Friday 12 August 2022

2022 Chess Olympiad - Day 11 (Part 2)

 The New Zealand team finished on 10 points ( 5 wins and 6 losses) which was probably a disappointment for them. However there we some good individual performances, with Daniel Gong scoring 6.5/9 in Board 1, and missing an IM norm by half a point. The New Zealand Women's team exceeded expectations, finishing on 11 points, with not player scoring below 50%. Board 2 player WFM Vyanla Punsalan scored 8/10 to help to team finish with an impressive 27 game points.

The battle between the smaller Oceania nations saw Guam, PNG and Palau all finish on 8 match points. Guam had the better tie break so claims the unofficial 'Islands' championship. The PNG team finished strongly after a slow start and had a chance for a category medal going into the final round. Points were evenly distributed across the team, although the 4/10 by Jeremiah Age on Olympiad (and indeed competitive chess) debut was a highlight. 

Fiji finished on 7 points, with Rudr Prasad the standout player with 6/9. Palau score 6 points, but Tito Cabunagan also scored 6/9, which is enough to earn a conditional FM title (a 2100 rating is now required as well). 

In the Women's section Fiji and Guam finished on 9 points, while Palau were close behind on 8. (Narau and PNG did not field Women teams).

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