IBCA Chess Olympiad: Gold for Russia, Silver for Ukraine, Bronze for Spain!

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Top seeds Russia emerged winners after the ninth and final round of the TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind 2012 on Sunday. Russia finished the tournament with 15 match points for the gold. Ukraine got the silver and Spain earned the bronze.

Germany, with 14 match points, tied for second spot with Ukraine and Spain, but finished fourth on tie-breaks. India 'A' went down 1.5-2.5 to Germany in a close match. India 'A' took the fifth spot.

Top seeds Russia came up with a powerful performance with 3-1 win over United Kingdom. Victories in boards two, three and four clinched the issue in their favour. IM Colin Crouch reduced the margin for UK, defeating IM Meshkov Yuri in a hard fought game. The win helped Crouch clinch the top board silver medal.

Final Placings: 1: Russia 15 match points; 2-4: Ukraine, Spain, Germany 14; 5: India 11; 6-9: Poland, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Croatia 10; 10-15: Kazakhastan, Serbia, Bulgaria, Columbia, Romania, Slovenia 9; 16-19: Sweden, Iran, India 'B', Turkey 8; 20-21: Slovakia, Italy 7; 22: South Africa 6; 23: France 5; 24: Denmark 4; 25: The Netherlands 1.

Board Prize Winners

Board 1: Gold - IM Pulvett Daniel (Venezuela) Silver - IM Crouch Colin S (UK) Bronze - FM Desanjose Candalija Eduardo (Spain) 

Board 2: Gold - Shepelev Igor (Ukraine) Silver - Ross Chris N (UK) Bronze - Otero Harlen (Venezuela) 

Board 3: Gold - Kishan Gangolli (India "A") Silver - FM Gunajew Rafal (Poland) Bronze - Smirnov Sergei (Russia) 

Board 4: Gold - Yatsishin Ivan (Ukraine) Silver - Alimkhanov Abdurashid (Kazakhstan) Bronze - IM Krylov Sergey (Russia)

Board 5: Gold - FM Babarykin Stanislav (Russia) Silver - Clemente Llamero Roberto (Spain) Bronze - Pohlers Juergen (Germany) 

Results (Round 9): United Kingdom(10) lost to Russia (15); Germany (14) bt India "A" (11); Spain (14) bt Poland (10); Ukraine (14) bt Serbia (9); Venezuela (10) drew with Columbia (9); Slovenia (9) drew with Romania (9); Croatia (10) bt Iran (8); Sweden (8) drew with Kazakhastan (9); India "B" (8) drew with Turkey (8); Bulgaria (9) bt Denmark (4); France (5) drew with South Africa (6); Italy (7) bt The Netherlands (1).

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