17-year-old Ukrainian grandmaster Ihor Samunenko won the individual gold medal at the 46th World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. He achieved the best result among all chess players competing on the fourth board, reports UNN.
Samunenko played 10 games, scored 8 points and finished the tournament with a performance rating of 2720. The Ukrainian did not lose a single game. On the fourth board, he finished ahead of, among others, reigning world champion Dommaraju Gukesh and Levon Aronian, who represents the United States.
The match against China in the tenth round was particularly important for the Ukrainian team. The Ukrainians won 3–1 — Ihor Kovalenko defeated Ding Liren, Vasyl Ivanchuk drew with Wei Yi, while Samunenko and Roman Dehtiarov also earned team points.
After defeating China, Ukraine moved to the top board in the final round, where it faced the hosts of the Olympiad — the Uzbekistan national team. The Ukrainians lost 1.5–2.5. Samunenko drew with Nodirbek Yakubboev.
Ultimately, the Ukrainian men's national team finished in 11th place, earning 16 team points.
Samunenko called his performance in Samarkand an important experience and highlighted the team's victories as well as his own result.
"In fact, this Olympiad exceeded all my expectations. There were team successes, including the victory over the Chinese national team, and, of course, the game in the final round against the Uzbekistan national team. There was also my personal result — I managed to win the gold medal on the fourth board and finish ahead of so many strong, elite players," the chess player said.
Samunenko also highlighted the people who help him prepare for major tournaments. In particular, the chess player thanked the national team coaches Oleksandr Beliavskyi and Adrian Mikhalchishin, as well as Seyar Kurshutov for financial support.
"Financial support is very important for a chess player. It makes it possible to improve one's level of play and approach the most important competitions, such as the Olympiad, in the best possible form. All of this is very important to me and also influenced the result, for which I am grateful," the grandmaster said.