The fourth round of the FIDE Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities saw an upset of an impressive campaign of Poland 1 and a fourth victory, in a row by the player who is, arguably, the most underrated competitor of the event, K. Marimuthu of India 4. Until yesterday’s battles, Poland 1 was merciless dominating Bangladesh, Chile, and Ukraine 2 in the first three rounds, respectively.
However, an emergent chess superpower, India, proved that their top team could not be so easily brushed aside. Poland’s leader, GM Marcin Tazbir (2513), sat out the round while FM Marcin Molenda (2349) and FM Lukasz Nowak (2265) managed to score full points on Boards 1 and 2. However, the bottom two Polish boards fell to defeat, ending the team’s momentum and begging the question if it may have been a tactical error to bench the grandmaster.
Russia 1 and Germany did not miss a chance to edge ahead by steamrolling Croatia (4-0) and Ukraine (3½-½) respectively. FM Stanislav Babarykin (pictured below) and IM Andrei Obodchuk, first and second boards of the Russian squad, both scored 4 out of 4 so far. Russia 1 and Germany won all four matches and will face off in Round 5.
At their other end of the tournament’s spectrum, there were two upsets worthy of note. India 4’s gallant crusade against the pack has stalled – but their top board continues to exceed expectations. K. Marimuthu (1588) defeated Spanish expert, Albert Olivera Gutierrez (2097), adding another notch to the list of victories against players rated 400+ higher. Similarly stunning was the 14-move bludgeoning which Saltik Suleyman (1639) put on Pedro Basualto Penalieres (2025), in the match between Turkey 1 and Chile. Tomorrow, the Turk will have an opportunity to build upon today’s victorious Nimzo-Larsen in a match against Junior World Vice-Champion of the Disabled, Griffin McConnell of the USA.
Griffin McConnell (pictured below), the “Colorado Kid,” has proven himself to be the de-facto leader of Team USA and an upset-machine at this year’s Online Olympiad. In the first round, the Junior World Vice-Champion handily defeated Russia 2’s International Master Alexey Pakhomov (2315) in what was, arguably, the biggest win of his career, to date. McConnell followed these successes with victories against an Expert and Class A player, respectively, in rounds 3 and 4, falling only in round 2 to Arena Grandmaster Henry Lopez, of Philippines 1. Team USA may have had a spectacularly-awful second round, getting blown out against the Philippines…but, today’s upset win over heavy-favorite North Macedonia, with 3.5/4, puts the Americans back in a position of much-needed momentum.
Photo: Dora L. Martinez
Russia 3 is led by McConnell’s arch-rival, Junior World Champion of the Disabled, FIDE Master Ilya Lipilin (2189). Lipilin plays on the second board but it should not obscure the fact that the Russian lad is one of the strongest competitors in the event. In round 4, Lipilin took down seasoned FIDE Master, Carlos Larduet Despaigne (2293). This win is his most significant in the event so far as it helped Russia 3 to upset Cuba and cemented its position in the top-10 of current standings.
Standings after Round 4:
1. Russia 1 – 8
2. Germany – 8
3. Poland 1 – 7
4. Poland 2 – 7
5. India 1 – 7
6. Israel – 6
7. Philippines 1 – 6
8. Russia 3 – 6
9. Vietnam – 6
10. Poland 3 – 6
11. Hungary – 6
12. Ukraine 3 – 6
13. Ukraine 1 – 6
14. Croatia – 6
15. India 3 – 5
Text: Arena International Master Sean J. Manross & Bear the Chess Husky
Official website: dis.fide.com
