The 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, ended in a narrow victory for the USA. Having tied with Ukraine, the American team qualified for the gold medals by virtue of a superior tie-break.
The critical factor in the American success, their first gold medals in the Olympiad since 1976, was the acquisition for the team of two superstars, namely Fabiano Caruana, formerly of Italy, and Wesley So, who had represented the Philippines.
So, in particular, distinguished himself by winning a second gold medal for best performance on board three.
The top five teams were:
1.USA
2.Ukraine
3.Russia
4.India
5.Norway
(England finished a respectable ninth.)
In the parallel Women’s Olympiad the top five teams were:
1.China
2.Poland
3.Ukraine
4.Russia
5.India
(England finished a disappointing 59th.)
So-Lesiege; Baku Olympiad 2016;
Caro-Kann Defence
1 c4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 g6 4 e3 Nf6 5 d4 cxd4 6 exd4 d5 7 Bg5 A popular alternative is 7 cxd5 Nxd5 8 Qb3 Nxc3 9 Bc4 Nd5 10 Bxd5 e6 although this does not promise White more than equality.
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