In the first round of the World Chess Olympiad, the men’s team of Moldova won against the squad of Sri-Lanka 4-0, while the women’s team beat the team of Qatar by the same score. The 42nd World Chess Olympiad is taking place in Azerbaijan’s Baku on September 1-14, IPN reports.

According to the Chess Federation of Moldova, the men’s team includes grand masters Viorel Iordachescu and Dmitrii Svetushkin and masters Vladimir Hamitsevich and Sergey Vedmediuc. The women’s squad consists of grand master Svetlana Petrenco and masters Diana Baciu, Olga Hancu and Paula-Alexandra Gatu.

In the second round, the Moldovan male chess players meet the team of Zambia, while the women play against the squad of Ukraine that includes world champions Maria Muzychuk and Anna Ushnina.

The men’s and women’s teams play 11 rounds according to the Swiss system. A number of 180 countries compete in the Open section of the Baku Chess Olympiad, while 140 countries compete in the Women section. The competitors total over 1,580.

Currently, Moldova ranks 35th in the Open section and 44th in the Women section.