36th Chess Olympiad

File:Chess Olympiad 2004 Calvia.gif

Official logo of the Olympiad

The 36th Chess Olympiad (Template:Langx; Template:Langx), organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, in Calvià on the Spanish island of Mallorca. There were 129 teams in the open event and 87 in the women's event. In total, 1204 players were registered (some of whom did not play, though).

Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Ignatius Leong (Singapore). Teams were paired across the 14 rounds of competition according to the Swiss system. The open division was played over four boards per round, whilst the women's was played over three. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided by 1. The Buchholz system; 2. Match points; 3. The Sonneborn-Berger system; and 4. The Median Buchholz system.

The time control for each game permitted each player 90 minutes for all their moves, with an additional 30 seconds increment for each player after each move, beginning with the first.

Open event

The open division was contested by 129 teams representing 125 nations. Spain, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) and the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) each provided one squad.

Led by first board Vasyl Ivanchuk, the seventh highest-rated player at the tournament, who recorded 9½ points over 13 rounds, and second reserve Sergey Karjakin who, aged just 14 years, won 6 of his 7 games (surrendering a draw only to American Gregory Kaidanov), Ukraine scored all four possible points in each of their first three matches before "only" defeating Russia 2½-1½ in the fourth round, eventually accumulating a nearly insurmountable three-point lead after the penultimate round. The Ukrainian team nevertheless scored three points against France and claimed their first title, three points ahead of Russia, who had entered the tournament as the top seed, having brought four of the tournament's nine highest-rated players, and as defending six-time champions.

Armenia, one of just four teams to draw a match with Ukraine, paced by second board Levon Aronian, who did not lose in 12 games, and third board Rafael Vaganian, who scored 8½ points in 11 games, lost 1½-2½ to Russia in the eighth round. Ultimately, on the strength of a 3½-½ final round defeat of Georgia, they tied Russia's 36½ points. Armenia were placed after Russia, though, on the Buchholz tie-breaker system employed by the Olympiad, and finished, as in the previous Olympiad, with the bronze medals. Hosts Spain, led by Alexei Shirov, just managed to squeeze into the top ten.

Notable absentees from the tournament were the no. 1 player in the world, Garry Kasparov, as well as classical World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and his challenger Peter Leko, who were just finishing their championship match (Kramnik retained his title with a 7–7 tie). FIDE Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov was present, however, and led Uzbekistan to 14th place by going undefeated in his 8 games (+4-0=4).

Open event

#	Country	Players	Average rating	Points	Buchholz
1		Ivanchuk, Ponomariov, Volokitin, Moiseenko, Eljanov, Karjakin	2680	39½
2	Template:Flagu	Morozevich, Svidler, Grischuk, Dreev, Khalifman, Zvjaginsev	2718	36½	460.0
3		Akopian, Aronian, Vaganian, Lputian, Sargissian, Minasian	2660	36½	459.0
4	Template:Flagu	Onischuk, Shabalov, Goldin, Kaidanov, Novikov, Gulko	2623	35
5		Gelfand, Sutovsky, Smirin, Avrukh, Huzman, Roiz	2670	34½
6	Template:Flagu	Viswanathan Anand, Krishnan Sasikiran, Pendyala Harikrishna, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Abhijit Kunte, Chanda Sandipan	2655	34
7		Domínguez, Bruzón, Delgado, Nogueiras, Arencibia, Quezada	2596	33½
8	Template:Flagu	Van Wely, Sokolov, Tiviakov, Timman, Van den Doel, Nijboer	2641	33
9		Georgiev, Delchev, Cheparinov, Spasov, Chatalbashev, Radulski	2584	32½	453.0
10	Template:Flagu	Shirov, Vallejo Pons, Illescas Córdoba, Cifuentes Parada, Romero Holmes, Arizmendi Martínez	2643	32½	439.5

#	Country	Average rating	Points	Buchholz	MP
11		2569	32½	427.5
12	Template:Flagu	2624	32	445.5
13	Template:Flagu	2559	32	442.5
14		2550	32	440.5
15	Template:Flagcountry	2568	32	435.0
16	Template:Flagu	2617	32	430.0
17		2575	32	427.5
18	Template:Flagcountry	2609	32	424.0
19		2502	32	422.5
20		2590	32	417.5
21		2621	31½	462.0
22		2615	31½	450.5
23	Template:Flagu	2621	31½	449.0
24	Template:Flagu	2612	31½	438.5
25		2532	31½	428.0
26		2483	31½	425.0
27		2542	31½	420.0
28		2563	31½	419.5
29		2589	31	445.0
30	Template:Flagu	2653	31	427.0
31		2614	31	425.5
32		2544	31	423.5	17
33		2539	31	423.5	15
34		2544	31	419.5
35	Template:Flagu	2488	31	418.5
36		2589	30½	432.5
37		2545	30½	431.0
38	Template:Flagu	2494	30½	426.0
39		2549	30½	419.5
40	Template:Flagu	2486	30½	407.5
41		2485	30½	396.5
42		2521	30	419.0
43		2454	30	403.0
44	Template:Flagu "B"	2494	29½	424.0
45	Template:Flagu	2569	29½	422.0
46	Template:CRO	2562	29½	415.5
47		2496	29½	413.5
48		2397	29½	408.0
49		2456	29½	406.5
50		2365	29½	404.0
51		2515	29	416.5
52		2497	29	411.5
53		2460	29	405.0
54	Template:Flagu	2473	29	403.0
55	Template:Flagu	2387	29	395.0	16
56		2427	29	395.0	13
57	IPCA	2348	29	394.5
58	Template:Flagu	2444	28½	406.5
59	Template:Flagu	2481	28½	406.0
60	Template:Flagu	2476	28½	400.5	14
61		2303	28½	400.5	12
62		2444	28½	396.5
63		2354	28½	387.0	14
64		2431	28½	387.0	13
65		2332	28½	383.5
66		2410	28½	355.0
67		2437	28	403.5
68		2400	28	393.0
69		2298	28	381.5
70		2241	28	370.0
71		2381	27½	402.0
72		2424	27½	401.0
73		2341	27½	397.0
74		2410	27½	385.5
75		2281	27½	377.0
76		2342	27½	356.0
77	Template:Country data Venezuela	2354	27	398.0
78	Template:Flagcountry	2305	27	390.0
79		2399	27	386.0
80		2363	27	384.5
81	Template:Flagu "C"	2334	27	383.5
82		2325	27	381.5
83	Template:Country data Iraq	2276	27	369.5
84		2370	26½	397.5
85	Template:Flagu	2316	26½	383.0
86		2281	26½	375.5
87		2252	26½	372.0
88	Template:Flagu	2136	26½	351.0
89		2289	26	382.5
90		2337	26	379.0
91		2188	26	368.5
92		2264	26	367.5
93		2226	26	365.0
94		2212	26	358.0
95		2174	25½	358.5
96		1986	25½	340.5
97	IBCA	2358	25	370.5
98		2279	25	368.5
99	Template:Country data Libya	2260	25	358.5
100		2245	24½	376.5
101		2141	24½	363.0
102	Template:Country data Palestine	2070	24½	362.5
103		2184	24½	355.5
104		2187	24½	350.0
105		2137	24½	347.0
106		2179	24½	301.0
107		1906	24	352.5
108		2186	24	336.0
109	Template:Flagcountry	2202	23½	360.5
110		2119	23½	348.5
111	Template:Flagcountry	2207	23½	341.0
112	Template:Flagcountry	2122	23½	301.0
113		2157	23½	300.5
114		2127	23½	299.0
115	Template:Country data Afghanistan	1866	23½	248.0
116		2137	23	357.5
117		2201	23	344.5
118		1904	23	314.5
119		2098	22	293.5
120		2152	22	276.5
121		2170	21½	313.5
122		2003	21½	282.5
123		1812	21
124		1832	20½
125		1824	18½ 1
126		1750	17
127		1866	15½ 1
128		1600	13½
129		1766	11½

¹ Bermuda actually scored 22 and Papua New Guinea 23 points, but because some of their players refused to submit to doping tests, the points scored by those players were deducted from the final scores: 3½ points from Bermuda and 7½ from Papua New Guinea.

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	Seed	Overall finish
A	1–25	Template:Flagu	10	4
B	26–51	Template:Flagu	29	13
C	52–77		54	43
D	78–103		83	61
E	104–129	Template:Flagu	112	87

Individual medals

• Performance rating: Template:Flagicon Baadur Jobava 2842
• Board 1: Template:Flagicon Evgenij Ermenkov 10½ / 12 = 87.5%
• Board 2: Template:Flagicon Mohamed Tissir 7½ / 9 = 83.3%
• Board 3: Template:Flagicon Rafael Vaganian 9½ / 12 = 79.2%
• Board 4: Template:Flagicon Baadur Jobava 8½ / 10 = 85.0%
• 1st reserve: Template:Flagicon Vaidas Sakalauskas 6 / 7 = 85.7%
• 2nd reserve: Template:Flagicon Sergey Karjakin and Template:Flagicon Ibrahim Chahrani 6½ / 7 = 92.9%

Women's event

The women's division was contested by 87 teams representing 84 nations. Spain, as hosts, fielded two teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) and the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) each provided one squad.

China, led by first board Xie Jun (ex-World Champion) and second board Xu Yuhua (future champion), entered the competition as top seed and defending triple champions and quickly took the lead, conceding just two draws in their first five matches. They then defeated the silver and bronze medallists from the previous Olympiad, Russia and Poland (each 2–1), in the sixth and eighth rounds, respectively. Eventually they carried a six-point lead into a tenth round match with second placed United States.

Susan Polgar (another ex-World Champion), who entered the tournament as the second highest-rated player and achieved the best performance rating of all, drew Xie Jun, while Irina Krush won her second board game against Xu Yuhua. A draw by Anna Zatonskih against Zhao Xue gave the Americans a 2–1 win over the Chinese team. In rounds eleven and twelve, China drew Hungary and lost to Georgia, whilst the US team defeated Slovakia and then scored a 2½-½ victory over Hungary, drawing within three points of China with two rounds remaining. China, though, defeated sixth-seed India and 12th-seed Slovakia in the final two rounds, scoring four points to preserve what was ultimately a three-point win and to clinch the Vera Menchik Trophy for a fourth consecutive time.

Second-seed Russia were led by Nadezhda Kosintseva, who won top honours on the first reserve board for scoring 10 points in 12 rounds. The Russians were only in eighth place after ten rounds but had advanced to fourth place entering the penultimate round, where they faced Georgia, who they trailed by half a point. Although first board Maya Chiburdanidze (ex-World Champion) and second board Nana Dzagnidze, who both scored 8½ points for their team over the event, drew their matches, third board Lela Javakhishvili lost to Kosintseva, giving the Russian team a half-point lead over Georgia; although Georgia defeated Ukraine 2½-½ in the final round, Russia managed to secure two points against France, equalling Georgia's total and winning the bronze medals on tie-breaks.

Newly crowned World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova disappointed as captain of the Bulgarian team, scoring only 5½ points in 11 games. Bulgaria eventually finished in 14th place.

#	Country	Players	Average rating	Points	Buchholz
1	Template:Flagu	Xie Jun, Xu Yuhua, Zhao Xue, Huang Qian	2514	31
2	Template:Flagu	Polgar, Krush, Zatonskih, Shahade	2490	28
3	Template:Flagu	Kosteniuk, T. Kosintseva, Kovalevskaya, N. Kosintseva	2491	27½	346.0
4		Chiburdanidze, Dzagnidze, Javakhishvili, Lomineishvili	2470	27½	339.0
5	Template:Flagu	Skripchenko, Marie Sebag, Silvia Collas, Sophie Milliet	2417	25½
6		Mádl, Vajda, Gara, Lakos	2376	25	348.5
7		Repkova, Pokorná, Hagarova, Borošová	2377	25	337.0
8	Template:Flagu	Hunt, Houska, Richards, Buckley	2293	25	334.5
9	Template:Flagu	Humpy Koneru, Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi, Dronavalli Harika, Nisha Mohota	2435	24½	352.0
10	Template:Flagu	Radziewicz, Soćko, Dworakowska, Zielinska	2428	24½	340.0

#	Country	Average rating	Points	Buchholz	MP
11		2374	24½	330.5
12	Template:Flagu	2372	24½	317.5
13		2311	24	329.5
14		2410	24	329.0
15	Template:Flagu	2301	24	327.0
16	Template:Flagcountry	2406	24	324.5
17	Template:Flagu	2365	24	323.5
18		2456	23½	342.0
19		2288	23½	325.5
20		2408	23½	318.5
21		2308	23½	317.0
22		2317	23	325.0
23		2294	23	323.0
24		2303	23	321.0
25		2247	23	320.5
26		2296	23	313.5
27	Template:Flagcountry	2278	23	308.0
28		2308	22½	313.5
29		2343	22½	311.5
30		2274	22½	302.0
31	Template:Flagu	2250	22½	298.0
32		2235	22½	293.0
33		2317	22	315.5
34		2208	22	313.5
35		2263	22	313.0
36		2229	22	290.0
37		2115	21½	303.0
38		2149	21½	302.5
39	Template:CRO	2243	21½	299.5
40		2084	21½	299.0
41	Template:Flagu	2123	21½	277.0
42		2144	21	299.0
43	Template:Flagu	2242	21	297.0
44	Template:Flagu "B"	2187	21	296.5
45		2146	21	293.0
46	Template:Flagu	2213	21	292.0
47	Template:Flagu	2243	20½	306.0
48		1940	20½	295.0
49		2124	20½	292.0
50	Template:Country data Venezuela	2147	20½	288.5
51		2148	20½	288.0
52		1975	20½	285.0
53		2082	20½	283.5
54	Template:Flagu	2072	20½	282.5
55		2122	20	292.0
56		2002	20	288.5
57	Template:Flagu	2134	20	281.5
58		1760	20	279.0
59		1775	20	277.5
60		1748	20	276.0
61		2138	20	274.5
62		1749	20	265.0
63		2224	19½	295.0
64		2133	19½	289.0
65		1942	19½	282.0
66	IPCA	2080	19½	270.0
67	Template:Country data Iraq	1704	19½	229.5
68	Template:Flagu	1875	19	291.0
69		2120	19	276.5
70		1600	19	261.5
71		1763	19	259.0
72		1764	19	226.5
73		1884	19	220.5
74		1981	18½	292.5
75	IBCA	1875	18½	257.0
76		1878	18½	231.5
77		2023	18	275.5
78	Template:Flagu	1899	18	242.0
79		1600	18	233.0
80		1891	17½
81		1600	16½
82	Template:Country data Libya	1695	13½
83	Template:Flagu	1716	12½
84		1600	12	209.0
85		1600	12	206.5
86		1600	11
87		1600	8

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	Seed	Overall finish
A	1–17		4	4
B	18–34	Template:Flagu	27	8
C	35–51		37	32
D	52–69		55	37
E	70–87		75	58

Individual medals

• Performance rating: Template:Flagicon Susan Polgar 2622
• Board 1: Template:Flagicon Viktorija Čmilytė 8½ / 11 = 77.3%
• Board 2: Template:Flagicon Szidonia Vajda and Template:Flagicon Corina Peptan 9 / 12 = 75.0%
• Board 3: Template:Flagicon Zhao Xue and Template:Flagicon Irine Kharisma Sukandar 10 / 12 = 83.3%
• Reserve: Template:Flagicon Nadezhda Kosintseva 10 / 12 = 83.3%

Overall title

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the nation that has the best average rank in the open and women's divisions. Where two or more teams are tied, they are ordered by best single finish in either division and then by total number of points scored.

The trophy, named after the former women's World Champion (1961–78), was created by FIDE in 1997.

#	Team	Open division	Women's division	Average
1	Template:Flagu	2	3	2½
2	Template:Flagu	4	2	3
3		3	11	7

Controversies

Azmaiparashvili incident

Prior to the closing ceremony of the Olympiad, FIDE vice president Zurab Azmaiparashvili attempted to ascend the stage in order to inform the presenter of the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy that the latter ought more clearly to explain Gaprindashvili's contributions to the game of chess (Gaprindashvili had been World Champion for 17 years). Security officers, in conjunction with local police, did not permit Azmaiparashvili access to tournament organizers, and a struggle ensued after which Azmaiparashvili, having sustained several injuries, was arrested by the local law enforcement. He secured his release on bail for € 500 after having been held for 40 hours, and the charges against him were later dropped.

Azmaiparashvili and FIDE averred that Azmaiparashvili was detained and physically accosted despite he had properly and clearly [displayed] his VIP credentials, whilst representatives of the Spanish chess federation ("Federación Española de Ajedrez") and tournament organizers blamed Azmaiparashvili for the incident, saying that he without any previous provocation, assaulted [an] agent with a head butt to [the] mouth.

Drug testing

Having been formally recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1999, in preparation for prospective inclusion in future iterations of the Olympic Games, FIDE implemented (in 2001) doping restrictions consistent with those adopted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Two players, Shaun Press of Papua New Guinea and Bobby Miller of Bermuda, refused, for various reasons, to submit urine samples for analysis. Both players appeared before the FIDE Doping Hearing panel, which decided to cancel the players' performances (Press had scored 7½ points in 14 games, while Miller had scored 3½ points in 9 games), reducing the final score of Papua New Guinea to 15½ (from 23) and that of Bermuda to 18½ (from 22).

Associated events

Concomitant to the tournaments were several chess-related events planned by the organizing committee of the Olympiad, some under the auspices of FIDE; the events were known collectively as the First Chess Festival Calvià 2004. Within the festival were held simultaneous exhibitions, game demonstrations and lectures by top Spanish players, and several secondary tournaments, including one for amateur players, a rapid chess event for players aged under 16, and one for senior players.

Chess classes were introduced into the primary and secondary schools, as well as senior centers, in and around Calvià in an effort to promote chess generally, and chess films were screened on the beaches of Calvià every weeknight during the Olympiad. Chess-oriented art was displayed at an International Chess Fair, with prizes for top works awarded by a jury.

External links

• 36th Chess Olympiad: Calvia 2004 OlimpBase
• Olympiad open division detailed results
• Olympiad women's division detailed results
• This Week in Chess Olympiad round-by-round summaries Template:Webarchive