2024 Chess Olympiad (Budapest, Hungary)

Budapest, Hungary is the site of the 2024 Chess Olympiad and the venue is said to be spectacular. The event began on September 11th and will last until the 23rd. This Olympiad marks the 100th year of FIDE’s founding. ChessBase India’s Sagar Shah gave a tour of the BOK Hall across from the Puskas Football Stadium. The Chennai Olympiad set standards in terms of the aesthetics and Budapest has made sure that they are keeping pace with a playing hall decorated with all participating country flags.

Video by ChessBase India

The count was 197 in the Open and 184 in the Women’s section. However, given the visa issues, the record-breaking numbers may not be genuine. The U.S. is the top seed with 2757 rating followed by India (2753) and China (2726). The event is decidedly weaker with a number of top players missing.

Alireza Firouzja (#5) has yet to play in an Olympiad for France and one wonders if that is a way of leaving the door open for a return to a resurgent Iran. Ian Nepomniachtchi (#8) has no federation to play for and Viswanathan Anand (#11) has turned the reigns over to the young stars. Speaking of young stars, Hans Niemann (#16) recent rating increase was too late to make the U.S. team.

For the women, Humpy Koneru (women’s #6) is not playing and perhaps the entire Chinese team of champions (Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, Tan Zhongyi, Lei, Tingjie) are not in Budapest. Is this a planned strategy for Chinese players to step aside to make way for the new generation? Despite this, China is still fourth-seed. The Muzychuk sisters (Anna and Mariya) are also absent and probably still in Spain. With the exception of Spain, most of the top teams have weakened from the Chennai Olympiad.

African and Caribbean nations have been known for their colorful uniforms. Uniforms are now are a requirement.

Most of the world’s top players will be on hand playing for their countries, but more importantly, all of the country’s legends will be ambassadors for growth in chess. The Olympiad is not about professional players, but it is more of a celebration of chess around the globe. From the elegant clubs in St. Louis and Abu Dhabi to the dusty outdoor lots, chess is being showcased in its centennial year.

The Chess Drum will be providing daily coverage of the event and perhaps may be able to get some interviews in Budapest. Please “like” The Chess Drum on Facebook and “follow” on Twitter to get the latest updates.

Enjoy the festivities. GENS UNA SUMUS!

~ Dr. Daaim Shabazz, The Chess Drum
Follow @thechessdrum

2024 Chess Olympiad Tournament September 11th-23rd, 2024
TEAM RANKING (Open)
#	Federation	Flag	Team ELO	Top Player	Rating
1	USA		2755	GM Fabiano Caruana	2793
2	India		2753	GM Arjun Erigaisi	2778
3	China		2726	GM Wei Yi	2762
4	Netherlands		2687	GM Anish Giri	2746
5	Uzbekistan		2684	GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov	2762
6	Norway		2673	GM Magnus Carlsen	2832
7	England		2666	GM Nikita Vitiugov	2678
8	Germany		2663	GM Vincent Keymer	2719
9	Hungary		2673	GM Ferenc Berkes	2690
10	Poland		2662	GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda	2733
11	Iran		2660	GM Parham Maghadsoodloo	2723
12	France		2660	GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	721
13	Spain		2657	GM David Anton Guijarro	2669
14	Ukraine		2654	GM Andrei Volokitin	2667
15	Azerbaijan		2654	GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov	2733
16	Serbia		2651	GM Alexey Sarana	2717
17	Armenia		2645	GM Haik Martirosyan	2667
18	Romania		2630	GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac	2683
19	Czech Republic		2613	GM David Navara	2674
20	Vietnam		2597	GM Le Quang Liem	2741
Team Rosters (Open)

2024 Chess Olympiad Tournament September 11th-23rd, 2024
TEAM RANKING (Women)
#	Federation	Flag	Team ELO	Top Player	Rating
1	India		2467	GM Humpy Konery	2502
2	Georgia		2461	GM Nana Dzagnidze	2506
3	Poland		2418	IM Alina Kashlinskaya	2474
5	China		2414	GM Zhu Jiner	2479
5	Ukraine		2402	IM Yuliia Osmak	2471
6	Azerbaijan		2402	IM Gunay Mammadzada	2441
7	USA		2388	GM Irina Krush	2430
13	Spain		2382	IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh	2489
9	Germany		2380	IM Elisabeth Paehtz	2455
10	Kazkhstan		2370	IM Bibisara Assaubayeva	2470
11	Armenia		2365	GM Elina Danielian	2393
12	France		2350	IM Deimante Daulyte-Cornette	2366
13	Bulgaria		2346	GM Antoaneta Stefanova	2420
14	Hungary		2317	GM Hoang Thank Trang	2354
15	Serbia		2298	WGM Teodora Injac	2411
16	England		2294	IM Jovanka Houska	2333
17	Mongolia		2288	WGM Turmunkh Munkhzul	2256
18	Netherlands		2287	GM Peng Zhaoqin	2349
19	Vietnam		2287	IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham	2381
20	Turkiye		2283	IM Ekaterina Atalik	2394
Team Rosters (Women)

Opening Ceremonies

Hungary’s national chess icon Judit Polgar hoisting the Olympiad torch
in Budapest’s City Centre Square.

The opening ceremonies are always a treat because the delegations are all brimming with excitement after a long trip. Colors were flowing together and there were lots of smiles as delegations were filing in for the ceremony. Again… ChessBase India was on the mark, with their short and spirited videos!

Videos by ChessBase India

Photos by Michal Walusza