COMIN SOON
About the Olympiad
XX century twenties
Birth of the Olympiad.
The very first Olympiad was an unofficial one. In 1924 an attempt was made to include chess in the Olympic Games, but failed because of the 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. This historical day became not only a birthday of FIDE but also the international day of chess.
FIDE organized the first Official Olympiad in 1927 which took place in London.
There were 16 participating nations in the 1st Chess Olympiad.
Another unofficial Olympiad was held in Budapest, Hungary in 1926, as for the second official Chess Olympiad – it was organized by Hague, Netherlands in 1928.
The Thirties
The Chess Olympiad organizers in the thirties were: Hamburg, Germany in 1930; Prague, Czech Republic in 1931; Folkestone, UK in 1933; Warsaw, Poland in 1935; Stockholm, Sweden in 1937; Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1939. As for the third unofficial Olympiad – it was held in Munich, Germany.
The Forties
In the history of the Chess Olympiad this epoch is associated with stagnation. Because of the impact of the World War II – no Olympiad was held in this period.
The Fifties
In 1950, after the long break, the 9th Chess Olympiad was held in Dubrovnik (Yugoslavia). At the same time, it was decided to organize the Chess Olympiad every two years. In the following years the Olympiad was organized by: Helsinki, Finland in 1952; Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1954; Moscow, USSR in 1956; Munich, West Germany in 1958.
The Sixties
The chronicle of the Olympics in the sixties’: 1960 – Leipzig, East Germany; 1962 – Varna, Bulgaria; 1964 - Tel Aviv, Israel; 1966 – Havana, Cuba; 1968 – Lugano, Switzerland.
The Seventies
There were five more Chess Olympiads (19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd) in the 20th century, in the seventies. Siegen, West Germany in 1970; Skopje, Yugoslavia in 1972; Nice, France in 1974; Haifa, Israel in 1976 and Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1978 were the organizing cities.
The Eighties
Thessaloniki, Greece had organized the Chess Olympiad twice in the eighties – in 1984 and 1988. As for the 24th Chess Olympiad – it was held in Valletta, Malta in 1980. The 25th Chess Olympiad was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1982; The 27th Chess Olympiad was organized in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Nineties
Novi Sad, Yugoslavia hosted the 29th Chess Olympiad in 1990; In 1992 the chess players visited Manila, Philippines; Russia was the organizer country in 1994, as well as, in 1998. The 31st Chess Olympiad was held in Moscow, the 33rd – in Elista. In 1996 the Olympiad was held in Yerevan, Armenia.
21st Century
As a sporting federation recognized by the IOC, and particularly as a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) conventions, FIDE adheres to their rules, including a requirement for doping tests, which they are obligated to take at the events such as the Olympiad. The tests were first introduced in 2002, which caused controversy and difference of opinions. Istanbul, Turkey in 2000; Bled, Slovenia in 2002; Calvià, Spain in 2004; Turin, Italy in 2006; Dresden, Germany in 2008 – this is the list of the cities, which hosted the Olympiads of the first decade of the XXI century.
2010s
Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia was the organizer of the 2010 Chess Olympiad. The next country was Turkey (Istanbul in 2012), which was followed by Norway (Tromsø in 2014). As for the 42nd Chess Olympiad – it was held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2016.
2018
Georgia will be organizing the 43rd Chess Olympiad. This large-scale event will start in Batumi on September 23. Sixteen countries had participated in the first Chess Olympiad but the 43rd Chess Olympiad is expecting the teams of women and men from 190 countries.