Russia on top
1 min read
Russia 1 grabbed the lead in the final of the first FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, defeating Poland 1 by a narrow margin of 2½-1½ in the first tie of the final.
Poland 1 did a great job on the top boards with GM Marcin Tazbir making a quick draw with IM Stanislav Babarykin playing with Black, whereas his namesake and teammate FM Marcin Molenda confidently converted his positional advantage into a full point against Marina Kaydanovich.
However, Russia 1 bounced back back with its “tail” as Ilya Smirnov and Denis Palin prevailed over FM Lukasz Nowak and WCM Anna Stolarczyk respectively on boards 3 and 4.
In the first match for third position, Ukraine 3 pulled out a tough victory over Poland 3 (2½-1½) thanks to the wins on boards 2 and 3.
The return matches will be played later today and will decide whether the Russians can prevail or Poland is able to strike back for the gold.
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