In a nail-biting finish against Armenia, Ukrainian chess prodigies secured an historic victory at the European Team Championships. France placed second, taking home the silver, and Poland took third. Amid the spirited competition, Alireza Firouzja became the youngest player in history to cross the 2800 rating mark.
Ukraine earned an undefeated reputation during the tournament, taking many of the spectators and participants by surprise. Their wins were not necessarily spectacular, and their lead was uncertain until the later stages of the tournament.
Despite the absence of several of their key players, Ukraine managed to maintain a steady stream of victories both in individual games and matches. Spectators commented that the overall quality of the Ukrainian play was nothing special, but their consistent team strategy and calm in the face of formidable opponents won the day for them.
This is an achievement to be celebrated for Ukraine, as they have never before taken home the gold in the European Team Championships. They had previously won two bronze medals and two silver, finishing second in 2019.
The champion team had a solid start with Ukraine’s Korobov playing Armenia’s Sargissian, leading to a 23-move victory for Korobov. Sargissian made a few key errors towards the end of the game, which Korobov did not treat mercifully. After lining up a deadly assault on black’s king side, Korobov’s tactics eventually forced Sargissian to resign, giving Ukraine their first victory of the tournament.
Ukraine’s victory was largely attributed to their steady play and consistency throughout the tournament. Despite France having some of the strongest players in the game, they had significant highs and lows throughout the proceedings. They lost two key games against Armenia and Hungary in the third and fifth rounds but managed to make up for it with four consecutive wins thereafter.
One of the most noteworthy events of the tournament entailed France’s Firouzja earning an excellent 3015 tournament rating, bringing his individual rating to 2800. He is the youngest player in the world to have earned this rank. Unfortunately, Firouzja’s spectacular performance was not mirrored by those of his teammate’s, putting the gold just out of reach for France. However, Firouzja is returning home triumphant in his own rite, and we can certainly expect to see great things from him in the future.
The battle for third place was a heated one, just like the games at gamblingca.net. It came down to two pivotal matches: Spain vs the Netherlands and Poland vs Georgia. Spain’s victory over the Netherlands was due to a close win by David Anton, but Poland’s victory over Georgia was far more decisive. After definitive victories from Duda, Wojtaszek, and Moranda, Poland’s tiebreak score was higher than Spain’s, securing the bronze.
Ukraine’s victory is well-deserved and has done much to boost the morale of the nation. After narrowly missing the gold in previous years, the team is exceedingly proud of their performance and to be bringing it home in 2021. Despite the tough competition, their consistency and intelligent play kept them one step ahead at every juncture.
