The 39th Chess Olympiad (Russian: 39-я Шахматная олимпиада, 39-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada), organised by FIDE and comprising an open[1] and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from September 19 to October 4, 2010, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. There were 148 teams in the open event and 115 in the women's event. In total, 1306 players were registered.[2]

The official logo of the Olympiad

This was the fourth time Russia organized the Chess Olympiad after 1956 (Soviet Union), 1994, and 1998. Six cities had submitted bids to organize the Olympiad: Khanty-Mansiysk, Budva, Buenos Aires, Poznań, Riga, and Tallinn. The selection was part of the FIDE Congress held during the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006.

The main events in both competitions were held in indoor tennis courts, which opened in September 2008. With an area of 15,558 m2, it hosted 3,500 chess fans.

Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Sava Stoisavljević (Serbia). For the second time, the number of rounds of the Swiss system was 11 with accelerated pairings. Both divisions were played over four boards per round, with each team allowed one alternate for a total of five players. The final rankings were determined by match points. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided by 1. Deducted Sonneborn-Berger; 2. Game points; 3. Deducted sum of match points.[3]

The time control for each game permitted each player 90 minutes their first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an additional 30 seconds increment for each player after each move, beginning with the first. The rule introduced at the previous Olympiad, according to which no draws by agreement were permitted before 30 moves, was once again abolished.

Open event edit

The open division was contested by 148 teams representing 141 nations. Russia, as hosts, fielded no less than five teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Committee of Silent Chess (ICSC) each provided one squad. Senegal were signed up, but did not turn up for their first round match and were disqualified.

Ukraine, led by Vasyl Ivanchuk and former FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov, took their second title after 2004. Once again, the Russian hosts were the pre-tournament favourites but, for the fourth Olympiad in a row, failed to live up to expectations, although they came close this time. Captained by former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, the Russians trailed the Ukrainians by one point before the last round. When Ukraine and eventual bronze medallists Israel, led by Boris Gelfand, drew their final match, Russia had the opportunity to snatch the gold. They only drew as well, however, so in the end had to settle for silver.

Although the Russian "A" team disappointed its fans on its home turf, the "B" squad, with five Olympic debutants, exceeded expectations by finishing sixth. Captain Ian Nepomniachtchi won an individual bronze medal on the top board.

Defending champions Armenia had to settle for seventh place and Team United States for ninth. India was once again without reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand and finished 18th, while his opponent in the recent championship match, Veselin Topalov, led Bulgaria to 31st place. Another former great power of chess, England, also disappointed in 24th place. The number one player in the world, Magnus Carlsen, only scored 4½ points in 8 games, and his Norwegian team ended up in 51st place.

Due to financial disagreements with the national federation, the top German players did not show up. Seriously weakened, Team Germany came recorded an all-time low in 64th place, just below the team of physically impaired players. Incidentally, the IPCA team were led by Thomas Luther, a former four-time Olympian for the German team.

Open event
# Country Players Average
rating
MP dSB
1   Ukraine Ivanchuk, Ponomariov, Eljanov, Efimenko, Moiseenko 2737 19
2   Russia Kramnik, Grischuk, Svidler, Karjakin, Malakhov 2755 18
3   Israel Gelfand, Sutovsky, Smirin, Rodshtein, Mikhalevski 2676 17 367.5
4   Hungary Leko, Almási, Polgár, Berkes, Balogh 2698 17 355.5
5   China Wang Yue, Wang Hao, Bu Xiangzhi, Zhou Jianchao, Li Chao 2703 16 362.0
6   Russia "B" Nepomniachtchi, Alekseev, Vitiugov, Tomashevsky, Timofeev 2702 16 355.0
7   Armenia Aronian, Akopian, Sargissian, Pashikian, Grigoryan 2698 16 345.0
8   Spain Shirov, Vallejo Pons, Salgado Lopez,
Magem Badals, Alsina Leal
2658 16 332.0
9   United States Nakamura, Kamsky, Onischuk, Shulman, Hess 2691 16 315.5
10   France Vachier-Lagrave, Fressinet, Tkachiev, Édouard, Feller 2681 16 311.5
Rank Country Average rating MP dSB GP
Final Ranking - Open
11   Poland 2662 15 346.5
12   Azerbaijan 2694 15 333.0
13   Russia "C" 2665 15 320.5
14   Belarus 2659 15 307.5
15   Netherlands 2665 15 305.0
16   Slovakia 2596 15 302.5
17   Brazil 2590 15 290.5
18   India 2645 15 287.0
19   Denmark 2519 15 257.5
20   Czech Republic 2656 14 338.5
21   Italy 2583 14 316.5
22   Greece 2590 14 302.5
23   Cuba 2652 14 299.0
24   England 2673 14 292.0
25   Argentina 2587 14 281.0
26   Estonia 2511 14 277.0
27   Kazakhstan 2535 14 274.0
28   Moldova 2580 14 265.0
29   Iran 2550 14 259.5
30   Georgia 2637 13 316.0
31   Bulgaria 2693 13 287.5
32   Croatia 2585 13 284.5
33   Serbia 2609 13 278.0
34   Sweden 2572 13 277.0
35   Lithuania 2545 13 268.0
36   Slovenia 2485 13 264.5
37   Canada 2492 13 264.0
38   Austria 2516 13 263.0
39   Russia "D" 2492 13 258.0
40   Iceland 2489 13 257.5
41   Egypt 2537 13 252.0
42   Montenegro 2481 13 251.5
43   Qatar 2483 13 236.0
44   Peru 2516 13 231.0
45   Turkey 2501 13 230.0
46   Uruguay 2384 13 227.0
47   Zambia 2002 13 202.5
48 ICSC 2394 13 197.0
49   Uzbekistan 2572 12 285.0
50   Philippines 2552 12 276.0
51   Norway 2594 12 274.5
52   Vietnam 2587 12 272.0
53   Chile 2500 12 261.0
54   Colombia 2475 12 255.0
55   Australia 2502 12 253.0
56   North Macedonia 2524 12 246.5
57   Albania 2419 12 231.5
58   Singapore 2393 12 231.0
59   Finland 2456 12 218.0
60   Belgium 2394 12 215.0
61   United Arab Emirates 2286 12 211.5
62   Pakistan 1970 12 194.5
63 IPCA 2403 12 192.5
64   Germany 2534 11 268.0
65   Switzerland 2513 11 258.5
66   Bosnia and Herzegovina 2574 11 254.5
67   Indonesia 2423 11 248.5
68   Kyrgyzstan 2350 11 231.5
69   Latvia 2472 11 224.0
70   Russia "E" 2449 11 220.0
71   Mongolia 2422 11 216.5
72   Mexico 2557 11 214.0
73   Bangladesh 2335 11 200.0
74   South Africa 2338 11 194.5
75   Portugal 2459 11 194.0
76   Turkmenistan 2418 11 193.0
77   Jordan 2343 11 188.0
78   Libya 2195 11 187.5
79   Paraguay 2330 11 186.0
80   Faroe Islands 2332 11 185.5
81   Venezuela 2429 11 184.5
82   Costa Rica 2342 11 179.0
83   Scotland 2429 11 175.5
84   Yemen 2327 11 165.0
85   Ecuador 2424 10 219.0
86   Tajikistan 2436 10 218.0
87   Andorra 2285 10 206.5
88   Ireland 2365 10 202.0
89   Algeria 2273 10 195.5
90   Dominican Republic 2314 10 191.5
91   New Zealand 2272 10 176.0
92   Malaysia 2325 10 172.0
93   Thailand 2256 10 168.5 21
94   Panama 2165 10 168.5 20½
95   Barbados 2251 10 168.0
96   Japan 2221 10 166.5
97   Luxembourg 2279 10 162.5 20½
98   Cyprus 2152 10 162.5 19
99   Guatemala 2214 10 160.5
100   Malta 2180 10 157.0
101   Nigeria 1464 10 153.0
102 IBCA 2346 10 145.5
103   Iraq 2363 9 183.0
104   Sri Lanka 2088 9 169.0
105   Jamaica 2243 9 160.0
106   Uganda 1938 9 158.5
107   Nepal 2096 9 152.5
108   Puerto Rico 2224 9 151.0
109   Lebanon 2227 9 149.0
110   Monaco 2252 9 143.0
111   Honduras 1950 9 141.5
112   Palestine 1894 9 133.0
113   South Korea 2069 9 132.0
114   Bolivia 2206 9 116.5
115   Trinidad and Tobago 2164 9 107.0
116   Botswana 2217 8 141.0
117   Brunei 2115 8 139.0
118   Mauritius 2128 8 138.0
119   Chinese Taipei 1849 8 137.5
120   Kenya 1669 8 135.0
121   Aruba 2007 8 130.5
122   Wales 2260 8 127.5
123   Jersey 2111 8 127.0
124   Angola 2230 8 125.0
125   Mali 1200 8 121.5
126   Namibia 1891 8 112.0
127   Malawi 1435 8 104.0
128   Ethiopia 1691 8 100.0
129   Hong Kong 1967 8 83.0
130   Guernsey 1927 8 69.5
131   Mauritania 1200 7 112.5
132   Suriname 2120 7 110.0
133   Macau 1992 7 108.5
134   Mozambique 1853 7 103.0
135   Madagascar 1438 7 102.0
136   Netherlands Antilles 2049 7 80.5
137   Cameroon 1200 7 78.5
138   São Tomé and Príncipe 1496 7 70.5
139   Haiti 1619 6 98.0
140   Ghana 1530 6 81.0 15½
141   Bermuda 1940 6 81.0 14½
142   Sierra Leone 1200 6 74.0
143   Papua New Guinea 2058 6 70.0
144   San Marino 2038 6 50.5
145   Burundi 1200 4 45.5
146   Rwanda 1321 3 57.0
147   United States Virgin Islands 1200 3 32.5
148   Seychelles 1604 2

Group prizes edit

In addition to the overall medals, prizes were given out to the best teams in five different seeding groups—in other words, the teams who exceeded their seeding the most. Overall medal winners were not eligible for group prizes.

Group Prizes
Group Seeding
range
Team MP dSB
A 1–29   Hungary 17 355.5
B 30–59   Belarus 15 307.5
C 60–89   Uruguay 13 227.0
D 90–119   Libya 11 187.5
E 120–148   Zambia 13 202.5

Individual medals edit

All board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Sutovsky on the second board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:

Women's event edit

 
Commemorative coin

The women's division was contested by 115 teams representing 110 nations. Russia, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Committee of Silent Chess (ICSC) each provided one squad.

The Russians won by an impressive four points to take their first independent title in the post-Soviet era. The team was led by the two Kosintseva sisters, who both won their respective boards, while reigning World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk "only" played third board and finished sixth.

China was captained by soon-to-be World Champion, 16-year-old Hou Yifan. They clinched the silver medals, another two points ahead of a field of six teams, of which defending champions Georgia had the best tie-break score and took the bronze.

The number one female player in the world, Judit Polgár, was absent from the women's competition. Instead she represented Hungary on third board in the open event, where she finished fourth both individually and with the team.

Women's event
# Country Players Average
rating
MP dSB
1   Russia T. Kosintseva, N. Kosintseva, Kosteniuk, Galliamova, Gunina 2536 22
2   China Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue, Huang Qian, Wang Yu 2500 18
3   Georgia Dzagnidze, Javakhishvili, Melia, Khukhashvili, Khotenashvili 2472 16 384.0
4   Cuba Ordaz Valdés, Linares Nápoles,
Marrero Lopez, Pina Vega, Arribas Robaina
2333 16 348.5
5   United States Krush, Zatonskih, Abrahamyan, Baginskaite, Foisor 2413 16 336.5
6   Poland Soćko, Zawadzka, Majdan-Gajewska, Dworakowska, Kądziołka 2386 16 336.0
7   Azerbaijan Z. Mamedyarova, T. Mamedyarova, Mammadova, Umudova, Isgandarova 2270 16 320.0
8   Bulgaria Stefanova, Voiska, Nikolova, Videnova, Velcheva 2361 16 296.5
9   Ukraine Lahno, Zhukova, Ushenina, Gaponenko, Muzychuk 2493 15 366.5
10   Russia "B" Pogonina, Girya, Savina, Bodnaruk, Kashlinskaya 2427 15 335.5

Individual medals edit

All board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Gaponenko on the fourth board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:

Overall title edit

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the nation that has the highest toal number of match points in the open and women's divisions combined. Where two or more teams are tied, they are ordered by the same tie breakers as in the two separate events.

The trophy, named after the former women's World Champion (1961–78), was created by FIDE in 1997.

# Team MP dSB
1   Russia 40
2   China 34 748.5
3   Ukraine 34 747.0

FIDE presidential election edit

During the Olympiad, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was re-elected as President of FIDE, defeating his rival, former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, decisively by 95 votes to 55.[4]

Controversies edit

In the first round, the team from Yemen refused to play against Israel. Each of the four Israeli players was thus awarded a technical victory.[5]

Three French players were caught in a scheme to use a computer program to decide moves. Their plan involved one player, Cyril Marzolo (IM), following the tournament at home and using the computer program to decide the best moves. He would send the moves by text message to the captain of the French team, Arnaud Hauchard (GM), who would then stand or sit at various tables as a signal to the player Sébastien Feller (GM) to make a certain move. Feller and Marzolo were given five year suspensions for this, while Hauchard was given a lifetime suspension. None of the other players on the French team knew of this or were involved.[6][7]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to all male and female players.
  2. ^ Chess Olympiad 2010 Archived 2020-09-17 at the Wayback Machine, Chessdom.com
  3. ^ FIDE Handbook Retrieved on 2012-09-05.
  4. ^ "Kirsan Ilyumzhinov wins 2010 FIDE elections". Chessdom.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  5. ^ Round 2 Olympiad Games now up Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Week in chess, 23 September 2010
  6. ^ "French chess hit by Russia olympiad 'cheating' scandal". BBC. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Cheating chess champion is banned for five years". connexionfrance.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.

External links edit