Dresden chess olympiad, Round 8

My frustration with the official website grows by the day. Right now, it's downright impossible to access the homepage or any of the live games from where I am. Regardless of whether it's from my house or my office, the information just trickles in literally bit by bit and then ... stops. So all that I'm left with is frustration and reduced to collecting the results from Chess Results in the morning. Better than nothing but not good enough.

Anyway, Malaysia came a cropper again and this time it was at the hands of IPCA, the International Physically Disabled Chess Association, and not one of the better teams. But I told you that it would be close, didn't I? Our team do not seem to be totally focussed any more. Individually, Mas Hafizul is still mentally okay but obviously, the exertions of playing non-stop have taken a toll on Lim Yee Weng as he lost his second game in a row. There wasn't enough resistance in him to get his draw. Jimmy Liew came back from his rest and this time, it netted him a win. As for Edward Lee, it has been downhill ever since his successful debut in the second round.

These are the results on the top 10 boards. Barring any upset in the next three rounds, Armenia is well set to retain their chess Olympiad crown. China and Vietnam played to a draw in their match. India had moved out of the top 10 tables for this round but will they bounce back with only a draw with Slovenia? New Zealand's appearance among this exalted company will be brief. They will drop back, just like Australia yesterday.

France ½-3½ Armenia
Israel 2½-1½ Germany One
USA 1½-2½ Russia
China 2-2 Vietnam
Ukraine 4-0 New Zealand
Azerbaijan 2½-1½ Croatia
Bulgaria 2-2 Belarus
England 2½-1½ Georgia
Slovakia 3-1 Greece
Turkey 1½-2½ Poland

Here are the results of the other Asian teams:

Slovenia 2-2 India
Netherlands 3½-½ Philippines
Spain 3-1 Bangladesh
Sweden 2½-1½ Uzbekistan
Estonia 1½-2½ Kazakhstan
Bosnia & Herzegovina 2½-1½ Australia
Montenegro 2½-1½ Qatar
Moldova 2½-1½ Turkmenistan
Indonesia 4-0 Mongolia
Iceland 1½-2½ UAE
Iran 4-0 Uruguay
Pakistan 3½-½ Jordan
Palestine 1½-2½ Tajikistan
Iraq 0-4 Germany Three
Singapore 1-3 Kyrgyzstan
Nicaragua 2-2 Japan
Monaco 2-2 Afghanistan
Wales 1½-2½ Lebanon
Botswana 4-0 Fiji
Mauritius ½3-½ Sri Lanka
Jamaica 4-0 Macau
Zambia ½-3½ Hongkong
Thailand 3-1 Nepal
South Korea 1½-2½ Honduras
Yemen 4-0 Ghana
Malta 4-0 Chinese Taipei
Bermuda 1½-2½ Papua New Guinea
Malaysia 1½-2½ IPCA

Our representatives in Dresden, Round Eight: (left to right) Mas Hafizulhelmi, Lim Yee Weng, Jimmy Liew and Edward Lee

At Table 72, the Malaysians faced the IPCA players and this is how the games scored:

IM Mas Hafizulhelmi 2439 - IM Obodchuk Andrei 2434 1/2
FM Lim Yee-Weng 2396 - IM Mikheev Stanislav 2329 0-1
IM Liew Chee-Meng-Jimmy 2306 - IM Yarmonov Igor 2322 1-0
Edward Lee Kim Han - IM Bondarets Vadim 2345 0-1

In the ninth round, the Malaysian team will be seated at Table 54 where they'll meet Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is a small land-locked country in the middle of the European Alps with Vaduz as its capital. I may be wrong but I do believe we've never met them in any earlier chess Olympiad. There'll always be a first time. They are not a chess-mad country and none of their players are above 2200. On paper, this match should be a stroll for our team, provided they don't muck it up! It could just be the right tonic for a pick-me-up after the last three rounds. Can we see a resurgence for the Malaysian team in the last quarter of the chess Olympiad? Good luck to the boys!

ADDENDUM: For this post, I'm also producing here the standings after the eighth round. The Malaysian team's position is not to be envied, but more about this later:

15 points: Armenia
14 points: Israel
13 points: Russia, Ukraine
12 points: Azerbaijan, Germany One, China, Vietnam, France, Slovakia, England, Poland, Serbia
11 points: Netherlands, Hungary, Bulgaria, India, Norway, Spain, Belarus, Sweden, Slovenia, USA, Cuba, Kazakhstan
10 points: Georgia, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Indonesia, Australia, Colombia, Lithuania, Switzerland, Moldova, Egypt, Montenegro, Denmark, UAE, Macedonia, New Zealand
9 points: Estonia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Germany Three, Czech Republic, Canada, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Italy, Latvia, Germany Two, Scotland, Brazil, Philippines, Paraguay, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Argentina
8 points: Finland, Iceland, Turkmenistan, South Africa, Costa Rica, Qatar, Portugal, Ireland, Mongolia, Syria, Ecuador, Venezuela, Faroe Islands, Austria, Dominican Republic, IPCA, Lebanon
7 points: Belgium, Japan, Singapore, Palestine, Bolivia, Algeria, Jordan, Libya, Botswana, Nigeria, Guatemala, Iraq, Monaco, Mexico, Tunisia, Jamaica, Afghanistan, Panama, Luxembourg, IBCA, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Albania, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Thailand, Hongkong, Honduras, Nicaragua
6 points: Wales, Malaysia, Netherlands Antilles, Andorra, Trinidad & Tobago, Mozambique, Barbadoes, San Marino, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Malta, Liechtenstein, Kenya
5 points: Zambia, Nepal, South Korea, ICSC, Jersey, Angola, Mauritius, Guernsey, Macau, Papua New Guinea, Fiji
4 points: Uganda, Namibia, Aruba, Gabon, Surinam, British Virgin Islands, Ghana, Chinese Taipei
3 points: Rwanda, Madagascar, Bermuda
2 points: Seychelles, US Virgin Islands