So…the US men pull off the stunner of the tournament, so far. I imagine their reward next round will be a pairing as black against China.
As for the women, the goal now probably is to finish in a place that is at least close to their original ranking.
So, for the men…who sits? My thinking is that, since Robson lost, you can give Akobian a slot in the next game.
Or maybe give Robson white (he played OK against Jakovenko) and leave Akobian for the last round.
You DEFINITELY have to send out the ‘Big Three’ again - the difference in performance rating between the top three and Akobian/Robson is dramatic. I’d send out Akobian and give him a shot to collect a point - or at least a half point.
I didn’t really think Robson played that well (but what do I know?). White never seemed to be any worse than playing for the win with the draw in hand. Personally, I find the …Bc5 line to be optically ok but hard to actually play for black.
Pairings are up…
Men:
Table 1 - CHN vs. USA
Women:
Table 8 - MGL vs. USA
As good as the win against Russia was, the men will likely have to do no worse than 3 match points out of their last two matches to claim a medal. If the tournament ended after round 9, the men would be fourth on tiebreak. And as Russia has basically played all the contenders already, they’re effectively “Gibsonized” into weaker opposition in the last two rounds.
Yeah, which is why Russia was a lock for a medal last round - and still as close to a lock for a medal of the remaining contenders, even after a loss in round 9.
If nothing else, this should give Kamsky a white (after three consecutive blacks). Of course, given the fact that he went 3-0 in those rounds, be careful what you wish for.
Russia would have to lose both remaining matches badly to be assured of NOT medaling.
All the women can do now are be spoilers and they will have little opportunity to do that.
I sort of assumed that Nakamura, Kamsky and Onischuk would be playing the last 3 rounds. 
We kind of got away with one against Macedonia - we were able to sit Nakamura and still win 3-1. No such margin exists the rest of the way, I think.
Kamsky has played every round.
Yeah, but there has been a rest day - and will be another one before the last round. Playing white next round (after three blacks) should seem like a semi-rest day. I’d tell him ‘give us a shot, and if you only have the energy for a half point, so be it.’
The Open team is about equal on all boards against China, but Akobian is way behind on the clock vs. Bu. He’s only made 12 moves as white and the position looks dead even, and he’s down to 40 minutes. This can’t be good.
Watching the video, Akobian is continually looking at the other three boards, even getting up from his chair to walk over and look at them more closely. Meanwhile, after 20 moves, he’s down to 15 minutes. And, he’s walking around looking at Kamsky’s and Nakamura’s games while his clock is ticking down.
Akobian-Bu will be agreed drawn at move 30
Onischuk is fine: very holdable. Ditto Nakamura
2-2 is most likely: who’s the better grinder, Kamsky or Ding Liren?
Games at http://www.chessolympiadistanbul.com/livegames/games.php?section=0&round=10&match=0&board=0
Yes, it was an opposite bishop draw. If Akobian’s goal was to use the white pieces to get a draw, then he succeeded. Meanwhile, Onischuk is a pawn down and has to be careful.
Indeed it was
Russians already up 1-0 in their match.
In addition to Onischuk, Nakamura and Kamsky also have some problems. The US would be fortunate to escape with 2-2.
Ding Liren (who is having a fabulous event) can grind this ending all day. The f7 pawn is falling; Onischuk is getting compensation.
I am no expert in rook and pawn endings, but this looks close to a win for Ding. Nakamura has no counterplay, but may be able to just sit on the position and hold it. Kamsky’s game is very unclear.
Applause for Onischuk: 30…Rdb6! It’s actually better for the defender to have split kingside pawns. EDIT: that is if rooks are traded and White wins d-pawn
Dead draw unless I’m missing something