Gabriel Sargissian: This result is unexpected because we are playing without Levon Aronian

Gabriel Sargissian, leader of the Armenian chess team, commented on his victory over Azerbaijan in the penultimate round of the World Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. Gabriel Sargissian defeated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The Armenian team won 3-1 and shares first place with the Uzbekistan team with 17 points each.

"The struggle with Azerbaijan is always nerve-racking because it is a very strong team. The start of the match was good because Mamedyarov made a mistake in the opening game.

Our position before the last round came as a surprise not only for the chess world. It also came as a surprise for our team, because we're playing without Levon Aronian. Regardless of the result of the last round, it's already a very good result for our team.

I don't know what the secret of our team's success is. Everybody loves their country and the Olympics is a special tournament. Everyone wants to do their best. We are all very good friends on the team. Maybe that gives us an advantage. There is a very good atmosphere on the team. Maybe some teams don't have such a good atmosphere," said Gabriel Sargissian.

In the last tour, which will take place on August 9, the rival of the Armenian team will be Spain. Uzbekistan will compete with the Dutch.