208. DT III

World Team Championship starts in Ningbo, China

 
17.07.2011– It is a kind of exclusive Olympiad, in which only ten elite teams compete for top honors. With such a high level selection, including the likes of Aronian, Karjakin, Ivanchuk, and more, there are no weak match-ups, and the very first round saw Goliath versus Goliath, and in one case, a Goliath versus David, with a result similar to the Bible tale.

The Chinese Chess Association with the patronage and support of the Ningbo Municipal Government and Ningbo Sports Bureau is staging the 2011 World Team Chess Championship in Ningbo, China. The event is being held from July 15 2011 (arrival) to July 26 2011 (Departure) at the playing venue in the five-star New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo.

According to FIDE Regulations the following Federations are entitled to send a team:

1. China (host country)
2. Russia (winner 2009)
3. Ukraine (Olympiad 2010)
4. Israel (Olympiad 2010)
5. Hungary (Olympiad 2010)
6. Azerbaijan (Europe qualifier)
7. India (Asia qualifier)
8. USA (America's qualifier)
9. Egypt (African qualifier)
10. Armenia (FIDE President's nomination)

Each team consists of five players (including one reserve) and one coach/captain of the team, for a total of six participants, who are provided with full hospitality including lodging, accommodation in a single room of in the five-star hotel. The team composition for each round must be delivered to the arbiters at 9:00 am in the morning.

System and scoring

The championships is a round robin, with each team playing a match against all other teams. The time control is: 90 min for 40 moves, then 30 min for the rest of the game, with a 30 second increment per move, staring from move one. The scoring is as in the FIDE Chess Olympiads: the winner gets two points, a draw gives each team one point, and a loss is scored as 0 points. If any teams finish with equal match points, the tie is resolved as follows:

1. by board points in total;
2. in case of a tie by the scores obtained by the tying teams against each other; if the tie is still not broken;
3. by the Berger system;
4. if it is still equal by board count (Berlin System) as follows: a win on Board 1 = 4 points, a win on Board 2 = 3 points, a win on Board 3 = 2 points, a win on Board 4 = 1 points. In case of drawn games these points are shared. If the board-count does not results in the tie being broken then the board points of Board 4 are cancelled, and so on upwards until the tie is broken.
5. If a tie still results between teams in contention for medals, these teams play a match against each other at a fast time-rate (15 minutes per player for the entire game);
6. if this match is indecisive, then lots are drawn (with a collective sigh of dismay by the arbiters).

Chief Arbiter is Panagiotis Nikolopoulos (Greece). One Deputy Chief Arbiter and three arbiters are from China.

Schedule

 

Friday	15 July		Arrival
Saturday	16 July	18:00h	Opening Ceremony
Sunday	17 July	15:00h	Round 1
Monday	18 July	15:00h	Round 2
Tuesday	19 July	15:00h	Round 3
Wednesday	20 July	15:00h	Round 4
Thursday	21 July	15:00h	Round 5
Friday	22 July		Rest Day
Saturday	23 July	15:00h	Round 6
Sunday	24 July	15:00h	Round 7
Monday	25 July	15:00h	Round 8
Tuesday	26 July	10:00h	Round 9, closing ceremony
Wednesday	27 July		Departure