Thanks to our Greek correspondent Chrysafis Stamoudis we gladly present you a short Olympiads-related interview with Irish top player GM Alex Baburin.

Alexander Baburin - born in 1967 in Russia. IM 1990, GM 1996. Four time Irish Olympic team captain (in 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2004). Peak rating: 2600 (1998). According to himself, his best ever result is Isle of Man Open win with a 8/9 result (2827 performance rating). In 1993 he has moved to Ireland with his family where he has been living until today serving as a coach and a writer (and a national team player, of course). He runs an excellent chess site GrandMaster Square. Read entire Alex's biography here.

Ch.S.: What do you believe your impact was on Irish chess? Do you believe Irish chess improved after the influence of a top class GM like you?

A.B.: I hope my arrival to Ireland in 1993 had a positive impact on the Irish chess in general. The top Irish players got stronger opposition and I hope that learnt something from me. More importantly, I worked with juniors and some of them made good progress - IMs Mark Quinn and Sam Collins are among them. For the past few years I've been working with school children and have introduced chess to over thousand children in Dublin.

Ch.S.: How does it feel to play on board 1 at the Olympiad?

A.B.: I like it - you have pretty tough opposition, even when playing not too strong (chesswise) countries - most countries have 1-2 good players.

Ch.S.: Do you believe the chess Olympiad should be part of the Olympic games?

No. Chess Olympiads are great and I don't think we should try to become part of the Olympics - chess will get lost among other sports. Right now we have lots of countries participating in the chess Olympiad, it is a true chess festival. Within greater Olympic games that will be lost - many countries won't send their chess team.

Ch.S.: Would you agree if the chess Olympiad was played each time in Greece (like proposed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympiads in Thessalonica)?

I think it is better if chess Olympiads take place in different countries.

Ch.S.: Would you comment on the fantastic effort of Hannah Lowry- O'reilly who achieved WFM title in her first BIG tournament scoring 7/10

It was nice to see her succeed. I used to work with her, then my friend Michael Crowe helped her. Now Sam Collins coaches Hannah - obviously all that study work is beginning to paying off.

The all-time Olympic statistics are ready (would you ever believe?!) but they are still full of bugs of all kind. Players names' spelling is perhaps most sensitive point. The Olympic bulletins and other printed sources provide low-quality data regarding the spelling. So it is only up to you whether our database will get rid of errors and cavities.

Please note there is number of ways the non-Latin alphabets could be transliterated into English. For Cyryllic-related alphabets we have used one of most popular and worldwide accepted methods. Unfortunately we are not able to provide uniform and consistent way of translation. Your remarks on the issue would be especially useful.

Please find pull-down menu below to chose your home country (and other countries as well -- if you can help about them) and scan the data that appears next after you select the desired country. There is our contact email at the very bottom of each page to make e-mailing us as easy as only easy can be. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Choose your country: Afghanistan AlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntiguaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBermudaBoliviaBosnia & HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBritish Virgin IslandsBrunei DarussalamBulgariaCanadaChileChinaColombiaCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicCzechoslovakiaDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEast GermanyEcuadorEgyptEnglandEl SalvadorEstoniaEthiopiaFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFYR MacedoniaGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuernseyGuernsey-JerseyGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKyrgyzstanLatviaLebanonLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMalaysiaMaliMaltaMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew ZealandNicaraguaNigeriaNorwayPakistanPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaarSan MarinoScotlandSenegalSeychellesSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSomaliaSouth AfricaSoviet UnionSpainSri LankaSudanSurinamSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTajikistanThailandTrinidad & TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUruguayUSAUS Virgin IslandsUzbekistanVenezuelaVietnamVirgin IslandsWalesYemenNorth YemenSouth YemenYugoslaviaZaireZambiaZimbabwe

P.S. Due to by far the most popular demand we have started completing Women's Olympiads data. Please be patient, this will last for a few months so don't forget to come back one day to check for updates! Please send us any data related to the following events (the bulletins and team line-ups are most valuable sources): Emmen 1957 (no bulletin for this event available so it seems sheer impossibility to complete this one, but never say never), Lublin 1969, Split 1972, Medellin 1974, Lucerne 1982.

Today we have something special for you as we have prepared an extensive listing of Chess Olympiads' records and summaries. The data have been split into four separate parts: the miscellanea, the game records, the all-time records and the ELO trivia, respectively. The content is the following:

- World Champions at the Olympiads;
- Longest and shortest games;
- Most unusual opening lines seen at the Olympiads;
- Most unusual positions that occurred in the course of the games;
- Uncommon endings;
- Most Olympic appearances, games played, points scored, games won;
- Match results summary;
- Biggest game and match upsets;
- ELO distribution skewness test
- and many, many more.

Please read the Chess Olympiads' Trivia file.

http://1994.olimpbase.org and find your home country there to scan for errors. I believe this is the only way to get rid of all the bugs.

See also:
Manila 1992 -- http://1992.olimpbase.org
Yerevan 1996 -- http://1996.olimpbase.org
Elista 1998 -- http://1998.olimpbase.org
Istanbul 2000 -- http://2000.olimpbase.org
Bled 2002 -- http://2002.olimpbase.org
Calvia 2004 -- http://2004.olimpbase.org

The experienced chess swashbuckler Ivanchuk and five kids proved superior to the rest of the world. The exciting games of the 36th Chess Olympiad are over leaving shocked world in a suspense. The Ukrainians ran over the whole event undefeated and the world held their breath waiting how long would that bonanza last. Sorry for the rest -- the Olympiad finished prior to Ukraine's streak.

Here's concise summary of the top teams of the memorable (and already historical, would you believe?) Calvia Olympiad:

1. Ukraine - everything what could be said had already been said about the Ukrainian dream team. Not only Ivanchuk and superb Kariakin overperformed but also Volokitin and Elianov did excellent job. Apart from Ponomariov maybe they had no blind spots inside the team. No one but Ukraine deserved gold.

2. Russia - a silver would be a dream place for everyone but the Russians, who won six consecutive Olympic championships before. Many believe with Kasparov and Kramnik in the pool they would stay unstoppable but still without K's duo their average ELO was several notches above Ukraine - and not enough for gold. They played as they were expected to, so just a bad luck for them!

3. Armenia - the veteran Vaganian was their star earning 25 ELO points and providing his team with 7 wins and 6 draws (no loss!). Another notable performances were produced by Aronian and Lputian. Akopian came late (he was Leko's second) and didn't score exceptionally well. Although this is not major surprise still a huge success for tiny Armenia to enjoy their third ever Olympic bronze.

4. USA - the veteran team of Soviet expatriates were condemned to a calamity by many. But they surprised all with their vivid chess. Kaidanov played as if he was in his prime. Other weren't much behind. Hadn't only Armenia hammered Georgia in the very last round in dubious circumstances it could have been even better for US!

5. Israel - they aimed at first ever Olympic medal but unexpected round 6-7 crash threw them far away of medal zone. Avrukh attained most noticeable score. Gelfand was too defensive heading towards draw all the time. 5th is not bad, but perhaps a little disappointing for 3rd seeds.

6. India - that's by far their best ever performance but still with Madras tiger Vishy Anand at board 1 they were hoping for more. Anand did what he was expected to do but the rest of the pack proved too weak to pave way into top 3. Ganguly and Sasikirian did well and Harikrishna's spirits sagged after halfway gong.

7. Cuba - they are definitely the discovery of the event. Seeded down in 20th they weren't expected to do as good as they did. Not only their final position is excellent, but also it is fully deserved success achieved after series of matches vs top teams. The team was firmly lead by reliable duo Dominguez & Bruzon with support coming most frequently from Arenciba's side. Their 4-0 vs Slovenia was the biggest upset of the event according to ELO table!

8. Netherlands - final position is decent, but not the play. They were very lucky to get that high, only thanks to ultimate round win. Van Wely lost as much as 3 games and Sokolov came late, although he scored 4/5 with a terrific ELO performed of 2790. Tiviakov was a disappointment.

9. Bulgaria - another minnow among giants. They quickly recovered from round 4 debacle making it top 10 without much problems. They relied on Georgiev and Delchev mainly. Who knows what if Topalov was in?

10. Spain - the host nation simply deserved a top 10 place. The first half of the Olympiad proved successful, but then a nightmare came. With one round to come they quickened the pace to sneak into top 10. Shirov was exceptionally badly shaped but Paco Valleco's play compensated that with interest. Illescas' performance was also notable.

Apart from those the following have to be noted:
* Poland down in disappointing 12th,
* FIDE WCh Kasimdzhanov scoring an impressive 2799 to boost Uzbekistan's final ranking up to 14th,
* Germany's 16th, remember Istanbul's silver medal!
* The Philippines up in 19th (40th seed!),
* Romania down in 20th, their top star Nisipeanu scored =10-1 (no comments out of pity for him),
* Georgia in 21st after awful ½-3½ in the last round vs Armenia; some claim the match hadn't been fair. Jobava won two individual gold medals,
* Azerbaijan teens down in 22nd -- perhaps too tiring for them to keep concentration for 14 rounds,
* France lying only in 23th -- but no Bacrot,
* China in 24th, still hunting for first ever medal for Asia,
* England and Hungary in 30th and 31st respectively. R.I.P.

Some Olympic trivia:
* Most points scored: Ermenkov (PLE) - 10½
* Most games won: Ermenkov and Anya Corke (HKG - a woman!) - 9
* Most games drawn: Sasikirian (IND) and Morovic (CHI) - 11
* 100% score: Forster (SUI) - 2 games; Lyong (FIJ) - 1 game
* Most matches won: Russia - 11; matches drawn: Iceland - 7; matches lost: Seychelles - 12.
* Most games won: Ukraine - 27; then Morocco (!), Bangladesh (!!) and Armenia - 23; most draws: France - 37; least losses: Russia & Ukraine - 4.
* Overall ELO performed: Ukraine 2755, Russia 2700, Armenia 2680, Israel 2664, USA 2659, India 2653.

Visit our Calvia page: http://calvia.olimpbase.org (now all the games are in and the all-time statistics have been updated too!)

At the 75th FIDE Congress, Dresden, Germany was chosen as the host city for the Olympiad 2008. By secret ballot, the FIDE General Assembly voted 69:29 in favour of Dresden over Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The Lord Mayor of Dresden, the Prince of Saxony and German Chess Federation secretary Horst Metzing presented the bid. Both Dresden and Tallinn actively campaigned for the right to host the Olympiad. Visit the Dresden site http://www.schacholympiade.org.

Based on news from http://www.fide.com

Few know that the Olympiads and the World Team Championship are separate events. But this is no longer a problem as dazzling team Ukraine unified the world's team supremacy today having reached Olympic gold to replenish the WTCh title attained in 2001. The last round was a piece of cake as they easily ran over France by 3-1 sealing their gold in a splendid style. Russia had to fight hard to retain silver medal position as Armenia were close to pass them after they had scored a thumping 3½-½ victory over Georgia. The 6-time Olympic champions managed 3-1 vs China anyway to take the runner-up position thanks to superior Buchholz, yet just by as little as by 1 point. USA smashed Norway to end in 4th, with no hope for reaching the medal zone though. Israel came 5th as they barely drew against robust Cuba, who finished in excellent 7th. India managed only 6th as they beat Bulgaria today by 2½-1½. The Bulgarians went down to 9th, still not bad as for 20th seeds.

The Netherlands sneaked into decent 8th because of their impressive final spurt after dismal performance in the first part of the Olympiad. Spain, the host nation recovered from halfway collapse hammering Finland 3½-½ to fight their way into prestigious 10th. Greece were unlucky to be thrown out of top 10 because of inferior tie-break. Poland drew Germany in the ultimate round to finish down in 12th, far below their expectations. Georgia last round's disaster made them fall down to 21st. England and Hungary, two major chess nations struggled throughout all the event to finish in dismal 30th and 31st, respectively.

China won women's event comfortably clear three points ahead of USA, led by famous Zsuzsa Polgar. Russia won bronze lying in tied 3rd with Georgia.

As far as the World Team Championship is concerned top three from Calvia qualified for 2005 event scheduled in India.

FINAL RESULTS OF OPEN SECTION:
Ukraine 39½; Russia 36½; Armenia 36½; USA 35, Israel 34½; India 34; Cuba 33½; Netherlands 33; Bulgaria, Spain and Greece 32½.

Visit our Calvia page: http://calvia.olimpbase.org (rounds 1-13)

That Ukraine are the winners of the 2004 Chess Olympiad is as certain as tomorrow's sunrise. A brisk four-draw match vs Georgia conserved their safe advantage over the rest as Russia managed only 2½-1½ vs surprising Cuba and Armenia barely halved vs France. Ukraine were heading towards quick draw and it was all over after less than 2 hours of play. Today their top star Ivanchuk had his first rest day. Spain, the host nation, go on with their downwards slump as they lost to Uzbekistan. Disappointing Shirov lost his second consecutive game, this time vs FIDE World Champion Kasimdzhanov. Paco Vallejo was another let-down of the day for the Spaniards. Joel Lautier of France, the ACP president, beat Akopian to hurt Armenian hopes for medals. Israel did not make advantage of Armenia's slip-up as they only managed four draws vs USA. Poland lost to India in most exciting match of the day. Anand easily defeated Macieja at top board and Sasikirian sacrificed a Queen for pair of minor pieces and pair of passed pawns to go on for one of most brilliant victories of the Olympiad. All in all India won 2½-1½ -- enough to clamber to the medal zone? In a generation clash veteran Kortschnoj didn't feel like fighting and took a swift draw with white pieces vs Radjabov of Azerbaijan.

Standings: Ukraine 36½; Russia 33½; Armenia 33; Israel 32½; Cuba, USA and India 31½; Georgia and Bulgaria 31; France and China 30½.

Last round's top pairings: France-Ukraine, Russia-China, Armenia-Georgia (sweet revenge for 2002 debacle for the Georgians?), Israel-Cuba, India-Bulgaria, USA-Norway.

Visit our Calvia page: http://calvia.olimpbase.org (rounds 1-12)

Now a surprise! Enjoy Novi Sad 1990 coverage added today! http://1990.olimpbase.org