Canadian Chess - Sponsor Us - History of the Chess Olympiad & Canadian participation

Written and copyright 2011 by David Cohen.
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History of the Chess Olympiad & Canadian participation

Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad is a team competition for nations sanctioned by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). It was first held in 1927 at London, England and has been held every 2 years since 1950. Until the 2008 Olympics were held in Beijing, more countries competed in the Chess Olympiad than in any other sporting event.

The 37th Chess Olympiad in 2006 at Turin, Italy had teams from 143 countries. The 38th Chess Olympiad in 2008 at Dresden, Germany attracted 141 countries, as did the 39th Chess Olympiad in 2010 at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. In the 2010 Women's event, there were teams from 110 countries.

Canada's participation

Canada first participated in the Chess Olympiads in 1939 at Buenos Aires, Argentina, where 14-year old Abe Yanofsky of Winnipeg, Manitoba attracted the world's attention. In 1964 at Tel Aviv, Israel, Yanofsky secured the first Grandmaster title for a player raised in the Commonwealth. Recent highlights include wins by Pascal Charbonneau over former FIDE World Champion Viswanathan Anand in 2006; and Mark Bluvshtein over former FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov in 2010.

Canada has sent a team to every Chess Olympiad since 1964. Canada's best finish at the Chess Olympiad was tied for 7th place in 1978 at Buenos Aires, Argentina. Canada finished tied for 8th place in 1976 at Haifa, Israel and again in 1980 at Valetta, Malta.

Canadians have won individual medals 10 times:

Gold:

D. Abraham Yanofsky, Board 2, 1939
Frank Anderson, Board 2, 1954, 1958

Silver:

Peter Biyiasas, Board 2, 1978
Kevin Spraggett, Board 2, 2000

Bronze:

Peter Biyiasas, Board 4, 1972
Jean Hébert, Board 3, 1982
Lawrence Day, Board 3, 1986
Deen Hergott, Alternate 1, 1990
Yan Teplitsky, Board 4, 2002

Additional individual accomplishments:

Frank Anderson had the best percentage, Board 2, 1958
Roman Pelts had the 2nd highest score among masters, Board 4, 1984
Lawrence Day has represented Canada at the Chess Olympiads 13 times
D. Abraham Yanofsky represented Canada at the Chess Olympiads 11 times

The Women's Chess Olympiad was first held in 1957 at Emmen, Netherlands. Canada first participated in the Women's Chess Olympiad in 1974 at Medellin, Columbia, and has sent a team every time since 2000.

Canadians have won individual medals 4 times:

Gold:

Nava Starr, Board 2, 1976
Céline Roos, Board 2, 1984

Bronze:

Smilja Vujosevic, Board 1, 1976
Nava Starr, Board 1, 1982

Additional individual accomplishment:

Nava Starr has represented Canada at the Chess Olympiads 12 times

Canada's 2010 Olympiad National Team

Mark Bluvshtein, GM, Toronto, ON
Thomas Roussel-Roozmon, GM, Montreal, QC
Leonid Gerzhoy, IM, Toronto, ON
Artem (Artiom) Samsonkin, IM, Toronto, ON
Nikolay Noritsyn, IM, Richmond Hill, ON

Canada's 2010 Olympiad Women's Team

Yuanling Yuan, WIM, Toronto, ON
Dina Kagramanov, WIM, Richmond Hill, ON
Iulia Lacau-Rodean, Kitchener, ON
Yelizaveta (Liza) Orlova, WCM, Toronto, ON
Dalia Kagramanov, Richmond Hill, ON

World Chess Olympiad

No. Year Location Winner

1 1927 London, United Kingdom Hungary

2 1928 The Hague, Netherlands Hungary

3 1930 Hamburg, Germany Poland

4 1931 Prague, Czechoslovakia United States of America

5 1933 Folkestone, United Kingdom United States of America

6 1935 Warsaw, Poland United States of America

7 1937 Stockholm, Sweden United States of America

8 1939 Buenos Aires, Argentina Germany

9 1950 Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia Yugoslavia

10 1952 Helsinki, Finland U.S.S.R.

11 1954 Amsterdam, Netherlands U.S.S.R.

12 1956 Moscow, U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R.

13 1958 Munich, West Germany U.S.S.R.

14 1960 Leipzig, East Germany U.S.S.R.

15 1962 Varna, Bulgaria U.S.S.R.

16 1964 Tel Aviv, Israel U.S.S.R.

17 1966 Havana, Cuba U.S.S.R.

18 1968 Lugano, Switzerland U.S.S.R.

19 1970 Siegen, West Germany U.S.S.R.

20 1972 Skopje, Yugoslavia U.S.S.R.

21 1974 Nice, France U.S.S.R.

22 1976 Haifa, Israel United States of America

23 1978 Buenos Aires, Argentina Hungary

24 1980 Valletta, Malta U.S.S.R.

25 1982 Lucerne, Switzerland U.S.S.R.

26 1984 Thessaloniki, Greece U.S.S.R.

27 1986 Dubai, United Arab Emirates U.S.S.R.

28 1988 Thessaloniki, Greece U.S.S.R.

29 1990 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia U.S.S.R.

30 1992 Manila, Philippines Russia

31 1994 Moscow, Russia Russia

32 1996 Yerevan, Armenia Russia

33 1998 Elista, Russia Russia

34 2000 Istanbul, Turkey Russia

35 2002 Bled, Slovenia Russia

36 2004 Calvia, Spain Ukraine

37 2006 Turin, Italy Armenia

38 2008 Dresden, Germany Armenia

39 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Ukraine

40 2012 Istanbul, Turkey

41 2014 Tromsø, Norway

		World Chess Olympiad
No.	Year	Location	Winner
1	1927	London, United Kingdom	Hungary
2	1928	The Hague, Netherlands	Hungary
3	1930	Hamburg, Germany	Poland
4	1931	Prague, Czechoslovakia	United States of America
5	1933	Folkestone, United Kingdom	United States of America
6	1935	Warsaw, Poland	United States of America
7	1937	Stockholm, Sweden	United States of America
8	1939	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Germany
9	1950	Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia
10	1952	Helsinki, Finland	U.S.S.R.
11	1954	Amsterdam, Netherlands	U.S.S.R.
12	1956	Moscow, U.S.S.R.	U.S.S.R.
13	1958	Munich, West Germany	U.S.S.R.
14	1960	Leipzig, East Germany	U.S.S.R.
15	1962	Varna, Bulgaria	U.S.S.R.
16	1964	Tel Aviv, Israel	U.S.S.R.
17	1966	Havana, Cuba	U.S.S.R.
18	1968	Lugano, Switzerland	U.S.S.R.
19	1970	Siegen, West Germany	U.S.S.R.
20	1972	Skopje, Yugoslavia	U.S.S.R.
21	1974	Nice, France	U.S.S.R.
22	1976	Haifa, Israel	United States of America
23	1978	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Hungary
24	1980	Valletta, Malta	U.S.S.R.
25	1982	Lucerne, Switzerland	U.S.S.R.
26	1984	Thessaloniki, Greece	U.S.S.R.
27	1986	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	U.S.S.R.
28	1988	Thessaloniki, Greece	U.S.S.R.
29	1990	Novi Sad, Yugoslavia	U.S.S.R.
30	1992	Manila, Philippines	Russia
31	1994	Moscow, Russia	Russia
32	1996	Yerevan, Armenia	Russia
33	1998	Elista, Russia	Russia
34	2000	Istanbul, Turkey	Russia
35	2002	Bled, Slovenia	Russia
36	2004	Calvia, Spain	Ukraine
37	2006	Turin, Italy	Armenia
38	2008	Dresden, Germany	Armenia
39	2010	Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia	Ukraine
40	2012	Istanbul, Turkey
41	2014	Tromsø, Norway