China, Russia won Chess Olympiad
China won the men’s title and Russia the women’s title in the Chess Olympiad which ended in Tromsø on Thursday.
The young Chinese team – with an average age of 21, won the 41st Chess Olympiad. They became the only undefeated team among 176 participating countries, winning eight matches and tying three, scoring 19 points. Hungary won the silver medals on a tiebreak over India, both scoring 17 points.
Russia won the tournament for women’s teams with 20 match points. China won the silver, edging Ukraine on a tiebreak after both scored 18 points. 136 countries participated with women’s teams.
The Russian Chess Federation last week lost a court case against the organizers of the Tromsø Olympiad, where they claimed that the organizers should compensate for additional costs linked with the team’s failure to meet the registration deadline.
The last day of the Olympiad was overshadowed by the deaths of two of the players. A Seychelles player collapsed in the playing hall, while a player from Uzbekistan was found dead in his hotel room, the organizers’ web site reads.
