Six hours decided everything.
Yelnaz Kaliakhmet survived a near-losing position and defeated France’s Pauline Guichard to give Kazakhstan a crucial 2.5-1.5 victory in the penultimate round of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, DKNews.kz reports.
The Round 10 win lifted Kazakhstan into clear second place in the women’s standings with 17 match points, one behind leader China and one ahead of India and Poland heading into the final round.
Everything came down to Kaliakhmet’s board
Three games had already finished when Kaliakhmet and Guichard were still playing.
Bibisara Assaubayeva had won her game, Alua Nurman had drawn, and Meruert Kamalidenova had lost. That left the match tied at 1.5-1.5.
Kazakhstan’s entire result against France therefore depended on the fourth board.
Kaliakhmet’s position was extremely difficult. At one stage, the 16-year-old Kazakh player was on the verge of defeat, but she continued defending and looking for a way back into the game.
Eventually, the opportunity appeared.
Kaliakhmet capitalized on an error by Guichard, turned the position around and, after almost six hours of play, secured the victory that gave Kazakhstan the match.
The result is another major contribution from the youngest member of the Kazakh team. Earlier in the tournament, Kaliakhmet also scored the decisive win against China’s Song Yuxin in Kazakhstan’s 2-2 draw with one of its main rivals. We previously reported on how the 16-year-old delivered Kazakhstan’s crucial point in that Round 7 encounter.
Kazakhstan moves into clear second place
The victory over France came at a decisive moment in the tournament.
Results on the other leading boards also worked in Kazakhstan’s favor. China and India drew 2-2, while Mongolia lost 1-3 to Poland.
After 10 rounds, the top of the women’s standings is:
- China — 18 match points;
- Kazakhstan — 17;
- India — 16;
- Poland — 16.
That leaves Kazakhstan alone in second place before the 11th and final round.
The result is particularly significant given the level of opposition Kazakhstan has faced during the closing stages. The team drew 2-2 with China in Round 7 and then held defending Olympiad champion India to the same score in Round 8.
Those results kept Kazakhstan within reach of the lead before the late victory over France pushed the team clear of its closest pursuers.
Kaliakhmet delivers again under pressure
Kaliakhmet’s performance has become one of the notable individual stories of Kazakhstan’s Olympiad campaign.
The Woman International Master entered the competition as the lowest-rated member of Kazakhstan’s main four-board lineup, but official tournament data shows that she has performed above her rating during the event.
Her Round 10 opponent, Pauline Guichard, is an International Master representing France. Official tournament records list Guichard with a 2344 rating and Kaliakhmet with a 2347 rating, making their encounter closely matched on paper.
But ratings could not capture the pressure of the situation: after nearly six hours, their game was the only one still standing between Kazakhstan and a match victory.
Kaliakhmet found the turnaround when Kazakhstan needed it most.
Kazakhstan’s men beat Turkmenistan 3-1
The men’s national team also won its Round 10 match, defeating Turkmenistan 3-1.
Sauat Nurgaliyev and Zhandos Agmanov won their games, while Denis Makhnev and Aldiyar Ansat drew.
The victory gave Kazakhstan a strong finish to the penultimate round after a tournament that has produced mixed results for the men’s team.
For the women, however, the final day carries much higher stakes.
Kazakhstan entered the Olympiad after taking silver at the previous edition in Budapest. Ten rounds later, the team is again in a medal position — and this time enters the final round alone in second place, just one match point behind China.
The final standings will now be decided in Round 11.
Video footage of the decisive game and Kazakhstan’s performance at the Chess Olympiad can be viewed here.
We also recently reported on how Kazakhstan held defending champion India to a 2-2 draw and remained among the Olympiad leaders, another result that has proved crucial in keeping the team in contention heading into the final round.
