33rd Chess Olympiad
The 33rd Chess Olympiad, organized by FIDE and comprising an open[1] and a women's tournament, took place between September 26 and October 13, 1998, in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia. There were 110 teams in the open event and 72 in the women's event.
![](../I/m/Chess_Olympiad_1998_Elista.gif)
![](../I/m/Chess_Olympiad_1998_mascot.gif)
The Olympiad was the first international chess event to be held at Chess City. Construction of the complex was not complete by the start of the tournament, and some FIDE members were concerned that the facilities would not be ready in time, including the airport, telephone system, player housing, and the "Chess Palace" to be used as the main playing hall.
Reported human rights abuses by FIDE and Kalmykia president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov led to calls for a boycott from Valery Borshchev, a member of the Duma. The British government did not call for a boycott but confirmed "reliable reports of human rights problems" and suggested that Kalmykian authorities might use publicity from Olympiad participation by foreign teams for its own purposes.[2] Three nations were signed up but chose to stay away: Denmark, Norway, and Slovakia.
The opening ceremony took place as scheduled, but the Chess Palace was still covered in scaffolding and was missing many windows. The first round was delayed, one free day was eliminated, and the tournament was shortened to 13 rounds from the planned 14. The organizers worked around the clock and playing conditions improved as the tournament progressed, although the main playing hall was not properly heated. Living conditions, food and drink, and telephone service were generally reported to be acceptable.[3][4]
Both tournament sections were officiated by International Arbiter Geurt Gijssen (Netherlands). Teams were paired across the 13 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; and 2. match points.
The time control for each game permitted each player 100 minutes to make the first 40 of his or her moves, then an additional 50 minutes to make the next 20 moves, and then 10 minutes to finish the game, with an additional 30 seconds devolving on each player after each move, beginning with the first.
In addition to the overall medal winners, the teams were divided into seeding groups, with the top finishers in each group receiving special prizes.
Open event
The open division was contested by 110 teams representing 106 nations. Russia, as hosts, fielded an unprecedented four teams (Russia "C" was referred to as "Team Kalmykia" and Russia "D" was a youth team), whilst the International Braille Chess Association provided one squad.
Even without their strongest players, the "Three Ks" (PCA world champion Garry Kasparov, FIDE champion Anatoly Karpov and Vladimir Kramnik), Russia were still favourites, and the team did win their fourth consecutive title. The United States improved another spot from the previous Olympiad and finished second, and Ukraine took the bronze medals, beating Israel on tiebreak.
Open event # Country Players Average
ratingPoints Buchholz 1 RussiaSvidler, Rublevsky, Bareev, Morozevich, Zvjaginsev, Sakaev 2684 35½ 2 United StatesYermolinsky, Shabalov, Seirawan, Gulko, De Firmian, Kaidanov 2631 34½ 3 UkraineIvanchuk, Onischuk, Romanishin, Malaniuk, Savchenko, Ponomariov 2638 32½ 394.0 4 IsraelAlterman, Smirin, Sutovsky, Psakhis, Kosashvili, Avrukh 2593 32½ 379.0 5 ChinaPeng Xiaomin, Ye Jiangchuan, Zhang Zhong, Yu Shaoteng, Wu Wenjin, Wang Rui 2498 31½ 389.5 6 GermanyYusupov, Dautov, Lutz, Hübner, Gabriel, Luther 2610 31½ 386.5 7 GeorgiaAzmaiparashvili, Giorgadze, Sturua, Bagaturov, Supatashvili, Janjgava 2601 31½ 377.5 8 Russia "B"Dreev, Filippov, Volkov, Kobalia, Yemelin, Shariyazdanov 2594 31 395.5 9 HungaryAlmási, Pintér, C. Horváth, J. Horváth, Varga, Gyimesi 2588 31 375.0 10 RomaniaIstrățescu, Marin, Nisipeanu, Ionescu, Nevednichy, Vajda 2548 30½ 392.5 # Country Average
ratingPoints Buchholz MP 11 England2661 30½ 390.5 12 Netherlands2605 30½ 380.5 13 Belarus2555 30½ 378.5 14 Latvia2533 30½ 369.5 15 Poland2564 30½ 361.5 16 Armenia2630 30 397.5 17 Bulgaria2626 30 393.0 18 FR Yugoslavia2563 30 367.5 19 Kazakhstan2519 30 359.5 =20 Sweden2546 29½ 372.0 16 =20 Czech Republic2565 29½ 372.0 16 22 Lithuania2539 29½ 368.0 23 Slovenia2515 29½ 357.5 24 Cuba2519 29 379.5 25 Croatia2559 29 363.0 26 France2585 28½ 383.5 27 Uzbekistan2525 28½ 373.5 28 Argentina2545 28½ 372.0 29 Spain2601 28½ 370.5 30 Bosnia and Herzegovina2590 28½ 368.0 31 Switzerland2509 28½ 364.5 32 Russia "C"2470 28½ 357.5 33 India2491 28½ 353.0 34 Mexico2464 28½ 343.0 35 Philippines2443 28 368.5 36 Greece2531 28 366.5 37 Moldova2511 28 364.5 38 Egypt2371 28 338.5 39 Kyrgyzstan2495 27½ 373.5 40 Estonia2580 27½ 370.5 41 Italy2488 27½ 360.0 42 Canada2466 27½ 358.5 43 Azerbaijan2474 27½ 356.0 44 Albania2418 27½ 354.0 14 45 Finland2420 27½ 354.0 12 46 North Macedonia2499 27½ 352.5 47 Tajikistan2376 27½ 348.5 48 Brazil2485 27½ 348.0 49 Mongolia2370 27½ 341.5 50 Austria2390 27 360.0 51 Iceland2489 27 355.0 52 IBCA 2263 27 339.5 53 Bangladesh2384 26½ 353.5 54 Belgium2335 26½ 351.0 55 Vietnam2464 26½ 348.5 56 New Zealand2286 26½ 323.0 57 Colombia2445 26 356.0 58 Ireland2349 26 343.5 59 Iran2374 26 339.0 60 Luxembourg2339 26 333.0 61 Chile2415 26 331.0 62 Angola2229 26 313.5 63 Australia2405 25½ 342.0 64 Peru2398 25½ 337.5 65 Venezuela2314 25½ 334.5 66 Scotland2348 25½ 334.0 67 Portugal2418 25½ 333.5 68 Wales2275 25½ 320.0 69 Nigeria2256 25½ 318.5 70 Turkey2444 25 71 Turkmenistan2431 24½ 352.5 72 Faroe Islands2233 24½ 341.5 73 Iraq2301 24½ 329.0 74 Malaysia2075 24 321.0 75 United Arab Emirates2223 24 316.5 76 Puerto Rico2238 24 313.5 77 Andorra2276 24 308.5 78 Jamaica2066 24 307.5 79 Ecuador2254 23½ 330.0 80 South Africa2318 23½ 326.0 81 Zimbabwe2184 23½ 316.0 82 Russia "D"2215 23½ 315.5 83 Kenya2035 23½ 302.0 84 Yemen2246 23 328.5 85 Bolivia2148 23 315.0 86 Libya2000 23 301.0 87 Cyprus2243 23 299.0 88 Singapore2129 23 294.5 89 Qatar2276 22½ 317.5 90 Trinidad and Tobago2118 22½ 312.0 91 El Salvador2076 22½ 305.5 92 Japan2191 22½ 303.5 93 Uganda2045 22½ 296.0 94 Lebanon2191 22 323.0 95 Palestine2184 22 288.5 96 San Marino2149 22 276.0 97 Honduras2078 22 270.0 98 Nicaragua2151 21½ 296.5 99 Barbados2054 21½ 272.0 100 Macau2148 21½ 268.0 101 Botswana2045 21 102 Malta2134 20½ 293.0 103 Namibia2060 20½ 273.0 104 Mali2049 20½ 261.5 105 Jersey2081 20 265.5 106 Afghanistan2000 20 260.0 107 Netherlands Antilles2043 19 108 Guernsey2090 18½ 109 Seychelles2060 18 110 United States Virgin Islands2000 3
Individual medals
- Performance rating:
Georgia Zurab Azmaiparashvili 2804 - Board 1:
Mohamad Al-Modiahki 7½ / 8 = 93.8% - Board 2:
Odion Aikhoje 6½ / 8 = 81.3% - Board 3:
Reynaldo Vera González 7 / 9 = 77.8% - Board 4:
Hamaid Gadhi 6½ / 8 = 81.3% - 1st reserve:
Andrew Muir 6 / 7 = 85.7% - 2nd reserve:
Boris Avrukh 8 / 10 = 80.0%
Women's results
The women's division was contested by 72 teams representing 69 nations. Russia, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association entered one squad.
China finally broke the Eastern European dominance by winning the title, led by former (and future) world champion Xie Jun and future champion Zhu Chen. Russia took the silver, whilst defending quadruple champions Georgia had to settle for bronze.
# Country Players Average
ratingPoints Buchholz 1 ChinaXie Jun, Zhu Chen, Wang Pin, Wang Lei 2480 29 2 RussiaMatveeva, Kovalevskaya, Shumiakina, Stepovaya-Dianchenko 2438 27 295.0 3 GeorgiaChiburdanidze, Ioseliani, Arakhamia-Grant, Khurtsidze 2480 27 289.5 4 NetherlandsPeng Zhaoqin, Sziva, Bosboom-Lanchava, Jap Tjoen San 2325 23½ 290.0 5 BulgariaStefanova, Voiska, Velcheva, Aleksieva 2387 23½ 277.0 6 RomaniaCorina Peptan, Foişor, Cosma, Olǎraşu 2398 23 299.0 7 FR YugoslaviaMarić, Bojković, Vuksanović, Manakova 2422 23 293.5 8 HungaryLakos, Mádl, Grábics, Medvegy 2383 23 279.5 9 Russia "C"Demina, Kosteniuk, Kharashkina, Gelashvili 2205 23 275.0 10 United StatesBelakovskaia, Krush, Epstein, Donaldson-Akhmilovskaya 2355 23 271.5 # Country Average
ratingPoints Buchholz MP 11 Poland2428 22½ 300.5 12 Ukraine2430 22½ 289.0 13 Latvia2183 22½ 282.5 14 Vietnam2258 22½ 281.0 15 India2252 22½ 266.5 16 Germany2345 22 283.0 17 Estonia2292 22 281.5 18 Israel2322 22 281.0 14 19 Greece2247 22 281.0 13 20 England2323 22 269.0 21 Armenia2288 21½ 277.0 22 Moldova2322 21½ 274.5 23 Kazakhstan2258 21½ 272.5 24 Czech Republic2262 21 281.0 25 Uzbekistan2203 21 280.0 26 Russia "B"2358 21 271.5 27 France2237 21 251.0 28 Cuba2298 20½ 284.0 29 Croatia2263 20½ 272.0 30 Azerbaijan2052 20½ 265.5 31 Argentina2188 20½ 256.0 32 Belarus2253 20 269.0 33 Finland2157 20 267.0 34 North Macedonia2110 20 257.0 35 Sweden2120 20 256.5 36 Slovenia2223 20 256.0 37 Lithuania2198 19½ 280.5 38 Spain2222 19½ 269.5 39 Slovakia2227 19½ 267.5 40 Bosnia and Herzegovina2240 19½ 265.5 41 Bangladesh2097 19½ 254.0 42 Turkmenistan2227 19½ 251.5 43 Turkey2022 19½ 233.0 44 Austria2098 19 257.5 45 Mongolia2192 19 247.5 46 Mexico2098 19 244.0 47 Australia2080 18½ 253.5 48 Philippines2000 18½ 247.5 49 IBCA 2080 18½ 241.5 50 United Arab Emirates2000 18½ 208.0 51 Ireland2000 18½ 190.5 52 Switzerland2127 18 245.0 11 53 Brazil2080 18 245.0 10 54 Venezuela2133 18 244.5 13 55 Portugal2068 18 244.5 9 56 Iran2008 18 222.0 57 Iraq2063 18 219.5 58 Colombia2025 17½ 232.5 59 El Salvador2000 17½ 202.0 60 Scotland2017 17 246.0 61 Italy2045 17 239.0 62 South Africa2000 17 217.5 63 Nigeria2000 17 213.5 64 Wales2037 16½ 224.5 65 Puerto Rico2000 16½ 192.0 66 New Zealand2023 15½ 67 Botswana2000 15 68 Angola2000 13 69 Japan2017 12 70 United States Virgin Islands2000 9½ 71 Lebanon2000 8½ 72 Macau2000 2½
Individual medals
- Performance rating:
Wang Lei 2618 - Board 1:
Mähri Ovezova 10½ / 13 = 80.8% - Board 2:
Eman Hassane Al-Rufei 8 / 9 = 88.9% - Board 3:
Tatiana Shumiakina 6½ / 8 = 81.3% - Reserve:
Tatiana Stepovaya-Dianchenko and Wang Lei 8 / 9 = 88.9%
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 and awarded for the first time in Elista.
# | Team | Open division |
Women's division |
Average |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
1 | 2 | 1½ |
2 | ![]() |
5 | 1 | 3 |
3 | ![]() |
7 | 3 | 5 |
Notes
- Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to both male and female players.
- "The Week in Chess 202". theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- "The Week in Chess 203". theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- "The Week in Chess 204". theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- 33rd Chess Olympiad: Elista 1998 OlimpBase
- Justin Corfield, The History of Kalmykia: From Ancient Times to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Aleksey Orlov, 2015. The Olympiad is covered in p. 163-170. ISBN 978-1-876586-29-4.
- Carol Jarecki, "Reports from the 33rd Olympiad, Elista, Kalmyk Republic", Chess Life Online