Today was the first day I did not get along to the playing hall, as I was tied up in meetings all day. Unfortunately for me it looks like I picked a bad day to be away, as going by the results there were a number of good matches.
The top group of the Olympiad is now down to 3 teams. Azerbaijan beat yesterdays heroes France 2.5-1.5, with the decisive game coming on the top board. Serbia also kept a perfect match score with a win over Czech Republic by a similar margin, and the third team in the group, Bulgaria beat Romania.
Just behind this group is a mass of teams on 7 points. Among these teams are Russia and China (2-2 today), Netherlands and Israel (also 2-2), and England, who beat Latvia 3-1.
The Australian team recovered from yesterdays game with a narrow win over the ICCD team. David Smerdon lost to GM Yehuda Gruenfeld, but wins by Illingworth and Smirnov (now 3/3), moved them up to 5 points on the table. The Women's team also bounced back scoring a 4-0 win over Jamaica. This leaves them placed above their seeding, although the have a challenge against Latvia in round 5.
The headline match today is the Norway v Armenia pairing, as worlds no 1 (Carlsen) and 2 (Aronian) square off. It should kick off 10pm Canberra time, and I suspect the spectators area will be packed.
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