Estonian women’s chess team places 42nd at Samarkand Olympiad — ERR News

Estonia’s women’s team finished 42nd, while the men’s team placed 66th at the 46th Chess Olympiad, which concluded in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. As ERR News reports, Estonia’s women lost to Hungary in the final round, while the men’s team ended the tournament with a victory over Nepal.

Women’s team performance

In the match against Hungary, Mai Narva and Margareth Olde drew their games on the first two boards. Sofia Blokhin and Grete Olde lost their games on the third and fourth boards. A victory in this match would likely have allowed the Estonian team to finish in the top 20.

With 13 match points, Estonia finished 42nd among 189 teams. China won gold in the women’s tournament with 20 points, Kazakhstan took silver with 18 points, and India won bronze with 17 points. Estonia’s best individual results were recorded by Margareth Olde, with 7.5 points out of 10, and Sofia Blokhin, who scored 7 points out of 10. Both players increased their ratings by about 30 points.

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Men defeat Nepal

In the open category, Estonia’s men’s team played Nepal, which had the 127th starting rank. Ilja Sirosh and Dion Krivenko won with the black pieces on the second and fourth boards, while Kiril Chukavin lost his game with white on the third board.

On the first board, Aleksandr Volodin, playing white, found himself in a difficult position but managed to draw. This secured Estonia a 2.5–1.5 victory over Nepal. The men’s team concluded the competition with 12 match points in 66th place among 206 teams. Sirosh was Estonia’s most successful player, scoring 5.5 points in eight games. Uzbekistan won the open tournament with 20 points, India finished second with 18, and Germany came third, also with 18 points.