Chess Olympiad

Chess Olympiads are chess events open to all national teams. They have been run since 1927 by the world chess organisation, FIDE. Since 1950, they have been run every two years. Earlier events were all-play-all. Then, as numbers grew, a system of qualifying sections were used. In recent times, the format has been a Swiss system. This, in chess terms, is a method whereby opponents are chosen each round to have similar scores. It has been widely used for individual tournaments.

Recognised sport

Chess is a recognized sport by the International Olympic Committee with FIDE being the recognized International Sports Federation for chess since June 1999. As a member of the International Olympic Committee, FIDE adheres to its rules, including controversially having doping tests. The prospects of chess becoming an Olympic sporting event at some future date remain unclear. The naming of FIDE's team championship as the "Chess Olympiad" is of historical origin and implies no connection between this event and the Olympic Games.

Open section

YearEventLocationGoldSilverBronze
19271st Chess OlympiadUnited Kingdom London, United Kingdom Hungary 40 Denmark 38.5 United Kingdom36.5
19282nd Chess OlympiadNetherlands The Hague, Netherlands Hungary 44 United States 39.5 Poland 37
19303rd Chess OlympiadGermany Hamburg, Germany Poland 48.5 Hungary 47 Germany 44.5
19314th Chess OlympiadCzechoslovakia Prague, Czechoslovakia United States 48 Poland 47 Czechoslovakia 46.5
19335th Chess OlympiadUnited Kingdom Folkestone, United Kingdom United States 39 Czechoslovakia 37.5 Sweden 34
19356th Chess OlympiadPoland Warsaw, Poland United States 54 Sweden 52.5 Poland 52
1936non-FIDE unofficial Chess Olympiad *Germany Munich, GermanyHungary 110.5Poland 108Germany 106.5
19377th Chess OlympiadSweden Stockholm, Sweden United States 54.5 Hungary 48.5 Poland 47
19398th Chess OlympiadArgentina Buenos Aires, Argentina Germany 36 Poland 35.5 Estonia 33.5
19509th Chess OlympiadSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 45.5 Argentina 43.5Germany West Germany 40.5
195210th Chess OlympiadFinland Helsinki, Finland Soviet Union 21 Argentina 19.5 Yugoslavia 19
195411th Chess OlympiadNetherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands Soviet Union 34 Argentina 27 Yugoslavia 26.5
195612th Chess OlympiadMoscow, Soviet Union Soviet Union 31 Yugoslavia 26.5 Hungary 26.5
195813th Chess OlympiadGermany Munich, West Germany Soviet Union 34.5 Yugoslavia 29 Argentina 25.5
196014th Chess OlympiadEast Germany Leipzig, East Germany Soviet Union 34 United States 29 Yugoslavia 27
196215th Chess OlympiadBulgaria Varna, Bulgaria Soviet Union 31.5 Yugoslavia 28 Argentina 26
196416th Chess OlympiadIsrael Tel Aviv, Israel Soviet Union 36.5 Yugoslavia 32GermanyWest Germany 30.5
196617th Chess OlympiadCuba Havana, Cuba Soviet Union 39.5 United States 34.5 Hungary 33.5
196818th Chess OlympiadSwitzerland Lugano, Switzerland Soviet Union 39.5 Yugoslavia 31 Bulgaria 30
197019th Chess OlympiadGermany Siegen, West Germany Soviet Union 27.5 Hungary 26.5 Yugoslavia 26
197220th Chess OlympiadSkopje, Yugoslavia Soviet Union 42 Hungary 40.5 Yugoslavia 38
197421st Chess OlympiadFrance Nice, France Soviet Union 46 Yugoslavia 37.5 United States 36.5
197622nd Chess Olympiad *Israel Haifa, Israel United States 37 Netherlands 36.5 England 35.5
197823rd Chess OlympiadArgentina Buenos Aires, Argentina Hungary 37 Soviet Union 36 United States 35
198024th Chess OlympiadMalta Valletta, Malta Soviet Union 39 Hungary 39 United States 35
198225th Chess OlympiadSwitzerland Lucerne, Switzerland Soviet Union 42.5 Czechoslovakia 36 United States 35
198426th Chess OlympiadGreece Thessaloniki, Greece Soviet Union 41 England 37 United States 35
198627th Chess OlympiadUnited Arab Emirates Dubai, UAE Soviet Union 40 England 39 United States 38
198828th Chess OlympiadGreece Thessaloniki, Greece Soviet Union 40.5 England 34.5 Netherlands 34.5
199029th Chess OlympiadNovi Sad, Yugoslavia Soviet Union 39 United States 35.5 England 35.5
199230th Chess OlympiadPhilippines Manila, Philippines Russia 39 Uzbekistan 35 Armenia 34.5
199431st Chess OlympiadRussia Moscow, Russia Russia 37.5 Bosnia and Herzegovina 35 Russia-II 34.5
199632nd Chess OlympiadArmenia Yerevan, Armenia Russia 38.5 Ukraine 35 United States 34
199833rd Chess OlympiadRussia Elista, Russia Russia 35.5 United States 34.5 Ukraine 32.5
200034th Chess OlympiadTurkey Istanbul, Turkey Russia 38 Germany 37 Ukraine 35.5
200235th Chess OlympiadSlovenia Bled, Slovenia Russia 38.5 Hungary 37.5 Armenia 35
200436th Chess OlympiadSpain Calviá, Spain Ukraine 39.5 Russia 36.5 Armenia 36.5
200637th Chess OlympiadItaly Turin, Italy Armenia 36 China 34 United States 33
200838th Chess OlympiadGermany Dresden, Germany Armenia 19 Israel 18 United States 17
201039th Chess OlympiadRussia Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Ukraine 19 Russia 18 Israel 17
201240th Chess OlympiadTurkey Istanbul, Turkey Armenia 19 Russia 19 Ukraine 18
201441th Chess OlympiadNorway Tromsø, Norway China 19 Hungary 17 India 17
201642th Chess OlympiadAzerbaijan Baku, Azerbaijan United States 20 Ukraine 20 Russia 18
201843th Chess OlympiadGeorgia (country) Batumi, Georgia China 18 United States 18 Russia 18
202244th Chess OlympiadIndia Chennai, India Uzbekistan 19 Armenia 19 India 18
202445th Chess OlympiadHungary Budapest, Hungary India 21 United States 17 Uzbekistan 17

* In 1936 FIDE refused its approval on grounds of Nazi anti-semitism; however, the organisers accepted Jewish players, and many did play in the event.

* In 1976 the USSR and other communist countries did not compete for political reasons.

Women's section

YearEventLocationGoldSilverBronze
1957lst Chess OlympiadEmmen  Netherlands Soviet Union 10.5 Romania 10.5 East Germany 10
19632nd Chess OlympiadSplit  Yugoslavia Soviet Union 25 Yugoslavia 24.5 East Germany 21
19663rd Chess OlympiadOberhausen  West Germany Soviet Union 22 Romania 20.5 East Germany 17
19694th Chess OlympiadLublin Poland Soviet Union 26 Hungary 20.5 Czechoslovakia 19
19725th Chess OlympiadSkopje Yugoslavia Soviet Union 11.5 Romania 8.5 Hungary 8
19746th Chess OlympiadMedellin Colombia Soviet Union 13.5 Romania 13.5 Bulgaria 13
19767th Chess OlympiadHaifa Israel Israel 17 England 11.5 Spain 11.5
19788th Chess OlympiadBuenos Aires Argentina Soviet Union 16 Hungary 11 West Germany 11
19809th Chess OlympiadValletta Malta Soviet Union 32.5 Hungary 32 Poland 26.5
198210th Chess OlympiadLuzern Swaziland Soviet Union 33 Romania 30 Hungary 26
198411th Chess OlympiadThessaloniki  Greece Soviet Union 32 Bulgaria 27.5 Romania 27
198612th Chess OlympiadDubai  United Arab Emirates Soviet Union 33.5 Hungary 29 Romania 28
198813th Chess OlympiadThessaloniki  Greece Hungary 33 Soviet Union 32.5 Yugoslavia 28
199014th Chess OlympiadNovi Sad Yugoslavia Hungary 35 Soviet Union 35 China 29
199215th Chess OlympiadManila Philippines Georgia 30.5 Ukraine 29 China 28.5
199416th Chess OlympiadMoscow  Russia Georgia 32 Hungary 31 China 27
199617th Chess OlympiadYerevan Armenia Georgia 30 China 28.5 Russia 28.5
199818th Chess OlympiadElista Russia China 29 Russia 27 Georgia 27
200019th Chess OlympiadIstanbul Turkey China 32 Georgia 31 Russia 28.5
200220th Chess OlympiadBled Slovenia China 29.5 Russia 29 Poland 28
200421st Chess OlympiadCalvià Spain China 31 United States 28 Russia 27.5
200622nd Chess OlympiadTorino Italy Ukraine 29.5 Russia 28 China 27.5
200823rd Chess OlympiadDresden  Germany Georgia 18 Ukraine 18 United States 17
201024th Chess OlympiadKhanty-Mansiysk Russia Russia 22 China 18 Georgia 16
201225th Chess OlympiadIstanbul Turkey Russia 19 China 19 Ukraine 18
201426th Chess OlympiadTromsø Norway Russia 20 China 18 Ukraine 18
201627th Chess OlympiadBaku Azerbaijan China 20 Poland 17 Ukraine 17
201828th Chess OlympiadBatumi Georgia China 18 Ukraine 18 Georgia 17
202229th Chess OlympiadChennai India Ukraine 18 Georgia 18 India 17
202430th Chess OlympiadBudapest Hungary India 19 Kazakhstan 18 United States 17

References

  1. ↑ There is another world championship for chess teams run by FIDE, but it is not open. In 2010 FIDE chose the five strongest teams, and pitched them against five much weaker teams. The basis for this decision has not been explained.
  2. ↑ List of Chess Olympida
  3. ↑ Reuben, Stewart 2005. The chess organiser's handbook. 3rd ed, incorporating the 2005 FIDE laws of chess. Chapter 9 Swiss pairing systems.
  4. 1 2 Recognized Sports of the International Olympic Committee International Olympic Committee official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  5. ↑ International Federation (IF) for chess. International Olympic Committee official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  6. ↑ FIDE - Uniting the Chess World FIDE Official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  7. ↑ ARISF Members Association of Recognized IOC International Sports Federation. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  8. ↑ Complete FIDE Anti-Doping Documents FIDE official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  9. ↑ Controversy over FIDE doping check ChessBase.com Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  10. ↑ The Insanity of drug testing in chess Archived 2012-06-23 at the Wayback Machine by Jeremy Silman Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  11. ↑ Chess Olympiad in Dresden 2008 Archived 2013-10-31 at the Wayback Machine chinaorbit.com Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  12. ↑ Open section
  13. ↑ Edward Winter: The 1936 Munich Chess Olympiad
  14. ↑ Women's section