Team Russia Beats USA in Semifinal of FIDE Online Olympiad

The Russians will face India in the final.

The semifinal of the FIDE Online Olympiad was played on Chess.com on August 29. The Russian team defeated the USA and advanced to the final. 

In the first mini match, the Russians won 3.5-2.5. Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Tatev Abrahamyan, Aleksandra Goryachkina bested Anna Zatonskih, the games Grischuk - So, Shankland - Dubov, and Esipenko - Xiong were drawn, while Polina Shuvalova lost to Annie Wang. 

The second encounter ended in a draw. Ian Nepomniachtchi won against Sam Shankland, Alexandra Kosteniuk beat Anna Zatonskih, Polina Shuvalova defeated Annie Wang, Alexander Grischuk lost to Wesley So, Andrey Esipenko to Jeffery Xiong, and Aleksandra Goryachkina to Carissa Yip. 

Having won the match 1.5-0.5, the Russian team advanced to the final of the FIDE Online Olympiad. 

Our rival will be Team India, who defeated Poland earlier this day. The Polish players won the first mini match 4-2; however, the Indiands managed to strike back in the second. In the "Armageddon" Humpy Koneru beat Monika Socko as Black advancing her team to the final. 

Alexander Motylev, captain of the Russian team: "As it was expected, the match with the US team was a really tough struggle. We managed to win it, but it was a very difficult fight. The final against India will be quite complicated as well since they are a very solid team, without weak spots. During the tournament, they defeated China and other strong teams. But we are ready for this challenge, and we believe in our team". 

The final match will start at 2 PM Moscow time on August 30.

They play-off consists of two matches (time control: 15+5). In case of a draw, the tie is broken with an Armageddon game. A drawing of lots is done automatically by Chess.com to determine in which of the four categories the Armageddon game is to be played. The captain of each team shall nominate one player, from the respective category. Once one player for each team has been nominated, there is a drawing of lots to determine which player can choose whether they play white or black. The time limit for the Armageddon game is 5 minutes for white, and 4 minutes for black, with no increment. If the player with the white pieces wins the game, his/her team wins the duel. If the player with the black pieces wins or draws the game, his/her team wins the duel.

Tournament page

Tournament on Chess-Results

Official website 

Photos by Eteri Kublashvili