9/11/2016 – They were without a doubt the matches on everyone's mind. In both the Open and the Women's events, Russia faced the USA, and the promise of thrilling top-notch fights did not disappoint. In the Open section, the USA came within a whisker of defeating the top-rated Russian team, with a key win by Welsey So over Nepomniachtchi, balanced by a tragic last-minute blunder by Ray Robson against Grischuk. As to the Women, the Americans beat Russia after a big win by Krush over Kosteniuk. Full report with analysis by GM Wesley So and more!

9/10/2016 – The action at the Baku Olympiad has been intense, and there have been more games than is possible to cover, share, or analyze. GM Daniel King, author of the incredibly popular PowerPlay series, casts his professional eye on a few games of rounds six and seven. In round six he focuses on the Women's match between RUssia and Ukraine, with some of the strongest players giving it their all. In round seven, he has arrived in Baku and starts with some initial impressions and analyzes in depth the wild game Li Chao vs Nigel Short.

9/10/2016 – Eugenio Torre from the Philippines, Asia's first grandmaster, is a phenomenon. In Baku he plays his 23rd Olympiad, more than any other player in chess history. Torre, who once qualified for the Candidate Matches and at his peak was number 17 in the world, gave his olympic debut in Siegen 1970 and since then has won three bronze medals for his results on board one. He is 64 years old, but still very strong. In Baku he plays on board three for the Philippines and started with 6.0/7 and an Elo-performance of 2712. A short tribute.

9/10/2016 – The Ukrainian team seems to be in good shape at the Olympiad in Baku. They beat Russia and China and only lost to the USA. After seven rounds they have 12 from 14 possible team points and share second to seventh place, and are only one point behind the leading US team. However, one prominent player is missing in the line-up of the Ukrainians: Vassily Ivanchuk. Where is the Ukrainian top player? Well, he is playing an open in Poland - a draughts tournament.

9/10/2016 – What an astonishing round it was! It literally saw all the previous leaders suffer setbacks. The biggest headline was without question the crushing victory of Team USA over India by 3.5-0.5. But this was not the only eye-opener. Previous co-leaders Netherlands lost badly to Latvia 3-1 and China, ranked third, lost 3-1 to England. Russia's 3.5-0.5 win over the Czechs sets up a double-date with the USA. In the Women's event, Russia was held to a draw by Poland, while China beat Ukraine. Full report, results and GM analysis.

9/9/2016 – With the field at the top winnowed down to a handful the matches of the day were of paramount importance. The big match between Holland and India was epic: The Dutch started strong on all boards, but the Indians rallied and emerged victorious. The Ukrainians, who had shared the lead, faced Team USA, and it was Caruana's victory over Eljanov that decided their fate. The Women's event was no less dramatic as the Ukrainians squandered a sure win to draw with Russia, while China was held to a draw by Romania. Here is the report with instructive notes by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

9/8/2016 – After five gruelling rounds at the Olympiad 2016 comes the rest day. And the Indian team used it to be together and having a nice time. AICF President Venketrama Raja took the teams out for a lunch. We have some very candid and interesting pictures and also videos showcasing the physical strength of the Indian players! We have videos of their feats, and there is also a chance for you to win the latest Master Class Vol.07: Kasparov DVD as a prize!

9/7/2016 – The fifth round shows the Olympiad in Baku now in full swing, and lopsided pairings are now mostly a thing of the past. In the Open section, Ukraine continued their fantastic run, and after their great win over Russia, they now beat the Chinese, and remain unbeaten. Joining them is the Netherlands, who won against Belarus, followed by India who soundly defeated the Azeri team. In the Women’s section, only Russia and Ukraine remain unblemished. Still, what really stood out was the inordinate number of spectacular games, analyzed for your pleasure.

9/5/2016 – Round four was the first true clash of the titans, as Russia squared off against Ukraine. The match was more than just a sports confrontation as the two nations have been bumping heads in no uncertain terms these last years. After an opening loss, Ukraine rallied back and took it 2.5-1.5 in a spectacular comeback. No less impressive was Hou Yifan getting trampled over-the-board by Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Latvia’s Minister of Finance! Here is the report with photos, videos, and GM commentary.

9/5/2016 – In the third round of the Baku Olympiad 2016, Evgeny Tomashevsky was playing Iordachescu. In their game, the Russian had a dominating knight on d4 against his opponent's sick-looking bishop on e6, yet he captured the bishop with his knight in what seemed to be a positively paradoxical move. Had he blundered? Or was there a hidden reason behind this choice? The answer lies in a classic game played exactly 31 years ago by Anatoly Karpov!

9/5/2016 – Three of eleven rounds are played at the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku. Still too early for decisive encounters but time to settle in and to get a feeling for the hotel, the venue and the surroundings. Hours before the fourth round Manuel Weeks, captain of the Australian team, gathered first impressions and speaks about the simple things that make an Olympiad successful, the worries of the strong players and the ambitions of his Australian team.

9/4/2016 – After three rounds, there are still 16 teams in the Open section still with perfect scores, and 13 in the Women's section. If this seems a lite, it bears remembering how many teams there are in the overall event. There were few surprise results in the Open section as far as matches go, at least on paper, but the games had promised something else in some cases. The real surprise of the day (aside from Nakmaura's brush with defeat) was China's draw against Vietnam in the Women's section in spite of a dominant Hou Yifan Report, photos, and GM analysis.

9/3/2016 – Round two of the Baku Olympiad already saw a number of stiff matches with far more balanced opposition. Still, although there were some close calls in the Open section, with isolated upsets, the favorites still held all the way down to table 29 where the teenage Iranian team managed to hold the much higher rated Georgian team to 2-2. In the Women’s section however, the Filipinos pulled off a huge upset by actually defeating the 4th seed Georgian team, who outrated them by almost 350 Elo. Illustrated report with GM analysis.

9/2/2016 – The 2016 Baku Olympiad certainly lives up to its name with no fewer than 180 teams ranging from Russia to Djibouti in the Open section, and 140 teams in the Women's section. The opening round saw results that reflected the huge rating disparities, with the occasional heroic result, but the greatest surprise was without a doubt Bulgaria's draw against Sudan, in which two of the Bulgarian fell prey to their Sudanese opponents. Big report with GM commentary.

9/2/2016 – The 42nd Chess Olympiad is the most lavish in the history of chess. The budget for the tournament is said to be 13.3 million Euros. The playing venue is the Chrystal Hall in Baku, and yesterday, 1st September, the splendid opening ceremony showed how high the standards of the organisers are. President Ilham Aliyev was present at the event but it was not allowed to take pictures of him. Impressions...

8/31/2016 – Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, on Friday the captains' and arbiters' meetings, and at 3 p.m. local time Round 1 of the Olympiad. A team of 400 artists, choreographers, composers and support staff is conducting the final dry runs for the Opening. The chess competitions will see a record-breaking 181 teams from 176 countries in the Open section, and 142 women’s teams. ChessBase will cover the event extensively, here is part two of our preview.

8/26/2016 – This year's Olympiad will be held in Crystal Hall in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (seating capacity: 25,000) and promises to be one of the finest in chess history. The budget is 13.3 million Euros and preparations reflect that commitment. ChessBase will be covering the event extensively. Here for starts is a preview of previous Chess Olympiads by someone who has attended them all since 1992. Enjoy a long interesting trip down memory lane.

5/15/2016 – The 42nd Chess Olympiad will be held in Crystal Hall in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (seating capacity: 25,000). After examining the location FIDE representatives were ecstatic: "I think Azerbaijan will organize the best Olympiad in the history of chess," said acting FIDE president Georgios Makropoulos. In an interview vice president Israel Gelfer described the anti-cheating measures that will be in place.

8/22/2014 – With the chess explosion in Norway, and the Chess Olympiad just around the corner, NRK, the largest TV network in Norway was stuck wondering how they would approach the idea of live broadcasts for multiple boards, since what is fine in a browser might not be suitable for national TV. Solve it they did, broadcast it they did, and they published a detailed article on how they did it.

8/17/2014 – The Tromso Olympiad has come and gone, and we are left with beautiful memories of the most important chess gathering that happens every two years. Of course, not everything was positive. We bring you a review of the tournament, some of the highlights and lowlights, the ups and the downs, the final quickchats and a pictorial overview of what happened at the closing ceremony.

8/14/2014 – China kept its implacable pace and a last round win clinched gold. Hungary suffered but obtained the draw for a silver medal. India came out of nowhere, destroyed Uzbekistan and thanks to tiebreaks got bronze. In the Women's Russia's gold was never in doubt, despite Lagno's loss. China obtains silver and Ukraine holds on to third place. Last round report with all medal winners.

8/14/2014 – The last round starts at 11 a.m. CEST. Many of the medals are still to be defined, and we are not just talking about the team medals either. With so many strong players and so many fierce battles it has become clear that some players were more of an asset to their team than others. We bring you a preview of tomorrow's games plus a prediction on who will get the medals.

8/12/2014 – The medal contention is nearing the final battles. In the open section China and France are duking it out for the lead, but they are followed by a contingency of strong teams only half a match point behind them. In the Women's there is the grudge match between Ukraine and Russia, a very loaded encounter. Can the Russian team keep their lead? Preview of an exciting round.

8/11/2014 – We are in the final stretch in Tromso; the last three rounds are upon us and the battles for the medals are starting to line up. China leads in the men but they face a vicious Ukrainian team. In the Women's section Russia leads by a match point, but there are many teams that are still trying to position themselves in medal contention. Preview and top players so far