44th Chess Olympiad

The 44th Chess Olympiad (also known as the Indian Chess Olympiad), was organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) in Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu, India from 28 July to 9 August 2022. It consisted of open and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess.

The event was initially supposed to take place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, along with the Chess World Cup 2019, but was later moved to Moscow and scheduled for the period from 5 to 17 August 2020. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then relocated to Chennai following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This was the first Chess Olympiad to take place in India.

The event was hosted and managed in India by the AICF (All India Chess Federation). The current AICF President, Sanjay Kapoor was the President of the Organising Committee for the 44th Chess Olympiad, and AICF Secretary, Bharat Singh Chauhan was the Tournament Director.

The total number of participants was 1,737, with 937 in the Open and 800 in the Women's event. The number of registered teams was 188 from 186 nations in the Open section and 162 from 160 nations in the Women's section. Both sections set team participation records. The main venue of the Chess Olympiad was the convention centre at the Four Points by Sheraton, while the opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Chief Arbiter of the event was France's International Arbiter Laurent Freyd.

Uzbekistan won the gold medal in the Open event, which was their first overall medal in the Chess Olympiads, while Ukraine claimed their second gold in the Women's event (having previously won in 2006). English player David Howell had the highest performance for an individual player in the Open event with a performance rating of 2898 (he scored 7½ out of a possible 8 points). Polish player Oliwia Kiołbasa had the highest individual performance in the Women's event with a performance rating of 2565 (she scored 9½ of a possible 11 points).

The 93rd FIDE Congress also took place during the Olympiad, at which Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected as FIDE President and Viswanathan Anand was elected as FIDE Deputy President.

Bidding process

Bidding for the Olympiad and the simultaneous FIDE Congress opened in December 2015; bids could be made in connection with those for the Chess World Cup 2019. Each city bid had to be submitted to FIDE by 31 March 2016, including details of the organising committee, finances, provision of amenities and stipends. Only one bid was submitted, from Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia), although the national federations of Argentina and Slovakia had previously expressed interest in bidding. The bid was approved at the 87th FIDE Congress in September 2016.

Changes to the host city

In November 2019, in the opening ceremony of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich announced that the Chess Olympiad would be relocated from Khanty-Mansiysk to Moscow. The president of the Russian Chess Federation Andrey Filatov had stated earlier the same day that the two cities would likely co-host the event. Khanty-Mansiysk was to host the opening ceremony and the inaugural Chess Paralympics, for people with disabilities in teams representing blind, deaf and physically disabled players.

In February 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIDE decided to move the Chess Olympiad, FIDE Congress and Chess Paralympics away from Russia. Shortly after this announcement, the All India Chess Federation expressed interest in hosting the events, in either Delhi, Gujarat or Tamil Nadu. Politicians in Tamil Nadu agreed to host the Chess Olympiad and provided around . On 15 March 2022, FIDE announced that Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, would be the new host of the event.

Preparations

The total budget for the Olympiad was . The coordinating committee was headed by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin and included A. Raja, Udhayanidhi Stalin, three representatives of the All India Chess Federation, the president of the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and other representatives of the local authorities.

Venue

The venue was the convention centre at the Four Points by Sheraton in Mahabalipuram near Chennai. This consisted of an existing banquet hall (Hall 1) and a newly constructed hall (Hall 2), which cost . Hall 1 had a usable area of , while Hall 2 was double the size at . Hall 1 hosted games played on the top 28 boards in the open section and the top board in the women's section, with other games played in Hall 2. Exhibition space was also provided.

The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Nehru Indoor Stadium, part of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex. This was built in 1995 at a cost of ₹20 crore (then about €3.25 million) and has a capacity of 8,000 spectators.

Transport

Around 125 buses, 100 SUVs and six luxury cars were used to transport players and dignitaries during the event. The road between Chennai International Airport and Mahabalipuram was widened and reconstructed to improve traffic flow, with one lane of the highway reserved for Olympiad traffic during the event.

Torch relay

A torch relay was held prior to the event, the first for a Chess Olympiad. It started on 19 July at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi, where FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich handed the torch to the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who passed it to former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. The torch was then taken to 75 cities in 40 days, finishing in Chennai where it passed through Shore Temple. Related events involved the Indian sport mallakhamba. The torch arrived at the venue in Mahabalipuram on the morning of 27 July.

Security

The Tamil Nadu Police deployed 4,000 police officers to provide security during the Olympiad, on special duty from 25 July to 10 August. The Greater Chennai Police deployed an additional 22,000 police officers during prime minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city on 28 July. Flying of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles was banned in the city limits in the period 28–29 July.

Biosecurity

Because the event was held during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the Tamil Nadu Health Department deployed medical teams and 30 ambulances to perform COVID-19 screening at airports, hotels and venues. Nearly 1,000 doctors and other health personnel were engaged for the Olympiad. Thirteen hospitals in and around Old Mahabalipuram Road and East Coast Road were utilised. The Government of Tamil Nadu issued health insurance cards to all players, covering medical expenses up to per player.

COVID-19 PCR testing was performed on a randomly selected two per cent of all arriving flight passengers at the airport, including players, coaches, support staff and visitors. All passengers had to present a vaccine passport certifying they had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, or a certificate of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival. Thermal screening was applied to all players on a daily basis, with symptomatic cases being isolated, tested and treated. Due to the 2022 monkeypox outbreak, players from outside India were required to also be tested for monkeypox.

Food safety officials inspected food served every day in all hotels accommodating players. Due to the elevated risk of malaria and dengue fever, continuous fogging and spraying measures were deployed to prevent mosquito breeding. Additional hygiene training and inspection was arranged. Around 100 staff from other districts were used to monitor food safety measures in all hotels.

Ticketing

The price of a full-day ticket for Hall 1 was for domestic visitors and for foreigners, while students under 19 years of age, women and Tamil Nadu government staff could get a two-hour ticket at discounted price of . A full-day ticket for Hall 2 was for domestic visitors and for foreigners, while the concession categories received a two-hour ticket for . To prevent cheating using chess engines, all electronic devices (including mobile phones) had to be deposited at a counter outside the halls.

The event

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held on 28 July at 16:00 IST ( UTC+5:30) at the Nehru Indoor Stadium with an audience of more than 20,000 players, coaches and spectators. The opening address was given by Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sport Development Meyyanathan Siva V. A musical show was performed, with Kamal Haasan narrating the history of Tamil Nadu, directed by Vignesh Shivan. Singers Dhee and Kidakuzhi Mariyammal performed the song "Enjoy Enjaami". A dance song, "Vanakkam Chennai, Vanakkam Chess". was also played. A flag parade was held with one player from each team. Pianist Lydian Nadhaswaram played classical and modern tunes, including a blindfold exhibition.

The event was formally opened by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. In his speech, Modi discussed chess venues in Tamil Nadu and the Chathuranga Vallabhanathar Temple in Tiruvarur, where myth states God played chess with a princess. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin also spoke, praising the organisation of the event in less than four months. He noted that the Olympiad would be held near the coastal town Sadurangapattinam, thought to be the home of chaturanga, a predecessor game to chess. FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich also welcomed participants.

The five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand passed the Olympic LED illuminated torch to Modi, who passed it to Indian chess players R Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh D who "lit" the virtual Olympic cauldron.

Participating teams

The event was contested by a total of 188 teams, representing 186 national federations, both records for a Chess Olympiad. India, as host country, was permitted to field three teams. The women's tournament featured 162 teams, also a record, representing 160 federations. Russia and Belarus were banned from taking part by FIDE as a result of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. China declined to send a team. Pakistan boycotted the event and a team from Rwanda were prevented from attending by their own government. A team representing the Netherlands Antilles was permitted to compete, despite having dissolved itself in 2010, because the Curaçao Chess Federation remains officially registered as representing the country.

;Notes

* Countries in ''italics'' denote those fielding teams in the open event only.
* Countries in bold denote those fielding teams in the women's event only.

Competition format and calendar

The tournament was played in a Swiss system format. The time control 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 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 two 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.

Tournament rounds started on 29 July and ended with the final round on 9 August. All rounds began at 15:00 IST (UTC+5:30), except for the final round which began at 10:00 IST (UTC+5:30). There was one rest day at the tournament, on 4 August, after the sixth round.

:''All dates are IST ( UTC+5:30)''

Open event

The open tournament featured five out of the top ten players from the FIDE rating list published in July 2022. World Champion Magnus Carlsen played for Norway. Former World Champion Viswanathan Anand decided not to play for India, acting as team mentor instead. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, who will contest the World Chess Championship 2023, both missed the tournament due to Russia's suspension and China's withdrawal, respectively. Other top players who skipped the Olympiad include France's Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, with the latter citing the unfavourable weather conditions, Teimour Radjabov withdrew from playing for Azerbaijan shortly before the start of the tournament, due to suffering after-effects of a COVID-19 infection that he contracted following the Candidates Tournament 2022