Chess Olympiad: Estonia's men lose to Ukraine, women beat Panama

At the Chess Olympiad taking place in Samarkand, both Estonia's men's and women's national teams continued competing in round two, with contrasting results.

Women extend winning run

Estonia's women's team — Margarethe Olde, Sofia Blohina, Grete Olde and Monika Tsiganova — had opened the tournament with a dominant 4:0 win over Palau on the first day. In round two, the team faced Panama and secured another victory, winning 3:1. The only player to suffer a loss was Grete Olde. The team played for a second consecutive day without Mai Narva.

Men fall to Ukraine

Estonia's men's team, fielding Aleksandr Volodin, Ilja Sirosh, Kirill Chukavin and Dion Krivenko, lost to Ukraine's team 1:3 in round two. The only win for the Estonian side came from Sirosh. Team member Meelis Kanep was rested for the day.

In the first round, a different lineup for Estonia's men — Volodin, Chukavin, Kanep and Krivenko — had defeated Antigua and Barbuda's team convincingly, 3.5:0.5.

The Chess Olympiad consists of 11 rounds in total, with the winner to be determined on September 27.