In the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad, national chess federations play in matches with a classical time control for gold medals, prizes, and the distinction of being the world’s strongest chess country. The conference center at the Four Points by Sheraton will serve as the primary location for the Chess Olympiad. At the same time, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies.
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About Chess Olympiad
Teams of outstanding chess players fight for their various countries in the Chess Olympiad, an international chess competition. The world’s top athletes represent their nations on a worldwide scale. The International Chess Federation (FIDE), which chooses the host nation (the nation that holds the competition), also plans the competition.
The International Olympic Committee’s regulatory organization for chess is FIDE. However, this competition has no formal connections to the Olympics. The victor of the Chess Olympiad is essentially the greatest chess country at that moment and is regarded as the FIDE Team Champion.
Chess Olympiad History
The country, won the most gold medals is the Soviet Union (18). The Soviet Union won the gold medal in every Olympics from 1952 through 1990, except for two (they did not participate in 1976 for political reasons and placed second in 1978). Russia and the United States each have six gold medals as of 2020, while the United States has the most overall medals with 20.
Broadcast
The 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad will be broadcast live on Chess.com/TV and our Twitch channel. Additionally, you may watch every one of our live broadcasts on YouTube at ChesscomLive. GMs Daniel Naroditsky, Yasser Seirawan, Arturs Neiksans, and WFM Alessia Santeramo will provide insightful comments, so tune in to hear them.
Teams, A team from any national federation may enter the competition. Over-the-board Olympiads in the Open division has been won the last three times by China and the United States, with China triumphing in 2014 and 2018 and the United States in 2016.
Format
Teams
- Each team has four starters and one reserve.
- There is a captain for each squad, who may also be a player.
Competition Format
In an 11-round Swiss competition, teams play. Players are assigned to play on boards 1, 2, 3, and 4 by their teams. Players from one nation’s boards compete against the corresponding committees of the other nation in matches (board one vs. panel one, board two vs. board two, and so on). After move 40, there is an additional 30 minutes to the 90+30 time limit. Before move 30, players cannot draw a lot by consensus.
System of Points
By “game points,” matches are decided. Each team receives one game point for a victory, 0.5 game points for a tie, and zero game points for a defeat. The team wins the game with the most game points. If the game is tied after regulation, there are no tiebreaks. For each victory, a team receives two “match points,” one “match point” for a draw, and zero “match points” for a defeat. The Olympiad Champion is the team having the most match points after the competition. Additionally, federations are ranked in a “combined classification” based on the combined results of their Open and Women’s finishes.
Prizes
The Olympiad offers performance-based team and individual non-monetary awards.
Group Awards
First place in the Open category: Crawford-Hamilton Cup
Women’s division first place: Vera Menchik Trophy
In first place for the total classification: The Nona Gaprindashvili Award
Additionally, players from the top three teams are awarded team medals:
1: Gold
2: Silver
3. Bronze
Personalized Awards
According to their performance rating, players with the same board number compete for individual medals:
1: Gold
2: Silver
3. Bronze
Venue
At the Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort and Convention Centre in Chennai, India, the Olympiad is being held this year. In a prime position, the resort is close to a beach and Chennai’s well-known Shore Temple.
Schedule
The schedule for the 44th Chess Olympiad is discussed below –
- July 29: Round 1 at 3 pm (IST)
- July 30: Round 2 at 3 pm (IST)
- July 31: Round 3 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 1: Round 4 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 2: Round 5 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 3: Round 6 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 4: Rest Day
- August 5: Round 7 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 6: Round 8 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 7: Round 9 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 8: Round 10 at 3 pm (IST)
- August 9: Round 11 at 3 pm (IST)
Frequently Asked Questions
Players from 187 nations are competing in the world’s most prominent team chess tournament, which is held in Mamallapuram and will end on August 10. Following the dispute between Russia and Ukraine, the Olympics were relocated from Moscow, Russia.
Each member of one national team competes against another member of the other national team in an 11-round Swiss tournament as part of the competition.
Additionally, there won’t be any teams from Belarus or Russia in the Chess Olympiad because FIDE banned them due to the conflict in Ukraine.
The French abbreviation for the International Chess Federation, or World Chess Federation, is FIDE (/fide/ FEE-day Fédération Internationale des Échecs).
The Hindu claims that the choice of Mamallapuram as the location was influenced by the seaside town’s excellent transportation system and the presence of numerous upscale hotels.