The Chess Olympiad is a biennial tournament in which teams worldwide compete. It is held under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) which selects the host nation. FIDE was established in 1924, the same year the summer Olympic Games was held in Paris. An attempt was made to include chess in the 1924 Olympic Games but it failed, because of the difficulty of distinguishing between amateurs and professionals. So, it was left to FIDE to organize a Chess Olympics. FIDE adopted the name Chess Olympiad and the first official team tournament was held in London, 1927. In 1924, there was an unofficial team tournament in Paris before FIDE was formed, which attracted 18 countries. After 1927, the Olympiads were held at irregular intervals until World War 11, but they have been held regularly since 1950. Any association or federation that is affiliated to FIDE may enter the Olympiad.
Over time, there was an increase in the number of competitors from participating countries. The 2022 Olympiad in Chennai, India, witnessed 170 participating countries fielding 2000-plus players. The Olympiad is contested under the Swiss System formula, which is, basically, winners oppose winners and losers oppose losers. Countries are allowed to field Men and Women’s teams consisting of five players each; four regular players and one reserve. During the Covid-19 pandemic FIDE organised an Olympiad in 2020 and one in 2021 where rapid-time controls were utilised instead of the classical game format. The Olympiad remains one of the major events in the world of sports.
Guyanese Chess Olympian Loris Nathoo, who has been playing the game since his schooldays at Queen’s College, devised an intelligent way for us to become more proficient in relation to the elite biennial Olympiad. We should endorse competitions for the classical event with a similar time limit to grow accustomed to those conditions which are stipulated by FIDE. For example, it would be silly to have only rapid and blitz tournaments when in essence we are preparing for the Olympiad. Next, a participant of the grand prix competition would accumulate grand prix points based on his or her performance in the tournament. Naturally, the players with the highest grand prix points would be the strongest contenders for eligibility to represent Guyana at the Olympiad. A total of two or three grand prix tournaments are to be held each year. Nathoo further negotiated a dazzling amount of funds from GAICO to host these competitions, which would cover prize money, rental of tournament halls, providing refreshments for participants and officials, ensuring scoresheets are adequate etc. This implementation of the ‘Nathoo Principle’ has stimulated other sponsors of chess to come forward. Guyana has an overall result of 50% since we began attending the Olympiad in 2014 under president Irshad Mohammed’s stewardship. We need to go higher next year being the 100th birth anniversary of FIDE.That is our challenge.
Chess game
White defeats his opponent, regarded as the strongest chess player worldwide.
White: Fabiano Caruana
Black: Magnus Carlsen
Event: 2023 11th Norway Chess, Stavanger, Norway
Type of Game: French Defence: Steinitz-Boleslavsky Variation, May 30
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Ne2 Qb6 9. Qc1 Be7 10. c3 O-O 11. g3 f6 12. Bg2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Qa5+ 14. Nc3 Nb6 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. b3 Bd7
17. O-O Rac8 18. Qd2 Be7 19. Ne2 Qxd2 20. Bxd2 Rc7 21. Rac1 Rfc8 22. f5 Ba3 23. Rce1 Bb4 24. Bxb4 Nxb4 25. fxe6 Bxe6 26. Nf4 Bf5 27. Ne5 g6 28. g4 Be4 29. Bxe4 dxe4 30. a3 N4d5 31. Rxe4 Rc3 32. Nd7 Rxb3 33. Nxd5 Nxd5 34. Re5 Nc3 35. Nf6+. 1-0. Black resigns.
