Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Incredible and successful event, Chess Olympiad came to an end in Tromso, Norway. The tournament held on August 1-14 was an important event in the history of Chess.

Some 177 teams in the Open and 136 team in women's tournament, including IPCA World Individual Chess Championship and IBCA International Braille Chess Association took part at the Olympiad.

Azerbaijan's men's team included Shakhriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Radjabov, Eltadj Safarli, Gadir Huseynov and Rauf Mammadov. The captain of the team was Alexander Khalifman.

Azerbaijan's women's team comprised of Zeynab Mammadyarova, Turkan Mammadyarova, Gulnar Mammadova, Khayala Abdulla and Sabina Ibrahimova. The team's captain was Fikret Sideifzada.

The Chinese men secured their predicted gold, with Hungary finishing as the second and India as the third winners.

The heavy-hitting Russian and Azerbaijani men's team finished World Chess Olympiad, as 4th and 5th winners respectively, leaving Norway empty-handed.

To the bitter end, Azerbaijan's team fought for the medals of the tournament. In the final round, signs of accumulating fatigue and shaky nerves could be seen. Azerbaijani men's team confronted with the USA.

There was a log-jam on 17 points, with four teams left competing hardly. The first team that gained the 17-point was Azerbaijan, which edged out the USA thanks to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's first board win over Hikaru Nakamura, whereas other games of Teymur Radjabov-Gata Kamskiy, Rauf Mammadov-Alexandr Onishuk and Eltadj Safarli-Samuel Shankland ended in a draw.

Azerbaijani chess player Shahriyar Mammadyarov took the fourth place, gaining 7 points during ten games on the first board among the members of the Olympic Games. Eltaj Safarli became the fifth on the third board (5.5 points in eight games).

Azerbaijani woman's team confronted the team of Poland.

Russian team claimed gold, winning 20 points. China's women's team became the second and next came Ukraine with 18 points. Azerbaijan's team took the twenty third place, getting 14 points.

Azerbaijan's women's team did its best. Gulnar Mammadova acted powerfully on the second board, taking 7.5 points, half a point less gained Turkan Mammadova. Her older sister Zaynab finished the tournament with 5.5 points, one point less than Khayal Abdullah.

In a nutshell, this was an absolute progress for Azerbaijan's teams in the championship, as this is the best result Azerbaijan ever showed in the Olympiads.

The 41st World Chess Olympiad-2016 will be held in Baku. In 2018 Baku will pass the Olympic baton to Batumi.