37th Chess Olympiad

The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open ^[1] and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs, took place between May 20 and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.

1 Human 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 2 FIDE Congress 3 Associated events 4 External links 5 Notes

The open division was contested by 148 teams representing 143 nations and territories; Italy, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Blind Chess Association, the International Physically Disabled Chess Association, International Silent Chess Committee each provided one squad; neither Somalia nor Sierra Leone, each of which had registered a team, participated.

Led by first board Grandmaster (GM) Levon Aronian, the second highest-rated player at the Olympiad, and first reserve GM Gabriel Sargissian, who scored 10 points in 11 games, Armenia improved on their third place performance at the 36th Olympiad, claiming the gold medal by two full points over the silver medal-winning People's Republic of China, whose fourth board, GM Wang Yue, went undefeated, winning eight games and drawing four; Armenia ended the tournament without having lost a match, winning 10 and drawing three, including in the final round against Hungary, when four draws were cursorily recorded. Aronian was the only Armenian player to lose a game during the tournament, falling in the fifth round to Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik. Kramnik, playing internationally for the first time in six months, scored six-and-one-half points in his nine games, recording the best rating performance of any player. His Russian team, though, did not perform as expected; fielding six of the tournament's top 17 players by ranking [1], Russia stood in second place, just one point behind Armenia, through the seventh round but lost matches to France (2½-1½), the United States (2½-1½), and, in the final round, Israel (3-1), and ultimately finished sixth; the finish was the first non-podium finish for the side representing the Soviet Union or Russia since the 9th Chess Olympiad, played in 1950. Although they defeated the United States, 2½-1½, in the penultimate round, Israel settled for a tie for third place; the Americans claimed the bronze medal on Buchholz tiebreaks. Hungary, seeded 16th, finished fifth, getting strong performances from third board GM Ferenc Berkes and fourth board GM Csaba Balogh, while India, who entered the tournament seeded second, finished in 30th place, with first board GM Viswanathan Anand's and fourth board GM Shekhar Ganguly Surya's scoring just 50 per cent.

[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 April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Matches won	Matches drawn	Matches lost	Total score [7]
First	Armenia	Levon Aronian, Vladimir Akopian, Karen Asrian, Smbat Lputian, Gabriel Sargissian, Artashes Minasian	3	2682	10	3	0	36.0
Second	People's Republic of China	Bu Xiangzhi, Zhang Zhong, Zhang Pengxiang, Wang Yue, Ni Hua, Zhao Jun	12	2628	8	1	4	34.0
Third	United States	Gata Kamsky, Alexander Onischuk, Hikaru Nakamura, Ildar Ibragimov, Gregory Kaidanov, Varuzhan Akobian	7	2656	9	3	1	33.0
Fourth	Israel	Boris Gelfand, Ilia Smirin, Emil Sutovsky, Boris Avrukh, Alexander Huzman, Victor Mikhalevski	6	2663	9	3	1	33.0
Fifth	Hungary	Zoltán Almási, Zoltan Gyimesi, Ferenc Berkes, Csaba Balogh, Robert Ruck, Adam Horvath	16	2610	7	4	2	32.5
Sixth	Russia	Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk, Alexander Morozevich, Evgeny Bareev, Sergei Rublevsky	1	2730	7	2	4	32.0
Seventh	France	Étienne Bacrot, Joel Lautier, Andrei Sokolov, Laurent Fressinet, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Christian Bauer	5	2665	7	5	1	32.0
Eighth	Ukraine	Vasyl Ivanchuk, Andrei Volokitin, Sergey Karjakin, Pavel Eljanov, Alexander Moiseenko, Zahar Efimenko	4	2680	8	2	3	32.0
Ninth	Bulgaria	Kiril Georgiev, Ivan Cheparinov, Aleksander Delchev, Vasili Spasov, IM [8] Vladimir Petkov , IM Valentin Iotov	10	2633	7	2	4	32.0
Tenth	Spain	Alexei Shirov, Francisco Vallejo Pons, Miguel Illescas Cordoba, Julien Arizmendi Martinez, Pablo San Segundo Carrillo, Marc Narciso Dublan	11	2628	7	4	2	32.0

[edit] Group prizes

Group A (from amongst teams seeded 1st to 29th without best three teams)

Team	Overall place of finish [9]	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Israel	4	6	2663	33.0
Hungary	5	16	2610	32.5
Russia	6	1	2730	32.0

Group B (from amongst teams seeded 30th to 59th)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Sweden	17	31	2549	30.5
Slovenia	23	32	2545	30.0
Latvia	28	42	2516	30.0

Group C (from amongst teams seeded 60th to 89th)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Italy (team B)	48	70	2371	28.5
Kazakhstan	53	73	2348	28.0
Colombia	57	62	2437	27.0

Group D (from amongst teams seeded 90th to 119th)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Tajikistan	54	106	2215	28.0
Algeria	69	91	2285	26.5
International Silent Chess Committee	76	90	2308	26.0

Group E (from amongst teams seeded 120th to 148th)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Japan	87	121	2139	25.5
Pakistan	98	123	2123	24.5
Cyprus	103	122	2125	24.0

[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	April 2006 FIDE rating	Principal board played	Games played	Points scored	Rating performance
Vladimir Kramnik	Russia	2729	1	9	6.5	2847
Wang Yue	People's Republic of China	2598	4	12	10.0	2837
Étienne Bacrot	France	2708	1	8	6.0	2833
Magnus Carlsen	Norway	2646	1	8	6.0	2820
Sergey Karjakin	Ukraine	2661	3	11	8.5	2798
Bu Xiangzhi	People's Republic of China	2640	1	12	8.0	2790
David Navara	Czech Republic	2658	1	12	8.5	2786
Vladimir Akopian	Armenia	2706	2	12	9.0	2778
Levon Aronian	Armenia	2756	1	11	7.0	2768
Joel Lautier	France	2682	2	11	8.0	2759

[edit] Board prizes

First board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
Mohyuddin Gillani Tanveer	Pakistan	2279	8	7.0	87.5
GM [11] Evgenij Ermenkov	Palestine	2462	10	8.5	85.0
GM Hichem Hamdouchi	Morocco	2559	10	7.5	75.0

Second board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
IM [8] Josep Oms Pallise	Andorra	2496	11	9.0	81.8
Brian Dew	Hong Kong	2147	9	7.0	77.8
IM Eduardo Iturrizaga	Venezuela	2397	11	8.5	77.3

Third board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
Manuel Larrea	Uruguay	2278	8	7.0	87.5
GM [11] Rafael Leitão	Brazil	2575	10	8.0	80.0
GM Miguel Illescas Cordoba	Spain	2608	9	7.0	77.8

Fourth board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
GM [11] Wang Yue	People's Republic of China	2598	12	10.0	83.3
GM Robert Zelcic	Croatia	2525	12	9.0	75.0
GM Boris Avrukh	Israel	2633	10	7.5	75.0

Fifth (first reserve) board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
FM [12] Basheer Al-Qudaimi	Yemen	2396	7	7.0	100.0
Amer Karim	Pakistan	2260	8	7.5	93.8
Ali Laith	Iraq	2179	7	6.5	92.9

Sixth (second reserve) board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
Phiri Richmond	Zambia	no rating [13]	7	6.5	92.9
Hirawan Pg Mohd Omar Ak	Brunei	2335	7	6.5	92.9
Hameedullah Haidary	Afghanistan	no rating [13]	9	7.5	83.3

The women's division was contested by 106 teams representing 102 nations and territories; Italy, as hosts, fielded two teams, whilst the International Blind Chess Association, the International Physically Disabled Chess Association, International Silent Chess Committee each provided one squad; neither Somalia nor Sudan, each of which had registered a team, participated, whilst Afghanistan, Uganda, and Rwanda each withdrew after one round.

Ukraine, who had finished in 18th place at the 36th Olympiad but entered the tournament seeded second, trailed top-seeded Russia by one half-point through the seventh round, despite having taken defeated the Russians in the fifth round, 2-1, but took the tournament lead in the eighth round, defeating Hungary while Russia managed only to halve their match with the United States. Ukraine, behind Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Natalia Zhukova, who scored seven-and-one-half points in her nine games, defeating the top- and second-rated players, Grandmaster (GM) Humpy Koneru of India and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia, and third board International Master (IM) Inna Yanovska-Gaponenko, who won six games, drew two, and lost only one, never trailed during the remainder of the tournament, all but securing the gold medal and Vera Menchik Trophy with twelfth round win over India (2½-½) and eventually finishing one-and-one-half points ahead of silver medallist Russia. Defending champion China, on the strength of first board WGM Zhao Xue, who entered the tournament seeded 22nd yet, having played in each round, went undefeated in the Olympiad, conceding only six draws in 13 games, claimed the bronze medal by three points over the United States, with whom the Chinese team drew in the penultimate round to secure third place; the American team, on Buchholz tiebreaks, narrowly outpointed Hungary and Georgia for fourth place. Three double-digit seeds, the Netherlands (seeded 18th, finished seventh), Slovenia (seeded 17th, finished ninth), and the Czech Republic (seeded 22nd, finished tenth), finished in the top ten, while 12th-seeded Poland managed only a 20th place finish.

[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 [14]	Team	Players [15] [16]	Seed [17]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [18]	Matches won	Matches drawn	Matches lost	Total score [19]
First	Ukraine	WGM [20] Natalia Zhukova, IM [8] Kateryna Lahno, IM Inna Yanovska-Gaponenko, WGM Anna Ushenina	2	2441	12	1	0	29.5
Second	Russia	GM [11] Alexandra Kosteniuk, IM Tatiana Kosintseva, IM Nadezhda Kosintseva, IM Ekaterina Kovalevskaya	1	2499	9	3	1	28.0
Third	People's Republic of China	WGM Zhao Xue, WGM Wang Yu, Shen Yang, WFM [21] Hou Yifan	6	2408	8	3	2	27.5
Fourth	United States	WGM Anna Zatonskih, IM Irina Krush, WGM Rusudan Goletiani, WGM Camilla Baginskaite	5	2414	7	5	1	24.5
Fifth	Hungary	IM Hoang Thanh Trang, IM Ildiko Madl, IM Szidonia Vajda, WGM Anita Gara	4	2426	8	1	4	24.5
Sixth	Georgia	IM Nino Khurtsidze, IM Nana Dzagnidze, IM Lela Javakhishvili, IM Maia Lomineishvili	3	2430	7	3	3	24.5
Seventh	Netherlands	GM Peng Zhaoqin, IM Tea Bosboom-Lanchava, FM [12] Petra Schuurman, WIM [22] Bianca Muhren	18	2344	7	3	3	24.5
Eighth	Armenia	IM Lilit Mkrtchian, IM Elina Danielian, WGM Nelli Aginian, WIM Siranush Andriasian	7	2402	7	4	2	24.0
Ninth	Slovenia	WGM Anna Muzychuk, WGM Ana Srebrnic, WIM Jana Krivec, WFM Ksenija Novak	17	2348	7	2	4	24.0
Tenth	Czech Republic	IM Jana Jackova, WIM Katerina Cedikova, WIM Olga Sikorova, WIM Petra Blazkova	22	2299	8	0	5	24.0

[edit] Group prizes

Group A (from amongst teams seeded 1st to 20th)

Team	Overall place of finish [23]	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
United States	4	5	2414	24.5
Hungary	5	4	2426	24.5
Georgia	6	3	2430	24.5

Group B (from amongst teams seeded 21st to 42nd)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Czech Republic	10	22	2302	24.0
Vietnam	15	23	2302	23.0
Cuba	16	26	2289	23.0

Group C (from amongst teams seeded 43rd to 64th)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Philippines	26	60	2083	22.0
Turkmenistan	36	43	2182	21.0
Canada	41	51	2132	21.0

Group D (from amongst teams seeded 65th to 86th)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Indonesia	40	68	1986	21.0
Venezuela	43	71	1941	20.5
El Salvador	49	63	2007	20.0

Group E (from amongst teams seeded 87th to 108th)

Team	Overall place of finish	Seed [5]	Average April 2006 FIDE rating [6]	Total score [7]
Algeria	79	87	1721	17.5
New Zealand	80	84	1759	17.5
Nigeria	82	82	1723	17.0

[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	April 2006 FIDE rating	Principal board played	Games played	Points scored	Rating performance
WGM [20] Zhao Xue	People's Republic of China	2423	1	13	10.0	2617
IM [8] Tatiana Kosintseva	Russia	2489	2	12	9.5	2598
WFM [21] Hou Yifan	People's Republic of China	2298	3	13	11.0	2596
GM [11] Antoaneta Stefanova	Bulgaria	2502	1	12	9.0	2563
IM Hoang Thanh Trang	Hungary	2487	1	13	9.5	2539
WGM Natalia Zhukova	Ukraine	2425	1	10	7.5	2537
IM Inna Yanovska-Gaponenko	Ukraine	2430	3	9	7.0	2531
IM Viktorija Cmilyte	Lithuania	2470	1	12	9.5	2530
IM Nadezhda Kosintseva	Russia	2469	3	10	7.5	2521
IM Irina Krush	United States	2437	2	11	8.0	2512

[edit] Board prizes

First board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
WIM [22] Lubov Zsiltzova-Lisenko	International Blind Chess Association	2263	10	9.0	90.0
WIM Eman Mohammed	Iraq	2118	8	7.0	87.5
WIM Sarai Sanchez	Venezuela	2176	11	9.0	81.8

Second board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
Fiona Steil-Antoni	Luxembourg	1968	12	10.0	83.3
IM [8] Katerina Lahno	Ukraine	2468	10	8.0	80.0
IM Tatiana Kosintseva	Russia	2489	12	9.5	79.2

Third board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
WFM [21] Mohd Saleh Nora	United Arab Emirates	1925	8	7.0	87.5
IM [8] Inna Yanovska-Gaponenko	Ukraine	2430	9	7.0	77.8
IM Lela Javakhishvili	Georgia	2410	11	8.5	77.3

Fourth (reserve) board

Player	Team represented	April 2006 FIDE rating	Games played	Points scored	Percentage attained [10]
WIM [22] Tatiana Berlin	Belarus	2207	8	7.0	87.5
WFM [21] Hou Yifan	People's Republic of China	2298	13	11.0	84.6
Rahal Mawadda	Libya	1601	8	6.5	81.3

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 People's Republic of China won the 2006 trophy.

Top ten finishers

Team	Open division placing	Women's division placing	Average placing
People's Republic of China	2	3	2.5
United States	3	4	3.5
Russia	6	2	4.0
Ukraine	8	1	4.5
Armenia	1	8	4.5
Hungary	5	5	5.0
Netherlands	12	7	9.5
Georgia	14	6	10.0
Czech Republic	11	10	10.5
Bulgaria	9	13	11.0

Squads representing 133 nations, three international organizations, three constituent countries, two autonomous entities, two crown dependencies, two special administrative regions, two insular areas, and one associated state were entered into the Olympiad, comprising 1307 players (some registered players, though, did not play).

Entering teams in the open and women's division were