Category Archives: chess

Swedish Championship last post

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Both Axel Smith, Ludvig Carlsson and Martin Jogstad had a terrible run at some stage in the tournament, but also produced some quite good games along the way. I have not had the energy to comment a game of each and every one of them, but I believe Ludvig deserves praise for his second round win against Axel:

It was not Axel’s best game, but I still find it impressive that Ludvig stayed in the drivers seat for the whole game and made it to the finish. Axel is really, really well prepared in some such passive positions, and equally strong:

From my perspective, a very impressive game. I would not have held a draw from that position; not in ten games against an opponent of such strength.

Olympiad Round 3.

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On a scale from “a day to remember”, to “a day to forget”, the Swedish team was having the latter kind. There is nothing redeeming to say about our 0-4 loss against the Netherlands, so the forgetting starts now.

The Swedish Women’s team had a great day, and beat Spain with 3-1, with both Inna Agrest and Victoria Johansson winning against opponents who were much higher rated. Inna outplayed her opponent and Victoria held on in a slightly worse position and took her chance when she got it:

The top matches in the open section saw a few upsets, with Norway losing to Italy, and Germany losing to Austria. Azerbaijan won a comfortable victor against Argentina, and Mamedyarov produced a spectacular game on board 1:

Olympiad Round 2.

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Today we played against Tunisia, and won the match with the smallest possible margin. One board 2. Erik Blomqvist played a game that contained a very nice and strange opening idea:

There is – as usual – a bit of betting going on between the Nordic team captains. As far as we know, no one has placed a bet against the Norwegians (who are rated third). I believe the Danes’ odds went down somewhat today, as they lost against Zambia (who were heavily out-ranked on every board), but I would not count them out of the race because of a small bump in the road. Sometimes losing an early match like that can inspire focus and determination. I will keep an eye on Zambia ahead. They seemed to play quite well.

Tomorrow Sweden play against Holland in the main hall. Another great adventure.

Olympiad first round

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The first day of the Olympiad is always a-buzz with complaints and praise; usually more of the former than the latter. This time a majority of the players I have spoken to seem pleased with their lodgings, the food and the reception in general. The getting back and forth to the playing hall has been the most taxing experience so far, with some having to wait upwards of three quarters for a lift.

The Swedish team started out as clear favourites against Barbados, and in the end we managed to win the match. It was clearly not due to my effort:

My team mates all won their games, so the match ended 3,5-0,5 in our favour. Tomorrow we will play against Tunisia.