The 45th Chess Olympiad, held in Budapest, Hungary, from September 10 to 23, 2024, brought together the world’s top chess players in a battle of wits. This prestigious event, organized by the FIDE-Fédération Internationale des Échecs, witnessed intense competition among 186 countries, with over 1,500 players participating.
Highlights and Statistics:
- – India’s historic double gold win in both Open and Women’s sections marked a milestone in the country’s chess history.
- – Highest-rated player: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
- – R. Praggnanandhaa, India’s young grandmaster, delivered an outstanding performance.
- – Uzbekistan secured its best-ever Olympiad finish with a bronze medal.
- – Armenia’s Levon Aronian, a top-ranked player, helped his team secure crucial wins.
- – China’s Wei Yi and Ding Liren impressed with their individual board performances.
- – Total participating countries: 186
- – Total players: 1,554
- – Games played: 3,244
- – Average rating of participants: 2,464
Winners by Category:
Open Section:
- Gold Medal: India
- Silver Medal: United States
- Bronze Medal: Uzbekistan
Women’s Section:
- Gold Medal: India
- Silver Medal: Kazakhstan
- Bronze Medal: United States
44th Chess Olympiad 2022-Finals: Uzbekistan Open Champions; Ukraine Win Women’s Title
Group Winners:
- Open, Group A: China, Serbia, Armenia
- Women, Group A: Spain, Armenia, Georgia
- Open, Group B: Turkmenistan, Latvia, Kazakhstan
- Women, Group B: Philippines, Montenegro, Latvia
- Open, Group C: Ecuador, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan
- Women, Group C: Turkmenistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka
- Open, Group D: Sri Lanka, Liechtenstein, Pakistan
- Women, Group D: Hong Kong, China; Thailand, Mozambique
- Open, Group E: Myanmar, Qatar, Eswatini
- Women, Group E: Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles
A Brief History of the Chess Olympiad:
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial international team chess tournament, held every two years. The first Chess Olympiad was held in 1927 in London.
Past Winners:
- First three winners:
- 1927: Hungary
- 1928: Hungary
- 1930: Poland
- Last three winners:
- 2022: India
- 2021 (Online): Russia
- 2018: China