38th Chess Olympiad

File:AM012-09.jpg

Armenian stamp featuring the logo of the 38th Chess Olympiad (top)

The 38th Chess Olympiad (Template:Langx), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from 12 to 25 November 2008 in Dresden, Germany. There were 146 teams in the open event and 111 in the women's event. In total, 1277 players were registered.

Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Ignatius Leong (Singapore). In a change from recent Olympiads, the number of rounds of the Swiss system were reduced from 13 to 11 with accelerated pairings. For the first time, the women's division, like the open division, was played over four boards per round, with each team allowed one alternate for a total of five players. In another first, the final rankings were determined by match points, not game points. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided by 1. Deducted Sonneborn-Berger; 2. Deducted sum of match points; 3. Game points.

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. As a new rule, no draws by agreement were permitted before 30 moves had been completed. Yet there were games drawn as soon as the 16th move, formally drawn by repetition against which there was no rule. In addition, players who were not present at the board at the commencement of a round automatically forfeited the game. This rule was implemented to align chess with other sports events.

Open event

File:Dresden Olympiad 2008.jpg

Dresden Olympiad Scene

The open division was contested by 146 teams representing 141 nations. Germany, 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. Morocco were signed up, but never appeared for their first round match and were disqualified.

Defending champions Armenia, once again led by Levon Aronian, clinched their second consecutive title. Despite being seeded only eighth, they won nine out of eleven matches, drew against fourth-placed Ukraine and lost only (1½-2½) to runners-up Israel, captained by Boris Gelfand. The Israelis finished one point behind Armenia. The United States, led by Gata Kamsky, took the bronze medals on a better tie break score than Vasyl Ivanchuk and the rest of the Ukrainian team after defeating Ukraine (3½-½) in the last round.

Once again, the Russian team under captain Vladimir Kramnik were the pre-tournament favourites but finished disappointingly in fifth place. Kramnik, having recently lost a world championship match, performed well below his rating, as did the rest of the team, except alternate Dmitry Yakovenko who won the reserve board.

File:AM011-09.jpg

The winning Armenian team

Arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament was Vietnam, who weren't even seeded in the top 30, but still managed to finish in ninth place, aided somewhat by the new tournament structure which allotted them some weaker opponents, although they did manage a 2–2 result against China. The German hosts finished 13th, while India, without World Champion Viswanathan Anand, had to settle for 16th place.

Open event results, #1–#10

#	Country	Players	Average rating	MP	dSB
1		Aronian, Akopian, Sargissian, Petrosian, Minasian	2677	19
2		Gelfand, Roiz, Avrukh, Postny, Rodshtein	2682	18
3		Kamsky, Nakamura, Onischuk, Shulman, Akobian	2673	17	362.0
4		Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Eljanov, Efimenko, Volokitin	2729	17	348.5
5		Kramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Morozevich, Yakovenko	2756	16	375.0
6		Radjabov, Mamedyarov, Gashimov, Guseinov, Mamedov	2709	16	359.5
7		Wang Yue, Bu Xiangzhi, Ni Hua, Wang Hao, Li Chao	2714	16	357.5
8		Lékó, Polgár, Almási, Balogh, Berkes	2692	16	341.5
9		Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn, Lê Quang Liêm, Đào Thiên Hải, Nguyễn Văn Huy, Tu Hoang Thong	2539	16	340.0
10		Shirov, Vallejo Pons, Illescas Córdoba, Khamrakulov, San Segundo Carrillo	2644	16	337.5

Open event results, #11–end (#146)

Rank	Country	Average rating	MP	dSB	dSMP
11		2618	16	321.0
12		2609	15	343.0
13		2647	15	339.0
14		2691	15	327.5
15		2629	15	320.0
16		2634	15	310.0
17		2583	15	288.0
18	Template:Flagcountry	2602	14	307.0
19		2631	14	306.5
20	Template:Flagcountry	2604	14	302.0
21		2611	14	300.0
22		2690	14	295.0
23		2626	14	294.5
24		2585	14	292.5
25		2576	14	286.0
26		2522	14	279.0
27		2588	14	275.5
28		2500	14	272.5
29		2609	13	301.0
30		2577	13	294.0
31		2587	13	290.0
32		2491	13	287.5
33		2495	13	282.0
34		2548	13	278.0
35	"C"	2506	13	276.5	122
36		2496	13	276.5	121
37		2555	13	272.5
38		2611	13	270.5
39		2566	13	268.5
40		2524	13	265.0
41		2521	13	261.0
42	"B"	2523	13	259.0
43		2585	13	258.5
44		2522	13	257.5
45		2486	13	252.5
46		2526	13	250.0
47		2486	13	249.0
48	Template:Flagcountry	2415	13	220.5
49		2459	12	257.0
50		2557	12	256.5
51		2541	12	251.0
52		2387	12	249.5
53		2512	12	249.0
54		2460	12	240.0
55		2441	12	237.5
56		2497	12	232.0
57		2488	12	222.5
58		2315	12	220.5
59		2525	12	220.0
60		2452	12	218.5
61		2364	12	213.5
62		2352	12	210.5
63		2332	12	191.0
64		2420	11	246.0
65		2031	11	234.5
66		2400	11	225.5
67		2444	11	224.5
68		2403	11	223.5
69		2572	11	221.5
70		2395	11	215.5
71		2358	11	207.0
72		2408	11	206.0
73		2372	11	188.5
74		2423	11	188.0
75		2286	11	177.5
76		2288	11	175.5
77		2206	11	174.5
78		2300	11	173.5
79	ICSC	2305	11	166.5
80		2217	11	165.0
81		2263	11	158.0
82		2337	10	222.5
83		2355	10	200.5
84		2312	10	192.5
85		2290	10	188.5
86		2313	10	183.5
87		2263	10	182.5
88	IPCA	2358	10	178.5
89		2340	10	174.0
90		2358	10	167.5
91	IBCA	2318	10	166.0
92		2102	10	162.5
93		2206	10	161.0
94		2169	10	160.0
95		2228	10	159.0
96		2362	10	157.5
97		2370	10	152.0
98		2231	10	151.5
99		2312	10	150.5
100		2272	10	140.5
101	Template:Country data Palestine	2306	9	177.5
102		1988	9	174.0
103		2185	9	173.0
104		2275	9	171.0
105		2310	9	163.5
106		2332	9	163.5
107	Template:Flagcountry	2095	9	152.0
108		2022	9	148.0
109	Template:Flagcountry	2068	9	146.5
110		2256	9	144.0
111	Libya	2145	9	141.0
112		2168	9	135.5
113		2177	9	134.0
114		2287	9	130.5
115		1742	9	127.0
116		2238	9	120.0
117		2082	8	140.5
118		2142	8	136.0
119		1775	8	132.0
120		2175	8	126.0
121	Template:Flagcountry	1907	8	124.5
122		2144	8	120.0
123		1937	8	116.5
124	Ethiopia	1769	8	108.0
125		2173	8	106.5
126		2055	8	97.0
127		1952	8	95.5
128		1968	7	129.0
129	Template:Flagcountry	2139	7	116.0
130		2141	7	110.0
131		2164	7	109.0
132		2023	7	106.0
133		1896	7	94.5
134		2020	7	94.0
135		2034	7	92.0
136		1846	7	85.0
137		1978	7	81.0
138		1400	6	116.5
139		2086	6	88.0
140		1400	6	77.0
141		1400	6	43.0
142		1400	5	87.0
143		1923	5	73.0
144		1710	5	68.5
145		1400	4
146		1608	3

Group prizes

In 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 range	Team	MP	dSB
A	1–29		17	348.5
B	30–58		16	340.0
C	59–87	Template:Flagcountry	13	220.5
D	88–116		11	177.5
E	117–146		11	234.5

Individual medals

For the first time, all board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Accordingly, there was no overall prize, although Sargissian on the third board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:

• Board 1: Template:Flagicon Peter Leko 2834
• Board 2: Template:Flagicon Vladimir Akopian 2813
• Board 3: Template:Flagicon Gabriel Sargissian 2869
• Board 4: Template:Flagicon Dragiša Blagojević 2792
• Reserve: Template:Flagicon Dmitry Yakovenko 2794

Women's event

The women's division was contested by 111 teams representing 106 nations. Germany, 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.

Georgia won their fourth title, 12 years after the third one, narrowly defeating Ukraine on tie breaks. The two teams didn't meet during the tournament, but when the Ukrainians only drew their penultimate match against Serbia while the Georgians defeated former champions China (2½–1½), the gold was Georgia's to lose. In the last round they record a win (3–1) against the Serbian, who thus came to play a crucial role in the fight for the title, despite finishing in seventh place themselves. The Georgian team were led by former World Champion, 47-year-old Maia Chiburdanidze, who delivered a stellar performance, winning the top board with the best performance of the tournament.

The United States clinched the bronze medals on tie breaks, just ahead of Russia (with newly crowned World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk) and Poland. The German hosts finished in 21st place.

Women's section results, #1–#10

#	Country	Players	Average rating	MP	dSB
1		Chiburdanidze, Dzagnidze, Javakhishvili, Lomineishvili, Khukhashvili	2476	18	411.5
2		Lagno, Zhukova, Ushenina, Gaponenko, Zdebskaya	2486	18	406.5
3		Krush, Zatonskih, Goletiani, Rohonyan, Abrahamyan	2396	17	390.5
4		Kosteniuk, T. Kosintseva, N. Kosintseva, Korbut, Pogonina	2495	17	367.0
5		Soćko, Rajlich, Zawadzka, Majdan, Przeździecka	2386	17	364.5
6		Danielian, Mkrtchian, Aginian, Galojan, Andriasian	2397	16	353.0
7	Template:Flagcountry	Marić, Bojković, Stojanović, Chelushkina, Benderać	2386	16	318.5
8		Hou Yifan, Zhao Xue, Shen Yang, Ju Wenjun, Tan Zhongyi	2486	15	392.5
9		Klinova, Borsuk, Igla, Vasiliev, Efroimski	2304	15	325.0
10	Template:Flagcountry	Sharevich, Popova, Azarova, Berlin, Klimets	2278	15	317.5

Women's section results, #11–end (#111)

Rank	Country	Average rating	MP	dSB	dSMP
11		2348	15	306.5
12		2245	15	280.0
13		2427	14	336.5
14		2389	14	321.0
15		2388	14	320.5
16		2348	14	299.5
17		2161	14	289.0
18		2323	14	286.0
19		2375	14	282.0
20		2259	14	281.5
21		2379	14	279.0
22		2181	14	267.0
23		2296	14	266.5
24		2317	13	307.5
25		2289	13	288.0
26		2292	13	272.5
27		2231	13	269.5
28		2264	13	266.5
29		2260	13	262.0
30		2184	13	249.5
31		2261	13	246.5
32		2174	13	245.5
33		2246	13	238.0
34	"B"	2159	13	236.0
35		2242	13	227.5
36		2321	12	270.0
37		2359	12	260.0
38		2317	12	258.5
39		2194	12	258.0
40		2210	12	257.5
41		2179	12	255.5
42		2021	12	237.5
43		2134	12	232.0
44		2185	12	227.5
45		2240	12	226.5
46		2145	12	218.0
47	"C"	2142	12	208.5
48		2077	12	196.0
49		2093	12	182.0
50		2248	11	250.0
51		2294	11	239.0
52		2223	11	230.0
53		2193	11	224.0
54		2014	11	205.0
55		2022	11	200.5
56		1986	11	199.5
57		1938	11	198.0
58		2063	11	194.5
59		2110	11	193.0
60		2029	11	191.0
61	IPCA	2018	11	180.0
62		1912	11	174.5
63		2122	10	209.0
64		2098	10	199.5
65		2124	10	190.0
66		2106	10	184.0
67		2108	10	178.0
68		1920	10	176.0
69	IBCA	2035	10	168.0
70		2098	10	163.5
71		1978	10	162.0
72	ICSC	2130	10	161.0
73		1936	10	158.0
74		2093	10	156.0
75		1767	10	155.0	104
76		1808	10	155.0	96
77		2004	10	151.0
78		1850	9	169.5
79		1891	9	145.0
80		1882	9	140.0	107
81		1870	9	140.0	103
82		1802	9	139.0
83		1861	9	129.0
84	Template:Flagcountry	1725	9	127.0
85		1656	9	121.0
86		1556	9	118.5
87		1706	9	117.5
88		1842	8	142.0
89		1805	8	129.0
90		1506	8	124.0
91		1490	8	119.0
92		1400	8	114.5
93		1529	8	113.5
94		1534	8	90.5
95		1400	8	81.0
96		1621	7	119.5
97		1400	7	111.0
98		1400	7	106.0
99		1498	7	105.0
100		1731	7	101.5
101	Libya	1400	7	92.5
102		1400	7	90.0
103		1641	7	82.5
104		1554	7	79.5
105		1551	7	74.5
106	Template:Flagcountry	1469	7	66.5
107		1667	7	58.0
108		1400	6
109		1400	5
110		1400	3
111	Template:Flagcountry	1400	1

Individual medals

For the first time, all board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Accordingly, there was no overall prize, although reborn ex-champion Chiburdanidze on the top board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:

• Board 1: Template:Flagicon Maia Chiburdanidze 2715
• Board 2: Template:Flagicon Anna Zatonskih 2571
• Board 3: Template:Flagicon Nadezhda Kosintseva 2591
• Board 4: Template:Flagicon Joanna Majdan 2621
• Reserve: Template:Flagicon Natalia Zdebskaya 2528

Overall title

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the nation that has the highest total 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		35	755.0
2		35	753.5
3		34

Bibliography

• Harald Fietz, Josip Asik, Anna Burtasova: Olympiad United! Dresden 2008. Verlag Schach Wissen, Berlin 2009. Template:ISBN

External links

• 38th Chess Olympiad: Dresden 2008 OlimpBase
• Official website
• Open section results
• Women's section results