Register for 2008 Chess Olympiad

Registration forms are available for the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. The event will take place November 12th-25th. Last year’s Olympiad in Turin, Italy featured a number of problems including lack of amenities and the distance between the playing venue and living quarters.

I also remember that some of the guest hotels were far away from the Olympiad Village. After a couple of days of paying $12 taxi fare to the venue (each way), I was fortunate enough to find accommodations in the village. Village life is interesting and it is where life-long friendships are made. It is interesting to see top Grandmasters milling about with lesser players without pretension and arrogance. There are a number of impromptu activities and of course lots of blitz! Following is a statement from the organizing committee:

The biennial Chess Olympiad is one of the biggest sporting events – anywhere in the world! The value-added it generates tops € 10 million. For two weeks about 1,500 top players from 150 countries will be playing chess at the highest level in Dresden! Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Zsuzsa Polgar and about 300 other international Grand Masters are expected – plus 15,000 visitors, 150 arbiters, 400 journalists and 450 organizers – plus 300 delegates to the Congress of the World Chess Federation FIDE, which will be held at the same time.

Main Site: dresden2008.de/