PRESS RELEASE: 2002-11-04
HUNGARY BEAT RUSSIA

Number 2 seed Hungary energized the 35th World Chess Olympiad with a sensational victory over Defending Champions and tournament leader Russia.

Facing a daunting Russian line-up with two former World Champions, Gary Kasparov (2838) and Alexander Khalifman (2690), and out rated on every board, the Hungarians produce a dream 2 ½ - 1 ½ result thanks the lowest rated member of their team Grandmaster, Robert Ruck (2572).

Ruck playing the black pieces won the match decider against Grandmaster Peter Svidler, while Peter Leko (2743), Judit Polgar (2685) and Zoltan Almasi restrained Gary Kasparov, Alexander Grischuk and Alexander Khalifman to draws.

Hungary's winning combination of Judit Polgar, Zoltan Almasi and match winner Robert Ruck

With this loss, Russia's lead has been narrowed to a ½ point while Hungary maintains their 2nd position on 25 points. China are currently 3rd on 24 points, having beaten Slovikia 2 ½ -1 ½, and Bosnia & Herzegovina move into 4th with 23 ½ points after beating Georgia 2 ½ - 1 ½.

Top Caribbean team Cuba had a surprise 3-1 loss to Sweden and the Dominican Republic were wiped out 4-0 by Egypt. Jamaica won 2 ½ - 1 ½ against Malta and Trinidad scored 3-1 against Uganda.

Barbados went under 3-1 to Turkey in spite of National Champion FIDE Master Ricardo Szmetan (2282) and FIDE Master Philip Corbin (2255), who is sponsored by Light & Power, drawing their matches on the top 2 boards with FIDE Master Yakup Bayram (2313) and Umut Atakisi (2340) respectively.

International Master Can Arduman (2369) and Suat Soylu (2365) sealed the match for Turkey by winning boards 3 and 4 against FIDE Master Delisle Warner (2232) and Kevin Greenidge (2055), who is sponsored by Central Bank.

The Women's section continues to be a no contest as Former Champions Georgia brushed aside Romania 3-0. The Georgians extend their lead to 3 points with their nearest rivals being Defending Champions China on 19. Russia and the USA share 3rd place with 18 ½ points.

Round 9 for the Bajan Women brought another episode of luck followed by missed opportunity when they drew 1 ½ - 1 ½ against Brunei.

Nathali Greenidge, sponsored by Mutual and its sports club, put the Bajans ahead by outplaying Brunei's top board DK Qalila Pg Mohd Omar. However, prospects looked grim for National Champion Rashida Corbin and Rashaana Blenman, sponsored by Neal & Massey, after both blundered a piece horribly.

Remarkably, Corbin fought back to force a draw and ensure that Barbados could not lose the match. At the same time, Blenman staged a similar come back but missed a key move to win her opponent's queen and eventually lost, allowing Brunei to tie the match.

Jamaica improved on Barbados's 6th round performance against Costa Rica when they held the Costa Ricans to a 1 ½ - 1 ½ draw. The Dominican Republic beat Puerto Rico 2-1 and Cuba suffered an unfortunate 2-1 defeat at the hands of Kazakhstan.

Barbados will face Hong Kong in the men and Yemen in the women for their 10th round match. The fortunes of both teams can be followed live on the internet at the BCF Web Site www.barbados.org/chess or the Olympiad Web site www.35chessolympiad.com.

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