Chess Olympiad: Chess Olympiad 2008, Dresden, Germany

The 38th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open^[1] and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between 12–25 November 2008, in Dresden, Germany^[2] and was won by Armenia. The 2010 Olympiad is expected to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. 2012 Olympiad will be in Istanbul (Turkey), who won over Budva (Montenegro).

Dresden Olympiad Scene

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[edit]Rules

Compared to the last edition of the Olympiad, the tournament, while still a Swiss system, was reduced from 13 to 11 rounds, with accelerated pairings. No draws by agreement are permitted before 30 moves have been completed. Yet there were games drawn as soon as in 16th move – formally drawn by repetition which there is no rule against.^[3]

In addition, players who are not present at the board at the commencement of a round are forfeited, the latter rule was made to align chess with other sports events. In both the open section and women's section, the team matches are played over four boards. Each team may have five players, one for each board plus an alternate.^[4]

146 teams (including three of the host nation, Germany) participated in the open section, while 111 teams played in the women's section.