Congratulations to the Russian women for their tremendous performance so far in Khanty-Mansiysk!
Russia never won with Kosteniuk on board 1. They’ll win now with her on board 3.
Yes, this is unbelievable that the team is strong enough to play the world champ (Kosteniuk) on board 3