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40th Chess Olympiad

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Official logo of the 40th Chess Olympiad

The 40th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open[1] and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, takes place in Istanbul, Turkey[2] from 27 August to 10 September 2012. It is the second time the city has hosted the event after having organized the 34th Chess Olympiad in 2000.

Total of 162 teams participate in the open and 131 in the women's section with more than 1,700 players and team captains.[3] Teams are going to be paired in 11 rounds of competition according to the Swiss system. The main competitive events are held at the World Trade Center Istanbul. Chief Arbiter of the event is Panagiotis Nikolopoulos (Greece).

Background

Istanbul was the host-city of the 34th Chess Olympiad in 2000, which marked the beginning of a process of "Chess Boom" in the country. Since then, Turkey hosted more than 100 international chess tournaments, including European Championships, World Youth Championships and Youth Chess Olympiads. The number of members of the Turkish Chess Federation has risen from 3,000 to about 250,000 in only eight years. Ali Nihat Yazıcı, President of the Turkish Chess Federation, is credited to have triggered most of the activities towards this intensive chess development in the country.[4] He was later elected and now serves as a Vice-President of FIDE.

Bidding process

The decision to host the 40th Chess Olympiad made at the 78th Congress of FIDE during 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden in November 2008.[2] Istanbul won the bids by 95-40 votes over Budva.

The Olympiad

Competition format

The tournament is played in a Swiss system format. The time control for every single game is 90 minutes per 40 moves, with addition of 30 seconds per move, and 30 minutes after the 40th move. It is allowed once again a player to offer a draw during the whole game. Total of 11 rounds are going to be played, in which every team plays with four of their players against other team. Every team may nominate one reserve player.[5]

Teams are ranked according to the match points won in every round. In case of same number of match points by one or more teams, the tie-breaker is decided by applying: 1. The Sonneborn-Berger system; 2. Total game points scored; 3. Sum of the match points of the opponents, excluding the lowest one.[5]

Open event

The open section of the tournament is being contested by 162 teams representing 159 nations. Turkey, as host nation, has 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 provide one team.[6][7]

Women's event

The women's event is being contested by 131 teams representing 126 nations. Same as the open event, Turkey has 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 provide one team.[6][7]

Controversies

On 24 November 2010, New York Times published an article concerning the possibilities that the Turkish Chess Federation has paid the voters amount of $120,000 in order to win the bids to organize the Olympiad. In the financial report published on the official website of the Turkish Chess Federation there was a footnote, which translated into English points on the allocation of these costs for stand, souvenirs, lobbying activities, as well as accomodation, transportation and food for some of the FIDE delegates to vote for the city.[8] The official answer of the Turkish Chess Federation denied the claim and mentioned that the sum spent is not very big when bidding to host an Olympiad. It was also clarified in the response that the costs were allocated to pay for the Turkish delegates at the FIDE Congress in Dresden, and the expenses documented by invoices testify that no money was given to any of the FIDE delegates and none of the expenses were reimbursed.[8]

In June 2012, Ali Nihat Yazıcı, President of the Turkish Chess Federation, announced that no arbiters from Germany, England, France, Georgia, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States of America will be accepted for the event, because of the involvement of those countries in launching or supporting court cases against FIDE, which caused financial problems and a loss of distributeable income for worldwide chess development. A few days later, the English Chess Federation sent a protest letter to FIDE, which was later co-signed by the other federations who announced their support.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to all male and female players.
  2. ^ a b Chess Olympiad 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey, Chessdom.com.
  3. ^ Team starting rank for the 40th World Chess Olympiad, CHessdom.com.
  4. ^ a b Formal protest issued against Turkish Chess Federation, Chessvibes.com, 11 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b FIDE Handbook: Olympiad Pairing Rules, FIDE.
  6. ^ a b Olympiad preview, Chessvibes.com, 22 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b 2012 Istanbul Chess Olympiad preview, ChessBase, 21 August 2012.
  8. ^ a b Chess Olympiad 2012 sparkles discussion - NY Times article, Chessdom.com.

External links

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