Gata Kamsky won again! Onischuk held the fort with the Black pieces. Nakamura is in the middle of a complicated endgame and it looks like Okobian is losing. This match may result in a 2-2 tie and this is very costly for any medal hope.
USA 2 – Czech Republic 2
4.1 GM Kamsky Gata 2671 – GM Navara David 2658 1-0
4.2 GM Onischuk Alexander 2650 – GM Hracek Zbynek 2593 1/2-1/2
4.3 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2664 – GM Laznicka Viktor 2551 1/2-1/2
4.4 GM Akobian Varuzhan 2575 – IM Cvek Robert 2503 0-1
On the women’s side, Zatonskih and Krush lost. Goletiani is in a drawn Rook and Pawn endgame. This is the first loss for the US and a serious blow for the medal hope.
US .5 – Ukraine 2.5
2.1 WGM Zatonskih Anna 2433 – WGM Zhukova Natalia 2425 0-1
2.2 IM Krush Irina 2437 – IM Yanovska-Gaponenko Inna 2430 0-1
2.3 WGM Goletiani Rusudan 2371 – WGM Ushenina Anna 2397 1/2-1/2
Susan, do you mean that a 2-2 tie is a good result for the U.S., or that it is a disappointing result?
You said “big blow,” which could be interpreted either way.
I see you’ve updated the main posting…thanks.
Thanks to you Marc. I do miss stuff from time to time. Great to have additional eyes looking out for these errors.
Thanks again!
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
For USA, medals are already gone now in both men’s and women’s.. just hope for 4th or 5th position..
Medals are possible. Gold is out of reach.
The US needed serious captains. Shulman and Donaldson are good players but not good captains.
The role of captains is overstated. If we have strong depth in players and there is good chemistry among them, the team has good chances of performing well. The role of captain is very minimal.
The role of captains is just as important as any player on the team. Sometimes, it is even more important. Good teams without good captains will have a hard time winning.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
I came to this blog to talk about captains, and what do I find – you’ve already discussed it, even Susan commented!!
I agree with Susan.
A captain has a lot of duties, starting from waiting hours in long lines, to submut the team composition etc. So, it’s against the rulesto play as a team if you don’t have a captain. A captain can be a player, too, like Ni Hua in the Chinese team, who, of course, because of this, has the worst individual result ever.
The Captain problem is that of it’s a good captain, all is well, but if its a bad captain, youre doomed, because you can’t kick him out!! Like he can the players! Captains are superior officers to players.
Susan, can a captains role be explained as regarded to the number of points made in the end or not? For example, a Captain is worth 5 points, either up or down. Thank you.
Go USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“The US needed serious captains. Shulman and Donaldson are good players but not good captains.”
Of course they are not good captains.
What is their captaining experience? What is their Captaining title or elo?
The US dumped the medal-winning women’s Captain, instead of offering him a few thousand bucks to take the wheel. That’s unexplainable, yet it’s the same like they do in other countries. Booo, USCF.
The best man for the job is a woman.
The best Captain for the mens team is a woman. The best Captain for a womans team is a man.
Afer being unable to find the answers on the Internet, I must ask Susan:
Susan, please tell us more about the relationship player-captain, during the games!
What can you ask the Captain, what can the Captain ask you? Can two Captains fix a draw, without consulting the players, during the match, and other things.
We all know so little about this, no Cpatain ever wrote a book about this, all the information is unavailable.
Since it’s a team event, can the players help each other, by suggesting some moves? That would be great team spirit! Can the men’s team help the womens team?
The US temas are not going to be saved by ANY captain, not even Paul and Susan doing it together.
Neither team is quite strong enough to have high chances of a medal, an outside chance, sure, but they ae not top 3 in real chess strength.
Other countries are trying to win too you know.