The Open (a/k/a Men's) Team finished in 14th place overall. Really? The Netherlands, France, Cuba and Israel finished ahead of us (US). Holding my nose as I look at the final results. HOLY HATHOR. Will the USCF now try to pass this off as some kind of great victory? I sure the hell hope not.
Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - Open
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | 7 | China | CHN | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 422.5 | 31.5 | 155.00 | |
| 2 | 5 | Hungary | HUN | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 372.0 | 29.0 | 152.00 | |
| 3 | 19 | India | IND | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 371.5 | 30.5 | 140.00 | |
| 4 | 1 | Russia | RUS | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 352.0 | 28.5 | 146.00 | |
| 5 | 8 | Azerbaijan | AZE | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 345.0 | 28.0 | 149.00 | |
| 6 | 2 | Ukraine | UKR | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 377.5 | 29.0 | 145.00 | |
| 7 | 13 | Cuba | CUB | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 361.0 | 29.5 | 145.00 | |
| 8 | 4 | Armenia | ARM | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 350.5 | 28.5 | 146.00 | |
| 9 | 9 | Israel | ISR | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 348.0 | 28.0 | 143.00 | |
| 10 | 17 | Spain | ESP | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 334.5 | 28.0 | 142.00 | |
| 11 | 27 | Belarus | BLR | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 304.5 | 27.0 | 136.00 | |
| 12 | 11 | Netherlands | NED | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 367.5 | 29.5 | 148.00 | |
| 13 | 3 | France | FRA | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 357.5 | 28.5 | 151.00 | |
| 14 | 6 | United States of America | USA | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 348.0 | 28.0 | 143.00 |
HUNGARY'S OPEN TEAM with GM Judit Polgar playing Board 5 (WHAT?), takes the silver medal. Go figure! A fine way for the fabulous Judit to go out on, heh?
Let's look at the USA men's individual performances -- were they worth the money laid out?
| 14. United States of America (USA / RtgAvg:2701, Captain: Donaldson John W / TB1: 15 / TB2: 348) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bo. | Name | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts. | Games | Rp | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | 2787 | USA | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 5.5 | 9 | 2732 | 5.5 | 6.02 | -0.52 | 10 | -5.2 | ||
| 2 | GM | Kamsky Gata | 2706 | USA | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 3.5 | 9 | 2490 | 3.5 | 5.97 | -2.47 | 10 | -24.7 | ||
| 3 | GM | Onischuk Alexander | 2659 | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 6.5 | 9 | 2691 | 6.5 | 5.93 | 0.57 | 10 | 5.7 | ||
| 4 | GM | Akobian Varuzhan | 2653 | USA | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.5 | 7 | 2494 | 3.5 | 4.84 | -1.34 | 10 | -13.4 | ||||
| 5 | GM | Shankland Samuel L | 2624 | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 9.0 | 10 | 2831 | 9 | 6.82 | 2.18 | 10 | 21.8 | |
Clearly Sam (I'm quitting, quitting, quitting, do you hear me? QUITTING...) Shankland was the star of the team. What does that tell you, heh?
And then, there are the women. They showed some verve, finishing overall in 8th place, one spot below their starting rank:
Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - Women
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | 2 | Russia | RUS | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 420.5 | 32.0 | 154.00 | |
| 2 | 1 | China | CHN | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 406.0 | 32.5 | 149.00 | |
| 3 | 3 | Ukraine | UKR | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 383.0 | 28.5 | 156.00 | |
| 4 | 4 | Georgia | GEO | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 390.0 | 32.0 | 145.00 | |
| 5 | 10 | Armenia | ARM | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 350.5 | 29.0 | 142.00 | |
| 6 | 17 | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 320.0 | 27.0 | 143.00 | |
| 7 | 8 | Poland | POL | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 362.0 | 26.5 | 152.00 | |
| 8 | 7 | United States of America | USA | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 339.5 | 29.5 | 139.00 | |
| 9 | 12 | Germany | GER | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 304.0 | 26.5 | 143.00 | |
| 10 | 5 | India | IND | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 380.0 | 30.5 | 143.00 | |
| 11 | 6 | Romania | ROU | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 353.5 | 27.5 | 137.00 | |
| 12 | 9 | France | FRA | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 351.5 | 27.5 | 157.00 | |
| 13 | 11 | Spain | ESP | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 346.5 | 28.0 | 145.00 | |
| 14 | 14 | Bulgaria | BUL | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 334.5 | 30.0 | 139.00 | |
| 15 | 16 | Netherlands | NED | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 311.0 | 27.0 | 139.00 |
The Russian women's team was on fire - totally (and rightfully so) pissed off about the political BULLSHIT that went on to try and keep the team out of the Olympiad. Ha! Up yours, FIDE, a collective message from Russia's female chess players, with Love, darlings. Too bad, though, about Lahno jumping federations. That was poorly done, poorly done, Kateryna.
Individual Russian women performances:
| 1. Russia (RUS / RtgAvg:2520, Captain: RUBLEVSKY Sergei / TB1: 20 / TB2: 420.5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bo. | Name | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts. | Games | Rp | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | GM | Lagno Kateryna | 2540 | RUS | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 6.0 | 10 | 2524 | 6 | 6.03 | -0.03 | 10 | -0.3 | |
| 2 | GM | Gunina Valentina | 2524 | RUS | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 8.0 | 10 | 2651 | 8 | 6.44 | 1.56 | 10 | 15.6 | |
| 3 | GM | Kosteniuk Alexandra | 2531 | RUS | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7.5 | 9 | 2639 | 7.5 | 6.32 | 1.18 | 10 | 11.8 | ||
| 4 | WGM | Girya Olga | 2484 | RUS | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 5.0 | 8 | 2385 | 5 | 5.82 | -0.82 | 10 | -8.2 | |||
| 5 | WGM | Pogonina Natalija | 2479 | RUS | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | 7 | 2496 | 5.5 | 5.25 | 0.25 | 10 | 2.5 | ||||
One of my favorite players, Alexandra Kosteniuk (12th Women's World Chess Champion), played well on Board 3. I would love to see her hit 2600 ELO. It won't be easy, but this is one tough competitor. Don't be fooled by her lovely exterior and gentle manner; she's got the heart of a warrior, no question. Valentina Gunina was also outstanding, gaining 15.6 ELO ratings points!
USA Women's Team individual performances:
| 8. United States of America (USA / RtgAvg:2405, Captain: SHULMAN Jury / TB1: 16 / TB2: 339.5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bo. | Name | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts. | Games | Rp | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | GM | Krush Irina | 2474 | USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 5.0 | 10 | 2290 | 5 | 7.15 | -2.15 | 10 | -21.5 | |
| 2 | IM | Zatonskih Anna | 2466 | USA | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.5 | 10 | 2458 | 7.5 | 7.24 | 0.26 | 10 | 2.6 | |
| 3 | WGM | Abrahamyan Tatev | 2366 | USA | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7.5 | 10 | 2384 | 7.5 | 7.03 | 0.47 | 20 | 9.4 | |
| 4 | WGM | Nemcova Katerina | 2315 | USA | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 7 | 2259 | 4.5 | 4.65 | -0.15 | 20 | -3.0 | ||||
| 5 | WGM | Foisor Sabina-Francesca | 2252 | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 7 | 2266 | 5 | 4.52 | 0.48 | 20 | 9.6 | ||||
None of the women had break-out performances, but Tatev Abrahamyan and Sabina-Francesca Foisor performed above their ELO ratings. A respectful nod, too, to Anna Zatonskih, who helped prevent Team USA Woman from sinking further in the standings by her steady play on Board 2. She as the only American player who also finished in the Top 10 for her individual performance on Board 2.
Here's a question: Do the big pay-offs bankrolled by Rex S. for becoming USA chess champions make the winners fat and lazy? Gata Kamsky on the "Open" (a/k/a Men's) Team and Irina Krush on the Women's Team - sucked. 'Nuf said.
Outstanding individual performances by women -- kudos to:
BOARD PRIZES:
| Board 1 | ||||||||||
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Team | Rp | Games | Pts. | % | RtgAvg | ||
| 1 | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | 2550 | Georgia | 2719 | 9 | 8.0 | 88.9 | 2353 | |
| 2 | GM | Hou, Yifan | 2661 | China | 2671 | 9 | 7.0 | 77.8 | 2447 | |
| 3 | GM | Cramling, Pia | 2500 | Sweden | 2659 | 11 | 10.0 | 90.9 | 2233 | |
| Board 2 | ||||||||||
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Team | Rp | Games | Pts. | % | RtgAvg | ||
| 1 | GM | Gunina, Valentina | 2524 | Russia | 2651 | 10 | 8.0 | 80.0 | 2411 | |
| 2 | GM | Khotenashvili, Bela | 2494 | Georgia | 2589 | 10 | 8.0 | 80.0 | 2325 | |
| 3 | WGM | Ju, Wenjun | 2559 | China | 2564 | 11 | 8.0 | 72.7 | 2389 | |
| Board 3 | ||||||||||
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Team | Rp | Games | Pts. | % | RtgAvg | ||
| 1 | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2531 | Russia | 2639 | 9 | 7.5 | 83.3 | 2352 | |
| 2 | IM | Matnadze, Ana | 2385 | Spain | 2445 | 10 | 7.5 | 75.0 | 2252 | |
| 3 | WFM | Frisk, Ellinor | 2257 | Sweden | 2432 | 11 | 9.5 | 86.4 | 2110 | |
| Board 4 | ||||||||||
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Team | Rp | Games | Pts. | % | RtgAvg | ||
| 1 | GM | Zhukova, Natalia | 2468 | Ukraine | 2512 | 10 | 7.5 | 75.0 | 2294 | |
| 2 | WGM | Bartel, Marta | 2359 | Poland | 2439 | 9 | 6.5 | 72.2 | 2273 | |
| 3 | IM | Bulmaga, Irina | 2354 | Romania | 2433 | 10 | 8.0 | 80.0 | 2176 | |
| Board 5 | ||||||||||
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Team | Rp | Games | Pts. | % | RtgAvg | ||
| 1 | WGM | Padmini, Rout | 2318 | India | 2584 | 8 | 7.5 | 93.8 | 2124 | |
| 2 | WGM | Guo, Qi | 2453 | China | 2520 | 8 | 6.5 | 81.3 | 2243 | |
| 3 | WIM | Dauletova, Gulmira | 2252 | Kazakhstan | 2486 | 8 | 7.0 | 87.5 | 2024 | |
BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCES (TOP 10):
The best players sorted according Rp,Pts,games,%,board (Final Ranking after 11 Rounds) - Women
| No. | Name | Rtg | Team | Rp | Pts. | Games | % | Bo. | ||
| 1 | GM | Dzagnidze Nana | 2550 | Georgia | 2719 | 8.0 | 9 | 88.9 | 1 | |
| 2 | GM | Hou Yifan | 2661 | China | 2671 | 7.0 | 9 | 77.8 | 1 | |
| 3 | GM | Cramling Pia | 2500 | Sweden | 2659 | 10.0 | 11 | 90.9 | 1 | |
| 4 | GM | Gunina Valentina | 2524 | Russia | 2651 | 8.0 | 10 | 80.0 | 2 | |
| 5 | GM | Kosteniuk Alexandra | 2531 | Russia | 2639 | 7.5 | 9 | 83.3 | 3 | |
| 6 | IM | Munguntuul Batkhuyag | 2410 | Mongolia | 2638 | 9.0 | 10 | 90.0 | 1 | |
| 7 | GM | Stefanova Antoaneta | 2505 | Bulgaria | 2599 | 8.5 | 10 | 85.0 | 1 | |
| 8 | GM | Khotenashvili Bela | 2494 | Georgia | 2589 | 8.0 | 10 | 80.0 | 2 | |
| 9 | WGM | Padmini Rout | 2318 | India | 2584 | 7.5 | 8 | 93.8 | 5 | |
| 10 | IM | Ziaziulkina Nastassia | 2407 | Belarus | 2580 | 9.0 | 11 | 81.8 | 1 |
I take my hat off to GM Pia Cramling, who continues to show her true grit. Do you know -- she was the second female player EVER, after GM Susan Polgar, to earn her GM title the traditional way (no concessions for being a female player, in other words). She is one of the people I would most like to meet before I croak, let me tell you! I would love to just take a nice long walk with her through a lovely wilderness preserve, and ask her questions, and see where the conversation goes.
WIM, IM, WGM and GM FIDE-Norms (unofficial)
| No. | FideID | Name | Team | FED | After Rd. | Pts. | Games | New Title | |
| 1 | 12512230 | WFM | Asgarizadeh, Minoo | Iran | IRI | 11 | 6.5 | 9 | WIM |
| 2 | 14202182 | WFM | Baymuradova, Sevara | Uzbekistan | UZB | 11 | 6 | 9 | WIM |
| 3 | 1708481 | WFM | Frisk, Ellinor | Sweden | SWE | 11 | 9.5 | 11 | WIM |
| 4 | 5204585 | Fronda, Jan Jodilyn | Philippines | PHI | 10 | 6.5 | 9 | WIM | |
| 5 | 14201437 | WFM | Gevorgyan, Irina | Uzbekistan | UZB | 11 | 6 | 9 | WIM |
| 6 | 1017292 | WIM | Haast, Anne | Netherlands | NED | 11 | 6.5 | 10 | WGM |
| 7 | 8603006 | WGM | Ju, Wenjun | China | CHN | 11 | 8 | 11 | IM |
| 8 | 12512214 | WGM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | Iran | IRI | 11 | 7 | 9 | IM |
| 9 | 14607093 | WFM | Kolaric, Spela | Slovenia | SLO | 10 | 7 | 9 | WIM |
| 10 | 12401013 | Luong, Phuong Hanh | Vietnam | VIE | 11 | 7 | 10 | WIM | |
| 11 | 933988 | WFM | Milovic, Aleksandra | Montenegro | MNE | 11 | 8 | 11 | WIM |
| 12 | 4500512 | WCM | Narva, Mai | Estonia | EST | 11 | 6.5 | 11 | WIM |
| 13 | 1800183 | WFM | Richmond, Jane | Wales | WLS | 10 | 6 | 10 | WIM |
| 14 | 13700090 | WGM | Saduakassova, Dinara | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 11 | 8.5 | 11 | IM |
| 15 | 1308521 | WIM | Seps, Monika | Switzerland | SUI | 11 | 6 | 9 | WGM |
| 16 | 13505300 | FM | Stetsko, Lanita | Belarus | BLR | 10 | 7 | 9 | IM |
| 17 | 931411 | WFM | Stojanovic, Marija R | Montenegro | MNE | 11 | 8 | 10 | WIM |
| 18 | 7101937 | WGM | Sukandar, Irine Kharisma | Indonesia | INA | 10 | 6 | 10 | IM |
| 19 | 4264312 | WFM | Tsolakidou, Stavroula | Greece | GRE | 11 | 5 | 9 | WIM |
| 20 | 14609215 | WFM | Unuk, Laura | Slovenia | SLO | 11 | 7.5 | 10 | WIM |
| 21 | 1122320 | WGM | Zawadzka, Jolanta | Poland | POL | 11 | 6 | 9 | IM |
Boo! None of the female players earned a GM norm.
Kudos to GM Sam Shankland of the "Open" (Men's) Team USA for winning a Gold Medal on Board 5. Will he become a certain someone's next Golden Boy? Maybe. Those results speak for themselves. Will Naka find himself tossed to the gutter? Well, hasn't he always wanted to go back to New York...
Board-prizes (Final Ranking after 11 Rounds) - Open
Important: Minimum 8 games
Board 5 | ||||||||||
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Team | Rp | Games | Pts. | % | RtgAvg | ||
| 1 | GM | Shankland, Samuel L | 2624 | United States of America | 2831 | 10 | 9.0 | 90.0 | 2457 | |
| 2 | GM | Moiseenko, Alexander | 2707 | Ukraine | 2714 | 9 | 7.0 | 77.8 | 2487 | |
| 3 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2714 | Russia | 2650 | 9 | 6.5 | 72.2 | 2469 | |
That's it from Milwaukee, folks. I'm going back to cooking up some Polish-style drumsticks (don't ask) and unpacking yet more boxes from the never-ending move of Maison Newton. Smooches.
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