Australia vs. Canada:

A great win today! Maili-Jade and Svitlana won, and Bich Ngoc drew. Oksana seems to have forced a draw by repetition in a winning position, meaning that Canada takes the match 3-1. The final position on Board 4 is a case where each side has an open king menaced by a queen and a knight. From far away in a comfortable chair with no adrenaline pumping, it’s clear that Oksana’s king can escape fairly easily, while her opponent’s cannot. Moreover, with extra pawns on Oksana’s side, any queen exchange will clinch the win as well. But things never seem so cut and dry when you are at the board, and of course she did not have the benefit of a computer engine to double-check her analysis! Either way, a great team performance.

Current record: 5-1-2 (19/29), 27th. Next opponent: Hungary.

The Open team beat New Zealand, 3-1, behind wins from Shawn and Shiyam.

Svitlana outplays her opponent in the middlegame