Putting all on the winning card – Round nine report
2014. 12. 20.
-by WGM Anna Rudolf and GM Mihail Marin
http://wyco2014.chess.hu
The results of the ninth round brought up an unusual situation: the medalists are known already, but their order is yet to be decided by the last round.
India defeated Romania with 2,5-1,5 after a relatively “dry” match with just one decisive game. Russia beat Germany by the same score, but their first board lost while the last two brought the decisive victories. Just like in the previous round, Iran’s score against Poland 1 (3,5-0,5) is typical for the start of the tournament and not for the decisive days.
Iran and India remain in shared lead with 16 points, trailed by Russia by one point. The gap between Russia and the rest of the field is of three points, preventing any other team from reaching the podium.
There is an important detail, though: Iran’s second tie-break is by five (!) points better than India’s. For the Irani players the last round strategy is clear: a match victory by the smallest margin would ensure the gold medals. India should also go for a win in order to avoid being caught by Russia and be ready to overtake Iran if they stumble. For different reasons, Russians should play at full strength, too: the third place is secured already and they could improve their placement if something will go wrong for the leaders.
Summing up, we can expect that the virtual medalists will put everything on one card: the victory!
Anna’s “Hands up if you liked the event” was rewarded with quite some “likes”
India won the top match but their chances to gold are still uncertain
Some like following the games from close…
… some others watching them from afar
She’s cute.