The 39th Chess Olympiad will be held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia from September 19 - October 4.
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.
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. 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. FIDE organised the first Official Olympiad in 1927 which took place in London. The Olympiads were occasionally held annually and at irregular intervals until World War II; since 1950 they have been held regularly every two years.
Growth of Chess Olympiads
There were 16 participating nations in the 1st Chess Olympiad, 1927. By the 37th Chess
Olympiad, 2006, there were 133 participating nations. The olympiad was created by a Maltese man by the name of Joseph Pisani-Rossi.
Competition
Each FIDE recognized chess association can enter a team into the Olympiad (for the UK one team for each of the four countries plus Guernsey and Jersey can enter a team separately).Each team is made of up to six players, four regular players and two reserves (changed to 4+1 in Dresden 2008).Initially each team played all other teams but as the event grew over the years this became impossible. At first team seeding took place before the competition.Later certain
drawbacks were recognized with seeding and in 1976 a Swiss tournament system was adopted.
The trophy for winning the men's team is the Hamilton-Russell Cup,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 will be consigned to the next
winner. The trophy for the winning women's team is known as the Vera Menchik Cup the first
Women's World Chess Champion.The 2008 Olympiad was held in Dresden, Germany.The 2010 Olympiad is going to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, and the 2012 Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey . The bids for the 2014 Olympiad includes Tromso, Norway and Albena, Bulgaria.
Men's Olympiads
Year /Event /Location /Gold /Silver /Bronze
1924 1st unofficial Chess OlympiadThe Chess Olympiad (individual) Paris, France Czechoslovakia 31 Hungary 30 Switzerland 29
1926 2nd unofficial Chess OlympiadThe Team Tournament(part of FIDE summit) Budapest, Hungary Hungary 9 Yugoslavia 8 Romania 5
1927 1st Chess Olympiad London, United Kingdom Hungary 40 Denmark 38.5 England 36.5
1928 2nd Chess Olympiad The Hague, Netherlands Hungary 44 USA 39.5 Poland 37
1930 3rd Chess Olympiad Hamburg, Germany Poland 48.5 Hungary 47 Germany 44.5
1931 4th Chess Olympiad Prague, Czechoslovakia USA 48 Poland 47 Czechoslovakia 46.5
1933 5th Chess Olympiad Folkestone, United Kingdom USA 39 Czechoslovakia 37.5 Sweden 34
1935 6th Chess Olympiad Warsaw, Poland USA 54 Sweden 52.5 Poland 52
1936 3rd unofficial Chess Olympiadnon-FIDE unofficial Chess Olympiad Munich, Germany Hungary 110.5 Poland 108 Germany 106.5
1937 7th Chess Olympiad Stockholm, Sweden USA 54.5 Hungary 48.5 Poland 47
1939 8th Chess Olympiad Buenos Aires, Argentina Germany 36 Poland 35.5 Estonia 33.5
1950 9th Chess Olympiad Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 45.5 Argentina 43.5 W. Germany 40.5
1952 10th Chess Olympiad Helsinki, Finland USSR 21 Argentina 19.5 Yugoslavia 19
1954 11th Chess Olympiad Amsterdam, Netherlands USSR 34 Argentina 27 Yugoslavia 26.5
1956 12th Chess Olympiad Moscow, Soviet Union USSR 31 Yugoslavia 26.5 Hungary 26.5
1958 13th Chess Olympiad Munich, West Germany USSR 34.5 Yugoslavia 29 Argentina 25.5
1960 14th Chess Olympiad Leipzig, East Germany USSR 34 USA 29 Yugoslavia 27
1962 15th Chess Olympiad Varna, Bulgaria USSR 31.5 Yugoslavia 28 Argentina 26
1964 16th Chess Olympiad Tel Aviv, Israel USSR 36.5 Yugoslavia 32 W. Germany 30.5
1966 17th Chess Olympiad La Habana, Cuba USSR 39.5 USA 34.5 Hungary 33.5
1968 18th Chess Olympiad Lugano, Switzerland USSR 39.5 Yugoslavia 31 Bulgaria 30
1970 19th Chess Olympiad Siegen, West Germany USSR 27.5 Hungary 26.5 Yugoslavia 26
1972 20th Chess Olympiad Skopje, Yugoslavia USSR 42 Hungary 40.5 Yugoslavia 38
1974 21st Chess Olympiad Nice, France USSR 46 Yugoslavia 37.5 USA 36.5
1976 22nd Chess Olympiad * Haifa, Israel USA 37 Netherlands 36.5 England 35.5
1978 23rd Chess Olympiad Buenos Aires, Argentina Hungary 37 USSR 36 USA 35
1980 24th Chess Olympiad Valletta, Malta USSR 39 Hungary 39 USA 35
1982 25th Chess Olympiad Lucerne, Switzerland USSR 42.5 Czechoslovakia 36 USA 35
1984 26th Chess Olympiad Thessaloniki, Greece USSR 41 England 37 USA 35
1986 27th Chess Olympiad Dubai, UAE USSR 40 England 39 USA 38
1988 28th Chess Olympiad Thessaloniki, Greece USSR 40.5 England 34.5 Netherlands 34.5
1990 29th Chess Olympiad Novi Sad, Yugoslavia USSR 39 USA 35.5 England 35.5
1992 30th Chess Olympiad Manila, Philippines Russia 39 Uzbekistan 35 Armenia 34.5
1994 31st Chess Olympiad Moscow, Russia Russia 37.5 Bosnia/Herzegovina 35 Russia II 34.5
1996 32nd Chess Olympiad Yerevan, Armenia Russia 38.5 Ukraine 35 USA 34
1998 33rd Chess Olympiad Elista, Russia Russia 35.5 USA 34.5 Ukraine 32.5
2000 34th Chess Olympiad Istanbul, Turkey Russia 38 Germany 37 Ukraine 35.5
2002 35th Chess Olympiad Bled, Slovenia Russia 38.5 Hungary 37.5 Armenia 35
2004 36th Chess Olympiad Calviá, Spain Ukraine 39.5 Russia 36.5 Armenia 36.5
2006 37th Chess Olympiad Turin, Italy Armenia 36 China 34 USA 33
2008 38th Chess Olympiad Dresden, Germany Armenia 19 Israel 18 USA 17
2010 39th Chess Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
2012 40th Chess Olympiad Istanbul, Turkey
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Nigeria Suspend Olympiad Training
The Late Nigerian President.
The Angola Chess Federation (FAX)’s secretary for marketing, António Santos, on Thursday here announced that the training programme that the Nigerian national chess team were to carry out in Angola has been postponed due to the death of that country’s president, Umaru Yar'Adua.
The Nigerian grand master Adulape Adu was also to participate in the Cuca International Tournament.António Santos revealed that the Nigerian team will actually fulfil their training programme in Angola as soon as the mourning period in Nigeria ends. Nigeria are set to participate in the Olympic tournament from September 20 to October 04, in Russia.
The former Nigerian President, Umaru Yar’Adua passed away on May 05, aged 58.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Chess In Somalia
Although torn apart by more than two decades of civil war, chess is still well and kicking in Somalia. A next door neighbour to Kenya, we may find a way to play in a tournament.
Images often associated with Somalia
Somali youths will have yet another thing to pass their tough times and perhaps develop their mental capacities and promote peace as schools in Mogadishu now started to hold regular chess contests among their students, thanks to an initiative by local schools chess association.
The first of its kind, the contests which kicked off on Thursday bring together chess players from a number of schools in Mogadishu who will be competing one another for the next week.
Held in Mogadishu, the opening ceremony was attended by senior Somali government officials including the Deputy Speaker of Somali parliament Omar Dalha, head of Somalia’s Olympic Committee, Aden Haji Yeberow Wiish, and the leader of Somalia’s Chess Federation, Ahmed Abdi Hassan Wata.
Somalia Chess Federation which is a member of the International Chess Federation has organized the event for the local Mogadishu Schools Chess Association, the only schools chess organization in the war-torn country.
Sports is very much appreciated in the chaotic country where most of the facilities have either been destroyed or changed into military bases by the warring sides in the Somali civil conflict that raged for the past two decades.
“Chess is not only a sport and past time but is also a mental exercise that will definitely stimulate the young brain and we hope this will contribute to the healthy development of our young people, and promote peace in our country” Said wata, the top official of Somali Chess Federation, as he spoke during the opening ceremony of the Mogadishu Schools Chess Contest.
The Somalia chess scene
Dozens of enthusiastic young students from different schools soon started tussling at each other as they pondered over the chess board and made their deliberate and thought of moves to checkmate their opponent.
“I have been practicing chess for the past several months for this contest and I am very hopeful that I will win over my opponent in this game,” Twelve year old Muse Ali, said as he made his move.
Parents and teachers were watching over the games anxiously and urging the students as they played the game which one of the teachers attending said would help the young not only enjoy the sport and improve their mental capacity but it will help move them away from the fighting and wars currently going in their country.
“This is what will help them divert their attention from the bad things that are going all around them and help them get along will each other,” Yasin Omar, a teacher at the contest told Xinhua.
“We hope all the schools in Somalia would take to chess and allow their students to play this very important game that will be of benefit not only to them but to society in general,” Omar added.
This is the first time but will not be the last time, promises Wata, such contest is organized for schools in Somalia where the national education system and sport have been destroyed by two decades of civil war in the Horn of African country.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Daaim Shabazz Visiting Kenya
Dr Daaim Shabazz founder of chess drum will be visiting Kenya starting on sunday. More details to follow.
World Chess Championships 2010: Anand Wins.
After playing exhaustive chess for over three decades, Viswanathan Anand has assured himself a place among all time greats as he retained the World Champion title with consummate ease against Veselin Topalov in his own den in Sofia, Bulgaria on Tuesday.With the win Anand has accomplished something which no other chess great, not even Garry Kasparov has done.
He has asserted his supremacy in the world by winning the title in every possible format of tournament including winning the world chess title three times in a row and against various opponents including two different ones in match format.
He has won in knock-out, round-robin and two matchplay formats to give an apt answer his critics that he cant stand the test of time.
Anand now has to his credit a rare combination of the consecutive three World Champion title and four in all including the knockout format that he won in 2000.
Anand started playing chess at the age of six and won his first national title in the sub-junior tournament with a record cent per cent score of 9/9 points in 1983-84. And there was no looking back since then.
As his success juggernaut was set rolling, he was tied for second place and awarded the bronze medal in the World sub-junior Championship in 1984 and became the Asian Junior (under 19) Champion in 1983-84.
He also became the International Master at 15, the youngest Asian to achieve this distinction. He was crowned the youngest national champion at the age of 16 in 1986 and in 1987, he became the first Asian to win the World Junior Championship when it was held at Baggio city in Philippines.
It was coincidental that Anand spend some time in Philippines as a young child when his father was there.
He earned the Grandmaster title in 1987 only making two GM norms in quick time in India itself. The country had found its first son in chess. The first Grandmaster in 700 millions at that time.
The Indian chess ace, popular as 'Tiger from Madras', won the strongest tournament at that time, The "Reggio Emilia" in Italy in 1991 ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.
Monday, May 10, 2010
World Chess Championships 2010: Anand-Topalov
The roller coaster in Sofia goes on. With one game to play the score stands at 5.5-5.5. Follow the games live on the official site and susan polgars blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)