The unprecedented 2022 Chess Olympiad concluded in Chennai, India. Uzbekistan and Ukraine have crowned champions in the open and women’s sections after a tense eleventh round. In the open, Armenia and India 2 took silver and bronze, respectively, while Georgia and India rounded out the podium in the women’s tournament. It was a one-of-a-kind competition that demonstrated how much of a difference an enthusiastic, hardworking organisation can make!
Undefeated
Ian Nepomniachtchi’s reflection on the importance of minimising in the Candidates Game — which he won twice in a row — was also relevant in this year’s Chess Olympiad, as Uzbekistan, in the open section, and Ukraine, in the women’s section, were the only teams to finish the tournament undefeated, and they both took home gold medals.
Uzbekistan’s young team won eight games and drew three, finishing with a 19/22 record in the open. Armenia scored the same number of points but had a significantly lower tiebreak score. The team led by Gabriel Sargissian was eliminated in round 9 by the eventual champions.
In the women’s section, the second seeds from Ukraine scored 7 wins and 4 draws for an 18/22 score with an experienced team that included two former women’s world champions. Similar to the open, another team tied with the champions in points but had a lower tiebreak score. Georgia won silver, and its only defeat came in round 6 when they were defeated by India.
Two bronze medals were won by the host country, whose organisation and enthusiasm were almost universally praised by the participants and audience. The extremely young India 2 squad outperformed the ‘first team’ and finished third in the open, while the strong women’s team also finished third in its section.
Given how things had gone for the Indian teams that eventually made it to the podium, bronze in both sections must have left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of the locals. Gukesh, who stunned the world by winning eight consecutive games, made a single blunder that prevented his team from having beaten Uzbekistan in round 10, whereas the Indian women don’t ever lose the lead (or the ability to share lead) until the final round.