Chess Olympiad
Is chess an Olympic sport? No, but we do have the Chess Olympiad! Let's learn all about this historic and celebrated chess event.
Here is what you need to know about the Chess Olympiad:
What Is The Chess Olympiad?
The Chess Olympiad is a worldwide chess event where teams of top players compete for their respective nations. The best players in the world represent their countries on a global level. FIDE, the International Chess Federation, selects the host nation (the country that hosts the tournament) and organizes the tournament.
FIDE is the International Olympic Committee's governing chess body, but this event does not have any official ties to the Olympics. In essence, the winner of the Chess Olympiad is the strongest chess nation of that time and is considered FIDE's Team Champion.
Why Is The Chess Olympiad Important?
The Chess Olympiad crowns the strongest national team and is a very popular global event. The first unofficial Chess Olympiad took place in Paris in 1924. There was an attempt to enter chess into the 1924 Olympics, but there was difficulty in proving which players were considered amateur and which were considered professional.
FIDE was created on the closing day of this first unofficial Chess Olympiad and has officially overseen every Olympiad since 1927. At times the Olympiad was held annually, and then irregularly before and during World War II. Since the 1950 Dubrovnik Olympiad (where the famous Dubrovnik chess set design was introduced), the Olympiad has been held every two years.
Chess Olympiad History
The Soviet Union has the most gold medals with 18. From 1952 through 1990 the Soviet Union placed first in every Olympiad except for two (they did not participate in 1976 for political reasons and placed second in 1978). As of 2020, the United States and Russia both have six gold medals, while the United States has the most total medals with 20.
China won their first Olympiad in 2014. The United States won in 2016, and then China took back the championship at the 2018 Olympiad. They will look to retain the Hamilton-Russell championship cup (offered as the prize in the first official Olympiad in 1927 and passed to the winning team at every Olympiad since). The trophy for the gold medal women's team is called the Vera Menchik Cup, named for the first women's world chess champion.
| Year | Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1924 | Unofficial Chess Olympiad | Czechoslovakia | Hungary | Switzerland |
| 1927 | 1st Chess Olympiad | Hungary | Denmark | England |
| 1928 | 2nd Chess Olympiad | Hungary | United States | Poland |
| 1930 | 3rd Chess Olympiad | Poland | Hungary | Germany |
| 1931 | 4th Chess Olympiad | United States | Poland | Czechoslovakia |
| 1933 | 5th Chess Olympiad | United States | Czechoslovakia | Sweden |
| 1935 | 6th Chess Olympiad | United States | Sweden | Poland |
| 1937 | 7th Chess Olympiad | United States | Hungary | Poland |
| 1939 | 8th Chess Olympiad | Germany | Poland | Estonia |
| 1950 | 9th Chess Olympiad | Yugoslavia | Argentina | West Germany |
| 1952 | 10th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Argentina | Yugoslavia |
| 1954 | 11th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Argentina | Yugoslavia |
| 1956 | 12th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Hungary |
| 1958 | 13th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Argentina |
| 1960 | 14th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | United States | Yugoslavia |
| 1962 | 15th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Argentina |
| 1964 | 16th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | West Germany |
| 1966 | 17th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | United States | Hungary |
| 1968 | 18th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Bulgaria |
| 1970 | 19th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Hungary | Yugoslavia |
| 1972 | 20th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Hungary | Yugoslavia |
| 1974 | 21st Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | United States |
| 1976* | 22nd Chess Olympiad* | United States | Netherlands | England |
| 1978 | 23rd Chess Olympiad | Hungary | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia |
| 1980 | 24th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Hungary | Yugoslavia |
| 1982 | 25th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | Czechoslovakia | United States |
| 1984 | 26th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | England | United States |
| 1986 | 27th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | England | United States |
| 1988 | 28th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | England | Netherlands |
| 1990 | 29th Chess Olympiad | Soviet Union | United States | England |
| 1992 | 30th Chess Olympiad | Russia | Uzbekistan | Armenia |
| 1994 | 31st Chess Olympiad | Russia | Boznia and Herzegovina | Russia "B" team |
| 1996 | 32nd Chess Olympiad | Russia | Ukraine | United States |
| 1998 | 33rd Chess Olympiad | Russia | United States | Ukraine |
| 2000 | 34th Chess Olympiad | Russia | Germany | Ukraine |
| 2002 | 35th Chess Olympiad | Russia | Hungary | Armenia |
| 2004 | 36th Chess Olympiad | Ukraine | Russia | Armenia |
| 2006 | 37th Chess Olympiad | Armenia | China | United States |
| 2008 | 38th Chess Olympiad | Armenia | Israel | United States |
| 2010 | 39th Chess Olympiad | Ukraine | Russia | Israel |
| 2012 | 40th Chess Olympiad | Armenia | Russia | Ukraine |
| 2014 | 41st Chess Olympiad | China | Hungary | India |
| 2016 | 42nd Chess Olympiad | United States | Ukraine | Russia |
| 2018 | 43rd Chess Olympiad | China | United States | Russia |
| 2022 | 44th Chess Olympiad | TBD |
*In 1976 the 22nd Chess Olympiad was protested by many countries for political reasons.
In 2020 and 2021, the FIDE Online Olympiad was held in lieu of an over-the-board Olympiad.
Conclusion
You now know what the Chess Olympiad is, when it started, why it is important, and more. Head over to Chess.com's Top Player page and view the games of Chess Olympiad participants.
