We were delighted to see former Hendon player GM Jakhongir Vakhidov score the decisive win for his team in the Chennai Olympiad today, securing team gold for his country and the individual gold medal on Board 4 with 6½/8 and a 2813 rating performance! Congratulations to him and the Uzbekistan team!
His final round game was covered on Daniel King’s PowerPlayChess YouTube channel, as was his exciting draw with Adhiban Baskaran of India 2.
We were also pleased to see GM Ravi Haria representing England again, scoring 4/7 as the team finished 14th. (He’s not a Hendon player, but I still can’t resist congratulating England’s GM David Howell on his outstanding Board 3 individual gold medal with 7½/8 and a 2898 rating performance!)
The Olympiad is a unique event, which seems to leave a lasting impression on everyone who participates in it. You can tell as much from my interview with Adam Raoof, our Events Director, who captained the England side in the 2000 event in Istanbul.
Congratulations seem to be due to India for putting on a very fine event this year, with plenty of medals of their own to celebrate! It was great to see Ukraine win the women’s event as well.