“Great feeling to beat USA”: Svane defeats Niemann as Germany joins Chess Olympiad lead
German grandmaster Frederik Svane inflicted the first defeat on the top-seed Americans at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, beating US star Hans Niemann. An upset by 2.5-1.5 leaves Germany level with Uzbekistan and India at the summit after five rounds.
«It’s very difficult to beat the USA – they have such a strong team,» Svane told Lichess afterwards. There are still six rounds to go so one victory is not that important, but it is still a great feeling. «I think it’s good to have that feeling for the next rounds,» Svane added.
«I was kind of shaky with the conversion, but in the end I managed to, you know, psychologically, that you had that position before until about move 14-15. What does that do when you’re playing someone like Hans Niemann? You know, how much does it take some pressure off you when you know that position so well?»
The Olympiad begins with Germany ranked fifth seeds, behind the US, India, Uzbekistan and China. They now have a perfect 10-match points from five rounds, like hosts Uzbekistan and defending champions India. China and Armenia are one behind.
Read more: Wesley So names Uzbekistan favourite for Chess Olympiad gold
Who is Frederik Svane?
Svane, 22, is one of Germany’s rising grandmasters. He became a GM in 2022 and won an individual gold medal at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, where he played as Germany’s reserve. Earlier this year, he also won the Sardinia World Chess Festival with 7.5 points from nine games.
The German had also played the same opening line against English grandmaster Michael Adams, one of his best games.
The other three Germany-US games ended in draws. Vincent Keymer held Caruana, Alexander Donchenko drew Levon Aronian, and Matthias Bluebaum survived a long fight against Wesley So to secure Germany’s match victory.
Read more: Caruana, So and Sindarov headline Samarkand Chess Olympiad
