Round 2: The Yo-yo

There is a curious chess phenomenon in tournaments with lots of players – or, in this case, teams.  There may be so many teams that in round one, you are paired against a very weak team.  After your victory, however, there are still so many teams on one match win that you have to play a very strong team.  Following the expected loss, you find yourself once again playing a very weak team, and so the cycle continues.  This is the yo-yo.

Unfortunately, after Australia’s 8-0 overall whitewash, we went down by a similar thrashing today, losing 4-0 in the women’s and 3.5-0.5 in the men’s against very fancied opposition.  Of the eight games, Arianne and Giang probably had the best winning chances, and Solo’s endgame also looked very promising against a Grandmaster 200 points above him.

Zong had a crowd around his board for almost all the game, hardly surprising seeing as he was playing Lev Aronian, the world’s number four player.  Aronian (who is also Arianne’s boyfriend!) is naturally on very friendly terms with the Australian team, and joined us for dinner this evening – but showed no such pleasantries in his game against my roommate.  Unfortunately, Zong didn’t play his best, but on the other hand, if you assume everyone will play one bad game a tournament, maybe it’s better to do it against someone with a rating above 2780….

This was actually the first time Australia had ever played Armenia (the winners of the Olympiad for the last two championships), which was a little special.  In my case, it was a chance to get revenge against Vladmir Akopian, who cost me a grandmaster norm back in 2006 when he beat me in Gibraltar.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to cget full revenge, but salvaging our country’s only half point for the round at least restored a little dignity!

Tomorrow, the men’s team plays Puerto Rico, who is seeded reasonably low – the yo-yo continues.  Still, no team is to be underestimated in this competition, when pride and national honour comes on the line.  The women’s draw wasn’t out last I checked, but for certain we will see Vaness getting her first Olympiad game tomorrow, which is quite exciting. 

Despite the team losses, one mystery was solved today, which is something.  After the heat of south-east Asia, I really couldn’t stand the soaring temperatures and humidity in Dubai and so shaved it all off (yes, all!).  According to Biljana, “it looks really terrible.”  But some of my teammates wondered whether rubbing my newly shaved head would bring them luck in their games, ala Buddha.  Given the results, we can safely assume that my scalp is not lucky, hairless or not.

Meanwhile, the weather here has taken a turn for the worse, with a windy chill and rainy days.  I’m predicting snow by the end of the tournament, but for now, my teammates  and I are definitely feeling the chill.

In my case, at least up top…