Russia won another team gold medal in the Women’s section with a round to spare after crushing Turkey with a maximum result 4-0.
At the same time, the nearest follower Georgia stumbled in the match against Poland. Wins by Jolanta Zawadzka (POL, 2422) and Karina Szczepkowska (POL, 2406) secured overall 3-1 for the Polish ladies.
Italy and Romania exchanged a pair of victories to finally draw the match and the same scenario was seen in the match Serbia – Netherlands.
Ukraine scored an all-important win 2,5-1,5 versus Spain. Zhukova Natalia (UKR, 2426) and Gaponenko Inna (UKR, 2433) won for Ukraine, while Matnadze Ana (ESP, 2368) earned a point for Spain, all three with black pieces.
In similar fashion Armenia won against Czech Republic, same score and points with black pieces by Danielian Elina (ARM, 2415) and Galojan Lilit (ARM, 2291). Azerbaijan surged ahead with a sound 3-1 victory over France.
It will be an exciting fight for silver and bronze medals as Georgia and Poland share the second place with 12 points each, while Ukraine and Armenia are half a point behind.
Top round 9 pairings are: Armenia – Russia, Georgia – Italy, Romania – Poland and Turkey – Ukraine.
In the Open section Azerbaijan signed a huge 3-1 victory against Russia to jump ahead of the opponent and grab the top position. Matlakov Maxim (RUS, 2730) was the only one who scored for Russia, while the others signed defeat.
Ukraine caught up with Russia on the shared second place after winning against Hungary 2,5-1,5. The decisive point was delivered by Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR 2677).
Germany beat Israel 3-1 thanks to the wins of Meier George (GER, 2655) and Svane Rasmus (GER, 2595) with white pieces, while Turkey edged Netherlands with Emre Can’s (TUR, 2604) effort on the third board.
On the next three tables Croatia, Romania and England narrowly defeated France, Serbia and Greece 1, respectively.
Armenia and Poland split the points, while Spain crushed Georgia 3,5-0,5. The same victory was scored by Belarus in the clash with Austria.
Top round 9 matches are: Azerbaijan – Ukraine, Germany – Russia, Turkey – Croatia and England – Hungary.
The last round, which will be decisive for the top, especially in Open section, will be played today at 14:00 (local time). The live transmission of the games can be followed through the official website of the Championship or through the ECU website, section LIVE.
