The PGMB team from Rostov arrived as an outsider to the last round of the Russian Teams Chess Championship, given that they played against the leaders – and eventual winners.
Despite the fact that they were already out of contention for first place, there was a strong motivation to do their best in the last round: the four first places qualify to the European Club Championship.
When the match got going, the situation seemed bleak because Peter Svidler had a winning advantage against Baadur Jobava. However, things turned around in favor of the PGMB. Jobava held the draw and Ivan Popov beat Maxim Matlakov with white in a sharp open position to get an overall victory.
The team decided to celebrate in the Black Sea at a -10ºC temperature.
The effusive celebration. Photo: chess-news.ru
Reports from the Russian Teams Championship: Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5 / Round 6 / Round 7
Final report from the Women’s Championship
The performance of the team:
| Name | Rtg | Pts. | Games | |
| GM | Jobava Baadur | 2702 | 2.5 | 5 |
| GM | Cheparinov Ivan | 2702 | 2.5 | 5 |
| GM | Zhigalko Sergei | 2656 | 3.5 | 5 |
| GM | Sjugirov Sanan | 2657 | 3.0 | 6 |
| GM | Azarov Sergei | 2626 | 3.5 | 5 |
| GM | Smirnov Pavel | 2628 | 4.0 | 6 |
| GM | Popov Ivan | 2627 | 3.0 | 6 |
| GM | Kryakvin Dmitry | 2588 | 2.0 | 4 |
