Three rounds have been played at the European Team Chess Championship 2017 which takes place in Creta Maris resort, in Hersonissos, Greece.
Already after 3 rounds, Russia emerged as the leader in Open section. A swift victory by Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS, 2733) was sufficient for Russia to defeat Czech Republic and assume the sole leading position as the only team who won all the matches.
The other top matches, Hungary-Netherlands and Croatia-Armenia, were tied without a single decisive game.
Germany ended Italy’s run by beating them 3,5-0,5 and Israel cruised past France 3-1. Poland’s top board Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL, 2737) delivered the crucial point in the match with England by defeating Michael Adams (ENG, 2727). The remaining games were drawn.
Spain is also celebrating the team leader, the young David Anton (ESP, 2651), as he evened the result in the clash against heavy favourites from Azerbaijan.
The top pairings for the fourth round are: Russia-Hungary, Germany-Poland and Israel-Croatia.
All the pairings and results may be found here.
In the Women’s section four teams are tied for the first place, each with all the triumphs and 6 match points. The defending champion Russia took an early lead against Ukraine thanks to Valentina Gunina (RUS, 2502) who took the victory on the third board. The other three games were drawn and Russia celebrated overall victory.
Spain crushed Turkey 3,5-0,5, and Georgia beat Hungary 3-1 by taking full points on the lower boards. Poland also signed 3-1 against Israel, the wins coming from the players directing black pieces.
France outplayed Slovenia 2,5-1,5, while Czech Republic and Belarus held the higher rated Germany and Azerbaijan, respectively. Netherlands took the advantage of the white pieces to defeat Slovakia by 3-1.
Top round 4 pairings are: Spain – Poland, Georgia – Russia, Netherlands – Italy and Greece 1 – Armenia.
All the pairings and results can be found here.
Round 4 is on today’s schedule with start at 15:00 (local time). The live broadcast of all the games, live commentary and live stream from the beautiful playing venue can be followed through the official website or through the ECU website, section LIVE.
