Chess Olympiad

For the recent 2016 Olympiad, see 42nd Chess Olympiad.

The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation.

The use of the name "Chess Olympiad" for FIDE's team championship is of historical origin and implies no connection with the Olympic Games.

Birth of the Olympiad

The first Olympiad was unofficial. For the 1924 Olympics an attempt was made to include chess in the Olympic Games but this failed because of problems with distinguishing between amateur and professional players.[1] While the 1924 Summer Olympics was taking place in Paris, the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad also took place in Paris. FIDE was formed on Sunday, July 20, 1924, the closing day of the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad.[2]

FIDE organised the first Official Olympiad in 1927 which took place in London.[1] The Olympiads were occasionally held annually and at irregular intervals until World War II; since 1950 they have been held regularly every two years.[1]

Growth of Chess Olympiads
There were 16 participating nations in the 1st Chess Olympiad, 1927.
By the 41st Olympiad, 2014, there were 172 participating nations.

Recognized sport

Bobby Fischer's score card from his round 3 game against Miguel Najdorf in the 1970 Chess Olympiad.

Chess is not recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC);[3] since June 1999 FIDE has been recognized by the International Sports Federation.[3][4][5][6]

Drug Testing

As a sporting federation recognized by the IOC, and particularly as a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) conventions,[7] FIDE adheres to their rules, including a requirement for doping tests,[8][9] which they are obligated to take at the events such as the Olympiad. The tests were first introduced in 2002 under significant controversy,[10] with the widespread belief that it was impossible to dope in chess. Research carried out by the Dutch chess federation failed to find a single performance-enhancing substance for chess.[11] According to Dr Helmut Pfleger, who has been conducting experiments in the field for around twenty years, "Both mentally stimulating and mentally calming medication have too many negative side effects".[11] Players such as Artur Yusupov,[12] Jan Timman[13] and Robert Hübner[14] either refused to play for their national team or to participate in events such as the Chess Olympiad where drug tests were administered. All 802 tests administered at the 2002 Olympiad came back negative.[15] However, in the 36th Chess Olympiad in 2004, two players refused to provide urine samples and had their scores cancelled.[16][17] Four years later, Vassily Ivanchuk was not penalized for skipping a drug test at the 38th Chess Olympiad in 2008, with a procedural error being indicated instead.[18]

In 2010, a FIDE official commented that due to the work of the FIDE Medical Commission, the tests were now considered routine.[19] In November 2015, FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced they are working with WADA to define and identify doping in chess.[20]

Competition

Each FIDE recognized chess association can enter a team into the Olympiad.[1] Each team is made of up to five players, four regular players and one reserve (prior to the tournament in Dresden 2008 there were two reserves[21]).[1] Initially each team played all other teams but as the event grew over the years this became impossible.[1] At first team seeding took place before the competition.[1] Later certain drawbacks were recognized with seeding and in 1976 a Swiss tournament system was adopted.[1]

The trophy for the winning team in the open section is the Hamilton-Russell Cup,[1] which was offered by the English magnate Frederick Hamilton-Russell as a prize for the 1st Olympiad (London 1927). The cup is kept by the winning team until the next event, when it is consigned to the next winner. The trophy for the winning women's team is known as the Vera Menchik Cup in honor of the first Women's World Chess Champion.

The 2010 Olympiad was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The 2012 Olympiad was held in Istanbul, Turkey, the 2014 Olympiad was in Tromsø, Norway. The 2016 Olympiad will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Cultural activities

In addition to competition, each Olympiad also gives opportunities for associated cultural activities. For instance, at the 2004 Olympiad there were chess films screened on the beaches of Calvià every weeknight during the Olympiad, and chess-oriented art was displayed at an International Chess Fair, with prizes for top works awarded by a jury. In a New in Chess article 2012/7, Nigel Short opined that "Olympiads are all about sex", in particular comparing the prostitutes of Moscow 1994 to the women of Manila 1992.[22] His conclusion is that Manila 1992 "is considered to have been one of the best Olympiads in recent decades", in no short part due to the "sheer volume of totty."[23] This bookends the view from Graham Hillyard's 2010 piece, where English Chess Federation representative CJ de Mooi is depicted as bemoaning Anatoly Karpov's failure to introduce him to any suitably attractive young Russian men.[24] Two players died during the 2014 Olympiad and Norwegian reporter Tarjei Svensen noted that heavy drinking was typical before rest days, particularly at the famous "Bermuda party" regularly hosted by FIDE Treasurer Nigel Freeman.[25][26] This was the most read article at both the El País and Guardian news websites, a fact that was later cited as confirming the strong grassroots interest with chess.[27]

Results (open section)

Year Event Host Gold Silver Bronze
1924 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad (individual)
France Paris, France  Czechoslovakia 31  Hungary 30   Switzerland 29
1926 2nd unofficial Chess Olympiad
The Team Tournament
(part of FIDE summit)
Hungary Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 9  Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes 8  Romania 5
1927 1st Chess Olympiad United Kingdom London, United Kingdom  Hungary 40  Denmark 38½  England 36½
1928 2nd Chess Olympiad Netherlands The Hague, Netherlands  Hungary 44  United States 39½  Poland 37
1930 3rd Chess Olympiad Germany Hamburg, Germany  Poland 48½  Hungary 47  Germany 44½
1931 4th Chess Olympiad Czechoslovakia Prague, Czechoslovakia  United States 48  Poland 47  Czechoslovakia 46½
1933 5th Chess Olympiad United Kingdom Folkestone, United Kingdom  United States 39  Czechoslovakia 37½  Sweden 34
1935 6th Chess Olympiad Poland Warsaw, Poland  United States 54  Sweden 52½  Poland 52
1936 3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad
non-FIDE unofficial Chess Olympiad
Germany Munich, Germany  Hungary 110½  Poland 108  Germany 106½
1937 7th Chess Olympiad Sweden Stockholm, Sweden  United States 54½  Hungary 48½  Poland 47
1939 8th Chess Olympiad Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina  Germany 36  Poland 35½  Estonia 33½
1950 9th Chess Olympiad Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia  Yugoslavia 45½  Argentina 43½  West Germany 40½
1952 10th Chess Olympiad Finland Helsinki, Finland  Soviet Union 21  Argentina 19½  Yugoslavia 19
1954 11th Chess Olympiad Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands  Soviet Union 34  Argentina 27  Yugoslavia 26½
1956 12th Chess Olympiad Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union  Soviet Union 31  Yugoslavia 26½  Hungary 26½
1958 13th Chess Olympiad Germany Munich, West Germany  Soviet Union 34½  Yugoslavia 29  Argentina 25½
1960 14th Chess Olympiad East Germany Leipzig, East Germany  Soviet Union 34  United States 29  Yugoslavia 27
1962 15th Chess Olympiad Bulgaria Varna, Bulgaria  Soviet Union 31½  Yugoslavia 28  Argentina 26
1964 16th Chess Olympiad Israel Tel Aviv, Israel  Soviet Union 36½  Yugoslavia 32  West Germany 30½
1966 17th Chess Olympiad Cuba Havana, Cuba  Soviet Union 39½  United States 34½  Hungary 33½
1968 18th Chess Olympiad Switzerland Lugano, Switzerland  Soviet Union 39½  Yugoslavia 31  Bulgaria 30
1970 19th Chess Olympiad Germany Siegen, West Germany  Soviet Union 27½  Hungary 26½  Yugoslavia 26
1972 20th Chess Olympiad Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Skopje, Yugoslavia  Soviet Union 42  Hungary 40½  Yugoslavia 38
1974 21st Chess Olympiad France Nice, France  Soviet Union 46  Yugoslavia 37½  United States 36½
1976 22nd Chess Olympiad * Israel Haifa, Israel  United States 37  Netherlands 36½  England 35½
1976 Against Chess Olympiad Libya Tripoli, Libya  El Salvador 38½  Tunisia 36  Pakistan 34½
1978 23rd Chess Olympiad Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina  Hungary 37  Soviet Union 36  United States 35
1980 24th Chess Olympiad Malta Valletta, Malta  Soviet Union 39  Hungary 39  United States 35
1982 25th Chess Olympiad Switzerland Lucerne, Switzerland  Soviet Union 42½  Czechoslovakia 36  United States 35
1984 26th Chess Olympiad Greece Thessaloniki, Greece  Soviet Union 41  England 37  United States 35
1986 27th Chess Olympiad United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Soviet Union 40  England 39  United States 38
1988 28th Chess Olympiad Greece Thessaloniki, Greece  Soviet Union 40½  England 34½  Netherlands 34½
1990 29th Chess Olympiad Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Novi Sad, Yugoslavia  Soviet Union 39  United States 35½  England 35½
1992 30th Chess Olympiad Philippines Manila, Philippines  Russia 39  Uzbekistan 35  Armenia 34½
1994 31st Chess Olympiad Russia Moscow, Russia  Russia 37½  Bosnia and Herzegovina 35  Russia "B" 34½
1996 32nd Chess Olympiad Armenia Yerevan, Armenia  Russia 38½  Ukraine 35  United States 34
1998 33rd Chess Olympiad Russia Elista, Russia  Russia 35½  United States 34½  Ukraine 32½
2000 34th Chess Olympiad Turkey Istanbul, Turkey  Russia 38  Germany 37  Ukraine 35½
2002 35th Chess Olympiad Slovenia Bled, Slovenia  Russia 38½  Hungary 37½  Armenia 35
2004 36th Chess Olympiad Spain Calvià, Spain  Ukraine 39½  Russia 36½  Armenia 36½
2006 37th Chess Olympiad Italy Turin, Italy  Armenia 36  China 34  United States 33
2008 38th Chess Olympiad Germany Dresden, Germany  Armenia 19  Israel 18  United States 17
2010 39th Chess Olympiad Russia Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia  Ukraine 19  Russia 18  Israel 17
2012 40th Chess Olympiad Turkey Istanbul, Turkey  Armenia 19  Russia 19  Ukraine 18
2014 41st Chess Olympiad Norway Tromsø, Norway  China 19  Hungary 17  India 17
2016 42nd Chess Olympiad Azerbaijan Baku, Azerbaijan  United States 20  Ukraine 20 Russia 18
2018 43rd Chess Olympiad Georgia (country) Batumi, Georgia
2020 44th Chess Olympiad Russia Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia[28]

* In 1976, the  Soviet Union and other communist countries did not compete for political reasons.

Total team ranking

Symbol of the 6th Chess Olympiad in Warsaw 1935 by Jerzy Steifer

The table contains the men's teams ranked by the medals won at the Chess Olympiad, not including the unofficial events, ranked by the number of first place medals, ties broken by second-place medals, etc.

Rank Country 1st place2nd place3rd placeTotal
1  Soviet Union 18 1 0 19
2  United States 6 5 9 20
3  Russia 6 3 2 11
4  Hungary 3 7 2 12
5  Armenia 3 0 3 6
6  Ukraine 2 2 3 7
7  Yugoslavia 1 6 5 12
8  Poland 1 2 3 6
9  Germany* 1 1 3 5
10  China 1 1 0 2
11  England 0 3 3 6
12  Argentina 0 3 2 5
13  Czechoslovakia 0 2 1 3
14  Netherlands 0 1 1 2
 Sweden 0 1 1 2
 Israel 0 1 1 2
17  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 1 0 1
 Denmark 0 1 0 1
 Uzbekistan 0 1 0 1
20  Bulgaria 0 0 1 1
 Estonia 0 0 1 1
 India 0 0 1 1

* Includes the results of  West Germany.

Top-10 (including non-official tournaments)

The table contains the men's teams ranked by the medals won at the Chess Olympiad, including the unofficial events, ranked by the number of first place medals, ties broken by second-place medals, etc.

Rank Country 1st place2nd place3rd placeTotal
1  Soviet Union 18 1 0 19
2  United States 6 5 9 20
3  Russia 6 3 2 11
4  Hungary 5 8 2 15
5  Armenia 3 0 3 6
6  Ukraine 2 2 3 7
7  Yugoslavia 1 7 5 13
8  Poland 1 3 3 6
9  Germany* 1 1 3 5
10  China 1 1 0 2

Best individual results in the open section

The best individual results in order of overall percentage are:

Rank
Player       Country       Ol. Gms.   +    =       %   Medals     Number
of medals
  1  Tal, MikhailMikhail Tal  Soviet Union 8 101  65  34   2 81.2 5 – 2 – 0 7
  2  Karpov, AnatolyAnatoly Karpov  Soviet Union 6 68  43  23   2 80.1 3 – 2 – 0 5
  3  Petrosian, TigranTigran Petrosian  Soviet Union 10129  78  50   1 79.8 6 – 0 – 0 6
  4  Kashdan, IsaacIsaac Kashdan  USA 5 79  52  22   5 79.7 2 – 1 – 2 5
  5  Smyslov, VasilyVasily Smyslov  Soviet Union 9 113  69  42   2 79.6 4 – 2 – 2 8
  6  Bronstein, DavidDavid Bronstein  Soviet Union 4 49  30  18   1 79.6 3 – 1 – 0 4
  7  Kasparov, GarryGarry Kasparov  Soviet Union /  Russia (1) 8 82  50  29   3 78.7 7 – 2 – 2 11
  8  Alekhine, AlexanderAlexander Alekhine  France 572  43  27   2 78.5 2 – 2 – 0 4
  9  Matulović, MilanMilan Matulović  Yugoslavia 6 78  46  28   4 76.9 1 – 2 – 0 3
10  Keres, PaulPaul Keres  Estonia /  Soviet Union (2) 10141  85  44  12 75.9 5 – 1 – 1 7
11  Geller, EfimEfim Geller  Soviet Union 776  46  23   7 75.6 3 – 3 – 0 6
12  Tarjan, JamesJames Tarjan  USA 551  32  13   6 75.5 2 – 1 – 0 3
13  Fischer, BobbyBobby Fischer  USA 4 65  40  18   7 75.4 0 – 2 – 1 3
14  Botvinnik, MikhailMikhail Botvinnik  Soviet Union 6 73  39  31   3 74.7 2 – 1 – 2 5
15  Karjakin, SergeySergey Karjakin  Ukraine /  Russia (3) 5 47  24  22   1 74.7 2 – 0 – 1 3
16  Flohr, SaloSalo Flohr  Czechoslovakia 7 82  46  28   8 73.2 2 – 1 – 1 4
Fischer and Tal at the 1960 Olympiad
Notes

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Brace, Edward R. (1977), An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess, Hamlyn Publishing Group, p. 64, ISBN 1-55521-394-4
  2. FIDE History by Bill Wall. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  3. 1 2 Recognized Sports of the International Olympic Committee International Olympic Committee official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  4. International Federation (IF) for chess. International Olympic Committee official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  5. FIDE - Uniting the Chess World Archived May 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. FIDE Official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  6. ARISF Members Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Association of Recognized IOC International Sports Federation. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  7. WADA code signatories
  8. Complete FIDE Anti-Doping Documents FIDE official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  9. 2013 Anti-Doping Policy
  10. Open letter from 50 players on drug testing (Web Archive)
  11. 1 2
  12. Controversy over FIDE doping check (2002)
  13. Olympiad report 2002, noting the reason for Timman's absence
  14. The Great Chess Doping Scandal
  15. Drug Testing and Chess
  16. Decision of the FIDE Doping Hearing Panel (Miller)
  17. Decision of the FIDE Doping Hearing Panel (Press)
  18. Decision of the FIDE Doping Hearing Panel (Ivanchuk)
  19. Minutes of 2010 FIDE General Assembly (page 24)
  20. FIDE and WADA will work together to identify doping in chess (Russian)
  21. FIDE submits regulation changes for Chess Olympiad Fide.com
  22. ""Body and mind games" New In Chess, July 2012 (2012/7), 67--70".
  23. Let's Talk About Nigel
  24. ""A Tale of Two Swamps" New In Chess, July 2010 (2010/7), 54ff".
  25. Two players die at world chess event in Norway
  26. Nigel Freeman Career History (hosting of Bermuda Party) Archived November 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  27. Death Does Not Become Us
  28. http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/9526-fide-presidential-board-meeting-held-in-moscow.html

External links

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