World Team Chess Championship (Jan. 5-14 Bursa, Turkey)
Jan. 5-14 in Bursa, Turkey
The U.S Team is scheduled to play against Turkey at the World Team Chess Championship which starts today in Bursa, the old capitol of Turkey.
“The tournament system is 9-rounds all-play-all. Time control for the event is 90 min/40 moves +30 min/end, with 30 seconds additional time per move, starting from move one. This event was organized by the Government of Turkey and the Turkish Chess Federation (TCF) with the patronage of the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.”
The top three teams from the 2008 Chess Olympiad are:
- Armenia
- Israel
- …and USA!
Federations qualified to participate in the Championship are Continental Champions:
- Russia
- Brazil
- India (replacing China who withdrew their team)
- …and Egypt
The two teams invited by the FIDE President’s approval are:
- Azerbaijan
- …and Greece.
And Turkey, who as the host country, automatically qualifies to participate.
Each team has one captain and six players (4 plus 2 reserves). The organizer of this event is providing all teams with full hospitality, which includes lodging, and transportation from the Istanbul airport.
The World Teams:
For the United States of America…
- Hikaru Nakamura 2715
- Alexander Onischuk 2672
- Yuri Shulman 2623
- Varuzhan Akobian 2624
- Robert L. Hess 2572
- Ray Robson 2567
Armenia:
- Levon Aronian 2786
- Vladimir Akopian 2700
- Gabriel Sargissian 2676
- Arman Pashikian 2656
- Tigran Petrosian 2615
- Tigran Kotanjian 2542
Israel:
- Boris Gelfand 2758
- Michael Roiz 2659
- Ilia Smirin 2662
- Emil Sutovsky 2666
- Evgeny Postny 2650
- Maxim Rodhstein 2650
Russia:
- Alexander Morozevich 2750
- Alexander Grischuk 2736
- Vladimir Malakhov 2706
- Dmitry Jakovenko 2736
- Evgeny Tomashevsky 2708
- Nikita Vityugov 2694
Brazil:
- Giovanni Vescovi 2648
- Rafael Leitao 2621
- Alexandr Fier 2653
- Gilberto Milos 2603
- Andre Diamant 2493
- Darcy Lima 2504
Egypt:
- Ahmed Adly 2583
- Bassem Amin 2553
- Mohamed Ezat 2472
- Khaled Abdel Razik 2469
- Imed Abdelnabbi 2447
- Walaa Sarwat 2405
Azerbaijan:
- Vugar Gashimov 2758
- Teimour Radjabov 2748
- Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2719
- Rauf Mamedov 2634
- Gadir Guseinov 2625
- Nidjat Mamedov 2617
Greece:
- Vassilios Kotronias 2599
- Ioannis Papaioannou 2628
- Hristos Banikas 2615
- Stelios Halkias 2573
- Dimitrios Mastrovasilis 2569
- Athanasios Mastrovasilis 2513
Turkey:
- Kivanc Haznedaroglu 2497
- Mert Erdogdu 2489
- Mustafa Yilmaz 2468
- Emre Can 2449
- Baris Esen 2493
- Burak Firat 2392
India:
- Sasikiran Krishnan 2653
- Harikrishna P 2672
- Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2654
- Geetha Narayanan Gopal 2584
- Arun Prasad S 2567
- Adhiban B 2511
Stay tuned for more on this event!!