Round 1 Games from Iceland-USA
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Women's games
Anna Zatonskih's game looked lost for a while, but she found a trick to turn things around.
Position after Qe4, Black to Move
Black played 59...Rb7?? here, after which Anna found 60. Re6! After 60...Qb8 White would have settled for a draw after 61. Rxg6 fxg6 62. Qg6+ Kf8 because Rf4 is bad in view of Qxf4. Instead Black blundered another half point with 60...fxe6? and went down quickly. After 61. Qxg6+ Kf8 no longer works because instead of Rf4? again allowing Qxf4, White can play the winning 62.dxe6!.
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Although all reports of the general conditions of the Olympiad have been very positive, Irina Krush's photo below shows that the playing hall was a bit crowded. Since Irina was sitting out this round, she took a walk around Dresden and sent us the following photos before buckling into opening preparation.
Irina's Photo Gallery
The Dresden playing hall, with captain John Donaldson looking into the camera.
Airplanes create a cross over a Dresden church
The camera imitates a bishop here.
Irina liked the combination of movement and stasis in this photo.
Women's captain GM Gregory Kaidanov knows to keep a chessplayer's distance apart when telling Irina that a nap will only exacerbate jetlag. Photo Mike Klein.
If you haven't read it yet, see FM Mike Klein's in-depth opening report "Let the Games Begin in Dresden" and look for more by Mike in the next couple weeks. GM Ian Rogers and Jonathan Hilton will also offer the Grandmaster and Youth perspectives from Dresden.