Olympiad report: The games have begun in the Olympiad in Calvia, Majorca. The Aussie men's team started with a 4-0 whitewash of Japan in round 1, but then lost 3.5-0.5 against Israel in round 2, before rebounding 3.5-0.5 against Paraguay. Our women's team beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in round 1, but lost 3-0 to Germany in round 2 and then beat Lebanon 2-1 in round 3. The men are in 30th place, while the women are 32nd.

Bibby, S (2229) -- Lane, G (2442)
36th Olympiad (1) Calvia ESP
2004.10.16 0-1 A45

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5!? e6 3.e4!

White achieves a nice centre without raising a sweat

3...h6 4.Bxf6

The two bishops are often outweighed by space and other advantages

4...Qxf6 5.c3 d6 6.Bd3 g6 7.Ne2

Allowing for f4

7...e5 8.O-O Bg7 9.f4 exd4 10.cxd4 Bg4! 11.Bb5+ c6 12.e5 Qe7 13. Bd3 Nd7 14.Nbc3 dxe5 15.dxe5 Nc5 16.Bc2 Rd8 17.Qe1 Nd3! 18.Bxd3 Rxd3 -/+ 19.Qf2?! Rd2 20.Rae1 O-O 21.h3 Bc8 22.Qxa7 Rxb2 23.Ne4 Qb4 24.N2c3

( 24.Nd6!? )

24...Bf5 25.a3 Qc4 26.Qc5 Qxc5+ 27.Nxc5 b6 28.N5e4 Ra8 29.Rb1 Rxb1 30.Rxb1 b5 31.g4 Bxe4 32.Nxe4 Rxa3 33.Rc1 Ra4 34.Nd6 Rxf4 35.Rxc6 b4 36.Rc8+ Kh7 37.e6 fxe6 38.Rc7 Kg8 39.Rb7 Bf8 40.Ne8 e5 41.Kg2 e4 42.Kg3 g5 43.Rb6 Kf7 44.Nc7 Rf6 45.Rb7 Bd6+ 46.Kg2 Bxc7 47.Rxc7+ Ke6 48.Rb7 Kd5 49.Rxb4 e3 50. Rb5+ Ke4 51.Rb8 Kd3 52.Rb3+ Kd2 53.Rb2+ Kc3 54.Ra2 Rf4 55.Ra3+ Kd4 56.Ra4+ Kd5 57.Ra3 e2 58.Ra5+ Kd4 59.Ra4+ Kc5 60.Ra5+ Kd6 61.Ra6+ Ke7 62.Ra7+ Ke6 63.Ra6+ Kd7 64.Ra7+ Ke6 65.Ra6+ Kd5 66.Ra5+ Kc4 67.Ra4+ Kb3 68.Ra1 Re4 69. Kf2 Kc3 70.Ke1 Re6 71.Ra3+ Kd4 72.Rb3 Ke4 73.Ra3 Kd4 74.Rb3 Re3 75.Rb4+ Kd3 76.Ra4 Rf3 77.Ra3+ Ke4 78.Ra4+ Ke3 79.Ra3+ Kf4 80.Ra4+ Kg3 81.Kxe2 Kg2 82.Rb4 Rxh3 83.Rb6 Kg3 84.Kf1 Kxg4 85.Rb4+ Kh5 86.Kg2 Ra3 87.Rc4 g4 88.Rc2 Kh4 89.Kh2 h5 90.Rb2 Rf3 91.Ra2 g3+ 92.Kg2 Kg4 93.Ra4+ Rf4 94.Ra8 Rf2+ 95. Kg1 Rb2 96.Rh8 h4 97.Rc8 Rb1+ 0-1

Solomon, SJ (2435) -- Nanjo, R (2154)
36th Olympiad (1) Calvia ESP
2004.10.16 1-0 A16

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nf3 c6 6.e4 e5 7.O-O d6 8.d3 Na6 9.h3 Re8 10.Rb1 Nc7 11.b4 b5!? 12.a4 Rb8 13.axb5 cxb5 14.Be3 a6 15.Nd2

Heading for a5

15...Be6 16.Nd5 Ncxd5 17.cxd5 Bd7 18.Ra1 Ra8 19.Nb3 +/-

White has a strong grip on the queenside and black has not started counterplay

19...Qe7 20.Qd2 Rec8 21.Ra2 Rc7 22.Rfa1 Bc8 23.Na5! Nd7 24.Nc6 Qf8 25.Rc2

Threatening Ne7+ and Rxc7

25...Kh8 26.Rac1 Nb8?!

In the Nimzovichian style

27.Bb6

Nxc6!?

( 27...Rb7 28.Nd8! Rxb6 29.Rxc8 +- )

28.Bxc7

dxc6 or even Rxc6 looks pretty good too

28...Nd4 29.Bxd6!

( 29.Rc3 Bh6! 30.f4 exf4 31.gxf4 Bxf4!! 32.Qxf4 Ne2+ -+ )

29...Qd8 30.Be7! Qe8 31.Bc5

( 31.Rc3 Bxh3 32.Bc5 Bxg2 33.Kxg2 Qd7 34.Bxd4 exd4 35.Rc7 seems good enough too )

31...Nxc2 32.Rxc2 Bd7 33.Kh2 Qd8 34.Ra2 Kg8 35.h4 Qc8 36.Rc2 Qb7 37.d4 Rc8 ?! 38.dxe5 Bxe5 39.f4! Bc7 40.e5 +- Bb6 41.d6 Bc6 42.Bxb6 Qxb6 43.Bxc6 Rxc6 44.Rxc6 Qxc6 45.d7 1-0

Shiomi, R (2072) -- Zhao Zong Yuan (2410)
36th Olympiad (1) Calvia ESP
2004.10.16 0-1 B20

1.e4 e6 2.d3 c5 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.Nd2 Bg7 6.Ngf3 Nge7 7.O-O O-O 8. c3 d6 9.Nb3 e5 10.d4 b6

( 10...c4?! 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Bxd4 14.Nxc4 Bc5 15.Bf4 +/- )

11.dxc5 bxc5 12.Qe2 a5 13.Rd1 Ba6 14.Qc2 Qc7 15.Nbd2 h6 16.Nf1 f5 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Ne3 e4 19.Ne1 Rad8 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.Rxd5 Ne7 22.Rd1 d5 -/+ 23.Rb1 Ng6 24.b4 f4! 25.b5 Bb7 26.c4 d4! 27.Bxe4 fxg3 28.hxg3 d3! 29.Bxd3 Bd4! 30.Bf5 Qxg3+ 31.Kf1 Bxf2! 32.Be6+ Kh7 33.Rb3 Be3+ 34.Bf5 Qg1+ 0-1

Smerdon, D (2425) -- Kato, T (2045)
36th Olympiad (1) Calvia ESP
2004.10.16 1-0 C10

1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.d4 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bd3 c5 9.Qe2 cxd4 10.O-O-O Bd7 11.Ne5 O-O 12.h4 Bc6 13.Rh3! Qa5

( 13...Bxg2 14.Rg3 Bd5 15.Bh6 Ne8 16.Bxg7! Nxg7 17.Rdg1 Bf6 18.Qh5 +- )

14.Kb1 Rad8 15.Rg3 Rd5 16.Bh6!? g6

( 16...Rxe5 17.Bxg7!! Rxe2 18.Bxf6+ +- )

17.Bxg6!! fxg6

( 17...Rxe5 18.Qd3 hxg6 19.Rxg6+ Kh8 20.Bg7+ )

18.Nxg6 Kf7!

( 18...hxg6 19.Qxe6+ Rf7 20.Rxg6+ Kh8 21.Qxf7 +- )

19.Nxe7 Kxe7 20.Bxf8+ Kxf8 21.Qxe6 Qd8 22.Rdd3 Qe7 23.Qxe7+ Kxe7 24.Rg5!

White has the better ending

24...Rd6 25.f3 a6 26.Re5+ Kd7 27.g4 Bb5 28.Rd2 Bc6 29.Rf5 h5 30.g5 Ne8 31.f4 Ke6 32.Re5+ Kf7 33.f5 Nc7 34.Kc1 Rd7 35.Rf2 d3 36.cxd3 Rxd3 37. f6 Rd7 38.g6+! Kf8

( 38...Kxg6 39.f7! Rxf7 40.Rg5+ +- )

39.Rxh5 1-0

Round 2 - against the powerful Israeli side - was much tougher, but top board GM Ian Rogers kept the Aussie flag flying with an exciting draw against Sutovsky - rated almost 2700 (note that the game score is apparently incorrect or incomplete). Our middle boards were despatched efficiently, but IM David Smerdon was unlucky to lose his game.

Sutovsky, E (2697) -- Rogers, I (2593)
36th Olympiad (2) Calvia ESP
2004.10.17 1/2-1/2 B12

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.a3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 Nd7 8. Nge2 Nb6 9.Bb3 Ned5 10.Ng3 Bg6 11.h4 h6 12.h5 Bh7 13.Nce4 f6!?

A double-edged move that weakens the kingside, but prepares counterplay; in other words, typical Rogers

14.exf6 gxf6 15.Qe2 Qe7 16.Bd2 O-O-O 17.a4 Nd7 18.a5 a6 19.O-O e5 20.dxe5 Qxe5 21.Rfe1 f5!? 22.Bxd5 Qxd5 23.Bc3!? Rg8 24.Nf6 Nxf6 25.Bxf6

f4 !?

Black begins a daring attack, but the truth is that there are no good moves for the Rd8

26.Bxd8 fxg3 27.Bb6 gxf2+ 28.Qxf2 Bb4 29.Re2 Be4 30.Rae1

This is where the score ends - we'll bring you the corrected game later

1/2-1/2

Johansen, D (2483) -- Avrukh, B (2614)
36th Olympiad (2) Calvia ESP
2004.10.17 0-1 A22

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 O-O 5.e4 Bxc3 6.dxc3 Na6 7.Ne2 Nc5 8.Qc2 d6 9.O-O a5 10.h3 Be6 11.b3 Nfd7 12.f4 a4!? 13.Be3

( 13.f5? axb3! )

13...axb3 14.axb3 Rxa1 15.Rxa1 f5 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.exf5 Bxf5 18.Qd1 c6 19. b4 Nd3 20.Qd2 Bg6 21.c5 Nf6 22.Bg5 h6 23.Bh4 Qd7 24.Bxf6 Rxf6 25.Qe3 Qf7 26.Rd1 Qb3! 27.Qd2

( 27.Rxd3? Qb1+ 28.Nc1 Bxd3 -+ )

27...Rf2 28.Rf1 Rxf1+ 29.Bxf1 Qb1 30.g4 Bf7 31.g5 h5 32.h4 Bg6 33.Ng3 e4 34.Ne2 Bf5 35.Ng3 Bg6 36.Ne2 Ne5 37.Nd4 Bf7 38.Kg2 Bd5 39.Qe3 Ng4 40.Qf4 e3+ 41.Kg1 Qe1 42.Qb8+ Kh7 43.g6+ Kxg6 44.Qe8+ Kh7 45.Qxh5+ Nh6 46.Qe2 Qg3+ 47.Bg2 Ng4 48.Nf3 Qf2+! 49.Qxf2 exf2+ 50.Kf1

( 50.Kf1 Bc4# )

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Huzman, A (2581) -- Zhao Zong Yuan (2410)
36th Olympiad (2) Calvia ESP
2004.10.17 1-0 D13

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 a6 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Bf4 Nc6 7.Rc1 Bf5 8.Ne5 Rc8 9.e3 Nxe5!? 10.dxe5 Ne4 11.Nxe4

Why not ...dxe4?

11...Rxc1 12.Qxc1 Bxe4

( 12...dxe4 13.Bc4 Qa5+ 14.Ke2 e6 15.Rd1 Be7 16.Bxa6!? bxa6 17.Qc6+ Kf8 18.Qc8+ Bd8 19.Rxd8+ Ke7 20.Qd7# is one line to illustrate the dangers black faces in this seemingly innocuous line ... as they say, it's the quiet ones you have to watch :) )

13.e6!

An excellent pawn sac to severely disrupt black's development

13...Qa5+ 14.Ke2 fxe6

( 14...Qb5+ 15.Kd1! Qa4+ 16.b3 Qc6 17.Qxc6+ bxc6 18.Bxa6 is very good for white )

15.f3 Bg6 16.Be5

Black can't develop

16...Kd8

If ...Kf7 black is vulnerable to h2-h4-h5

17.Kf2 Rg8 18.Be2 Be8 19.b4! Qb6 20.Qc3 Qc6?! 21.Qb2 g6 22.Rc1 Qb6 23.Bc7+ Qxc7 24.Rxc7 Kxc7 25.Qe5+ Kd7 26.Qb8 1-0

Smerdon, D (2425) -- Roiz, M (2560)
36th Olympiad (2) Calvia ESP
2004.10.17 0-1 B22

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Be2 cxd4 7.cxd4 Nc6 8.Nc3 Qd6 9.O-O Be7 10.Nb5 Qd8 11.Bf4 Nd5 12.Bg3 O-O 13.Bc4 a6 14.Bxd5 exd5 15.Nc7 Rb8 16.Ne5!? Nxe5

( 16...Qxc7? 17.Nxc6 Qxc6 18.Bxb8 )

17.Bxe5 f6 18.Bg3 Bd6 19.Rc1 Bxg3 20.hxg3 Bf5 21.Qb3 Rf7 22.Rc5!

b6

( 22...Rxc7 23.Rxd5! regains the piece )

23.Rxd5 Qxc7 24.Rxf5 Rd8 25.Rd5 Rc8 26.Re1 g6 27.Re3?! Qc1+ 28.Kh2 Kg7 29. Qxb6 Qf1! 30.Rc3

( 30.Rf3? Rc1 31.g4 Qh1+ 32.Kg3 g5 33.Rff5 Qh4+ 34.Kf3 )

30...Rxc3 31.bxc3 Qxf2 32.Qxa6 Qe3 33.Qc8 f5 34.Re5 Qh6+ 35.Kg1 Qc1+ 36. Kf2 f4 37.g4 Qh1! 38.Qc6 Qh4+ 39.Ke2 Qxg4+ 40.Qf3 Qc8 41.d5 Qb8 42.Re4 Qb2+ 43.Kf1 Qxa2 44.Rd4 Qa6+ 45.Kg1 Qd6 46.c4 g5 47.Qc3 Qc5 48.Kh1 Rf6 49. d6? Rh6+ 50.Kg1 Rxd6!

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