Chess Olympiad 2024 revisited – 300 million stories

By Vlad Ghita

If each heartbeat within the confines of the playing hall tells a story, then we have 300 million stories to tell about the Chess Olympiad 2024. This is my personal account, following 12 days of intense competition, lore-building chess action at the BOK Sports Hall in Budapest, Hungary. It will differ markedly from what others have experienced, but maybe it will provide you with a glimpse into what such a competition entails from this side of the fence. My role at the Olympiad was to chase interesting storylines and speak with players, arbiters, and organizers. I am grateful to Chessdom for trusting me with this task, especially since I am more of a newcomer on the stage, and to my colleagues, with whom I have had many eye-opening exchanges during the Olympiad.

At roughly around 12:30 pm each day, I would meet arbiters at their hotel for lunch. Then we would take either the Metro or shuttle bus to the venue, and enter the building from separate entrances. Quickly catching up with my colleagues in the media room before fancily donning the media accreditation was a daily ritual between 13:30 and 14:00. Media was allowed access within the playing hall strictly from 14:00 until 25 minutes after the round had effectively started. On some days, that start was 15:00 sharp, while on others, the round started between 15:05 and 15:15. Circling around the tables for those precious 25 minutes at the beginning of each round, trying to scour the playing hall for some favorites, was always going to be a challenge on the main floor with nearly 2000 people. Then, once that interval expired, it was time to return to the media room, grab some snacks and drinks, and start writing, mostly Twitter updates. The rush hour was between 18:30 and 19:30 each day, with reporters stepping on each other’s toes to get exclusive interviews in the Mixed Zone. Our work day ended around 20:30 on average, with hangouts that extended into the next day being quite common.

Final standings open: India gold, USA Silver, Uzbekistan bronze (complete standings)

Final standings women: India gold, Kazakhstan Silver, USA bronze at the Women Chess Olympiad 2024 (complete standings)

Gaprindashvili cup: India wins ahead of USA and Armenia (final standings)

Top performer: Gukesh D with 3056 TPR

Then, there was the Olympiad itself! To say that Gukesh D has already cemented his legacy at only 18 years of age with a scintillating 3050 performance rating would be underselling the level of dominance displayed by the young Indian team. Decades after Vishy Anand – the Tiger of Madras – had first announced his arrival on the world stage, we have the Cubs of Chennai leading the charge. There are no signs of stopping with this Indian team, and their level of talent is unprecedented. While other teams could have treated the last round against Slovenia casually, having ensured team gold with a round to spare, the ruthless lineup of Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit went all-out and demolished the surprising Slovenian squad by a 3.5-0.5 margin. It was the perfect preview of what chess is going to look like in the next decade. Gukesh D starts as a heavy favorite in his World Championship match against Ding Liren, and most pundits expect him to win the match handily during the classical portion. That Team USA and Uzbekistan managed to secure the silver and bronze medals was hardly surprising, given the abundance of talent on both squads.

World Chess Championship info: World Chess Championship 2024 will be in Singapore / World Chess Championship 2024 is sponsored by Google / Tickets for the World Championship

In the other section, there’s the casual and unassuming brilliancy of the Indian women’s squad. Anchored by the fast-climbing Divya Deshmukh, who has just crossed 2500 on the live ratings list, India swept thru the field for the first 7 rounds, only to stumble against Poland in Round 8 and avoid disaster in the next round against USA. They righted the ship towards the end, and clinched the gold medals that were unattainable in Chennai 2022. Kudos to their entire squad, led by the experienced coach Abhijit Kunte to a deserved overall win. I watched the team’s mannerisms closely to understand where leadership originates from. While Vantika and Harika look fully focused and rarely stroll around to take a look at their teammates’ boards, Divya would sometimes lean back far in her chair, tilt her head upwards, and scan the boards with a quiet confidence. I expect her to be a mainstay at the top for at least a decade from now onwards.

Board medals: Gold for Zhu Jiner, Carissa Yip, Diviya Deshmukh, Agrawal Vantika, Dana Kochavi

Kazakhstan was one of my personal dark horse candidates for a medal and I wrote about it in one of the tournament previews. Missing two of its strongest players, Zhansaya Abdumalik and Dinara Saduakassova, but backed by strong government and private support led by Timur Turlov, the nation from Central Asia was even in contention for gold until the very last minute. What will remain immortalized is the sheer happiness on Xeniya Balabayeva’s face after making the final draw against Irina Krush and clinching silver for her squad. Later during the evening, at the end of the closing ceremony, they did exactly what you would expect a group of teenagers to do. While official photographers were lining up to capture their moment of glory, the girls found a secluded area of the playing hall and shot whimsical videos with the selfie camera on Bibisara Assaubayeva’s phone to be posted and widely reposted on Instagram later.

From team USA, Carissa Yip and Alice Lee are the kind of players who smile at you widely before the round, as captured in the official photos by FIDE, while on the board they turn into silent assassins, squeezing every little inch of the board. With a rare tactical oversight in round 11, it looked as if Alice Lee would lose a crucial encounter to IM-norm-scoring Alua Nurman of Kazakhstan. However, eventually team USA drew the match against Kazakhstan and narrowly eked out in front of Spain for the bronze medals.

Final report: India win double gold at the Olympiad

Still, it wasn’t all roses at the Olympiad. Due to heavy rains all around Central Europe, we had the Danube levels rising dangerously, at some point triggering a red warning within the city of Budapest. While this was just one of the many unusual situations at this year’s Olympiad, it pinpoints the ultimate truth, which is that we are just little pawns in nature’s game. While the Danube issue was widely circulated around social media, some remained a bit more hidden under the surface. For example, the army of volunteers, donning orange shirts, felt at times like the terracotta army in the service of an almighty emperor. In order for things to improve at future Olympiads, a minimum requirement should be fluent knowledge of English, rather than a misguided attempt to enforce dictatorial rule. Journalists should be allowed to do their job, not hounded at every step. This extends even further for security personnel at the venue.

Then, the shuttle service was a disaster. From delegations left without reliable airport transfer, to starting the rounds late because of missing buses at the agreed time, and then the iconic Magnus Carlsen riding a rental bike to the venue, the Local Organizing Committee scores extremely poorly on the logistic aspect. While most bids for a FIDE Olympiad are ranked objectively based on the proximity of official hotels to the playing venue as one of the important criteria, a bigger emphasis should be placed on the availability of appropriate transportation. It would have been far easier, and likely more enjoyable for participants, had they been provided with complimentary 15-day passes on all public transportation that Budapest has to offer. The extensive network of Metro/bus/tram lines is sufficient for all the needs of an Olympiad, and the lack of communication between the organizers and participants was frankly disappointing.

Spectator access was also underwhelming at the venue, and there was a total lack of hype surrounding an event of such magnitude. Sending people up to watch chess from the grandstands of a sports arena was fruitless. Not only were they not allowed to carry any electronic devices up there, but the distance from the players was so extreme, that even binoculars would prove to be insufficient. FIDE’s declared mission is to grow the game in its second century of existence. In order to do that, these little details have to be thought over and well-planned in advance. From picking a suitable playing venue to ensuring an enriching experience for fans who come from all corners of the world to meet their idols, this remains a big task on the shoulders of FIDE Management, together with the local organizers. Personally, I hope to be present in both Tashkent 2026 and Abu Dhabi 2028 in order to track the progress over time.

Chess Olympiad 2026 in Uzbekistan

Overall grade of the entire FIDE Chess Olympiad: B+

Competition: A

Fair-play and anti-cheating: B

Accommodation and food: B

Transportation and logistics: F

Media access: C

Expo and Fan Zone: B

Spectator flow: D

Food and drinks at the venue: C