Chess medal hopes fade
Zimbabwe’s medal hopes in the open section of the 40th Chess Olympiad faded yesterday after the men’s team suffered a sixth round defeat to Mongolia who fielded a strong team that comprised two grand masters (GM) on boards two and three and an international master (IM) on boards one and four.
Zimbabwe’s top seed IM Robert Gwaze, who is rated 2 454 fell to IM Gundavaa Bavarsaikhan who is rated at 2 519, while on board two, GM Sharavdorj Dasvegve (2 446) got the better of US-based IM Farai Mandizha (2 390) who lost a bishop in time trouble.
Fide Master (FM) Rodwell Makoto (2 280) managed to share the spoils with GM Bachuluun Tsegmed (2 493) who held him to a draw after Makoto failed to convert a strong positional advantage going into the end game.
Experience and better positional understanding saved the day for the Mongolian grandmaster, who had underrated his more youthful opponent, only for him to eventually force a well-deserved draw after a long struggle.
On board four Dion James Moyo (2210) battled it out with FM Munkhgal Gombosuren (2390) for a draw after playing a tricky game in which he a had a superior ending forcing his Mongolian opponent to exchange material to reduce chances of Moyo forcing a win.
Zimbabwe was paired against Mongolia in round seven after brutally assaulting Uruguay 3-1 in the previous round.
At the start of the Olympiad, Zimbabwe men’s team was ranked 85th whilst Mongolia is rated 54th in terms of relative team strength in the open tournament.
In the Women section, Zimbabwe ladies team suffered a heavy 3-1 point loss against Albania, who fielded what initially looked like a weak side.
The Albanians easily walked over Zimbabwean ladies with their top seed Gjergji Rozana easily beating Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Zengeni on board one, whilst seasoned Olympiad player Rhodha Masiyasi also failed to turn her experience into victory when she fell to Albania’s third seed, Tuzi Bruna.
Colletta Wakuruwarewa and Paidaishe Zengeni managed to hold their opponents to half point draws each against Pasku Roela and Driza Arta respectively.
Zimbabwe’s top seed IM Robert Gwaze, who is rated 2 454 fell to IM Gundavaa Bavarsaikhan who is rated at 2 519, while on board two, GM Sharavdorj Dasvegve (2 446) got the better of US-based IM Farai Mandizha (2 390) who lost a bishop in time trouble.
Fide Master (FM) Rodwell Makoto (2 280) managed to share the spoils with GM Bachuluun Tsegmed (2 493) who held him to a draw after Makoto failed to convert a strong positional advantage going into the end game.
Experience and better positional understanding saved the day for the Mongolian grandmaster, who had underrated his more youthful opponent, only for him to eventually force a well-deserved draw after a long struggle.
On board four Dion James Moyo (2210) battled it out with FM Munkhgal Gombosuren (2390) for a draw after playing a tricky game in which he a had a superior ending forcing his Mongolian opponent to exchange material to reduce chances of Moyo forcing a win.
Zimbabwe was paired against Mongolia in round seven after brutally assaulting Uruguay 3-1 in the previous round.
At the start of the Olympiad, Zimbabwe men’s team was ranked 85th whilst Mongolia is rated 54th in terms of relative team strength in the open tournament.
In the Women section, Zimbabwe ladies team suffered a heavy 3-1 point loss against Albania, who fielded what initially looked like a weak side.
The Albanians easily walked over Zimbabwean ladies with their top seed Gjergji Rozana easily beating Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Zengeni on board one, whilst seasoned Olympiad player Rhodha Masiyasi also failed to turn her experience into victory when she fell to Albania’s third seed, Tuzi Bruna.
Colletta Wakuruwarewa and Paidaishe Zengeni managed to hold their opponents to half point draws each against Pasku Roela and Driza Arta respectively.
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