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The 43rd Chess Olympiad ( ka, 43-ე საჭადრაკო ოლიმპიადა, ''43-e sach’adrak’o olimp’iada''; also known as the Batumi Chess Olympiad), organised by the
Fédération Internationale des Échecs The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
(FIDE) and comprising openAlthough sometimes referred to as the "men's division", this section is open to all players. and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
, was held in
Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, from 23 September to 6 October 2018. This was the first
Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 an ...
to take place in Georgia with the Georgian Chess Federation also hosting the
Chess World Cup 2017 The Chess World Cup 2017 was a 128-player single-elimination chess tournament, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 2 to 27 September 2017. It was won by Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian. This was the second time he had won the Chess World Cup, 12 ye ...
in
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
. The total number of participants was 1,667, with 920 in the Open and 747 in the Women's event. The number of registered teams was 185 from 180 nations in the Open section and 151 from 146 nations in the Women's section. Both sections set team participation records. The main venue of the Chess Olympiad was Sport Palace Batumi, while the opening ceremony took place in the
Black Sea Arena Black Sea Arena is an indoor arena located on the coast of the Black Sea in Shekvetili, Guria, Georgia, some 45 km north of Batumi, the country's second largest city. The venue, designed by the architects from the German company Drei Archite ...
and the closing ceremony was held in the Batumi State Music Centre. The Chief Arbiter of the event was
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
's International Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos.
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
won the gold medal in both the Open and Women's event. This was the first time since
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
that one country united the titles and China became the second nation to do so after the former
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. China won their second gold medal in the Open event after they had previously claimed their first title in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
and defended their title won in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
to claim their sixth title overall in the Women's event. Peruvian player
Jorge Cori Jorge Moisés Cori Tello (, born 30 July 1995) is a Peruvian chess grandmaster. A former chess prodigy, he was twice world champion and four-time Pan American champion in his age category. Cori competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2011, 2013, 2 ...
, who played on the third board, was the best individual player in the Open event by scoring 7½ out of 8 points (seven wins and one draw) with a performance rating of 2925. Chinese reigning Women's World Chess Champion
Ju Wenjun Ju Wenjun (; born 31 January 1991) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. She is the current Women's World Chess Champion. In March 2017 she became the fifth woman to achieve a rating of 2600. She is a three-time Women's World Chess Champion having w ...
, playing on the first board, was the best individual player in the Women's event by scoring 7 out of 9 points (five wins and four draws), with a performance rating of 2661. The 89th FIDE Congress also took place during the event at which Russian politician and economist
Arkady Dvorkovich Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (russian: Арка́дий Влади́мирович Дворко́вич; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, who was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 May 2012 ...
was elected new President of FIDE following
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (russian: link=no, Кирса́н Никола́евич Илюмжи́нов, ; Kalmyk: Үлмҗин Кирсән, ''Ülmcin Kirsən'', ; born 5 April 1962) is a Russian business oligarch, administrator and po ...
's withdrawal because of the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
's sanctions imposed against him for his alleged support to the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War.


Bidding process

The bidding procedure for the 43rd Chess Olympiad and the FIDE Congress in connection with a possible bid for the
Chess World Cup 2017 The Chess World Cup 2017 was a 128-player single-elimination chess tournament, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 2 to 27 September 2017. It was won by Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian. This was the second time he had won the Chess World Cup, 12 ye ...
was opened in September 2013. Each city interested to host the event had to submit their bid to FIDE by 31 March 2014. The bids were to guarantee that all necessary provisions in accordance with the Olympiad Regulations of the FIDE Handbook would be covered by the organiser, including articles 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 pertaining to the organising committee, finances, and provision of amenities and stipends, respectively. FIDE received bids to host the events from the national federations of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. South Africa proposed Sun City as candidate city to host the Chess World Cup and
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
for the Chess Olympiad, while Georgia proposed
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
to host the Chess World Cup and
Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's ...
for the Chess Olympiad. Former World Chess Champion
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
expressed support for the South African bid during his FIDE presidential campaign. The final decision was made at the 85th FIDE Congress in August 2014 in
Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...
. Georgia's bid won, receiving 93 votes to South Africa's 58.


Preparations

The organisers of the tournament named several "Goodwill Ambassadors", including famous chess players like
Nona Gaprindashvili Nona Gaprindashvili ( ka, ნონა გაფრინდაშვილი; born 3 May 1941) is a former Soviet and Georgian chess player, and the first woman ever to be awarded the FIDE title Grandmaster in 1978. She was the fifth women' ...
,
Maia Chiburdanidze Maia Chiburdanidze ( ka, მაია ჩიბურდანიძე; born 17 January 1961) is a Georgian chess Grandmaster. She is the sixth Women's World Chess Champion, a title she held from 1978 to 1991, and was the youngest one until 2 ...
,
Judit Polgár Judit Polgár (born 23 July 1976) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster, generally considered the strongest female chess player of all time. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, at the time the yo ...
,
Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have ...
, as well as other domestic personalities like operatic mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, conductor and composer Nikoloz Rachveli and weightlifter
Lasha Talakhadze Lasha Talakhadze ( ka, ლაშა ტალახაძე; born 2 October 1993) is a Georgian weightlifter, holding the all-time world records regardless of weight category in the snatch (225 kg), the clean and jerk (267 kg) and the total (49 ...
.


Venues

The activities during the Chess Olympiad took place in three different venues. The tournament rounds took place in the Sport Palace Batumi, while the opening ceremony was held in the
Black Sea Arena Black Sea Arena is an indoor arena located on the coast of the Black Sea in Shekvetili, Guria, Georgia, some 45 km north of Batumi, the country's second largest city. The venue, designed by the architects from the German company Drei Archite ...
and the closing ceremony was held in the Batumi State Music Centre. * The Sport Palace Batumi is a modern spacious complex whose construction started in 2016 and was completed in 2018. The Chess Olympiad is the first sporting event to be held there. The venue is intended to host different kinds of sports and combines two halls: the large hall with capacity for 2,500 spectators, and the small one for 600 spectators. * The Black Sea Arena is the largest concert hall in Georgia with a total capacity of 10,000 seats placed in circular grandstands. It is located near the village of
Shekvetili Shekvetili ( ka, შეკვეთილი) is a village and sea resort in Ozurgeti Municipality, Guria, Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast, at the mouth of the Natanebi river. Shekvetili is home to the popular amusement park Tsits ...
, some 45 km north of Batumi. The construction of the hall started in 2008 with a total cost exceeding 200 million lari (around 93 million US dollars). It has an open roof at about 25 m above the ground level, while the stage spans a total area of 930 m2. Over the last couple of years, the venue has hosted concerts of famous music artists such like
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
, Scorpions and
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...
. * The Batumi State Music Centre was re-constructed in 2011 from a plan made by Georgian architect Vakhtang Khmaladze. The hall has modern equipment with 1,100 Spanish arm-chairs and a big Spanish chandelier. On the third floor, it has an exhibition space, where pop and jazz concerts can be held.


Financing

The proposed budget for both events exceeded 20 million US dollars. Some 1.6 million US dollars were allocated for the travel fund for participants from 80 countries, while around 2 million US dollars were set aside for the travel fund for 80 Nations and around 2 million US dollars for parallel development and promotion programmes in Europe and the rest of the world.


The event


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held on 23 September in the
Black Sea Arena Black Sea Arena is an indoor arena located on the coast of the Black Sea in Shekvetili, Guria, Georgia, some 45 km north of Batumi, the country's second largest city. The venue, designed by the architects from the German company Drei Archite ...
under the name "CHESS Stories" coined by Georgian writer
Aka Morchiladze Aka Morchiladze ( ka, აკა მორჩილაძე) is the pen name of Giorgi Akhvlediani (გიორგი ახვლედიანი) (born 10 November 1966), a Georgian writer and literary historian who authored some of the best ...
and was broadcast live on 1TV, the official website of the event and the social media. The first act was a play dedicated to the legend of the invention of chess and featured the famous
wheat and chessboard problem The wheat and chessboard problem (sometimes expressed in terms of rice grains) is a mathematical problem expressed in textual form as: The problem may be solved using simple addition. With 64 squares on a chessboard, if the number of grains d ...
. Then, video messages were presented by the Goodwill Ambassadors of the 43rd Chess Olympiad and speeches were delivered by the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Mikheil Batiashvili, the Chairman of the Government of Adjara
Tornike Rizhvadze Tornike Rijvadze ( ka, თორნიკე რიჟვაძე; transliterated as Rijvadze; born 25 March 1989) is a Georgian politician and a former business executive. On 21 July 2018, he was elected and serves as Chairman of the Governmen ...
, FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos and the
President of Georgia President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...
Giorgi Margvelashvili Giorgi Margvelashvili ( ka, გიორგი მარგველაშვილი; born 4 September 1969) is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth President of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018. ...
. FIDE Deputy President Makropoulos welcomed all participants at the Olympiad, stressed the need for a new era of politically and financially independent FIDE and presenting a very positive vision in his speech, and later declared the Chess Olympiad open. Next, the national anthem of Georgia and the anthem of FIDE before the flag-bearers paraded on the stage. The ceremony continued with stage performances that united the representatives of classical and modern cultures. Georgian conductor Nikoloz Memanishvili directed a concert performed by the Evgeni Mikeladze State Symphony Orchestra, ballerina
Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili (born: ''Nino Ananiashvili'', ka, ნინო ანანიაშვილი; born March 19, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the ''Daily Teleg ...
choreographed a ballet performance, and Sukhieshvili ensemble presented a new dance. Among others who made appearance on the stage were famous Georgian singers
Nino Katamadze Nino Katamadze ( ka, ნინო ქათამაძე; born 21 August 1972) is a Georgian jazz singer and artist. Biography Nino Katamadze was born in Kobuleti, Adjara, Soviet Georgia in 1972. In 1990, she entered the vocal department of t ...
, Liza Bagrationi and Giorgi Ushikishvili, baritone Lado Ataneli, violist Giorgi Tsagareli, the
indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...
band Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz, the folklore ensemble Lashari and the Batumi cappella. The last part of the ceremony was marked with the drawing of colours and was assisted by the batumi Chess Olympiad Goodwill Ambassador
Vishwanathan Anand Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
and Georgian chess player
Nana Dzagnidze Nana Dzagnidze ( ka, ნანა ძაგნიძე; born 1 January 1987) is a Georgian chess player. She was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2008. Dzagnidze was a member of the gold medal-winning Georg ...
who joined Chief Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos on the stage. The colours had to be decided in a unique way by white and black
pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
s hidden inside two
seashell A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...
s. Anand picked the white pearl that decided that United States as top seeds in the open event would play with the white pieces on the top board of the first round and Dzagnidze picked the black one that determined Russia as top seeds in the women's event to play with black on board one of the same round. The opening ceremony ended with fireworks displayed above the Black Sea Arena.


Participating teams

The number of 185 teams, representing 180 national federations, set a record. Georgia as a host country fielded three teams; there were also teams representing blind, deaf and physically disabled players. The women's tournament was contested by a record of 151 teams, representing 146 federations. The
Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...
, albeit a non-existing entity since 2010, are allowed to field teams under this name, because the Curaçao Chess Federation remains officially registered as representing the dissolved country in the FIDE Directory. ;Notes * Countries in ''italics'' denote those fielding teams in the open event only. * Pakistan were unable to compete after the team were denied exit visas by their government.


Competition format and calendar

The tournament was played in a Swiss system format. The
time control A time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game cloc ...
for all games was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, after which an additional 30 minutes were granted and increment of 30 seconds per move was applied. Players were permitted to offer a draw at any time. A total of 11 rounds were played, with all teams playing in every round. In each round, four players from each team faced four players from another team; teams were permitted one reserve player who could be substituted between rounds. The four games were played simultaneously on four boards,
scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
1 game point for a win and ½ game point for a draw. The scores from each game were summed together to determine which team won the round. Winning a round was worth 2 match points, regardless of the game point margin, while drawing a round was worth 1 match point. Teams were ranked in a table based on match points. Tie-breakers for the table were i) the Sonneborn-Berger system; ii) total game points scored; iii) the sum of the match points of the opponents, excluding the lowest one. The opening ceremony of the Chess Olympiad took place at 21:00
GET Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...
(
UTC+4 UTC+04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +04:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+04:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Baku, ...
) on 23 September and the closing ceremony at 20:00 GET (UTC+4) on 5 October. Tournament rounds started on 24 September and ended with the final round on 5 October. All rounds started at 15:00 GET (UTC+4), except for the final round which started at 11:00 GET (UTC+4). There was one rest day at the tournament—on 29 September—after the fifth round. In addition, the Captains' meeting took place at 09:30 GET (UTC+4) on 24 September, and the Arbiters meeting at 10:00 GET (UTC+4) on the same day. :''All dates are
GET Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...
(
UTC+4 UTC+04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +04:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+04:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Baku, ...
)''


Open event

The open section of the tournament was contested by a record number of 185 teams, representing 180 nations. Georgia, as host nation, fielded three teams, whilst the
International Braille Chess Association The International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) is organization for blind and visually impaired chess players. The IBCA is a FIDE-affiliated chess organization as well as a part of the International Blind Sports Federation. The International ...
(IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) each provided one team. The tournament featured nine out of the top ten players from the FIDE rating list published in September 2018 with only the current World Champion
Magnus Carlsen Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
being absent. Former World Champion
Vishwanathan Anand Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
returned to the Chess Olympiads on board one for
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
following a break of twelve years. Other players who played in the open section include the former World Chess Champion
Vladimir Kramnik Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Ch ...
, the challenger in the
World Chess Championship 2018 The World Chess Championship 2018 was a match between the reigning world champion since 2013, Magnus Carlsen, and the challenger Fabiano Caruana to determine the World Chess Champion. The 12-game match, organised by FIDE and its commercial p ...
Fabiano Caruana Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, Caruana became a grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days—the youngest grandmaster in the history of both Italy and the United St ...
, as well as the former challengers
Sergey Karjakin Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, . (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (formerly representing Ukraine). A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, (until it was eventually taken ...
and
Boris Gelfand Boris Gelfand ( he, בוריס אברמוביץ' גלפנד; be, Барыс Абрамавіч Гельфанд, Barys Abramavich Hel'fand; russian: Борис Абрамович Гельфанд, Boris Abramovich Gel'fand; born 24 June 1968) ...
. Grandmaster Eugenio Torre, who was in the line-up of the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
for a record twenty-three times between 1970 and 2016 and was the highest-scoring player at the
42nd Chess Olympiad The 42nd Chess Olympiad ( az, 42-ci Şahmat Olimpiadası; also known as the Baku Chess Olympiad), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an openAlthough sometimes referred to as the "men's division", this ...
, decided not to play and was named coach of the Philippines national team in the open section. Former FIDE World Champion
Veselin Topalov Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; bg, Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion. Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by wi ...
did not play because a dispute between chess officials caused de-recognition of the Bulgarian Chess Federation by FIDE. This was the first time
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
had not been the top-ranked team before the start of a Chess Olympiad since their first entry in 1992 following the dissolution of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, conceding the top spot to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, who were defending the title won at the previous Olympiad. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
were playing with the same line-up that won the gold medal with Fabiano Caruana,
Hikaru Nakamura Christopher Hikaru NakamuraWesley So Wesley Barbossa So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino and American chess grandmaster and 3-time U.S. Chess Champion (in 2017, 2020, and 2021). He is also a three-time Philippine Chess Champion. On the March 2017 FIDE rating list, he was ran ...
,
Samuel Shankland Samuel L. Shankland (born October 1, 1991) is an American chess grandmaster. He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 2018. Shankland was California State Champion in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, and Champion of State Champions in 2009. He won bronz ...
and
Ray Robson Ray Robson (born October 25, 1994) is an American chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2010. Robson fulfilled the requirements for the title in 2009 at the age of 14 years, 11 months and 16 days, making him the young ...
, whose average rating was 2772. Russia as the second strongest team made changes in the line-up compared to the Baku Chess Olympiad, where
Dmitry Jakovenko Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko (russian: Дмитрий Олегович Яковенко; born 28 June 1983) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001. Jakovenko was European champion in 2012. He was a member ...
and
Nikita Vitiugov Nikita Kirillovich Vitiugov (russian: Никита Кириллович Витюгов; born 4 February 1987) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2007. He was a member of the victorious Russian team at th ...
replaced
Alexander Grischuk Alexander Igorevich Grischuk (born October 31, 1983) is a Russian chess grandmaster. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion (in 2006, 2012 and 2015). He has competed in five Candidates ...
and
Evgeny Tomashevsky Evgeny Yuryevich Tomashevsky (russian: Евгений Юрьевич Томашевский; born 1 July 1987) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2005. Tomashevsky is a two-time Russian Chess Champion ...
alongside Vladimir Kramnik, Sergey Karjakin and
Ian Nepomniachtchi Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi ( rus, Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий, r=Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy, p=ˈjan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj, a=Ru-Ian Alexandrovich Nepomnyashchij.ogg; born 14 J ...
.
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
had the third highest pre-tournament rating of 2756 and four players from Baku on the team, including
Ding Liren Ding Liren (; born 24 October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. He is the highest rated Chinese chess player in history and is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion. He was the winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, beating Maxime Vac ...
, Li Chao,
Wei Yi Wei Yi (born 2 June 1999) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. Wei became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 8 months and 23 days, the 9th youngest in history. He is the youngest player ever to reach a rating of 2700, accomplishing this feat ...
and Yu Yangyi, while Wang Yue was replaced by
Bu Xiangzhi Bu Xiangzhi (; born December 10, 1985) is a Chinese chess player. In 1999, he became the 10th grandmaster from China at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua bec ...
. Other teams among the top seeds with average ratings above 2700 were
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
led by
FIDE Grand Prix 2017 The FIDE Grand Prix 2017 was a series of four chess tournaments that formed part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2018. The top two finishers, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexander Grischuk, qualified to the 2018 Candid ...
winner
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Shahriyar Hamid oghlu Mammadyarov ( az, Şəhriyar Həmid oğlu Məmmədyarov; born 12 April 1985), known internationally as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov , is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. he is ranked No. 1 in Azerbaijan and No. 13 in the world ...
and India was strengthened with Vishwanathan Anand on the team.


Open summary

China won the gold medal in the open event for the second time after they have previously claimed the title in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
. They scored eight wins, two draws and one loss for a total of 18 match points. The same result was achieved by the United States and Russia, who had inferior tie-breakers and came up on the podium by winning the silver and bronze medal, respectively. United States were on track to defending the title and were the sole leader after eight rounds, but their loss to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
in the ninth round set them back from winning the gold. Despite the slow start and implausible play, Russia finished the tournament with four consecutive victories to catch China and the United States, which was only enough for the third place because of the relatively weaker schedule. Poland were the biggest surprise of the tournament. They scored minimal match victories against the two top seeds, Russia in the fourth and the United States in the ninth round, and topped the table as sole leader after nine rounds. Their loss to China in the penultimate and tie with India in the ultimate round, however, placed them on the fourth place overall with 17 match points, which was only equaled by
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
who came in the fifth place at the end. The only unbeaten team in the open event was
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
with five wins and six draws but this score earned them only the 13th place. Teams that disappointed the most were Azerbaijan (the fourth seeds) who finished in 15th place,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 39th place, and the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 40th place.
Jorge Cori Jorge Moisés Cori Tello (, born 30 July 1995) is a Peruvian chess grandmaster. A former chess prodigy, he was twice world champion and four-time Pan American champion in his age category. Cori competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2011, 2013, 2 ...
of
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, playing on board three, was the best individual player in the open event by scoring 7½ out of 8 points (seven wins and one draw) with a rating performance of 2925. The other gold medalists include Ding Liren of China on board one who scored 5½ out of 8 points with a rating performance of 2873, Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn of
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
on board two who scored 8½ out of 10 points with a rating performance of 2804,
Daniel Fridman Daniel Fridman ( lv, Daniels Fridmans; born February 15, 1976) is a Latvian-German chess player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001, he was Latvian champion in 1996 and German champion in 2008, 2012 and 2014. Early chess caree ...
of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
on board four who scored 7½ out of 9 points with a rating performance of 2814, and
Anton Korobov Anton Sergiyovych Korobov ( ua, Антон Сергійович Коробов; born 25 June 1985) is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2003. Korobov is a four-time Ukrainian champion. He was voted the b ...
of Ukraine as a reserve player who scored 6½ out of 8 points with a rating performance of 2773. ;Notes *Average ratings calculated by chess-results.com based in September 2018 ratings. All board prizes were given out according to Performance rating (chess), performance ratings for players who played at least eight games at the tournament. Jorge Cori on the third board had the best performance of all players in the tournament. The winners of the gold medal on each board are listed in turn: * Board 1:
Ding Liren Ding Liren (; born 24 October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. He is the highest rated Chinese chess player in history and is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion. He was the winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, beating Maxime Vac ...
2873 * Board 2: Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn 2804 * Board 3:
Jorge Cori Jorge Moisés Cori Tello (, born 30 July 1995) is a Peruvian chess grandmaster. A former chess prodigy, he was twice world champion and four-time Pan American champion in his age category. Cori competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2011, 2013, 2 ...
2926 * Board 4:
Daniel Fridman Daniel Fridman ( lv, Daniels Fridmans; born February 15, 1976) is a Latvian-German chess player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001, he was Latvian champion in 1996 and German champion in 2008, 2012 and 2014. Early chess caree ...
2814 * Reserve:
Anton Korobov Anton Sergiyovych Korobov ( ua, Антон Сергійович Коробов; born 25 June 1985) is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2003. Korobov is a four-time Ukrainian champion. He was voted the b ...
2773


Women's event

The Women's event was contested by a record number of 151 teams, representing 146 nations. Georgia, as host nation, fielded three teams, whilst the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) each provided one team. The women's section featured most of the top players according to the FIDE rating list published in September 2018 with the highest rated female player Hou Yifan and the former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi not playing for China. Former Women's World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Ushenina and Mariya Muzychuk were part of their national teams, while Antoaneta Stefanova did not play because of the controversy with the Bulgarian Chess Federation. Sweden's Pia Cramling, who first played at the Chess Olympiads in 1978, was also not playing because of a row about captaincy. The team with highest average pre-tournament rating of 2523 was Russia, who were playing with the same line-up from the Baku Chess Olympiad, including former Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, Alexandra Goryachkina, Valentina Gunina, Natalia Pogonina and Olga Girya. Second strongest team were Ukraine with Anna Muzychuk, Anna and Mariya Muzychuk playing on the top two boards, Anna Ushenina, Natalia Zhukova and Iulija Osmak. The defending champions China without Hou Yifan and Tan Zhongyi were the third seeds. The first of the three Georgian teams were also among the favourites with the fourth highest pre-tournament rating. They were playing with
Nana Dzagnidze Nana Dzagnidze ( ka, ნანა ძაგნიძე; born 1 January 1987) is a Georgian chess player. She was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2008. Dzagnidze was a member of the gold medal-winning Georg ...
on the top board, Lela Javakhishvili, Nino Batsiashvili, Bela Khotenashvili and Meri Arabidze.


Women’s summary

China successfully defended the gold medal won in Women's event at the 42nd Chess Olympiad, 2016 and claimed their sixth title overall. The team scored seven wins and four draws for a total of 18 match points. This exact achievement was matched only by Ukraine, who had inferior tie-breaker and won the silver medal. These two teams were also the only unbeaten in the Women's event. Host nation Georgia finished solely in the third place and won the bronze medal with seven wins, three draws and one loss for a total of 17 match points. Russia, who were top seeds before the tournament, finished immediately after the podium in the fourth place after suffering losses to Uzbekistan in the second and Armenia in the sixth round, and being only in the 24th place after seven rounds. They scored 16 match points and had the highest tie-breaker among the nine teams with the same number of points. Armenia, who were the sole leader after seven rounds, occupied the seventh place at the end. Georgia's second team did also earn spot in the top ten, finishing on the ninth place overall. Teams that disappointed include Poland who finished in 16th place and Germany who finished in 28th place. Women's World Chess Champion
Ju Wenjun Ju Wenjun (; born 31 January 1991) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. She is the current Women's World Chess Champion. In March 2017 she became the fifth woman to achieve a rating of 2600. She is a three-time Women's World Chess Champion having w ...
of China, playing on board one, was the best individual player in the Women's event by scoring 7 out of 9 (five wins and four draws) with a rating performance of 2661. On the other boards, the gold medals were won by Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine on board two with 8 out of 10 and a rating performance of 2616, Khanim Balajayeva of Azerbaijan on board three who scored 7 out of 9 with a rating performance of 2522, Marina Brunello of Italy on board four with 8½ out of 10 and a rating performance of 2505, and Boshra Alshaebyi of Jordan as a reserve player with 8 out of 8 and a rating performance of 2568. ;Notes *Average ratings calculated by chess-results.com based in September 2018 ratings. All board prizes were given out according to Performance rating (chess), performance ratings for players who have played at least eight games at the tournament. Ju Wenjun on the first board had the best performance of all players in the tournament. The winners of the gold medal on each board are listed in turn: * Board 1:
Ju Wenjun Ju Wenjun (; born 31 January 1991) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. She is the current Women's World Chess Champion. In March 2017 she became the fifth woman to achieve a rating of 2600. She is a three-time Women's World Chess Champion having w ...
2661 * Board 2: Mariya Muzychuk 2616 * Board 3: Khanim Balajayeva 2522 * Board 4: Marina Brunello 2505 * Reserve: Boshra Alshaebyi 2568


Gaprindashvili Trophy

The
Nona Gaprindashvili Nona Gaprindashvili ( ka, ნონა გაფრინდაშვილი; born 3 May 1941) is a former Soviet and Georgian chess player, and the first woman ever to be awarded the FIDE title Grandmaster in 1978. She was the fifth women' ...
Trophy, created by FIDE in 1997 and named after the former women's World Champion (1961–78), was awarded to China, having scored the highest total number of match points in the open and women's events combined.


FIDE Congress

The 89th FIDE Congress took place during the Olympiad, specifically from 26 September to 14 October; the General Assembly was held from 3 to 5 October 2018.


FIDE presidential election

The FIDE presidential election took place on 3 October 2018. Long-serving FIDE President
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (russian: link=no, Кирса́н Никола́евич Илюмжи́нов, ; Kalmyk: Үлмҗин Кирсән, ''Ülmcin Kirsən'', ; born 5 April 1962) is a Russian business oligarch, administrator and po ...
announced his withdrawal from the presidency earlier that year following a controversy regarding the sanctions imposed by the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
for his alleged support to the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War. Three candidates entered the presidential run: FIDE Deputy President George Makropoulos of Greece (nominated by 64 national federations), politician and economist
Arkady Dvorkovich Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (russian: Арка́дий Влади́мирович Дворко́вич; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, who was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 May 2012 ...
of Russia (nominated by 13 national federations), and former World Chess Champion challenger Nigel Short of England (nominated by 6 national federations). On the election day, Short announced his withdrawal from the run in favour of Dvorkovich's nomination. Dvorkovich ultimately won the election against Makropoulos with 103 to 78 votes.


Marketing


Mascot

The mascot of the 43rd Chess Olympiad was a green turtle with a chessboard depicted on its shell that was wearing glasses and a tie with the colours from the tournament's official logo. It was publicly introduced during the celebration of the country's centenary Independence Day (Georgia), Independence Day held in
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
on 26 May 2018 by the Minister of Culture and Sports Mikheil Giorgadze together with the Director of the Organising Committee Zurab Azmaiparashvili and Georgian grandmaster Giorgi Giorgadze. On the Rustaveli Avenue, an election of the mascot's name also took place.


Postage stamp

In May 2018, it was announced that the Cabinet of Georgia has approved a postage stamp commemorating the 43rd Chess Olympiad.


Sponsorship

The sponsors of the event included: SOCAR, Turkish Airlines, Georgian Public Broadcasting, Hytera, Gurieli and Aqua Geo.


Concerns and controversies


Anti-cheating measures

In September 2018, FIDE announced the anti-cheating measures and procedures of the 43rd Chess Olympiad in accordance with the Abu Dhabi FIDE Executive Board in 2015 and the Moscow FIDE Presidential Board in 2016, as well as after clarifications of the FIDE WCOC Commission and FIDE Anti cheating Committee that were applied at the Baku Chess Olympiad. According to these measures, players and captains had to be inspected by the security staff at the entrance of the playing hall. The carrying of mobile phones, watches, and pens was not allowed inside the playing venue and players were required to release them in storage areas. Players and captains were obliged to show up at the entrance at least 30 minutes before the start of the round and those arriving later were forfeited. Fast random checks were performed by anti-cheating arbiters on approximately 20 to 30 players during each round but checks were not done during the first time control and close to the end of the game. If any indication on cheating was found, thorough check would have followed. Similar checks were performed immediately after the end of the games in each round on approximately 10 to 20 players with the application of the same procedure. Priority for checking had players who have won their games. Special attention was also given to the matches played on the top tables with about 10 players thoroughly checked in each round. The selection of players who had to be checked in each round was made by the Senior Arbiter for anti-cheating in cooperation with the Chief Arbiter.


Bulgarian Chess Federation suspension

On 10 September 2016, the European Chess Union held its General Assembly during the
42nd Chess Olympiad The 42nd Chess Olympiad ( az, 42-ci Şahmat Olimpiadası; also known as the Baku Chess Olympiad), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an openAlthough sometimes referred to as the "men's division", this ...
in Baku, where it voted 37–11 to suspend the Bulgarian Chess Federation (BCF). Later the same month, FIDE published a timeline of facts based on a number of complaints and allegations that had been brought to its Ethics Commission and General Assembly at the 88th FIDE Congress that took place at the Baku Chess Olympiad concerning the BCF. The timeline, among other things, included allegations of financial and administrative irregularities during the organisation of the 2013 European Youth Chess Championship in Budva, establishment of an imposter company in Delaware, the unlawful ban of Kiril Georgiev, Metodi Stoinev and Simeon Stoichkov, non-compliance of the BCF with the decisions made by the FIDE Ethics Commission and FIDE General Assembly in Baku, and refusal of the BCF to cooperate with the European Chess Union. On 30 September 2016, the BCF filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against its suspension. The court dismissed the appeal at a hearing in Lausanne on 28 April 2017 following an exchange of written submissions from both sides. In the absence of resolution, Bulgaria was not allowed to send teams to the Batumi Chess Olympiad because its federation was not recognised by FIDE, which left former FIDE World Chess Champion
Veselin Topalov Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; bg, Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion. Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by wi ...
and former Women's World Chess Champion Antoaneta Stefanova out of the tournament. On the other hand, some Bulgarian players switched to other federations and were allowed to participate at the event under different flags, most notably Ivan Cheparinov to Georgia, Kiril Georgiev to Republic of Macedonia, Macedonia (a country that he had previously represented at the 35th Chess Olympiad in 2002), and Boris Chatalbashev to Denmark.


FIDE presidential transition

In November 2015, the United States sanctioned FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for being part of a group "providing support to the government of Syria, including for facilitating Syrian government oil purchases from ISIL".
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
accused Ilyumzhinov for materially assisting and acting for the Syrian government and the Central Bank of Syria, although no details were revealed about the nature of his involvement. The press release has also linked FIDE's head to the murder of Russian journalist Larisa Yudina in 1999, who was investigating an offshore business registration mechanism in Kalmykia tied to Ilyumzhinov and whose murderer was allegedly Ilyumzhinov's adviser while he was serving as President of Kalmykia. The sanctions came shortly before Ilyumzhinov's trip to the United States, where he was supposed to determine which city would host the World Chess Championship 2016. They were also not the first case for sanctioning Russian nationals related to chess on political grounds by the United States and were preceded by the sanctions against Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko in April 2014 because of the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Crimean crisis. On 27 March 2017, FIDE's official website announced that Ilyumzhinov had allegedly resigned from his presidency on a meeting of FIDE Presidential Board that took place in Athens. Later he went on to publicly deny his resignation and told the Russian news agency TASS that FIDE officials wanted to oust him and that it was "the hand of the Americans". FIDE Executive Director Nigel Freeman the next day responded to Ilyumzhinov's statements that the information was untrue by saying that he actually threatened to resign and mentioned three times that he resigned at the end of the meeting. At a joint press conference together with the president of Russian Chess Federation Andrey Filatov at Central Chess Club in Moscow, Ilyumzhinov stated that he would remain FIDE President until the next general assembly. He also appealed to the chess federations and executive director Nigel Freeman to cancel the board meeting that he described as a waste of money. Filatov supported Ilyumzhinov and mentioned that he could not be removed from his presidential role against his will and the only way to do it is by the FIDE Congress. On 29 March, an open letter from FIDE Deputy President George Makropoulos was published on FIDE's official website. Makropoulos expressed support to his colleagues who had described Ilyumzhinov as verbally resigning and mentioned that no-one had asked him to resign. He also criticised his statements at the press conference and referred to "the recorded tape minutes of the meeting" as evidence. In February 2018, FIDE announced that their bank accounts were closed by the Swiss bank UBS as a result of the sanctions. The letter published by FIDE Treasurer Adrian M. Siegel reported that the white-money strategy in Switzerland does not allow to do business with people on the sanction list of the United States Department of the Treasury. Furthermore, it was revealed that the Presidential Board unanimously decided to take measures on transferring mitigate the risk by transferring Ilyumzhinov's duties to FIDE Deputy President Makropoulos in December 2015. The letter also reported that Ilyumzhinov had informed FIDE on multiple occasions that he would be removed from the sanction list in near future. On 29 June 2018, FIDE's president Ilyumzhinov announced that he would withdraw his candidacy for the presidential election during the Batumi Chess Olympiad and expressed support for Russia's new candidate
Arkady Dvorkovich Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (russian: Арка́дий Влади́мирович Дворко́вич; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, who was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 May 2012 ...
.


See also

*
Chess World Cup 2017 The Chess World Cup 2017 was a 128-player single-elimination chess tournament, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 2 to 27 September 2017. It was won by Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian. This was the second time he had won the Chess World Cup, 12 ye ...


Notes


References


External links

* * Results: *
Open event
*
Women's event
{{Chess Olympiads 43rd Chess Olympiad, Chess Olympiads Chess in Georgia (country) 2018 in Georgian sport 2018 in chess Sport in Batumi International sports competitions hosted by Georgia (country) August 2018 sports events in Europe September 2018 sports events in Europe