India, Spain, Uzbekistan, China Advance to Semifinals
The World Team Chess Championship in Jerusalem saw Uzbekistan and China continue to perform exceptionally, knocking out Ukraine and Poland. Spain defeated the powerhouse Azerbaijan team. India pulled ahead of France in a riveting blitz playoff.
The semifinals begin on Thursday, November 24, starting at 5 a.m. PT / 14:00 CET.
The games of the World Team Championship can be found here as part of our live events platform.
China defeated Poland with key victories by GM Lu Shanglei and GM Bai Jinshi in round one. Bai won vs. GM Mateusz Bartel with a crafty counterattack. Can you find it?
Uzbekistan defeated Ukraine in both rounds. GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov discovered an unbelievable tactical idea in his game vs. GM Andrei Volokitin, our Game of the Day.
The Uzbekistan team is again putting on a sensational performance, proving that the gold medal at the Olympiad was not a fluke.
India won the first round, but France struck back in the next to send the match into a blitz playoff. GMs Nihal Sarin and SL Narayanan both came through with victories to clinch the match for India. With just seconds on the clock in a sharp position, Nihal―one of the most resourceful blitz players there is―worked his magic to turn an even position into a victory.
Despite Azerbaijan's strong finish in the previous stage, Spain knocked them out in a close match, drawing the first round and winning the second by one point. GMs Miguel Santos and David Anton helped their team edge ahead with victories over GM Rauf Mamedov and GM Teimour Radjabov. Anton gained his win by turning an even two bishop and rook ending into a tactical skirmish.
Quarterfinals Standings
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Playoff | Match Points | |
| China | 2.5 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Poland | 1.5 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Spain | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | ||
| Azerbaijan | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | ||
| Ukraine | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | ||
| Uzbekistan | 3 | 2.5 | 4 | ||
| France | 1 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | |
| India | 3 | 1 | 2.5 | 4 |
The FIDE World Team Championship takes place November 19-26, 2022, in Jerusalem, Israel. The format is a round-robin for teams with five rounds, followed by a knockout with the top eight finishers. The time control is 45 minutes for the entire game plus a 10-second increment starting on move one.
Previous coverage:
Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
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