CHESS OLYMPIADS

Jan van Reek

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The success of the Olympic Summer Games in Paris 1924 had a great appeal to chess organizers. National federations came to Paris in 1924 and FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) was proclaimed by fifteen nations. Alexander Rueb became the first president.

Golmayo, Vajda, Tschepurnoff, Apsenieks, Euwe, Colle, Matisons, Palau Finalists of Paris 1924 (Havasi is missing)	Hamilton Russell Cup

Four usual characteristics of chess Olympiads were present in London 1927: 1. The team tournament was the main event. 2. National teams of four players met. 3. Professionals were allowed. 4. Challenge trophy became the golden Hamilton Russell Cup. Hungary won the first official Olympiad.
The second one became The Hague 1928. The FIDE wanted to participate in the Olympic Games and invited only amateurs. Although the Games took place in the Netherlands, chess did not even become a demonstration sport. FIDE seemed to be an amateurish family. But thereafter, a biannual team event of professionals and amateurs became a great success! Hamburg 1930 was the first full event. The USA won gold in 1931, 1933, 1935 and 1937. FIDE survived an economic crisis.

Fine, Kupchik, officer, Horowitz, Frank & Carrie Marshall and Dake on a boat to Warsaw 1935

Germany had been excluded in 1933, 1935 and 1937 due to the Aryan paragraph. Although the ban of Jews had remained, a German team was allowed in 1939. Preliminaries were organised, because more than twenty countries participated. The start of the finals in Buenos Aires coincided with the invasion of Poland by Germany. England withdrew. Some teams refused to play Germany, the future winners. Eventually, many chess players stayed in Argentina.

Copacabana transported European players from Buenos Aires to Antwerp in 1939	Kotov, Geller, Smyslov, Bronstein, Keres, Botvinnik and Bondarevsky (captain) in Amsterdam 1954

The Olympiads were resumed in Dubrovnik 1950. A new era started, when the Soviet Union took part in Helsinki 1952. They dominated many Olympiads. Preliminaries occurred from 1952 until 1974.

Sheraton Hotel Playing Hall of Tel Aviv 1964	Fischer and Spassky have drawn in Havana 1966. Tal and Polugaevsky are watching.

The Swiss System was applied from 1976. Haifa 1976 became deviant, because it was boycotted by many countries. Hungary won Buenos Aires 1978. The Soviet Union triumphed from 1980 until 1990. The number of participating countries rose above one-hundred.

Jan Timman and Robert Byrne in Haifa 1976	Stamps show the success of William Hook in 1980	Thessaloniki 1984

When the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia fell apart, this had great consequences for Manila 1992. The new republics became strong competitors. Russia was the main force and won from 1992 until 2002. Hereafter, other former Soviet republics took over.

The Hungarian women celebrate in 1988	Chess Palace 1998	Dresden 2008

FIDE turned a failure into a great success. The first intention was to join the Olympic Games. That never happened, because many chess players were professionals and only physical sports were allowed. Instead the Chess Olympiads became a separate biannual event. Nowadays, about two thousand players, officials and journalists participate in a tournament of two weeks.

 

Team champions of Chess Olympiads

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