Lebanesechess.com

42nd Chess Olympiad – Baku – 2016

Round 11: Scotland: 4 – Lebanon: 0

A disappointed result

This is the least of I can tell about this important match. Watching the game live, I couldn’t believe my eyes. After just a few moves in the opening, and all the players were on the defensive. Imprecise moves, passivity, not to mention the blunders from here and there. You are going to tell me that they were playing Scotland that has 2 famous chess books writers on the opening on top boards. Come on. This is not a reason to convince me. The Lebanese players have enough knowledge and a strong coach to guide them which line to play or avoid. I think the clue wasn’t here. It is in the inner side of each one where resides everything: their readiness, combativeness in the critical moment, their physical preparation, and the support they got, being a social, psychological or materialistic ones.

(Between us, what annoyed me the most was that each one of them is a close friend of mine, and hold, at least once, the title of Champion of Lebanon. Please put this aside as it is a very subjective approach)

I will refrain from writing my usual board-by-board briefings, and will be satisfied by the following table, that contains the Arab teams who took part in Baku Olympiad, their seeded numbers and their final standing.

I believe that the technical reports of the coach and the head of delegation will be of great interest and help, when discussed, with high professionalism, to improve the work of the LCF on taking the right decisions for a new vision, having in the scope, not just the Olympiads events as a target, but also the Arab and Continental championships, in order to improve the level of the young and promising players, and raising our noble game to a higher level.

Click here to download the games of the Lebanese team.