SCHOLARS MATE AT THE BATUMI CHESS OLYMPIAD 2018 - ROUND 5

I am used to seeing short games involving painful blunders in the opening round of an Olympiad. That is when you have massive rating differences and the stronger player is able to see and exploit the blunder. This year was no different with a game that finished in nine moves with Mate on f7.

However, as the tournament progresses and team matchups become closer and closer games tend to get longer and longer. There are still the chances of semi miniatures of around 25 moves that feature a massive attack out of the opening.

That is why round 5 at Batumi 2018 was such a surprise. We had not one, but two shockers. One was a fourteen mover, while the other was a variation of the classic Scholars Mate. I can’t remember ever seeing a four move Mate in a major international tournament.

I remember getting caught with Scholars Mate when I was seven or eight years old. When I was in high school I played the Dragon Sicilian and managed to trap the White Queen when my opponent attempted a Scholars Mate.

I include both of these games below, with diagrams of the final positions. I hope that you can forgive the lack of detailed analysis in both instances. The first features WIM Roysha Mougal of Seychelles with White against Maria Esther Granados Diaz of Nicaragua with Black, played on board one of their match. The second was also a board one game, this time from the match between Palau and Gambia. It featured Joan Gemota with White and Fatou Jabbie with Black.

Mougal Roysha - Granados Diaz,Maria Esther (1817)

43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women Batumi (5.1), 28.09.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.c3 e6 4.Bf4 d5 5.Ne5 Nc6 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.e3 Bd6 8.Bg5 Rf8 9.Bd3 Kg8 10.0–0 Qc7 11.Bxf6 Rxf6 12.Qh5 Rh6 13.Qe8+ Bf8 14.Na3 Qxh2# 0–1

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Gemota,Joan (1346) - Jabbie Fatou

43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women Batumi (5.1), 28.09.2018

1.e4 c6 2.Bc4 b6 3.Qf3 g6 4.Qxf7#  1–0

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