44th Chess Olympiad

The 44th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising open[note 1] and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, will be held in Moscow, Russia, during the summer of 2021. Initially, the event was supposed to take place in Khanty-Mansiysk, which hosted the Chess Olympiad 2010, along with the Chess World Cup 2019 but later FIDE decided to move it to Moscow.[1] Thus, Moscow is set to become the first city to host the Chess Olympiad three times after the city previously hosted the event in 1956 and 1994. Khanty-Mansiysk will, however, host the opening ceremony and the inaugural Chess Paralympics specifically designed for people with disabilities, who were allowed to participate as members of the teams representing blind, deaf and physically disabled players in the past.[1][2] The event was originally scheduled to take place from 5–17 August 2020,[3][note 2] but it was later postponed and rescheduled as a result of the growing concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

44th Chess Olympiad
Dates run 2021 (TBD)

Bidding process

The bidding procedure for the 43rd Chess Olympiad and the FIDE Congress in connection with a possible bid for the Chess World Cup 2019 was opened in late 2015. Each city interested to host the event had to submit their bid to FIDE by 31 March 2016. The bids were to guarantee that all necessary provisions in accordance with the Olympiad Regulations of the FIDE Handbook would be covered by the organiser, including articles 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 pertaining to the organising committee, finances, and provision of amenities and stipends, respectively.[5][6] There was only one bid to host the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, although it was reported that the national federations of Argentina and Slovakia also showed initial interest.[7]

The final decision was made at the 87th FIDE Congress in September 2016 in Baku, where FIDE's president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov approved the bid.[8][9]

Concerns and controversies

WADA's recommendations
Main article: Doping in Russia

On 23 November 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency's Compliance Review Committee published a series of recommendations concerning Russian Anti-Doping Agency's non-compliance, including a ban to host major events in the upcoming four-year period.[10] A few days later, Russian Chess Federation's president Andrey Filatov announced that WADA's recommendations have nothing to do with them and Russia will host all scheduled events, including the Chess Olympiad.[11] On 28 November, FIDE officially responded to the recommendations made by WADA that the contracts for the Candidates Tournament and the Chess Olympiad have already been signed. They added that there was only one application to organise each event and they therefore believe that both tournaments fall under the exception formulated by WADA.[12]

COVID-19 pandemic
Main articles: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports and COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

On 24 March 2020, FIDE published an official statement in which it was announced that the Chess Olympiad will be postponed and rescheduled for the summer of 2021 at the same locations as a result of the growing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on people's lives.[13][4]

See also

Notes
  1. Although sometimes referred to as the "men's division", this section is open to all players.
  2. In November 2019, it was announced that the event would be held from 5 to 17 August. However, FIDE's official page of the event reported 18 August as an end date.

References
  1. "FIDE: 2020 Chess Olympiad to be in Moscow; Khanty-Mansiysk to host opening ceremony". tass.com. TASS. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  2. Andre Schulz (23 November 2019). "High profile tournaments coming in 2020!". ChessBase. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  3. "Dates for the Candidates and the 44th Chess Olympiad announced". fide.com. FIDE. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  4. Peter Doggers (24 March 2020). "FIDE Postpones Chess Olympiad To 2021". Chess.com. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. "2020 Chess Olympiad: Bidding Procedure". Chess Daily News. 16 March 2016.
  6. "FIDE Handbook: Regulations of the Chess Olympiad" (PDF). FIDE.
  7. "2020 Chess Olympiad to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk". asertac.az. AZERTAC. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  8. "87th FIDE Congress Baku, Azerbaijan General Assembly 11-13 September 2016" (PDF). fide.com. FIDE. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  9. "Russia to host 2020 World Chess Olympiad". tass.com. TASS. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  10. "WADA Compliance Review Committee recommends series of strong consequences for RUSADA non-compliance". WADA. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  11. "WADA's recommended sanctions pose no threat to 2020 Chess Olympiad in Russia". tass.com. TASS. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  12. "Official statement on WADA recommendations". fide.com. FIDE. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  13. "Statement by the FIDE Council regarding the Chess Olympiad". fide.com. FIDE. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
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