The 39th Chess Olympiad (Russian: 39-я Шахматная олимпиада, 39-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada), organised by FIDE and comprising an open[1] and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from September 19 to October 4, 2010, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. There were 148 teams in the open event and 115 in the women's event. In total, 1306 players were registered.[2]
 The official logo of the Olympiad | |
| Host city | Khanty-Mansiysk |
|---|---|
| Country | Russia |
| Nations | 141 (Open) 110 (Women) |
| Teams | 148 (Open) 115 (Women) |
| Athletes | 1,306 |
| Dates | 19 September – 4 October 2010 |
| Medalists | |
| Team (Open) | |
 |  Ukraine |
 |  Russia |
 |  Israel |
| Team (Women) | |
| Russia |
|  China |
|  Georgia |
| Individual (Open) | |
| Emil Sutovsky | |
| Individual (Women) | |
| Inna Gaponenko | |
This was the fourth time Russia organized the Chess Olympiad after 1956 (Soviet Union), 1994, and 1998. Six cities had submitted bids to organize the Olympiad: Khanty-Mansiysk, Budva, Buenos Aires, Poznań, Riga, and Tallinn. The selection was part of the FIDE Congress held during the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006.
The main events in both competitions were held in indoor tennis courts, which opened in September 2008. With an area of 15,558 m2, it hosted 3,500 chess fans.
Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Sava Stoisavljević (Serbia). For the second time, the number of rounds of the Swiss system was 11 with accelerated pairings. Both divisions were played over four boards per round, with each team allowed one alternate for a total of five players. The final rankings were determined by match points. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided by 1. Deducted Sonneborn-Berger; 2. Game points; 3. Deducted sum of match points.[3]
The time control for each game permitted each player 90 minutes their first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an additional 30 seconds increment for each player after each move, beginning with the first. The rule introduced at the previous Olympiad, according to which no draws by agreement were permitted before 30 moves, was once again abolished.
Open event
editThe open division was contested by 148 teams representing 141 nations. Russia, as hosts, fielded no less than five teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Committee of Silent Chess (ICSC) each provided one squad. Senegal were signed up, but did not turn up for their first round match and were disqualified.
Ukraine, led by Vasyl Ivanchuk and former FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov, took their second title after 2004. Once again, the Russian hosts were the pre-tournament favourites but, for the fourth Olympiad in a row, failed to live up to expectations, although they came close this time. Captained by former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, the Russians trailed the Ukrainians by one point before the last round. When Ukraine and eventual bronze medallists Israel, led by Boris Gelfand, drew their final match, Russia had the opportunity to snatch the gold. They only drew as well, however, so in the end had to settle for silver.
Although the Russian "A" team disappointed its fans on its home turf, the "B" squad, with five Olympic debutants, exceeded expectations by finishing sixth. Captain Ian Nepomniachtchi won an individual bronze medal on the top board.
Defending champions Armenia had to settle for seventh place and Team United States for ninth. India was once again without reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand and finished 18th, while his opponent in the recent championship match, Veselin Topalov, led Bulgaria to 31st place. Another former great power of chess, England, also disappointed in 24th place. The number one player in the world, Magnus Carlsen, only scored 4½ points in 8 games, and his Norwegian team ended up in 51st place.
Due to financial disagreements with the national federation, the top German players did not show up. Seriously weakened, Team Germany came recorded an all-time low in 64th place, just below the team of physically impaired players. Incidentally, the IPCA team were led by Thomas Luther, a former four-time Olympian for the German team.
Open event # Country Players Average
ratingMP dSB 1 
UkraineIvanchuk, Ponomariov, Eljanov, Efimenko, Moiseenko 2737 19 2 
RussiaKramnik, Grischuk, Svidler, Karjakin, Malakhov 2755 18 3 
IsraelGelfand, Sutovsky, Smirin, Rodshtein, Mikhalevski 2676 17 367.5 4 
HungaryLeko, Almási, Polgár, Berkes, Balogh 2698 17 355.5 5 
ChinaWang Yue, Wang Hao, Bu Xiangzhi, Zhou Jianchao, Li Chao 2703 16 362.0 6 Russia "B"Nepomniachtchi, Alekseev, Vitiugov, Tomashevsky, Timofeev 2702 16 355.0 7 
ArmeniaAronian, Akopian, Sargissian, Pashikian, Grigoryan 2698 16 345.0 8 
SpainShirov, Vallejo Pons, Salgado Lopez,
Magem Badals, Alsina Leal2658 16 332.0 9 
United StatesNakamura, Kamsky, Onischuk, Shulman, Hess 2691 16 315.5 10 
FranceVachier-Lagrave, Fressinet, Tkachiev, Édouard, Feller 2681 16 311.5
Final Ranking - Open
Group prizes
editIn addition to the overall medals, prizes were given out to the best teams in five different seeding groups—in other words, the teams who exceeded their seeding the most. Overall medal winners were not eligible for group prizes.
Group Prizes Group Seeding
rangeTeam MP dSB A 1–29 Hungary17 355.5 B 30–59 
Belarus15 307.5 C 60–89 
Uruguay13 227.0 D 90–119 
Libya11 187.5 E 120–148 
Zambia13 202.5
Individual medals
editAll board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Sutovsky on the second board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:
- Board 1: Vasyl Ivanchuk 2890
- Board 2: Emil Sutovsky 2895
- Board 3: Vitaly Teterev 2853
- Board 4: Sergey Karjakin 2859
- Reserve:
Mateusz Bartel 2706
Women's event
edit
The women's division was contested by 115 teams representing 110 nations. Russia, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Committee of Silent Chess (ICSC) each provided one squad.
The Russians won by an impressive four points to take their first independent title in the post-Soviet era. The team was led by the two Kosintseva sisters, who both won their respective boards, while reigning World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk "only" played third board and finished sixth.
China was captained by soon-to-be World Champion, 16-year-old Hou Yifan. They clinched the silver medals, another two points ahead of a field of six teams, of which defending champions Georgia had the best tie-break score and took the bronze.
The number one female player in the world, Judit Polgár, was absent from the women's competition. Instead she represented Hungary on third board in the open event, where she finished fourth both individually and with the team.
Women's event # Country Players Average
ratingMP dSB 1 RussiaT. Kosintseva, N. Kosintseva, Kosteniuk, Galliamova, Gunina 2536 22 2 ChinaHou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue, Huang Qian, Wang Yu 2500 18 3 
GeorgiaDzagnidze, Javakhishvili, Melia, Khukhashvili, Khotenashvili 2472 16 384.0 4 
CubaOrdaz Valdés, Linares Nápoles,
Marrero Lopez, Pina Vega, Arribas Robaina2333 16 348.5 5 United StatesKrush, Zatonskih, Abrahamyan, Baginskaite, Foisor 2413 16 336.5 6 PolandSoćko, Zawadzka, Majdan-Gajewska, Dworakowska, Kądziołka 2386 16 336.0 7 
AzerbaijanZ. Mamedyarova, T. Mamedyarova, Mammadova, Umudova, Isgandarova 2270 16 320.0 8 
BulgariaStefanova, Voiska, Nikolova, Videnova, Velcheva 2361 16 296.5 9 UkraineLahno, Zhukova, Ushenina, Gaponenko, Muzychuk 2493 15 366.5 10 Russia "B"Pogonina, Girya, Savina, Bodnaruk, Kashlinskaya 2427 15 335.5
Rank Country Average
ratingMP dSB GP dSMP Final Ranking - Women 11 Armenia2401 15 327.5 12 
Greece2306 15 316.0 13 
Romania2352 15 312.5 14 Russia "C"2209 15 287.0 15 Hungary2398 14 320.5 16 France2375 14 314.0 17 
India2400 14 313.5 18 
Vietnam2282 14 278.0 19 
Iran2252 14 276.0 20 
Lithuania2191 14 261.5 21 
England2195 14 257.5 27½ 22 
Croatia2262 14 257.5 23½ 23 
Peru2210 14 246.5 24 
Slovakia2349 13 317.5 25 
Germany2344 13 313.5 26 
Serbia2337 13 304.0 27 Israel2290 13 290.0 28 
Netherlands2330 13 279.5 28½ 29 
Kazakhstan2196 13 279.5 27½ 30 
Uzbekistan2222 13 277.5 31 
Latvia2293 13 263.5 32 
Slovenia2358 13 257.5 33 
Bosnia and Herzegovina2168 13 255.0 34 Belarus2218 13 252.5 35 
Argentina2259 13 249.5 36 
Italy2240 13 238.5 37 
Colombia2191 12 266.5 38 
Turkey2145 12 264.0 39 Spain2272 12 258.0 40 
Moldova2168 12 251.0 41 
Sweden2100 12 244.5 42 
Ecuador2195 12 239.0 43 
Indonesia2144 12 236.0 44 
Philippines2107 12 234.5 45 
Denmark2057 12 200.5 46 
Australia2105 12 198.5 47 
Venezuela2105 12 191.0 48 
Bangladesh2035 12 178.0 49 
Turkmenistan2167 11 251.5 50 
Czech Republic2313 11 248.0 51 
Mongolia2229 11 247.0 52 
Switzerland2163 11 220.5 53 
Norway2166 11 204.0 54 
Estonia2144 11 203.5 55 
Austria2228 11 203.0 56 
Guatemala1892 11 202.5 57 
Iceland1968 11 201.0 58 
Montenegro2157 11 196.5 59 ICSC 2113 11 193.0 60 
North Macedonia1993 11 192.5 61 
Algeria1713 11 184.5 62 
Singapore1991 11 179.0 63 
Chile1921 11 160.0 64 
Malaysia1941 11 159.5 65 
Scotland1970 11 155.0 66 
Portugal2050 10 227.0 67 
Canada2054 10 217.0 68 IPCA 1975 10 178.0 69 
South Africa1952 10 175.0 70 
Brazil2016 10 172.5 71 
Mexico2071 10 166.0 72 
Paraguay1753 10 162.5 73 
Albania1970 10 159.5 74 
Bolivia2013 10 155.0 75 
Sri Lanka1820 10 147.5 76 
Puerto Rico1880 10 141.5 77 
Jordan1882 10 136.5 78 
Syria1742 10 122.0 79 
Tajikistan1779 9 169.0 20½ 107 80 IBCA 1803 9 169.0 20½ 102 81 
Dominican Republic1982 9 168.0 82 
New Zealand1952 9 162.0 83 
Jamaica1401 9 160.5 84 
Kyrgyzstan1855 9 160.0 85 
Egypt1947 9 158.0 86 
Botswana1889 9 145.5 87 
Qatar1568 9 118.0 17 88 
Nigeria1375 9 118.0 16½ 89 
Chinese Taipei1391 9 117.5 90 
Barbados1958 9 115.5 91 
Wales1862 8 158.0 92 
United Arab Emirates1714 8 135.0 93 
Tunisia1529 8 128.5 94 
South Korea1555 8 122.0 95 Zambia1200 8 119.0 96 
Suriname1636 8 111.0 97 
Yemen1732 8 109.0 98 
Angola1694 8 90.5 99 
Netherlands Antilles1361 8 79.0 100 
Iraq1893 7 139.0 101 
Uganda1200 7 125.0 102 
Thailand1376 7 110.0 103 
Ireland1252 7 100.5 104 
Japan1425 7 86.5 105 
Aruba1200 7 84.5 106 
Panama1377 7 80.5 107 
Ethiopia1200 7 45.0 108 
Malawi1200 6 79.5 109 
Pakistan1349 6 79.0 110 
Kenya1200 6 70.5 111 
Honduras1200 6 70.0 112 
Mozambique1331 6 66.0 113 
Trinidad and Tobago1506 6 64.0 114 Libya1441 6 61.5 115 
Seychelles1200 1
Individual medals
editAll board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Gaponenko on the fourth board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:
- Board 1: Tatiana Kosintseva 2628
- Board 2: Nadezhda Kosintseva 2662
- Board 3: Yaniet Marrero Lopez 2511
- Board 4: Inna Gaponenko 2691
- Reserve: Mariya Muzychuk 2431
Overall title
editThe Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the nation that has the highest toal number of match points in the open and women's divisions combined. Where two or more teams are tied, they are ordered by the same tie breakers as in the two separate events.
The trophy, named after the former women's World Champion (1961–78), was created by FIDE in 1997.
| # | Team | MP | dSB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia
|
40 | |
| 2 | China
|
34 | 748.5 |
| 3 | Ukraine
|
34 | 747.0 |
FIDE presidential election
editDuring the Olympiad, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was re-elected as President of FIDE, defeating his rival, former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, decisively by 95 votes to 55.[4]
Controversies
editIn the first round, the team from Yemen refused to play against Israel. Each of the four Israeli players was thus awarded a technical victory.[5]
Three French players were caught in a scheme to use a computer program to decide moves. Their plan involved one player, Cyril Marzolo (IM), following the tournament at home and using the computer program to decide the best moves. He would send the moves by text message to the captain of the French team, Arnaud Hauchard (GM), who would then stand or sit at various tables as a signal to the player Sébastien Feller (GM) to make a certain move. Feller and Marzolo were given five year suspensions for this, while Hauchard was given a lifetime suspension. None of the other players on the French team knew of this or were involved.[6][7]
Notes
edit- ^ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to all male and female players.
- ^ Chess Olympiad 2010 Archived 2020-09-17 at the Wayback Machine, Chessdom.com
- ^ FIDE Handbook Retrieved on 2012-09-05.
- ^ "Kirsan Ilyumzhinov wins 2010 FIDE elections". Chessdom.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ Round 2 Olympiad Games now up Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Week in chess, 23 September 2010
- ^ "French chess hit by Russia olympiad 'cheating' scandal". BBC. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ "Cheating chess champion is banned for five years". connexionfrance.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
External links
edit- 39th Chess Olympiad: Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 OlimpBase
- Official site[usurped]
- Chess Olympiad 2010 details Archived 2020-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Venue Archived 2020-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Open section
- Women's section