36th Chess Olympiad

The 36th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open [ Although commonly referred to as the "men's division", this section is open to both male and female players. ] and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, in Calvià on the Spanish island of Majorca.

Chess competition

Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Ignatius Leong. Teams were paired across the 14 rounds of competition according to the Swiss system; the open division was played over four boards per round, whilst the women's was played over three. The time control for each game permitted each player 90 minutes to make all of his or her moves, with an additional 30 seconds devolving on each player after each move, beginning with the first.

Open tournament

The open division was contested by 129 teams representing 125 nations and territories; Spain, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association and the International Physically Disabled Chess Association each provided one squad.

Led by first board Grandmaster ("GM") Vasyl Ivanchuk, the seventh highest-rated player at the tournament, who recorded nine-and-one-half points over 13 rounds, and second reserve "GM" Sergey Karjakin who, aged just 14 years, won six of his seven games, surrendering a draw only to American "GM" Gregory Kaidanov, Ukraine scored all four possible points in each of their first three matches before defeating Russia, 2½-1½, in the fourth round, eventually accumulating a nearly insurmountable three-point lead after the penultimate round; the Ukrainian team nevertheless scored three points against France and claimed the gold medal three points ahead over silver medallists Russia, who had entered the tournament as the top seed, having brought four of the tournament's nine highest-rated players, and as defending champions.

Armenia, one of just four teams to draw a match with Ukraine, paced by second board "GM" Levon Aronian, who did not lose in twelve games, and third board "GM" Rafael Vaganian, who scored eight-and-one-half points over in 11 games, lost to Russia, 2½-1½, in the eighth round and ultimately, on the strength of a 3½-½ final round defeat of Georgia, tied Russia's 36.5 points; Armenia were placed after Russia, though, on the Buchholz tiebreak system employed by the Olympiad, and finished, as in the 35th Chess Olympiad, with the bronze medal.

Cuba, seeded 18th, and Bulgaria, seeded 20th, each finished in the top ten, led respectively by second board "GM" Lazaro Bruzon (eight points over 11 games) and first board "GM" Kiril Georgiev (eight points in 13 games, including a final round defeat of the tournament's top rated player, Indian "GM" Viswanathan Anand), while France, seeded 12th, and England, seeded eighth, performed below expectations, finishing in 23rd and 30th, respectively.

Team results

The teams finishing first through third overall receive medals, as do those finishing in the top three amongst teams organized by seed; overall medal winners are not eligible to receive group prizes.

Top ten overall finishers

Group C (from amongst teams seeded 52nd to 77th)

Individual results

Individual medals are awarded to the three players to achieve the best [http://www.fide.com/ratings/calculator_rp.phtml rating performance] having played at least eight games. Medals are also awarded to the top three finishers, by percentage of points won from total points possible, from amongst those to have played primarily on each of boards one through four (having played at least eight games) as well as to those reserves who have otherwise played at least seven games across all boards, who are classified as playing on boards five and six. Teams typically feature their better players on the lower-numbered boards, but illness, fatigue, and absence often affect playing rotations. Ties are resolved in favor of the player who played more games; where ties remain, the player with a better rating performance is awarded the superior placing.

Best rating performance

Third board

Sixth (second reserve) board

Group B (from amongst teams seeded 18th to 34th)

Group E (from amongst teams seeded 70th to 87th)

Second board

Overall title

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the entity the average place of finish of which in the open and women's division is the best (where two or more teams are tied, they are ordered by single-best finish in either division and then by total points scored); with an average finish of two-and-one-half, the Russia won the 2004 trophy.

Top ten finishers

Participating teams

Squads representing 119 nations, five constituent countries, two autonomous entities, two crown dependencies, two international organizations, two special administrative regions, two insular areas, and one overseas territory were entered into the Olympiad, comprising 1204 players (some registered players, though, did not play).

Entering teams in the open and women's division were
* Albania
* Argentina
* Armenia
* Australia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Bangladesh
* Belarus
* Bolivia
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Botswana
* Brazil
* Bulgaria
* Canada
* People's Republic of China
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Croatia
* Cuba
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* England
* Estonia
* Fiji
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Hungary
* Iceland
* India
* Indonesia
* International Braille Chess Association
* International Physically Disabled Chess Association
* Iran
* Iraq
* Ireland
* Israel
* Italy
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* Kenya
* Kyrgyzstan
* Latvia
* Lebanon
* Libya
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* FYR Macedonia
* Malaysia
* Mexico
* Moldova
* Mongolia
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Norway
* Peru
* Philippines
* Poland
* Portugal
* Puerto Rico
* Qatar
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia and Montenegro
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* South Africa
* Spain [ As hosts, Spain entered three teams into the open division and two into the women's division. ]
* Sri Lanka
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Tajikistan
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United States of America
* United States Virgin Islands
* Venezuela
* Vietnam
* Wales
* Yemen

Entering teams in only the open division were
* Afghanistan
* Andorra
* Angola
* Aruba
* Barbados
* Belgium
* Bermuda
* British Virgin Islands
* Chile
* Cyprus
* Faroe Islands
* Guernsey
* Hong Kong
* Jamaica
* Jersey
* Liechtenstein
* Macau
* Malta
* Mauritius
* Monaco
* Morocco
* Namibia
* Nepal
* Netherlands Antilles
* Nicaragua
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Panama
* Papua New Guinea
* Paraguay
* Rwanda
* San Marino
* Scotland
* Seychelles
* Singapore
* Suriname
* Thailand
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Uruguay

Controversy

Azmaiparashvili incident

Prior to the closing ceremonies of the Olympiad, FIDE vice president Grandmaster Zurab Azmaiparashvili was arrested by Palmanovan law enforcement as he attempted to ascend the stage. Security officers, in conjunction with local police, did not permit Azmaiparashvili access to tournament organizers, and a struggle ensued, after which Azmaiparashvili, having sustained several injuries, was arrested; he secured his release on bail for €500 after having been held for 40 hours, and the charges against him were later dropped.

Azmaiparashvili, a Georgian undertook to inform the presenter of the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy that the latter ought more clearly to explain Gaprindashvili's contributions to the game of chess (Gaprindashvili had been women's world chess champion), but was barred by security. Azmaiparashvili and FIDE averred that Azmaiparashvili was detained and physically accosted despite his having properly and "clearly [displayed] his VIP credentials" [http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=584] , whilst representatives of the Spanish chess federation (the Federación Española de Ajedrez) and tournament organizers blamed Azmaiparashvili for the incident, saying that he "without any previous provocation, assaulted [an] agent with a head butt to [the] mouth" [http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/event/calvia04/azmai.html] .

Drug testing

Having been formally recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1999, in preparation for prospective inclusion in future iterations of the Olympic Games, FIDE, in 2001, implemented doping restrictions consistent with those adopted by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Two players, Shaun Press of Papua New Guinea and Bobby Miller of Bermuda, refused, for various reasons, to submit urine samples for analysis. Both players appeared before a FIDE disciplinary panel, which decided to cancel the players' performances (Press had scored seven-and-one-half points over fourteen games, while Miller had scored three-and-one-half points over nine games), reducing the final score of Papua New Guinea to 15.5 (from 23.0) and that of Bermuda to 18.5 (from 22.0).

Associated events

Concomitant to the tournaments were several chess-related events planned by the organizing committee of the Olympiad, some under the auspices of FIDE; the events were known collectively as the "First Chess Festival Calvià 2004". Within the festival were held simultaneous exhibitions, game demonstrations and lectures by top Spanish players, and several chess tournaments, including one for amateur players, one for players aged under 16 years (a speed chess event), and one for senior players.

Chess classes were introduced into the primary and secondary schools, as well as senior centers, in and around Calvià, in an effort to promote chess generally, and chess films were screened on the beaches of Calvià each weeknight.

Chess-oriented art was displayed at an "International Chess Fair", with prizes for top works awarded by a jury.

External links

* [http://chess-results.com/tnr1881.aspx?lan=1 Olympiad open division detailed results]
* [http://chess-results.com/tnr1881.aspx?lan=1&m=-1 Olympiad women's division detailed results]
* [http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/event/calvia04/ "This Week in Chess" Olympiad round-by-round summaries]

Notes