Chess Olympiad 2004, Calvià on the Spanish island of Majorca.

The 36th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open^[1] and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, inCalvià on the Spanish island of Majorca.

Contents  [hide] 1 Chess competition 1.1 Open tournament 1.1.1 Team results 1.1.1.1 Top ten overall finishers 1.1.1.2 Group prizes 1.1.2 Individual results 1.1.2.1 Best rating performance 1.1.2.2 Board prizes 1.2 Women's tournament 1.2.1 Team results 1.2.1.1 Top ten overall finishers 1.2.1.2 Group prizes 1.2.2 Individual results 1.2.2.1 Best rating performance 1.2.2.2 Board prizes 1.3 Overall title 1.4 Participating teams 1.5 Controversy 1.5.1 Azmaiparashvili incident 1.5.2 Drug testing 2 Associated events 3 External links 4 Notes

[edit]Chess competition

Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Ignatius Leong. Teams were paired across the 14 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. The time control for each game permitted each player 90 minutes to make all of his or her moves, with an additional 30 seconds devolving on each player after each move, beginning with the first.

[edit]Open tournament

The open division was contested by 129 teams representing 125 nations and territories; Spain, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst theInternational Braille Chess Association and the International Physically Disabled Chess Association each provided one squad.

Led by first board Grandmaster (GM) Vasyl Ivanchuk, the seventh highest-rated player at the tournament, who recorded nine-and-one-half points over 13 rounds, and second reserve GM Sergey Karjakin who, aged just 14 years, won six of his seven games, surrendering a drawonly to American GM Gregory Kaidanov, Ukraine scored all four possible points in each of their first three matches before defeating Russia, 2½-1½, in the fourth round, eventually accumulating a nearly insurmountable three-point lead after the penultimate round; the Ukrainian team nevertheless scored three points against France and claimed the gold medal three points ahead over silver medallists Russia, who had entered the tournament as the top seed, having brought four of the tournament's nine highest-rated players, and as defending champions.

Armenia, one of just four teams to draw a match with Ukraine, paced by second board GM Levon Aronian, who did not lose in twelve games, and third board GM Rafael Vaganian, who scored eight-and-one-half points over in 11 games, lost to Russia, 2½-1½, in the eighth round and ultimately, on the strength of a 3½-½ final round defeat of Georgia, tied Russia's 36½ points; Armenia were placed after Russia, though, on the Buchholz tiebreak system employed by the Olympiad, and finished, as in the 35th Chess Olympiad, with the bronze medal.

Cuba, seeded 18th, and Bulgaria, seeded 20th, each finished in the top ten, led respectively by second board GM Lazaro Bruzon (eight points over 11 games) and first board GM Kiril Georgiev (eight points in 13 games, including a final round defeat of the tournament's top rated player, Indian GM Viswanathan Anand), while France, seeded 12th, and England, seeded eighth, performed below expectations, finishing in 23rd and 30th, respectively.

[edit]Team results

The teams finishing first through third overall receive medals, as do those finishing in the top three amongst teams organized by seed; overall medal winners are not eligible to receive group prizes.

[edit]Top ten overall finishers

Place of finish[2]	Team	Players[3][4]	Seed[5]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Matches won	Matches drawn	Matches lost	Total score[7]
First	Ukraine	Vasyl Ivanchuk, Ruslan Ponomariov, Andrei Volokitin,Alexander Moiseenko, Pavel Eljanov, Sergey Karjakin	2	2680	10	4	0	39½
Second	Russia	Alexander Morozevich, Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk,Alexey Dreev, Alexander Khalifman, Vadim Zvjaginsev	1	2718	11	0	3	36½
Third	Armenia	Vladimir Akopian, Levon Aronian, Rafael Vaganian, Smbat Lputian, Gabriel Sargissian, Artashes Minasian	4	2660	8	4	2	36½
Fourth	United States of America	Alexander Onischuk, Alexander Shabalov, Alexander Goldin,Gregory Kaidanov, Igor Novikov, Boris Gulko	10	2623	7	4	3	35
Fifth	Israel	Boris Gelfand, Emil Sutovsky, Ilia Smirin, Boris Avrukh,Alexander Huzman, Michael Roiz	3	2670	7	5	2	34½
Sixth	India	Viswanathan Anand, Krishnan Sasikiran, Pendyala Harikrishna, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Abhijit Kunte, Chanda Sandipan	5	2655	10	0	4	34
Seventh	Cuba	Leinier Domínguez, Lazaro Bruzon, Neuris Delgado, Jesus Nogueiras, Walter Arencibia, IM[8] Yuniesky Quezada	18	2596	8	2	4	33½
Eighth	Netherlands	Loek Van Wely, Ivan Sokolov, Sergei Tiviakov, Jan Timman,Erik Van Den Doel, Friso Nijboer	8	2641	9	1	4	33
Ninth	Bulgaria	Kiril Georgiev, Aleksandr Delchev, IM Ivan Cheparinov, Vasil Spasov, Boris Chatalbashev, IM Julian Radulski	20	2584	9	1	4	32½
Tenth	Spain A	Alexei Shirov, Francisco Vallejo Pons, Miguel Illescas Córdoba, Roberto Cifuentes Parada, Alfonso Romero Holmes, IM Julien Arizmendi Martinez	7	2643	8	3	3	32½

[edit]Group prizes

Group A (from amongst teams seeded 1st to 25th)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[5]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[7]
United States of America	4	10	2623	35
Israel	5	3	2670	34½
India	6	5	2655	34

Group B (from amongst teams seeded 26th to 51st)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[5]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[7]
Switzerland	13	29	2559	32
Uzbekistan	14	30	2533	32
Serbia and Montenegro	15	26	2568	32

Group C (from amongst teams seeded 52nd to 77th)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[5]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[7]
Ireland	43	54	2454	30
Indonesia	48	65	2397	29½
Finland	49	53	2456	29½

Group D (from amongst teams seeded 78th to 103rd)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[5]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[7]
Tajikistan	61	83	2303	28½
Bolivia	65	79	2371	28½
Pakistan	69	84	2298	28

Group E (from amongst teams seeded 104th to 129th)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[5]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[7]
Japan	87	112	2125	26½
Botswana	94	105	2174	25½
Kenya	95	119	2121	25½

[edit]Individual results

Individual medals are awarded to the three players to achieve the best rating performance having played at least eight games. Medals are also awarded to the top three finishers, by percentage of points won from total points possible, from amongst those to have played primarily on each of boards one through four (having played at least eight games) as well as to those reserves who have otherwise played at least seven games across all boards, who are classified as playing on boards five and six. Teams typically feature their better players on the lower-numbered boards, but illness, fatigue, and absence often affect playing rotations. Ties are resolved in favor of the player who played more games; where ties remain, the player with a better rating performance is awarded the superior placing.

[edit]Best rating performance

Player[4]	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Principal board played	Games played	Points scored	Rating performance
Baadur Jobava	Georgia	2614	4	10	8½	2842
Viswanathan Anand	India	2781	1	11	8	2824
Vasyl Ivanchuk	Ukraine	2705	1	13	9½	2819
Rafael Vaganian	Armenia	2640	3	11	8½	2818
Peter Svidler	Russia	2735	2	9	6½	2811
Michael Adams	England	2740	1	13	10	2773
Andrei Volokitin	Ukraine	2652	3	12	8½	2771
Lazaro Bruzon	Cuba	2637	2	11	8	2771
Gregory Kaidanov	United States of America	2611	4	10	8	2763
Leinier Domínguez	Cuba	2645	1	11	7½	2749

[edit]Board prizes

First board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
GM[11]Evgenij Ermenkov	Palestine	2454	12	10½	87.5
GM Andres Rodríguez	Uruguay	2533	10	8	80.0
GM Michael Adams	England	2740	13	10	76.9

Second board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
IM[8] Mohamed Tissir	Morocco	2394	9	7½	83.3
GM[11] Anh Dung Nguyen	Vietnam	2567	11	8½	77.3
GM Bazar Hatanbaatar	Mongolia	2427	12	9	75.0

Third board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
GM[11]Rafael Vaganian	Armenia	2640	11	8½	77.3
GM Vladimir Georgiev	FYR Macedonia	2512	12	9	75.0
IM[8]Garcia Jose Gonzalez	Mexico	2447	10	7½	75.0

Fourth board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
GM[11]Baadur Jobava	Georgia	2614	10	8½	85.0
GM Gregory Kaidanov	United States of America	2611	10	8	80.0
GM Gadir Guseinov	Azerbaijan	2552	10	8	80.0

Fifth (first reserve) board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
IM[8]Vaidas Sakalauskas	Lithuania	2464	7	6	85.7
GM[11]Serik Temirbaev	Kazakhstan	2468	7	5½	78.6
GM Jean-Marc Degraeve	France	2551	9	7	77.8

Sixth (second reserve) board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
GM[11] Sergey Karjakin	Ukraine	2576	7	6½	92.9
FM[12]Ibrahim Chahrani	Libya	2273	7	6½	92.9
William Bermudez Adams	Puerto Rico	2138	8	6½	81.3

[edit]Women's tournament

The women's division was contested by 87 teams representing 84 nations and territories; Spain, as hosts, fielded two teams, whilst theInternational Braille Chess Association and the International Physically Disabled Chess Association each entered one squad.

People's Republic of China, led by first board Grandmaster (GM) and former women's world champion Xie Jun and second board Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Xu Yuhua, who would become women's world champion in 2006, entered the competition as top seed and defending champion and quickly took the tournament lead, conceding just two draw in their first five matches (comprising fifteen games) and then defeating 35th Chess Olympiad silver medallists Russia and bronze medallists Poland (each 2-1) in the sixth and eighth rounds, respectively, later carrying a six-point lead into a tenth round match with second place United States.

GM Zsuzsa Polgar, who entered the tournament as the second highest-rated player and achieved the best performance rating of any player in the tournament, drew Jun, while International Master (IM) Irina Krush won her second board game against Yuhua; a draw by WGM Anna Zatonskih against WGM Zhao Xue gave the Americans a 2-1 win over the Chinese team. In rounds eleven and twelve, China drew Hungary and lost to Georgia, whilst the United States defeated Slovakia and then scored a 2½-½ victory of Hungary, drawing, along with Georgia, to within three points of China with two rounds remaining. China, though, defeated sixth-seeded India and 12th-seeded Slovakia in the final two rounds, scoring four points to preserve what was ultimately a three-point win over the United States side and to clinch the Vera Menchik Trophy.

Second-seeded Russia, led by fourth board WGM Nadezhda Kosintseva, who won top honors on the first reserve board for scoring 10 points in 12 rounds, sat in eighth place after ten rounds but rallied to fourth place entering the penultimate round, where they faced Georgia, whom they trailed by one half-point. Although first board GM Maya Chiburdanidze and second board WGM Nana Dzagnidze, each of whom scored eight-and-one-half points for her team over the event, drew their matches, third board WGM Lela Javakhishvili lost to Kosintseva, giving the Russian team a one half-point lead over Georgia; although Georgia defeated Ukraine, 2½-½, in the final round, Russia managed two points against France, equalling Georgia's 27½ total and winning third place on tiebreaks.

Thirteenth-seeded Hungary, paced by second board IM Szidonia Vajda, who recorded two wins and a draw against three players ranked in the top seven of those participating, and 27th-seeded England, for whom IM Harriet Hunt scored nine-and-one-half points in 13 games, finished a surprising sixth and eighth respectively, while Ukraine, the fifth-seeded team, tallied only eight points in 19 games played by first board WGM Natalia Zhukova and fourth board IM Olga Alexandrova, ultimately finishing in 18th place.

[edit]Team results

The teams finishing first through third overall receive medals, as do those finishing in the top three amongst teams organized by seed; overall medal winners are not eligible to receive group prizes.

[edit]Top ten overall finishers

Place of finish[13]	Team	Players[14][15]	Seed[16]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Matches won	Matches drawn	Matches lost	Total score[17]
First	People's Republic of China	GM[11]Xie Jun, WGM[18] Xu Yuhua, WGM Zhao Xue,WIM[19] Huang Qian	1	2514	11	1	2	31
Second	United States of America	GM Zsuzsa Polgar, IM[8]Irina Krush, WGM Anna Zatonskih, WIM Jennifer Shahade	3	2490	10	3	1	28
Third	Russia	IM Alexandra Kosteniuk, WGM Tatiana Kosintseva,IM Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, WGM Nadezhda Kosintseva	2	2491	9	3	2	27½
Fourth	Georgia	GM Maya Chiburdanidze, WGM Nana Dzagnidze,WGM Lela Javakhishvili, IM Maria Lomineishvili	4	2470	10	1	3	27½
Fifth	France	IM Almira Skripchenko, IM Marie Sebag, WGM Silvia Collas, WIM Sophie Milliet	8	2417	8	2	4	25½
Sixth	Hungary	IM Ildikó Mádl, IM Szidonia Vajda, WGM Anita Gara,WGM Nikoletta Lakos	13	2376	8	3	3	25
Seventh	Slovakia	WGM Eva Repkova, WGM Regina Pokorna, IMZuzana Hagarova, Zuzana Borošová	12	2377	8	2	4	25
Eighth	England	IM Harriet Hunt, WGM Jovanka Houska, WIM Heather Richards, Melanie Buckley	27	2293	7	2	5	25
Ninth	India	GM Humpy Koneru, IM Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi,WGM Dronavalli Harika, WGM Nisha Mohota	6	2435	8	3	3	24½
Tenth	Poland	IM Iweta Radziewicz, IM Monika Soćko, IM Joanna Dworakowska, WGM Marta Zielinska	7	2427	7	3	4	24½

[edit]Group prizes

Group A (from amongst teams seeded 1st to 17th)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[16]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[17]
Georgia	4	4	2470	27½
France	5	8	2417	25½
Hungary	6	13	2376	25

Group B (from amongst teams seeded 18th to 34th)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[16]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[17]
England	8	27	2293	25
Lithuania	13	20	2311	24
Sweden	15	24	2301	24

Group C (from amongst teams seeded 35th to 51st)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[16]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[17]
Uzbekistan	32	37	2235	22½
Iran	34	41	2189	22
Estonia	36	38	2229	22

Group D (from amongst teams seeded 52nd to 69th)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[16]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[17]
Colombia	37	55	2107	21½
Malaysia	40	56	2084	21½
Canada	41	52	2123	21½

Group E (from amongst teams seeded 70th to 87th)

Team	Overall place of finish[9]	Seed[16]	Average July 2004 FIDE rating[6]	Total score[17]
Kyrgyzstan	58	75	2080	20
Indonesia	59	72	2125	20
Guatemala	60	77	2043	20

[edit]Individual results

Individual medals are awarded to the three players to achieve the best rating performance having played at least eight games. Medals are also awarded to the top three finishers, by percentage of points won from total points possible, from amongst those to have played primarily on each of boards one through three (having played at least eight games) as well as to those reserves who have otherwise played at least seven games across all boards, who are classified as playing on board four. Teams typically feature their better players on the lower-numbered boards, but illness, fatigue, and absence often affect playing rotations. Ties are resolved in favor of the player who played more games; where ties remain, the player with a better rating performance is awarded the superior placing.

[edit]Best rating performance

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Principal board played	Games played	Points scored	Rating performance
GM[11] Zsuzsa Polgar	United States of America	2567	1	14	10½	2622
GM Xie Jun	People's Republic of China	2569	1	10	7	2597
WGM[18] Zhao Xue	People's Republic of China	2487	3	12	10	2596
IM[8] Harriet Hunt	England	2385	1	13	9½	2558
WGM Nadezhda Kosintseva	Russia	2446	4	12	10	2550
IM Viktorija Čmilytė	Lithuania	2442	1	11	8½	2550
IM Szidonia Vajda	Hungary	2369	2	12	9	2541
IM Alexandra Kosteniuk	Russia	2508	1	11	7	2539
GM Maya Chiburdanidze	Georgia	2503	1	13	8½	2531
GM Humpy Koneru	India	2503	1	14	8½	2521

[edit]Board prizes

First board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
IM[8] Viktorija Čmilytė	Lithuania	2442	11	8½	77.3
GM[11] Zsuzsa Polgar	United States of America	2567	14	10½	75.0
WGM[18] Elvira Berend	Luxembourg	2307	12	9	75.0

Second board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
IM[8] Szidonia Vajda	Hungary	2369	12	9	75.0
IM Corina-Isabela Peptan	Romania	2429	12	9	75.0
WGM[18] Barbara Hund	Switzerland	2240	11	8	72.7

Third board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
WGM[18] Zhao Xue	People's Republic of China	2487	12	10	83.3
Irene Kharisma	Indonesia	No rating[20]	12	10	83.3
WIM[19] Tuvshintogs Batceceg	Mongolia	2209	12	9	75.0

Fourth (reserve) board

Player	Team represented	July 2004 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained[10]
WGM[18] Nadezhda Kosintseva	Russia	2446	12	10	83.3
WGM Maria Velcheva	Bulgaria	2299	10	8	80.0
WGM Marta Zielinska	Poland	2395	10	7½	75.0

[edit]Overall title

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the entity the average place of finish of which in the open and women's division is the best (where two or more teams are tied, they are ordered by single-best finish in either division and then by total points scored); with an average finish of two-and-one-half, the Russia won the 2004 trophy.