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Netherlands, Poland Victorious at European Championships

The Netherlands scored 15 match points, and were the only team to winish without a match loss, as they took first place at the European Team Championships. The Netherlands finished one point ahead of second-place Israel.

The Dutch team was led by four grandmasters rated above 2600: Loek Van Wely, Ivan Sokolov, Sergei Tiviakov, and the veteran Jan Timman. The Netherlands clinched victory in the final round by defeating Poland 2.5-1.5, with Sokolov providing the only win.

France, which led throughout much of the competition, soundly defeated Serbia and Montenegro in the final round to finish a strong 3rd.

Perhaps the biggest story of the tournament was the disappointing performance by Russia. A string of disappointing results, including a final round 2-2 draw against a much lower rated Swedish team, saw the top-seeded Russians fall to 14th place in the final standings, with a match record of +4 -3 =2.

On the women's side, Poland won six matches while losing none to take first place. Georgia also went undefeated, winning five matches, to finish a clear second, while Russia took third.

Although lacking the big names present on some of the other top seeds, Poland had a balanced approach, bringing four players with ratings over 2400 to every match. The Polish team, led by IM Iweta Radziewich, claimed first by drawing Armenia in the final round. Georgia had a chance to tie Poland in match points, but was unable to defeat Greece, settling instead for a 2-2 draw.

Here is Sokolov's tournament clinching win for Holland from the final round.

White: Sokolov, I (2691)
Black: Socko, B (2615)
European Team Championships, Round 9
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. Nge2 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Nd4 9. Rb1 c5 10. dxc6 bxc6 11. b4 d5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Bg5 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Bb7 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Rc1 Qb6 17. Nc5 Rfe8 18. a4 Nd5 19. Nxb7 Qxb7 20. Qf3 Rab8 21. Be4 Rxe4 22. Qxe4 Nc3 23. Qxb7 Rxb7 24. Rfe1 h6 25. Bd2 Rxb4 26. Re8+ Kh7 27. Re7 Kg8 28. Rxa7 Rxa4 29. Rxa4 Nxa4 30. Rc8+ Kh7 31. Rc6 Nc3 32. f3 Nd5 33. Kf2 Nf6 34. Rd6 h5 35. Ke2 Bh8 36. Rxd4 Ng4 37. Rd7 Ne5 38. Rc7 Bf6 39. Bc3 Kg7 40. Ke3 Nd7 41. Bxf6+ Nxf6 42. Kd4 Ne8 43. Rd7 Nf6 44. Rb7 Ng8 45. Ke5 Nf6 46. g3 Ng8 47. h3 Nf6 48. f4 Ng8 49. f5 g5 50. Rb6 Kh7 51. Rb8 Ne7 52. Ke4 1-0