- 33rd Chess Olympiad
The 33rd
Chess Olympiad , organized by theFédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open [Although commonly referred to as the "men's division", this section is open to bothmale andfemale players. ] and women's tournament, took place betweenSeptember 26 andOctober 13 ,1998 , inElista ,Kalmykia , (Russia ). In the open tournament there were 110 teams, and in the women's, 72 teams.Chess City
The Olympiad was the first international chess event to be held at
Chess City . Construction of Chess City was not complete by the start of the tournament, and some FIDE members were concerned that the facilities would not be ready in time, including the airport, telephone system, player housing, and the Chess Palace to be used as the main playing hall. Reported human rights abuses by Republic of Kalmykia PresidentKirsan Ilyumzhinov lead to calls for a boycott from Valery Borshchev, a deputy in theDuma from the Russian social-liberal partyYabloko . The British government did not call for a boycott but confirmed "reliable reports of human rights problems" and suggested that Kalmykian authorities might use publicity from Olympiad participation by foreign teams for its own purposes. [citation|last=Crowther|first=Mark|date=21 September 1998|title=THE WEEK IN CHESS 202:Olympiad News|url=http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic202#11|publisher=London Chess Center|format=dead link|date=October 2008 – [http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=author%3ACrowther+intitle%3ATHE+WEEK+IN+CHESS+202%3AOlympiad+News&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search Scholar search] ]The opening ceremony took place as scheduled, but the Chess Palace was covered in scaffolding and was missing many windows. The first round was delayed, one free day was eliminated, and the tournament was shortened to 13 rounds from the planned 14. The organizers worked around the clock and playing conditions improved as the tournament progressed, although the main playing hall was not properly heated. Living conditions, food and drink, and telephone service were generally reported to be acceptable. [citation|last=Crowther|first=Mark|date=28 September 1998|title=THE WEEK IN CHESS 203: Olympiad News|url=http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic203#2|publisher=London Chess Center|format=dead link|date=October 2008 – [http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=author%3ACrowther+intitle%3ATHE+WEEK+IN+CHESS+203%3A+Olympiad+News&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search Scholar search] ] [citation|last=Crowther|first=Mark|date=5 October 1998|title=THE WEEK IN CHESS 204: 33rd Olympiad|url=http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic204#2|publisher=London Chess Center|format=dead link|date=October 2008 – [http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=author%3ACrowther+intitle%3ATHE+WEEK+IN+CHESS+204%3A+33rd+Olympiad&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search Scholar search] ]
Chess competition
Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter
Geurt Gijssen (NED). Teams were paired across the 13round s of competition according to the Swiss system (due to late start of the Olympiad the last round was cancelled); the open division was played over four boards per round, whilst the women's was played over three. Thetime control for each game permitted each player 100minute s to make the first 40 of his or her moves, then additional 50minute s to make the next 20 moves, then 10minute s to finish the game, with an additional 30second s devolving on each player after each move, beginning with the first.Open tournament
The open division was contested by 110 teams representing 106 nations and territories;
Russia , as hosts, fielded four teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association provided one squad.Team results
The teams finishing first through third overall receive medals, as do those finishing in the top three amongst teams organized by seed; overall medal winners are not eligible to receive group prizes.
Top ten overall finishers
Women's tournament
The women's division was contested by 72 teams representing 69 nations and territories;
Armenia , as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association entered one squad.Notes
External links
*Carol Jarecki, " [http://www.uschess.org/clife/issue78/buzz.html Reports from the 33rd Olympiad, Elista, Kalmyk Republic] ", Chess Life Online
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