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42nd Chess Olympiad

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42nd Chess Olympiad

Logo of the 42nd Chess Olympiad
Dates run 1–14 September 2016
Competitors 1,587 (894 in open and 693 in women's event)
Phy 180 (Open)
142 (Women)
Nations 175 (Open)
138 (Women)
Venue Baku Crystal Hall
Location Baku, Azerbaijan
Medalists
Open 1st place, gold medalist(s)  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Ukraine
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Russia
Women 1st place, gold medalist(s)  China
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Poland
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Ukraine

The 42nd Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an Open[1] and Women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 1–14 September 2016.[2] It was the first time that the Chess Olympiad had been hosted in Azerbaijan; however, Azerbaijan had previously hosted strong tournaments, including the annual Shamkir Chess super-tournament in memory of Vugar Gashimov (1986–2014) and the 2015 Chess World Cup.[3][4][5][6]

The total number of participants was 1,587, with 894 in the Open and 693 in the Women's event.[7] The number of registered teams was 180 from 175 countries in the Open section and 142 from 138 countries in the Women's section. Both sections set team participation records. Eritrea, Kosovo, and South Sudan competed in the tournament for the first time. The venue of the Chess Olympiad was the Baku Crystal Hall.[8] The Chief Arbiter of the event was Azerbaijan's International Arbiter Faiq Hasanov.[9]

The United States won the gold medal in the Open event for the first time since 1976 and for the sixth time overall, while China won their fifth gold medal in the Women's event and the first since 1994 after winning the silver medal in the last three Olympiads. Ukrainian player Andrei Volokitin, who played as a reserve player, was the best individual player in the Open event with 8½ out of 9 points (eight wins and one draw), with a performance rating of 2992. Russian Valentina Gunina, playing on board two, was the best individual player in the Women's event with 8 out of 10 points (seven wins, two draws and one loss) with a performance rating of 2643.[10]

Bidding process

The bidding procedure for the 42nd Chess Olympiad and the FIDE Congress in connection with a possible bid for the Chess World Cup 2016 was opened in December 2011. Each city interested to host the event had to submit their bid to FIDE by 31 May 2012. 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.[11][12] Three cities submitted bids to host the event: Albena, Tallinn and Baku.[13]

The final decision was made at the 83rd FIDE Congress in September 2012 in Istanbul. Out of the three bidding cities, the applications of Albena and Tallinn were not accepted as they both failed to make presentations before the voting.[14] Thereafter, discussions started about Baku's nomination and two concerns were raised. The first was the protest by the Armenian representatives against holding the Olympiad in Azerbaijan, who stated that the Armenian chess players would find it difficult to play in Baku, since the two nations were in armed conflict. The second concern was related to the difficulties that the participants may have in obtaining a visa to enter the country. In his speech during the congress, Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov said that Armenian sportsmen had already visited Azerbaijan and participated in competitions, where they were provided with security guarantees that had been met, and no incident was ever recorded. He also mentioned the victory of Russian Armenian boxer Misha Aloyan in the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships held in Baku as an example that Armenians can not only participate but also win. With regard to the visa issue, Rahimov mentioned the positive experience with the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, where all participants received their visas on arrival at the airport without any problem. He also added that the Armenian sportsmen will also get visas easily. The next speaker was FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who suggested that the 42nd Chess Olympiad should take place in Baku and mentioned that there are four years for the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict to be resolved before the event.[15]

I have visited Armenia and Azerbaijan. We discussed holding the Olympics in Azerbaijan with the president of Armenia. Then I met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Both presidents are my friends, we often talk on the phone. The Olympics will be held in four years and during that time the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict can be resolved. Let's play chess!

— Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of FIDE[15]

His proposal was supported by the delegates and the FIDE Congress awarded the Chess Olympiad 2016 to Baku, and the Chess World Cup 2015 for the year before.[16][15]

Preparations

The organising committee of the Chess Olympiad consisted of fourteen prominent Azerbaijani dignitaries. Head of the committee was the First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Yaqub Eyyubov, while the other members include the Minister of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov, the Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev, the Minister of Healthcare Ogtay Shiraliyev, the Governor of the Central Bank Azerbaijan and President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation Elman Rustamov, the Mayor of Baku Hajibala Abutalybov, the CEO of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov, the Minister of Internal Affairs Ramil Usubov, the Minster of Finance Samir Sharifov, the Chairman of the State Customs Committee Aydin Aliyev, the Chief of the State Migration Service Firudin Nabiyev, the Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation Mahir Mammadov, and the Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation and Chief Arbiter of the 42nd Chess Olympiad Faiq Hasanov.[17] In addition to the organising committee, there was an operating committee of six members in charge of the preparations whose director was Mahir Mammadov.[18]

In May 2016, the operating committee named three Azerbaijani artists as "Celebrity Ambassadors": the theatre producer Mushivq Abbasov, and the theatre actors Joshgun Rahimov and Rafael Isgandarov.[19] In July 2016, the Olympic gold-medal winning wrestler Farid Mansurov became the fourth celebrity ambassador.[20]

Change of dates

The Chess Olympiad was initially planned to take place from 17–30 September 2016. Nevertheless, the organisers have wished to change the dates of the Olympiad because of the school holidays and the availability of hotels. On February 16, FIDE announced that the dates for the Olympiad have been moved to 1–14 September, while the dates for the 87th FIDE Congress to 4–14 September 2016.[21] FIDE have also approached the organisers of the World Youth Chess Championship in Khanty Mansiysk, who were able to change their dates to 20 September-4 October 2016, in order to avoid clash of dates.[22] On 18 February, the organisers of the Sinquefield Cup 2016 announced that the dates for their tournament had been moved to 4–16 August because of the rescheduling of the Olympiad.[23]

Venue

Main article: Baku Crystal Hall
Baku Crystal Hall

The venue of the Chess Olympiad was the Baku Crystal Hall.[8] It was built in order to host the Eurovision Song Contest from 22–26 May 2012.[24] In late 2012, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Rihanna also performed concerts there.[25] In March 2014, the final four tournament of the 2013–14 CEV Women's Champions League took place in the hall.[26] In June 2015, it hosted the Boxing, Karate, Taekwondo, Fencing and volleyball events during the inaugural 2015 European Games.[27]

The total area of the complex is 30,958 m2, while the area of the arena is 10,964 m2. Its height in the middle is 24 m. The arena is lit by 12,000 LED light points with a lighting rate of 850 lux at 1 m height. The corridor around the arena is divided into two symmetrical parts with 15 entrances on each side, including 30 outside entrances. Each sector has 2 transport access points (1 on each side), 10 arena entrances (5 on each side) and 16 tribune access points (8 on each side). Along the corridor, there are 10 beverage facilities (5 in each sector), 18 catering facilities (9 in each sector), 2 first aid points (1 in each sector), 36 toilets (6 for men, 6 for women and 6 for persons with physical disabilities in each sector). The hall has 12,000 seats but can accommodate 27,000 people.[28]

The building has a crystalline shape and illuminated façade with numerous LED lights. Its shape and façade are response to Azerbaijan’s special request for the creation of a widely visible and visually effective landmark as a bridge between Asia and Europe that will be noticed in an international context. The LED lights were upgraded to allow different dynamic lighting scenarios to appear in order to highlight the membrane façade and create moods appropriate for the different stages of the events.[29]

Financing

The budget for the Olympiad was 13.3 million EUR. Some 6.8 million EUR were set aside for the first-class accommodation for the players and delegates, while another 1 million EUR goes to the FIDE Commission for World Championships & Olympiads and intellectual rights.[8][30]

The event

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held on 1 September in the National Gymnastics Arena.[31] The central area of the stage was slightly elevated and turned into a chessboard by lights from above. The ceremony began with a performance presenting the theme "the sea: the source of life", which was followed by the national anthems of Azerbaijan and FIDE. Thereafter, the Head of the organising committee and the First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Yaqub Eyyubov gave a speech. Eyyubov spoke in Azeri and noted that the Chess Olympiad is the third-largest competition in the world. He mentioned the great contribution of the president Ilham Aliyev and his father Heydar Aliyev to the sport successes of the host country, and then pointed out the great efforts that were done during the preparations for the Chess Olympiad. Finally, Eyyubov confidently stated that everything was ready for a well-organised and enjoyable Olympiad that he promised to be one of the most memorable in chess history. The next to speak was FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhnov, who welcomed all participants from the record-number of countries and extolled the great preparatory work of the organising committee. He also expressed his belief in the success of the Chess Olympiad on the basis of Azerbaijan's experience in hosting important chess events combined with its remarkable infrastructure and beauty. After their speeches, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev declared the 42nd Chess Olympiad open.[32][33]

The ceremony continued with a welcoming video that featured famous chess players from around the world addressing the participants. Then, there was a performance focusing of the connection between people and chess players, which included a waltz choreography as the centrepiece of the show. It was followed by a graphical show at the elevated chessboard that combined folk and modern dance, and was supported by video art projected on the area around and behind the stage. The show featured traditional carpet patterns and designs, embracing a dance group replaying the game of chaturanga. The next part of the ceremony was the parade of nations with the presentation of flags. Each appearance of a new flag on the screen was accompanied by a percussionist who showed up on the stage playing on nagara with the same flag as his drumhead. The percussionists left the stage under the sound of an adaption of the song "We Are the World".[32][33]

The final part of the ceremony was marked with the drawing of lots. It was assisted by Vladimir Kramnik and Hou Yifan as the highest-rated players of the highest-ranked teams in the open and women's event, respectively, who joined the Chief Arbiter Faiq Hasanov for the drawing of colours.[32] The draw resulted in Hou picking the White pieces, meaning that all players in the women's section with odd board numbers (1 or 3) will be White in the first round; and Kramnik picking the Black pieces, meaning that all players in the open section with odd board numbers (1 or 3) will have the Black pieces in the opening round.[31][33]

The opening ceremony ended with a song that was specially composed for the Chess Olympiad and was performed by popular Azerbaijani singers.[32]

Participating teams

The number of participating teams set a record of 180 teams representing 175 countries. The women's event was contested by 142 teams from 138 countries, leaving 38 teams from 37 countries participating in the open event only.[34][35] Ten FIDE Member Federations did not have teams at the Olympiad. They include the triple champions (2006, 2008 and 2012) in the open event Armenia as well as Bhutan, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Gabon, Laos, Nauru, Solomon Islands and East Timor. The Netherlands Antilles, albeit a non-existing entity since 2010, were allowed to field teams under this name, because the Curaçao Chess Federation remains officially registered as representing the dissolved country in the FIDE Directory.[36] Eritrea, Kosovo, and South Sudan debuted at the Chess Olympiads.[37] Countries that had teams in the women's event for the first time were: Djibouti, Guam, Guyana, Maldives, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.[38]

Participating teams in the 42nd Chess Olympiad
Notes
  • Countries in italics denote those fielding teams in the open event only.
  • Countries which did not arrive have been stricken

Competition format and calendar

The tournament was played in a Swiss system format. The time control for every single game was 90 minutes per 40 moves, with addition of 30 seconds per move and 30 minutes after the 40th move. It was allowed once again for a player to offer a draw at any time during the game. A total of 11 rounds were played, in which every team played with four of their players against another team. Every team was allowed to nominate one reserve player.[39]

Teams are ranked according to the match points won in every round. In case of same number of match points by two or more teams, the tie-breaker was 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.[39]

The opening ceremony of the Chess Olympiad took place at 18:30 AZST (UTC+5) on 1 September and the closing ceremony took place at 19:30 AZST (UTC+5) on 13 September. Tournament rounds started on 2 September and ended with the final round on 13 September. All rounds started at 15:00 AZST (UTC+5), except for the final round which started at 11:00 AZST (UTC+5). There was one rest day at the tournament, on 7 September after the fifth round. In addition, the Captains' meeting took place at 20:30 AZST (UTC+5) on 1 September, and the Arbiters meeting at 10:00 AZST (UTC+5) on 2 September.[40]

All dates are AZST (UTC+5)
OC Opening ceremony A Arbiters meeting C Captains meeting 1 Round RD Rest day CC Closing ceremony
September 1st
Thu 		2nd
Fri 		3rd
Sat 		4th
Sun 		5th
Mon 		6th
Tue 		7th
Wed 		8th
Thu 		9th
Fri 		10th
Sat 		11th
Sun 		12th
Mon 		13th
Tue
Ceremonies OC CC
Meetings C A
Tournament round 1 2 3 4 5 RD 6 7 8 9 10 11

Open event

Main article: Open event at the 42nd Chess Olympiad

The open section of the tournament was contested by a record number of 180 teams representing 175 nations.[34] Azerbaijan, as host nation, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) each provided one team.[41][42]

The tournament featured eight out of the top ten players from the FIDE rating list published in August 2016; only former World Champion Vishwanathan Anand and Levon Aronian were missing the Olympiad. Among the players who were playing in the open section were the World Champion and highest rated player in the world Magnus Carlsen, the challenger in the World Chess Championship 2016 Sergey Karjakin as well as the former World Champions Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. Grandmaster Eugenio Torre was in the line-up of the Philippines for the record twenty-third time, having played on each Chess Olympiad since 1970 except in Dresden in 2008.[43] On the other hand, Ukraine were weaker for missing Vassily Ivanchuk, who did not play for the first time after 14 consecutive Olympiads (1988-2014) and 13 appearances on board one (1990-2014). The former World Champion Challenger and leader of the Israeli team in 8 consecutive Olympiads (2000-2014) Boris Gelfand was also missing the Olympiad following a conflict with the Israeli Chess Federation management.[44][45]

The strongest team of the tournament was Russia, with an average rating of 2760. Captained by the president of the Russian Chess Federation and FIDE Vice President Andrey Filatov, the team consisted of the World Champion Challenger Sergey Karjakin, Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Grischuk, Evgeny Tomashevsky and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Seven-time Russian Champion and the fourth highest ranked Russian player Peter Svidler was not included in the team. United States were the second strongest team with three top ten players, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So, along with Samuel Shankland and Ray Robson. So and Shankland had proven prior to the Olympiad that they were in good form after winning the Sinquefield Cup 2016 and the Biel Chess Festival 2016, respectively. The defending champions China was the third-ranking team, and the only team besides Russia whose all players have ratings higher than 2700. They participated with the same line-up that won the gold medal except for Ni Hua who was replaced by Li Chao. The first team of the three that represented the host country Azerbaijan was the fourth strongest and completed the group with an average rating exceeding 2700 points. The only change in their line-up from the previous Chess Olympiad was Arkadij Naiditsch, a board one player for Germany in four previous Olympiads, who replaced Gadir Guseinov.[46]

Summary

Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine won the individual gold medal in the Open event.

The United States won the gold medal in the Open event for the first time since 1976, and for the sixth time overall. They scored nine wins and two draws for a total of 20 match points, and thereby finished as one of only two teams that remained unbeaten in the open event (the other being Greece). Ukraine scored 20 match points (ten wins and one loss) as well, but lost the tie-breaker, to secure the silver medal. Russia, favourites before the tournament, finished in third place with 18 match points, winning the bronze medals. China, the defending champions, scored 15 match points, and occupied the 13th place in the final standings. Norway, led by the World champion Magnus Carlsen, ended the tournament in fifth place, which is their best result ever at the Chess Olympiads; they had only finished in the top 20 on one previous occasion. Teams that had a disappointing result other than China include Azerbaijan (the fourth seed) in 12th place, Spain in 31st place, the Netherlands in 36th place, and Germany in 37th place.[10][47]

Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine, playing as a reserve player, won the individual gold medal overall, scoring 8½ out of 9 (eight wins and a draw) with a rating performance of 2992. The other gold medalists include: Baadur Jobava of Georgia on board one with a total score of 8 out of 10 and a rating performance of 2926, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia on board two who scored 6½ out of 8 with a rating performance of 2903, Wesley So of the United States on board three with 8½ out of 10 and a rating performance of 2896, and Laurent Fressinet of France who scored 7 out of 8 with a rating performance of 2809.[10] However, the best point scorer in the Open section was 64-year old Eugenio Torre who played in his record 23rd Olympiad, and scored 10 out of 11 with a rating performance of 2836 and the bronze medal on board three. Peter Svidler called his achievement "frankly beyond belief" and said of him:

I wanted to speak a little about people who impressed the most, and somehow I kept on ignoring his performances in my previous two banters during this Olympiad, which is ridiculous, but I think pride of place goes to Eugenio Torre. You probably know who he is, and you probably have read about his results by now, but what he achieved during this Olympiad is absolutely tremendous. He is by no means a young man by now and he… played a tremendous level of opposition. The Philippines are a decently strong team and they played very, very decent opposition almost throughout the tournament. The result Eugenio showed in this event is absolutely fantastic.[48]

Open event
# Country Players Average
rating		 MP dSB
1  United States Caruana, Nakamura, So, Shankland, Robson 2765 20 413.5
2  Ukraine Eljanov, Ponomariov, Kryvoruchko, Korobov, Volokitin 2704 20 404.5
3  Russia Karjakin, Kramnik, Tomashevsky, Nepomniachtchi, Grischuk 2768 18 419
4  India Harikrishna, Adhiban, Gujrathi, Sethuraman, Karthikeyan 2683 16 350.5
5  Norway Carlsen, Hammer, Tari, Urkedal, Getz 2654 16 344.5
6  Turkey Šolak, Ipatov, Yılmaz, Can, Esen 2617 16 341.5
7  Poland Wojtaszek, Duda, Bartel, Piorun, Świercz 2685 16 331.0
8  France Vachier-Lagrave, Mazé, Édouard, Fressinet, Bauer 2684 16 326.5
9  England Adams, Howell, McShane, Jones, Short 2685 16 323.0
10  Peru Cordova, Cori, Vera Siguenas, Cruz, Fernandez 2566 16 306.0
Notes
  • Average ratings calculated by chess-results.com based in September 2016 ratings.

All board prizes were given out according to performance ratings for players who have played at least eight games at the tournament. Andrei Volokitin as a reserve player had the best performance of all players in the tournament:[49]

Women's event

Main article: Women's event at the 42nd Chess Olympiad

The Women's event was contested a record number of 142 teams representing 138 nations.[35] Azerbaijan, 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.[50][51]

Eight of the top ten players from the FIDE women's rating list published in August 2016 were playing in the women's event with only India's Humpy Koneru and Russia's Kateryna Lagno not playing. The current Women's World Champion and highest rated woman Hou Yifan was playing on board one for China, while former Women's World Champions Antoaneta Stefanova, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Ushenina and Mariya Muzychuk were also part of their national teams.

The top seed in the women's event were China with an average rating of 2528. They were led by the Women's World Champion Hou Yifan on board one, along with Zhao Xue, Ju Wenjun, Tan Zhongyi and Guo Qi. The reigning champions Russia have the second highest average rating. They were led by Alexandra Kosteniuk and were playing with the same players as in the previous Olympiad, where the only difference was the induction of Aleksandra Goryachkina instead of the absent Kateryna Lagno. Ukraine and Georgia were the other two teams with average rating higher than 2400. The Ukrainian team consisted of most Grandmasters (four) and Women's World Champions (two), and included both Anna and Mariya Muzychuk playing on the top two boards, Anna Ushenina, Natalia Zhukova and Inna Gaponenko. Georgia were led by the best individual player in the women's event of the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø in 2014 Nana Dzagnidze, and also had Lela Javakhishvili, Nino Batsiashvili, Bela Khotenashvili and Salome Melia on the team.[46]

Summary

Valentina Gunina of Russia won the individual gold medal in the women's event.

China won their fifth gold medal in the women's event and the first since 1994 after winning the silver medal in the last three Olympiads. They scored 20 match points with nine wins and two draws, finishing three points ahead of Poland and Ukraine who scored 17 match points each. Poland won the silver medal after winning the tie-breaker with Ukraine. The defending champions from the previous three Olympiads Russia finished without a medal on the fourth place after losing the decisive match for the gold medal against China in the final round. Vietnam, Azerbaijan and Israel have all surprised positively, finishing on the seventh, eighth and the ninth place, respectively. The teams that disappointed with their place in the final standings include Georgia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Germany, Spain and Turkey.[10]

Valentina Gunina of Russia, playing on board two, won the individual gold medal overall with a score of 8 out of 10 (seven wins, one loss and two draws) and a rating performance of 2643. On the other boards, the gold medals were won by Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine on board one with 7½ out of 10 and a rating performance of 2629, Gulnar Mammadova of Azerbaijan on board three who scored 7 out of 9 with a rating performance of 2559, Tan Zhongyi of China on board four with 9 out of 11 and a rating performance of 2505, and Guo Qi of China as a reserve player who scored 5½ out of 8 with a rating performance of 2394.[10]

Women's event
# Country Players Average
rating		 MP dSB
1  China Hou, Ju, Zhao, Tan, Guo 2560 20
2  Poland Soćko, Zawadzka, Szczepkowska-Horowska, Kulon, Wozniak 2405 17 427.5
3  Ukraine A. Muzychuk, M. Muzychuk, Zhukova, Ushenina, Gaponenko 2505 17 404.5
4  Russia Kosteniuk, Gunina, Goryachkina, Pogonina, Girya 2504 16 380.5
5  India Dronavalli, Rout, Sachdev, Swaminathan, Pratyusha 2433 16 342.5
6  United States Krush, Paikidze, Zatonskih, Němcová, S. F. Foisor 2406 16 332.5
7  Vietnam Nguyên, Trâm, Hưng, An 2307 16 328.0
8  Azerbaijan Mamedyarova, Mammadzada, Mammadova, Hojjatova, Kazimova 2327 16 309.0
9  Israel Shvayger, Efroimski, Klinova, Gutmakher, Lahav 2309 16 307.5
10  Georgia Dzagnidze, Javakhishvili, Khotenashvili, Batsiashvili, Melia 2486 15 356.5
Notes
  • Average ratings calculated by chess-results.com based in September 2016 ratings.

All board prizes were given out according to performance ratings for players who have played at least eight games at the tournament. Valentina Gunina on the second board had the best performance of all players in the tournament:[52]

Gaprindashvili Trophy

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy, created by FIDE in 1997 and named after the former women's World Champion (1961–78), was awarded to Ukraine, having scored the highest total number of match points in the open and women's events combined.[53]

# Team MP
1  Ukraine 37
2  United States 36
3  China 35

FIDE Congress

The 87th FIDE Congress is taking place during the Olympiad, specifically from 4–14 September; the General Assembly will be held from 11–13 September 2016.[54][55] During the meetings held from 6-8 September 2016, the FIDE Ethics Commission made a decision to suspend members of the former leadership of the European Chess Union, including the former ECU President Silvio Danailov, former ECU General Secretary Sava Stoisavljević and former ECU Executive Director Vladimir Šakotić from holding any office or position within FIDE, from participating in any meeting of FIDE as delegate or another capacity, as well as representing any organisation in its relations with FIDE for 18 months, 6 months and 3 years, respectively. The suspension, however, does not preclude Danailov from exercising his duty as president of the Bulgarian Chess Federation internally.[56] They were all found guilty for violating certain clauses of the FIDE's Code of Ethics. In relation with the ECU's former leadership, there are criminal charges by special prosecutor against Šakotić in Montenegro as well as against the former president of the Serbian Chess Federation Miroslav Kopanja in Serbia and an investigation against the former Croatian Chess Federation leadership in Croatia.[57] The European Chess Union also voted 37-11 to suspend the membership of the Bulgarian Chess Federation.[58]

Marketing

Stamps of Azerbaijan with motifs from the Olympiad

The official logo for the 42nd Chess Olympiad was revealed during the closing ceremony of the Chess World Cup 2015 held in Baku on 5 October 2015. It depicts the Baku Crystal Hall has with its unusual architecture in the shape of the so-called "Baku Crystal", which is a crystal shining during the night.[59]

Mascot

The official mascot was revealed on a press-conference dedicated to 100 days before the Chess Olympiad held in Baku on 25 May 2016. The name of the mascot is "Chess Mate" and it represents a boy clad in a national dress. The author of the mascot is Musa Changiev, whose suggestion was selected out of 600 received in the national competition launched by the Baku Chess Olympiad Operating Committee in March 2016. Changiev explained that he started working on the mascot once he collected some information about the game and tried to "create an image of someone energetic and fond of thinking". He came up with the image of a young chess player with black hair and brows that are typical for the Azerbaijani people. The youngster wears glasses and is clad in a combination of national and modern features. Changiev added that the king's gown in which the youngster is worn symbolises the King as an important chess piece as well as the kings in the history of Azerbaijan. The gown is decorated with some Buta images and carpet patterns, which are traditional for the host country. The youngster's shirt, trousers and shoes are the modern features.[60][61]

Partners

The organisers of the 42nd Chess Olympiad have signed cooperation agreement with the following companies:[62]

Global partners National partners

Side activities

There were multiple side events that took place in order to promote the Chess Olympiad and the game of chess such as the operation of chess buses, 3D street art on chess topics, display of painted chess pieces, Chess Queen street performances, chess photography exhibitions, and parallel chess tournaments.[63][64]

Chess buses

In August 2016, the Baku Chess Olympiad Operating Committee branded two double-decker buses of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to operate in the city in the run-up and during the Olympiad. They were officially launched in late August with a ceremony during which members of the Azerbaijani national team were playing chess inside. The buses operated free of charge and took passengers to Baku's main sights. The passengers have the chance to play chess inside the buses and obtain information about the Olympiad. The buses ended operating on 14 September.[65]

Street art

Cardboard images of the current World Women's Champion Hou Yifan (left) and the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen (right)

The Operating Committee invited the famous Ukrainian 3D street artist Alex Maksiov to create a 3D image dedicated to the 42nd Chess Olympiad. Maksiov was working on the image outdoors in the vicinity of the Baku Puppet Theatre on the Baku Boulevard from 24–27 July 2016. The image depicts the Crystal Hall as he venue for the Olympiad and a chess board, which is descending into the playing area on an American roller coaster. At the launch ceremony, Maksiov said that his idea was to express that the attention of the whole world will be focused on the Crystal Hall.[66][64]

The visitors can participate in solving chess problems at the National Flag Square from 1 August to 14 September. At the Baku Boulevard, three giant chess sets were available to the visitors from 10 August to 14 September, while one-metre high painted chess pieces made by 30 professional artists were being displayed from 20 August to 14 September. The Baku Boulevard also hosted Chess Queen dances and performances from 1–14 September. The Queen as a chess piece symbolises freedom of movement. The role of the Queens is played by acclaimed artists that performed dances as well as greet and entertain the visitors.[64]

Parallel tournaments

The programme of the Chess Olympiad also includes parallel tournaments that took place at the Crystal Hall from 1–14 September. They included a children's tournament (2–4 September), a rapid amateurs' tournament (5–6 September), a rapid journalists' tournament (7 September), a rapid side tournament for chess players (8–9 September) and a blitz tournament (12 September). All tournaments started at 15:30 AZST (UTC+5) on each day, except for the journalists' tournament on 7 September that started at 11:00 AZST (UTC+5).[67]

Concerns and controversies

Main article: Concerns and controversies at the 42nd Chess Olympiad

Cheating

See also: Cheating in chess

Anti-cheating measures

In an interview during the preparations for the Olympiad, FIDE Vice President and Chairman of FIDE's Anti-cheating Committee Israel Gelfer said that the issue of anti-cheating became important in the last couple of years, with the development of telecommunication technologies (mobiles, watches and even glasses) that have caused a problem which cannot be ignored. Gelfer explained that they are trying to balance between their will to fight against cheaters and at the same time not to create an unhealthy atmosphere in the chess world. He also mentioned that there were several cases discovered, including a "big case" at the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk.[68]

The anti-cheating procedures for the 42nd Chess Olympiad are based on those implemented during the Chess World Cup held in the previous year and involved thorough inspection before, during and immediately after each round. Before the start of each round, the players and team captains will have to walk through X-ray frames at the entrance of the playing hall and will had to leave their mobile phones, smartwatches and pens in the storage area. It will be recommended the players and team captains to arrive about 30 minutes before the start of the round; the default time for the start of the games will be 15 minutes, after which the players who had arrived late will be forfeited. During the round, there will be random checks for about 30-40 players, which will take 5-10 seconds each and will be done by the anti-cheating arbiters using non-linear scanners and detectors. Special attention will be paid to the first four matches played in both sections, where about 20 players will be checked randomly during every round. The decision on the players to be checked will be made by the Sector Arbiter responsible for anti-cheating in accordance with the Chief Arbiter. In case a check resulted in suspicious indication, a thorough check was performed in a private room. If a player refused to cooperate, the arbiter should have taken disciplinary measures and forfeit the player. Immediately after the games of every round, random checks were be made for 5-10 players, which may require the players to allow their clothes and bags to be inspected in private. The arbiters performing these checks had to be on the same gender as the players inspected. Similarly to the checking procedure during the round, if a player refused to cooperate, the arbiter should have taken disciplinary measures and forfeit the player.[69]

International Arbiter Klaus Deventer from Germany, a member of the FIDE Anti-cheating Committee and FIDE Arbiters' Commission, was appointed as Sector Arbiter of the 42nd Chess Olympiad. He has approximately 15 arbiters under his responsibility, who were making all the checks with the non-linear scanners and detectors during the rounds and the thorough checking in the private room.[69]

Incidents

Nigel Short received official warning for refusing to undergo a check during a game

Despite the stringent anti-cheating measures imposed for the Olympiad, multiple cases deny their proper enforcement. Mobile phones going off inside the playing hall were seen on many occasions and people were even noticed answering calls with no reaction by the security guards or arbiters. In round two, Australian grandmaster and FIDE Senior Trainer Ian Rogers had spotted a man walking past the board where Namibia and the IPCA played their game, when his mobile phone rang and he started talking while the arbiter and the security barely stirred. It is also reported that the security can be circumvented rather easily, because players who left their mobile devices at a special deposit desk were not being checked at that desk, making it impossible to find a device hidden in their pocket.[70]

In the fourth round, however, a Japanese player was reportedly forfeited after he was caught with a mobile phone. Chief Arbiter Faiq Hasanov said that he was approached by an arbiter in the anti-cheating department and informed that there was a mobile phone and it was the only device in question. He added that they did not bother to check if there was a chess programme installed on the device as it violated the rules and was an automatic forfeiture. Hasanov mentioned that he even considered completely removing the player from the tournament but later reconsidered that it would be "double punishment" and "non-commensurate" with the violation. It was later announced that the player had a mobile phone and an iPad, although no chess application was running on the phone.[71]

During the game of the seventh round between Nigel Short and Li Chao, the arbiters decided to ask Short to undergo a check while he was playing a sharp position with the time control closing in. Short outright refused after which Klaus Deventer, a member of the FIDE Anti-cheating Committee and the Sector Arbiter of the event, wanted to give him an official warning but later said that he could not provide information on whether the warning was issued or not. Short said that he was checked both before and extremely thoroughly immediately after the game. He added that he would not allow future checks during the next games either, even risking a forfeit. England's team captain Malcolm Pein defended Short, ironically saying that the arbiters had found "a credit card". The rules stated that a refusal to undergo a check could lead to a forfeit, which could have reversed England's 3-1 victory to a 2-2 tie. In the end, he was not forfeited and received just an official warning.[72][73]

Washroom rule controversy

Another controversy at the Olympiad arose from players and team captains who were not happy with the newly introduced "washroom rule" as an anti-cheating measure. The rule states that players in every match must inform their match arbiter when they intend to leave the playing area in order to go to the washroom, to the bar or to the smoking area. It prohibited players to leave the playing venue while their game is still in progress and captains to leave the playing venue either while the match of their team has not finished. The rule also prescribed that they had to inform the match arbiter in writing if they want to be replaced by another person and that the replacement is allowed only once per round.[69] Therefore, Hungary's team captain in the open event Judit Polgár, and England's team captains in both the open and the women's event Malcolm Pein and Jon Speelman, respectively have initiated a petition against the rule, in which they argue that the rule was "absurd, humiliating, unworkable and can help opponents while penalising players who are nervous, older or may have a medical condition".[74] The petition was signed by more than 50 signatories, including Ivan Sokolov, Zoltán Ribli, Yasser Seirawan, Ian Rogers and Vladimir Tukmakov.[75] Chief Arbiter Faiq Hasanov addressed the issue saying that the washroom permissions were being relaxed. He mentioned that it is a common sense that one cannot ask the arbiter every time when he/she needs to use the washroom; nevertheless, he added that the frequency of a player's washroom visits will be recorded.[71]

Travel difficulties

Visas

The difficulties that the participants may have in obtaining a visa to enter Azerbaijan was raised as a concern during the 83rd FIDE Congress, when discussions were made about the Baku's nomination to host the event. In that regard, Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov said that the country has had a positive experience with the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, where all participants got visas on arrival at the airport without any problems.[15]

In April 2016, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed an order on simplifying the visa procedures for foreigners and stateless persons arriving in the country who will travel to Azerbaijan in connection with the Chess Olympiad, allowing them to get visas in the structural divisions of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s consular department in the country’s international airports. As a basis for the issuance of visas was considered a document confirming the accreditation in accordance with the relevant rules of FIDE and the official invitation of the Operating Committee of the Baku Chess Olympiad. Visas are being issued from 20 August to 20 September 2016.[76]

Travel expenses

There was an incomplete pairing in the first rounds of the Olympiad. A total of 14 African teams remained unpaired in the second round, because they had not arrived in Baku yet, meaning that the total number of teams actually playing was 166 instead of 180 as expected, which is 10 fewer than at the previous Chess Olympiad.[70] The issue remained by the four round with 13 African teams that had not shown up. Former Kenyan Olympic participant and owner of the website Kenya Chess Masala said that the issue just paints Africa in bad image. On 5 September, the organisers confirmed at a press-conference that the host-nation was ready to pay for the poorer nations to travel. Bhari confirmed that the travel expenses were the main problem and wrote that 116 out of the planned 187 federations were on a travel subsidy, including his native Kenya whose players had not shown in the first rounds, though. He also explained that one of the biggest issues was the timing of the funding and that the teams were expected to pay on their own and be reimbursed upon arrival. Finally, Bhari had already reminded other federations to start planning their travel expenses for the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi in 2018.[71]

Armenian withdrawal

Levon Aronian (top) was not playing because of Armenia's withdrawal, while Boris Gelfand (bottom) was not on the Israeli team because of a conflict with the Israel Chess Federation management.

Armenia's participation in a Chess Olympiad hosted in Azerbaijan was raised as a concern at the 83rd FIDE Congress in Istanbul in 2012, when discussions started about Baku's nomination to host the Olympiad in 2016. The Armenian representatives began to protest against holding the Olympiad in Azerbaijan stating that the Armenian chess players would find it difficult to play in Baku. In his speech during the congress, Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov said that Armenian sportsmen had already visited Azerbaijan and participated in competitions, where they were provided with security guarantees that have been met and no incident was ever recorded. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov suggested that the 42nd Chess Olympiad should take place in Baku and mentioned that there are four years for the Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict to be resolved before the event. The final decision was made to award the Chess Olympiad to Baku.[15]

In May 2016, during his visit to Yerevan, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said that, after talking to President of Armenia and chairman of the Armenian Chess Federation Serzh Sargsyan, he heard no refusal from Armenia and thus Armenian Chess Players will take part in the Chess Olympiad in Baku. Vice-President of the Armenian Chess Federation Smbat Lputian said in a statement, however, that Armenia is still discussing the matter and has not decided on its participation yet.[77] In July 2016, Lputian announced that Armenian chess team will not depart to Baku to participate in the Chess Olympiad. He explained that the decision was made based on the discussion results in the federation.[78]

Israel Chess Federation conflict

Israel participated in the open event without former World Champion Challenger Boris Gelfand, the best individual player in the 38th Chess Olympiad Emil Sutovsky and third highest ranked Israeli chess player on the FIDE rating list published in August 2016 Ilya Smirin due to a dispute with the Israel Chess Federation management. The difficult situation for the Israeli chess players was already evident in 2015, when the country failed to send a team at the European Team Chess Championship. Boris Gelfand, who played on board one for Israel at nine consecutive Olympiads (1998–2014), accused the management of the Israel Chess Federation in an interview that they had "absolutely forgotten about such things as the prestige of the country". Emil Sutovsky claimed on his Facebook page that the dispute was about "showing who's boss rather than money".[45]

See also

References

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