Press Release

Barbados vs Syria: Michael Forde, Askari Elson, Dirk Austin and FIDE Master Dr. Philip Corbin

The first match between Barbados and Syria in Olympic Chess has gone the way of Syria as fortune found their favour on the second day of the 34th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Bajans started well with the Syrians, almost to a man, walking into to prematch preparation from FIDE Master Dr. Philip Corbin, Dirk Austin and Michael Forde.

The first sign of things to come appeared on Board 3 when Mutual Open Junior Champion, 14-year-old Askari Elson from Harrison College, missed a chance to win the exchange on move six. Elson, making his Olympic debut here in Istanbul, played with great maturity to force a draw from an over ambitious opponent who repaid his debt by overlooking a perpetual check.

On Board four, Michael Forde suddenly deviated from his pregame preparation against Sameer Mohamed (2287) but managed to maintain an equal position. A positional error on move 19 by Forde changed a probable draw into the Syrian's first win.

Dirk Austin continued from his first round form by gaining an early advantage against Talal Al Zaim (2249). He however failed to convert and accepted a draw in position that could have played on.

This left the Syrian's with a 2-1 lead and the match hanging on their Board 1 Master Imad Hakki (2429). However, Hakki, like many before him, will certainly remember Barbados and FIDE Master Dr Philip Corbin for a long time after Istanbul.

Corbin was in his element, first offering a pawn in the Smith-Morra Gambit. Hakki refused and transposed into a quieter c3 Scilian. Well that was what Hakki was hoping for, but those who know the "Caribbean Tal" know that such tactics only encourage Cobin not deter him.

Taking the fight to Hakki, Corbin sacrificed a pawn anyway for active play and a dangerous but complicated position. It was only in severe time trouble that Corbin made a major error letting Hakki slip away with the point and the 3-1 win for Syria.

Team coach Grandmaster Chris Ward said afterwards that the team is picking up quite a lot and that there are doing quite well, given that it was a young team with only Corbin and Austin having experience at this level.

Ward noted that they are playing teams seeded 40 or more positions above themselves and have taken vital points that will come in useful later in the tournament.

In other play Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago bounced back from their 1st round drubbings to share some Caribbean licks. Jamaica crushed Panama 4-0 and the Trinis punished Papua New Guinea 3-1. Cuba continues to show their strength with a Board 8 win of 2.5-1.5 over Ireland.

Top board play saw favourites Russia dropping a half point to beat Italy 3.5-0.5. This opened the door for Hungary who delivered another stinging 4-0 beating to Myanmar and takes them into the lead with a perfect score of 8.0 points.

On Board 3 the Canadians were quite please with their 2-2 draw against Georgia and the English stumble a bit on Board 17 by dropping a point to Costa Rica in a hard fought 3-1 win.

Results from the top 10 boards Men:

1. Italy 0.5 - Russia 3.5
2. Myanmar 0.0 - Hungary 4.0
3. Georgia 2.0 - Canada 2.0
4. Azerbaijan 0.5 - Germany 3.5
5. Scotland 1.0 - Armenia 3.0
6. Spain 2.5 - Turkmenistan 1.5
7. Finland 2.5 - Belarus 1.5
8. Cuba 2.5 - Ireland 3.5
9. Egypt 1.0 - Slovakai 3.0
10. France 2.5 - Iran 1.5

Results from the top 10 boards Women:

1. Spain 0.0 - China 3.0
2. Georgia 1.5 - India 1.5
3. Croatia 0.5 - Russia 2.5
4. Ukraine 1.5 - Latvia 1.5
5. Estonia 0.0 - Yugoslavia 3.0
6. Hungary 1.5 - Lithuania 1.5
7. Ecuador 1.0 - Vietnam 2.0
8. England 3.0 - Turkmenistan 0.0
9. Slovenia 1.0 - Bulgaria 2.0
10. Uzbekistan 1.5 - Belarus 1.5