Chess

ENGLAND'S NARROW first-round win of 21/2 to 11/2 over the 57th- seeded Bangladesh at the Elista Olympiad was greeted with some dismay, especially as 31 of the 55 matches ended in 4-0 results.

Nigel Short worked hard to bring forth a win - see the game below. Matthew Sadler had to fight to draw, Tony Miles won and Mark Hebden, faced with an opponent he had lost to once before, lost again.

England were meeting a weakened Australia in round two.

Scotland vs Holland was the only match tying 2-2, a noteworthy result for the Scots. No surprises in the other home countries' results: Wales lost to Estonia 1/2-31/2, Germany beat Ireland 31/2-1/2, India beat Guernsey 4-0 and Jersey lost to Iceland 4-0.

In the women's section, the English showed good form, beating Italy 21/2- 1/2. Moldavia beat the Welsh 2-1, while the Scots and Irish suffered 3- 0 defeats. England is meeting Romania in round two.

In Nigel's game, his queen was off-side for some time at h3. His 20... Ne6!? offering pawns, conjures up messy complications. Then gradually, with the aid of his central pawns, Nigel gained the ascendancy.

Elista Olympiad, round 1

White: Ziaur Rahman (Bangladesh)

Black: Nigel Short (England)

English opening

1 c4 e5

2 Nc3 d6

3 g3 Nc6

4 Bg2 Be6

5 d3 Qd7

6 Rb1 g6

7 b4 Bg7

8 b5 Nd8

9 a4 Ne7

10 Nd5 0-0

11 e4 Nc8

12 Ne2 c6

13 bxc6 bxc6

14 Ne3 Bh3

15 Bxh3 Qxh3

16 f4 f5

17 exf5 gxf5

18 d4 exd4

19 Nxd4 Nb6

20 Nf3 Ne6

21 a5 Nd7

22 Ng1 Qh6

23 Ne2 Nec5

24 0-0 Qe6

25 Nd4 Qe4

26 Ndc2 Nd3

27 Rb7 N7c5

28 Rxg7+ Kxg7

29 Bd2 h6

30 Qh5 Rab8

31 Ng2 Kh7

32 Nh4 Qe8

33 Qxe8 Rfxe8

34 Bc3 Ne4

35 Ba1 Nd2

36 Rd1 Nxc4

See diagram

37 Nf3 Nb4

38 Ncd4 c5

39 Nxf5 Nc2

40 Rc1 Nxa1

41 Rxc4 Re6

42 Kg2 Rb2+

43 Kh3 Nb3

44 Rc3 Nxa5

45 Ra3 Nc6

46 Ne3 a5

47 f5 Re4

48 Nd5 Kg7

49 g4 Ne5

50 Nxe5 Rxe5

51 Nf4 c4

White resigned