Olympiad Reaches Final Day

The 2008 Chess Olympiad has reached its final round, with several teams still in contention on the final day.

In the Open section, Armenia and Ukraine are tied for the lead with 17 points (teams receive 2 points for a won match, and 1 point for a draw), while several other teams remain in contention: China and Israel have 16 points each, while the United States, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain all have 15 and could factor into the medal picture. The leaders are all playing each other in the final round; China faces Armenia, the USA takes on Ukraine, Israel faces off with the Netherlands, and Russia takes on Spain. Everything is up for grabs -- although Armenia and Ukraine are clearly in the best position.

In the Women's division, Poland has surprised everyone and taken the clear lead going into the last day. Poland, the #9 seed, has 17 points -- one ahead of Ukraine, Georgia and Serbia. At 15 points, the United States and Russia are both still in contention as well. Poland takes on Ukraine, while Georgia battles Serbia.

The final round starts at 10 AM local time, and games can be seen on the official site. It's hard to predict who the favorites are over the course of a single day of matches, but with so much on the line, you can expect lots of interesting, hard fought chess on the top boards.