To round off my coverage of the chess Olympiad in Tromsø, which saw a total of 313 teams in the open and women’s sections, thus making it the greatest chess gathering on earth, here are a number of notable and brilliant conclusions from the approximately 6,000 games played in this mega competition.
Michael Adams was the star of the English team, scoring a highly impressive 6½/9 on top board against powerful opposition. This result gave him the silver medal for his performance, behind only Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. The following win demonstrates the dangers of defending passively in an inferior endgame.
Adams-Ivanisevic: Tromsø Olympiad 2014
43 Kc3 Rg6 44 Kb4 Kd6 45 Ka5 Bb5 46 Bxc4 Bxc4 47 Rxc4 Kc7 Black is becoming too passive. The active plan 47 … Rg1 48 Rd3+ Kc7 49 Rdc3 e4 offered every chance of a successful defence. 48 b4 Rd1 49 b5 Rd5 50 a4 Kd7 51 Rec3 cxb5 52 axb5 White has made great progress on the queenside while Black has failed to generate any counterplay at all.
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