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Updates on Chess Olympiad:
Men (5th seed)
Round 7: Lost to #2 seed Ukraine 1.5-2.5
Round 8: Beat #7 seed Spain 2.5-1.5
Round 9: Lost to #1 seed Russia 1.5-2.5

Standings:
1. Ukraine 27
2. Russia 24.5
3. USA 24
4. Armenia 23
5. Israel 23
<b>6. India 22.5</b>
7. Bulgaria 22.5
8. Azerbaijan 22.5
9. Cuba 22.5
10. France 22.5

Women (6th seed)
Round 7: Drew #3 seed USA 1.5-1.5
Round 8: Beat 8th seed France 2-1
Round 9: Beat 5th seed Ukraine 2-1

Standings:
1. China 23.5
2. Russia 17.5
3. USA 17.5
<b>4. India 17.5</b>
5. Hungary 17.5
6. Latvia 17
7. Sweden 17
8. Poland 16.5
9. Ukraine 16.5
10. Georgia 16.5

Our men faced their hardest two opponents in round 7 and 9, in Ukraine and Russia. Though we lost, it was by the narrowest possible margin, so positionally we are still very strong. The next few rounds should hopefully herald weaker opponents and the chance to push up our points tally enough to get into the medal position. Five rounds remain.

Round 10 pairings:
Men: vs 18th seed Cuba
Women: vs 2nd seed Russia

I hope the men win big in this round. All the three teams ranked above them now are facing harder opponents (Ukraine vs USA, Russia vs France). Women will have it tough. If they can hang on for a draw, they'll probably face the marauding Chinese next. Interestingly, the Indian women are the only team besides China to be undefeated in 9 rounds, though they have 3 draws - the Chinese have a 9-0-0 record. Five more rounds to go - 14 in all.