Take the Maltese women's team, for example: The island of Malta is located in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily. It is made up of several islands, three of which are inhabited: Malta, Gozo and Comino. Half a million people live on 316 square kilometres, making Malta the most densely populated country in Europe. It became a member of the EU in 2004.
As an important base for seafarers, the cultures of the Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs have left their traces here. From 1530 onwards the Order of Malta used Malta as a base, but in 1814 the island became a British colony. In 1964 Malta became an independent state. The official languages are Maltese, an Arabic dialect and English.
In the FIDE country rankings, which are based on the Elo average of the country's top ten players, Malta is ranked 108th. In the women's ranking Malta is 123rd and has only 11 players with an official Elo rating.
In Budapest, Arne Kähler spoke to the Maltese players and their coach. They were the underdogs in the first round against Greece. On all four boards the Maltese had about 500 rating points less than their opponents, but that did not stop Martina Portelli from winning on board 4.
