Epress.am News from Armenia
The “free day” (day off) at the 2010 World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, came just at the right time for the Armenian team who had two difficult games, said chess analyst Khachik Ardzruni, speaking with Epress.am.
“The games with Russia’s second and third teams ended up being quite difficult. It should be noted that the Russian second team’s average rating is higher than Armenia’s team and [they] are a united and well-organized group. It’s interesting, as well, that these two teams lost only when playing against Armenia; they won in all their other games,” said Ardzruni.
He placed importance on the fact that Armenia is the only team among 148 teams in which no chess player has lost in any of the one-on-one games (individual pairings). In all the other teams, at least one Grandmaster has lost a game.
The analyst also noted that the Armenian team’s situation is compounded by the fact that there is no adequate replacement in the team. The team’s back-up player, Avetik Grigoryan, only played in the first round, and it’s possible that he won’t play again, since it’s likely that he doesn’t have experience in these types of chess tournaments.
“That means that it’ll be quite a heavy load for Armenian team veteran Vladimir Akopian, who basically has to play for 11 rounds without a replacement,” said Ardzruni.
On a positive note, Ardzruni noted Arman Pashikian’s presence in the team, who shows a reliable game. In playing against Russia’s second team, Pashikian secured the winning point for the Armenian team.
“During the critical period, Armenian team coach Arshak Petrosyan can place hope on each of the [members of the] first quartet,” he said, adding that much depends on Levon Aronian’s and Gabriel Sargissian’s game, who during the last two Olympiads were the Armenian teams’ head forwards.
As for the Armenian team’s games with Georgia today, the analyst said that when playing against the Armenian team, traditionally Georgia has played poorly.
“Statistics show that the Georgian team has always lost to Armenia’s team, except for one game when a score of 2:2 was recorded,” he said.