Serbia finished the first day of play in Samarkand with two team wins and no individual defeats. The Open team beat South Sudan 3½:½, while the women defeated Madagascar 4:0. Both teams collected two match points. Today brings Turkmenistan and Scotland, with Alexandr Predke and Teodora Injac making their first appearances of this Olympiad.
Round one: seven wins and a draw
Alexey Sarana, Aleksandar Inđić and Bojan Maksimović won in the Open, while Velimir Ivić drew with Thon Gong. Maksimović marked his first Olympiad appearance for Serbia with a full point. Official results
All four Serbian women won: Alina Bivol, Elif Mehmed, Jovana Srdanović and Sofija Pogorelskih. Teodora Injac sat out the round. The 4:0 sweep was exactly the start we had hoped for. Official results
Replay yesterday’s games on Lichess. White is listed first in each pairing:
- Madol - Sarana 0:1
- Inđić - Manyok 1:0
- Gong - Ivić ½:½
- Maksimović - Daniel 1:0
- Ravelomanana - Bivol 0:1
- Mehmed - Tsinjoviniavo 1:0
- Ramorasata - Srdanović 0:1
- Pogorelskih - Rabenandrasana 1:0
Today: Serbia - Turkmenistan
Round two starts today, September 17, at noon in Serbia (CEST), or 3pm in Samarkand. Official schedule
In the Open, Predke comes in and Inđić rests. This is match 15; colours below refer to Serbia’s players:
- Alexey Sarana (2666), White - Saparmyrat Atabayev (2503).
- Alexandr Predke (2598), Black - Meylis Annaberdiyev (2384).
- Velimir Ivić (2601), White - Amanmuhammet Hommadov (2389).
- Bojan Maksimović (2534), Black - Shahruh Turayev (2222).
Serbia is higher rated on all four boards, but the gaps are much smaller than yesterday. Board one is our pick to watch, with Sarana facing GM Atabayev. We expect another team win, with a tougher assignment than in the opening round. Round-two pairings · Live games
Serbia - Scotland: Injac on board one
Teodora Injac comes in and Alina Bivol rests. The line-up for match 14 is:
- Teodora Injac (2406), White - Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (2256).
- Elif Mehmed (2316), Black - Kanishka Bhatia (2093).
- Jovana Srdanović (2298), White - Suzie G. Cooke (1906).
- Sofija Pogorelskih (2244), Black - Alice Lampard (1912).
Serbia also has a rating advantage on every board here. We particularly look forward to Injac’s game against GM Arakhamia-Grant. As supporters, we hope both Serbian teams will still have maximum match points after round two. Round-two pairings · Live games