USA 1 clinched gold in the 50+ section at the World Senior Team Championship in Durrës, Albania, drawing quickly on board 1 against Iceland in the final round. The result locked up first place before the remaining matches even finished.
Italy made a dramatic late push, defeating Norway Oslo 2.5–1.5 on board 2 to grab the silver medal. The Italians caught the USA on match points but fell short on tiebreaks, a bitter way to finish second.
Kazakhstan took bronze with a dominant 4–0 sweep of Iceland Vestfirdir. England 1 also posted a clean sweep, routing the USA Women's team to claim fourth place overall.
The women's section saw the USA hold serve. Despite losing to England in the final round, the American women kept their top spot ahead of Czech Republic and others.
The ten-day event showed no shortage of drama. Close matches went down to the wire, tiebreaks separated medals, and one late victory shifted the entire podium. Standard stuff for team chess at the highest level.